November 20, 2025 • 27 mins
A documentary featuring senior U.S. officials is revealing what some claim is an 80-year cover-up of non-human technology and bodies.
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WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness.
#WeirdDarkness #UFODisclosure #AgeOfDisclosure #GovernmentCoverup #LuisElizondo #NonHumanIntelligence #UAPHearing #AlienTechnology #PentagonUFO #TrumpDisclosure
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
A documentary featuring senior US officials is revealing what some
claim is an eighty year cover up of non human
technology and bodies. I'm Darren Marler, and this is weird
dark news. Something is happening in Washington and it has
nothing to do with partisan politics. Former military officials, intelligence
community members, and elected representatives from both sides of the
(00:34):
aisle are sitting for interviews, going on record, and making
statements that would have been career ending just a decade ago.
They're saying that humanity is not alone in the universe.
They're claiming the US government has recovered non human technology
and biological remains. They're alleging that our adversaries are in
a secret race to reverse engineer these materials. All of
(00:57):
this is now captured in a documentary that premiere at
south By Southwest in March twenty twenty five and will
be released nationwide tomorrow November twenty first, twenty twenty five.
Dan Farrah spent three years making The Age of Disclosure
in Secrecy, interviewing thirty four senior members of the US government, military,
and intelligence community. Three years of tracking down sources, convincing
(01:20):
them to go on camera, and piecing together testimony that
paints a picture of something extraordinary happening in our skies.
The film premiered at south By Southwest on March ninth,
twenty twenty five, and receives an OSCAR qualifying run in
select theaters in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, d C.
Beginning tomorrow, November twenty first, with a concurrent release on
(01:40):
Amazon Prime Video. The timing is significant when you consider
how much momentum the up conversation is gained in recent years.
Congressional hearings are happening, whistleblowers are coming forward, the stigma
that once made this topic radioactive is starting to crack.
Farah is making his directorial debut after previous producing the
(02:00):
science fiction film Ready Player one and the fantasy series
The Shanara Chronicles. Going from science fiction to documentary work
about non human intelligence represents quite a shift. Farah went
from telling fictional stories about other worlds to documenting what
some believe are real encounters with technology not made by
human hands. Among the interviewees are high ranking politicians from
(02:23):
both the Democratic and Republican parties, including Secretary of State
Mark Rubio and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand as congressional hearings about
UAPs and the proposed UAP Disclosure Act have seen major
bipartisan support people with security clearances, military backgrounds, and reputations
to protect. The film's central figures include j Stratton, former
(02:45):
Defense Intelligence Agency official and director of the government's UAP
Task Force, and Lewis Alizondo, former Department of Defense official.
Elizondo has become one of the most recognizable faces in
the UAP disclosure movement, and his story is complicated enough
that it deserves its own examination. Lewis Alizondo is the
former director of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program or
(03:07):
a TIP, an unpublicized US government program created in two
thousand and seven committed to the investigation of UAPs or
UFOs as they were known at the time. That's the
official description. The reality of who Alezondo is and what
role he actually played has become one of the most
contested questions in the UAP discussion. Elexando was allegedly recruited
(03:29):
to ATIP in two thousand and nine, where he was
reputedly tasked with investigating the national security implications of military
UAP encounters. His background before ATIP included counterintelligence work and
protecting American aerospace technology. According to the Department of Defense,
the ATIP program ended in twenty twelve due to budget cuts,
though Alizondo claimed that while the efforts government funding ended,
(03:53):
the program continued with support from Navy and CIA officials
even after his resignation in twenty seventeen. In twenty seventeen,
Eleixando became a public figure in the UFO world. Elizondo
released several short videos of military jets encountering unidentified objects
as part of a campaign while working for To the
Stars Academy of Arts and Science. To the Stars was
(04:16):
founded by Tom DeLong of Blink one eight two, which
added another layer of strangeness to the story. A punk
rock musician and former intelligence officials teaming up to push
for UAP disclosure sounds like the plot of a science
fiction movie, except it actually happened. The Navy confirmed the
authenticity of the videos, stating only that they depict what
they considered to be unidentified aerial phenomena. Those videos became
(04:40):
some of the most analyzed footage in UAP history, military
pilots encountering objects that moved in ways that seemed to
defy physics objects with no visible means of propulsion, objects
that could drop from eighty thousand feet to sea level
in seconds. The problem is that Eleazando's claims about his
role have been challenged. Elexando's role within a TIP has
(05:03):
been questioned, and there is a lack of confirming evidence
that he was involved in the program, With government spokespeople
issuing alternating and conflicting accounts of his role, the Pentagon
has given different answers at different times about what Alexondo
actually did. In twenty seventeen, Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White confirmed
Alexando as an a TIP leader to Politico, but in
(05:24):
June twenty nineteen, Pentagon spokesperson Christopher Sherwood added to the
Intercept that Alexando had no responsibilities with regard to the
ATIP program while he worked in OUSDI up until the
time he resigned. Those are two completely contradictory statements from
official Pentagon sources, So who's telling the truth. Senator Harry
(05:45):
Reid sent a letter in twenty twenty one to NBC
News stating that as one of the original sponsors of ATIP,
he could state as a matter of record, Elexando's involvement
and leadership role in the program. Reid was one of
the senators who pushed for a tip's creation in the
first place. He earmarked the money for it. If anyone
would know who ran the program, it would be him.
(06:06):
The ambiguity around Alizondo's role hasn't stopped him from becoming
the face of UAP disclosure efforts. He's testified before Congress,
He's written a memoir, He's appeared in documentaries. Now he's
one of the key voices in the Age of Disclosure
documentary coming out tomorrow. Whether you believe his claims about
his government role or not, his influence on the public
(06:27):
conversation about UAPs is undeniable. On November thirteenth, twenty twenty four,
the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a joint
subcommittee hearing titled Unidentified Anomalist Phenomena Exposing the Truth at
eleven thirty am in the Raeburn House Office Building. This
wasn't the first Congressional hearing on UAPs, and it probably
(06:47):
won't be the last. The November hearing brought new testimony
and new witnesses to the public record. The witnesses included
Tim Galladett, Rear Admiral U S. Navy, retired and Chief
Executive Officer of Ocean STL Consulting, Lewis Alisondo, author and
former Department of Defense official, Michael Gold, former NASA Associate
Administrator of Space Policy and Partnerships, and Michael Schellenberger, founder
(07:11):
of Public Each brought different expertise and different perspectives to
the table. Galadet's testimony stood out because of the specificity
of what he described. In his written testimony, Galadet stated
that confirmation that UAPs are interacting with humanity came for
him in January twenty fifteen, describing a specific incident. He
(07:31):
described being part of the pre deployment naval exercise off
the US East Coast that culminated in the famous Go
Fast video, in which a Navy FA eighteen jets censors
recorded an unidentified object exhibiting flight and structural characteristics unlike
anything in the US arsenal. The Go Fast video is
one of three Navy videos that have become central to
(07:53):
the UAP discussion. Pilots tracked these objects, radar systems picked
them up. The footage exists, and then something strange happened
with that footage. Galadet said he was among a group
of commanders who received an email containing the video, which
was sent by the operations officer of Fleet Force's command,
But the very next day, the email disappeared from his
(08:13):
account and those of the other recipients without explanation. Someone
higher up the chain of command made that video vanish
from official military email systems. The video itself would eventually
be released to the public years later, but in twenty fifteen,
someone wanted it buried. An early exchange between Alizondo and
(08:34):
Representative Nancy Mace, who led the hearing as chairwoman of
the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, IT and Innovation, suggested that the
US is intent on learning more about UAPs, including efforts
to recover any objects that might crash. Mace asked direct
questions about crash retrieval programs. When asked if programs were
designed to identify and reverse engineer craft Alszando responded that
(08:58):
they would have to have a conversation in a close
oosed session, explaining he signed documentation three years ago that
restricts his ability to discuss specifically crash retrievals. That is
a careful answer. He didn't say such programs don't exist,
he said he's legally prohibited from talking about them in public.
Representative Jaren Moskowitz questioned Ela Zondo about the document he
(09:19):
signed with the Defense Department, noting that he specifically said
the document meant he couldn't talk about crash retrieval. The
fact that the document exists and specifically mentions crash retrieval
implies there is something to retrieve. Michael Schellenberger brought a
different kind of evidence to the hearing. Schellenberger's public news
site recently published a story alleging that the US government
(09:42):
is operating an active and highly secretive program called Immaculate
Constellation through the Department of Defense. According to Schellenberger's reporting,
this isn't a program from decades ago, It's happening now.
S Shellenberger shared a document with lawmakers that he described
as a whistleblower report about the pro pro saying it
uses high quality imagery and other sophisticated tools to capture
(10:04):
data about UAPs. The document he provided to Congress described
as systematic effort to collect and analyze UAP data while
keeping that information away from congressional oversight. Vice President G.
D Vance has made multiple public statements about his interest
in UAPs, and his comments reveal someone who is genuinely
trying to make sense of the phenomenon. Speaking with New
(10:26):
York Post columnist Miranda Devine on her podcast pod Force
one in October twenty twenty five, Vance shared his perspectives
on the subject. He explained that the topic often came
up in conversations with Secretary of State Mark Arubio, noting
that both men have long shared an interest in unidentified
anomalist phenomena. They talked about it back when they were
both senators together. Vance approached the subject through his Christian faith,
(10:51):
which led him to interpret the phenomenon differently than some
of his colleagues might. He framed his view through faith
rather than fear, stating that he's a big believer that
there are things out there that we can't explain. He
suggested that if another person sees something identified as non human,
he might see an angel or a demon, indicating his
belief that there are spiritual forces working on the physical
(11:12):
world that many don't see or understand. That's an interpretation
you don't often hear from government officials. Most framed UAPs
purely as a national security concern or a scientific mystery.
Vance is willing to say publicly that maybe what we're
dealing with isn't extraterrestrial at all. Maybe it's something that
exists in a spiritual dimension that occasionally manifests in physical form.
(11:36):
On The Ruthless Podcast in August twenty twenty five, Vance
revealed his fascination with the subject in more direct terms.
He mentioned that he planned to use part of the
August congressional recess to dive into the UAP issue, jokingly
offering to take the show's hosts to Area fifty one
once he got to the bottom of it. He acknowledged
he had not solved the mystery yet, but noted the
(11:56):
administration was only six months in at that point. The
Vice President's interest appears to extend beyond casual curiosity. He
stated that he cannot allow himself to become so busy
that he doesn't get to the bottom of this, emphasizing
that he will pursue answers. That's a significant commitment from
someone in the second highest office in the country. Vance
(12:16):
is saying that understanding UAPs is important enough he is
willing to dedicate time and political capital to it. There
is new documentary that releases tomorrow alleges an eighty year
global cover up of non human intelligent life. That timeline
would take us back to nineteen forty five, right around
the time at the first alleged crash retrievals that UFL
(12:37):
researchers have claimed happened in the southwestern United States. The
key voices of the Age of Disclosure documentary explained that
elements of the US government are engaged in a high stakes,
secret cold war race with adversarial nations like China and
Russia to reverse engineer technology of non human origin. The
documentary frames this as an arms race. The first nation
(13:00):
to successfully understand and replicate this technology gains a massive
strategic advantage. It's not just about understanding where these objects
come from. It's about figuring out how they work and
building our own versions. Farah pointed out that many high
ranking figures believe the government has taken an antiquated approach
to the disclosure of information about UAPs. The secrecy that
(13:23):
made sense in nineteen forty seven doesn't necessarily make sense
in twenty twenty five. The world has changed, the public
conversation has changed, the government's approach to secrecy hasn't kept pace.
When asked about why the government would not share this information,
Parah explained that there is beneficial technology that could emerge
from it, but this technology could also be used by
(13:44):
bad actors to cause significant destruction. That's the double edged
sword of disclosure. If this technology exists and can be understood,
it would revolutionize energy production, transportation, maybe even our understanding
of physics. It could also be where weaponized. The documentary
reveals highly compartmentalized and top secret programs within the US government,
(14:06):
so secretive that the President of the United States isn't
always aware of their full extent that have been conducting
research on recovered UAP material, including biological bodies of humanoid
life forms. The documentary claims there are programs so classified
that even the President doesn't have full access to them.
These programs are allegedly studying recovered materials and biological remains.
(14:29):
The nuclear connection keeps coming up in UAPA reports. The
film examines UAP activity in and around nuclear sites and
military bases, sometimes interfering with nuclear capabilities. Former military personnel
have described incidents where nuclear missiles were temporarily disabled while
UAPs were present. Russia has reported similar incidents at their
(14:50):
nuclear facilities. The experts Parah assembled are in agreement that
this behavior reads as a coordinated effort on the UAP's
part to do a reconnaissance and research on US capabilities,
perhaps out of their own feeling of existential threat, having
assessed humans as unreliable and capable of destroying themselves. If
you were a non human intelligence observing Earth and you
(15:11):
saw these hairless apes building weapons capable of destroying their
entire planet, you might want to keep tabs on those
weapons too. In interviews about the documentary, Fear characterized the
alleged reverse engineering race between nations as similar to the
Manhattan Project. The comparison is apt in several ways. The
Manhattan Project was conducted in extreme secrecy. It brought together
(15:34):
the brightest scientific minds of its generation. It involved technologies
that seemed impossible at the time. It fundamentally changed the
global balance of power. The first country that successfully decodes
this technology could establish technological dominance for generations, similar to
how the US became the definitive superpower after developing atomic weapons.
(15:55):
First nuclear weapons gave America a strategic superiority for years.
Whatever nation cracks the code on UAP propulsion technology first
would have an even greater advantage. We're talking about technology
that apparently moves without visible means of propulsion, that can
perform maneuvers that would destroy any conventional aircraft, that can
operate under water and in space with equal ease. China
(16:19):
and Russia aren't sitting on the sidelines. They're conducting their
own UAP research programs, They're recovering their own materials, they're
having their own encounters. The documentary suggests that this international
competition is one reason why disclosure has been so difficult.
Nobody wants to show their hand. Nobody wants to reveal
how much they know or what capabilities they might be developing.
(16:43):
The film received mixed reviews from critics, with Metacritic assigning
it a score of fifty two out of one hundred
based on four critics, syndicating mixed or average reviews. The
critical response has been divided between those who find the
testimony compelling and those who see the documentary as well
produced speculation. In a November twenty twenty five interview with
the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, scientist Charlie lin Weaver said the
(17:07):
whole film is full of people who are not scientists
talking about a topic that he considers very scientific, but
dismissed it as beloney. Liin Weaver's criticism reflects a common
skeptical position. These are military and intelligence personnel, not scientists
with PhDs and physics. They're describing observations and claiming access
to classified programs, but they're not providing the kind of
(17:29):
data that would convince the scientific community. Writing in The
Hollywood Reporter, Daniel Feinberg called the film a sensationalistic wolf
in understated Sheep's clothing and noted that almost nothing in
the age of disclosure is new per se, but that
the quality of its production values set it apart from
similar films. Feinberg acknowledges that Farah made a professional, polished documentary.
(17:53):
Polish doesn't equal proof. Finberg stated that nothing is proven
and thus nothing can be refuted. That's the fundamental problem
with classified information. The witnesses say they've seen extraordinary things,
but can't share the evidence because it's classified. That creates
an unfalsifiable claim. Believers will say the secrecy proves there
(18:14):
is something to hide. Skeptics will say the lack of
evidence proves there's nothing there. Despite the critical skepticism, the
documentary has generated significant public interest. The initial trailer dropped
in January twenty twenty five, leading up to the films
south By Southwest premiere, and quickly reached more than twenty
million views across YouTube and social media. Twenty million people
(18:36):
watched a trailer about alleged government cover ups of non
human technology. The public appetite for this information clearly exists.
During his Fox News interview with Brett Bher, Farah addressed
the skepticism surrounding the topic. He pointed out that if
someone said there is a constant terrorist threat penetrating the
airspace over nuclear weapons sites, no one would laugh at that.
(18:59):
He suggested at joking about UAPs is similarly inappropriate given
what the witnesses are claiming. The witnesses aren't describing lights
in the sky that could be anything. They're describing structured
craft operating in restricted airspace around the most sensitive military
installations in the world. During the Fox News interview, Farah
(19:19):
suggested that President Donald Trump could be the first president
to speak openly about this unexplained phenomenon. He stated that
he thinks it's only a matter of time before there
is a sitting president who steps to the microphone and
tells all of humanity that we're not alone in the
universe and that the United States intends to lead the way.
Trump has been asked about UAPs before and has given
(19:40):
characteristically vague answers. He has said that he's been briefed,
He's said that he's heard some interesting things. He has
stopped short, though, of making any definitive statements. Pharah believes
Trump might be willing to go further than previous presidents.
Farah pointed out that Mark Rubio, now serving as Secretary
of State, is one of the most informed people in
(20:00):
the United States regarding this topic. Rubio has been involved
in UAP hearings for years. He's pushed for greater transparency.
He is publicly stated that there are objects operating in
restricted airspace and we don't know what they are. Having
someone like Rubio in a senior position in the administration
could make disclosure more likely. The bipartisan nature of congressional
(20:22):
interest in UAPs has been evident in multiple hearings, with
representatives from both parties pressing for greater transparency. It's not
a Republican issue or a Democratic issue. Both parties have
members who believe the government is hiding information about UAPs
and that information should be shared with Congress and the public.
In twenty twenty, the Pentagon acknowledged the existence of a
(20:45):
program similar to a TIP, called the Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon
Task Force or UAPTF. After a TIP officially ended in
twenty twelve, the work didn't stop, it just moved to
a different program with a different name and different oversight.
The unclassified but previously unacknowledged program was made public during
(21:05):
a June twenty twenty hearing of the Senate Select Committee
on Intelligence, and the program has been given classified briefings
to Congressional committees and aerospace executives for over a decade.
The fact that aerospace executives are receiving classified briefings about
UAPs suggests that the government believes the private sector might
have a role to play in understanding this technology. It
(21:25):
also suggests that the government is concerned about whether adversaries
are developing similar technologies. The UAPTF has since evolved into
other organizational structures within the Pentagon. The government continues to
collect data on UAP encounters. Pilots continue to report sightings.
Readar systems continue to track objects that shouldn't be able
(21:46):
to move the way they do. The phenomenon isn't going away,
and the government's response to it continues to adapt. The
December twenty twenty four drone sidings over New Jersey added
another layer to the ongoing discussion. Su UV sized drones
were seen over the skies, terrifying some residents and prompting
the Trump administration to release a report on the phenomenon.
(22:08):
These were not small commercial drones. They were large, They
flew at night, and nobody seemed to know who was
operating them. In late January twenty twenty five, White House
Press Secretary Caroline Levitt revealed their findings, stating that after
research and study, the drones flying over New Jersey in
large numbers were authorized by the FAA for research and
(22:28):
various other reasons. That explanation satisfied some people and left
others with more questions. Authorized by the FAA for what, research,
operated by whom? Why weren't local authorities informed if these
were legitimate operations. The New Jersey incident shows how quickly
the public reacts when they see things in the sky
(22:49):
they can't explain social media exploded with theories. Local news
covered it extensively, Congress demanded answers. The government eventually provided
an explanation, but trusting government explanations of aerial phenomena isn't exactly.
At an all time high, Pharah noted in interviews that
some high level politicians were afraid of how participation in
(23:09):
the film might tint their reputation or impact them politically.
The stigma around this topic is real. Being associated with
UAPs can still damage a career even as the conversation
becomes more mainstream. Some intelligence officials legitimately believed that their
lives would be in danger if they participated in the film,
and after long conversations with their significant others, they decided
(23:33):
it wasn't worth it. That's not paranoia about Internet trolls
or career concerns. That is fear of physical danger. Pharah
said it was eye opening, noting that the more you
go down this path, it becomes clear that this alleged
eighty year cover up has been enforced with threats. If
the cover up is real, it has been maintained through
a combination of classification, compartmentalization, disinformation, and in some cases intimidation.
(23:58):
Whistleblowers who have come forward have described being followed, having
their careers derailed, and facing legal threats. David Grush, who
testified before Congress in twenty twenty three, described facing retaliation
for his disclosures. The government has laws protecting whistleblowers, but
those laws don't always work as intended when dealing with
classified programs. The documentary represents a pyridigm shift in how
(24:23):
UAPs are discussed publicly. Thirty four government officials went on camera,
put their names and reputations on the line and said
they were dealing with something real. Whether the claims made
by those officials will lead to concrete disclosures remains to
be seen. Congressional hearings continue, with both parties pushing for
greater transparency. The National Defense Authorization Act for twenty twenty
(24:46):
four included provisions requiring greater transparency around UAP encounters. The
National Archives is establishing a collection of unidentified UAP records
that can be publicly disclosed. The machinery of government disclosure
is more, albeit slowly. The question is no longer whether
these objects exist in our skies. The Pentagon has confirmed
(25:07):
that the Navy has confirmed that the question has evolved
into who controls them, where they come from, and what
their purpose might be. Those are harder questions to answer,
especially if the government doesn't know the answers itself. If
Dan Farrah is right, if the thirty four people he
interviewed are telling the truth, then we're living through one
(25:27):
of the most significant moments in human history. We're on
the cusp of learning that we are not alone, that
we've never been alone, and that our government has known
this for decades. If the skeptics are right, then we're
watching an elaborate exercise in confirmation bias, where sincere but
mistaken people are interpreting ambiguous data through the lens of
(25:47):
extraordinary claims, where classified programs exist, but they're studying terrestrial threats,
not non human technology. Where the videos show real objects,
but those objects have mundane explainstions that just haven't been
made public yet. The truth, as it so often does,
probably lies somewhere in the complicated middle. There are objects
(26:09):
in our skies that trained military observers can't identify. There
are encounters that our sensors record that don't match known
aircraft performance characteristics. Whether those objects represent non human intelligence,
secret terrestrial technology or something else entirely remains the central question.
If you like to read this story for yourself or
(26:30):
share the article with a friend, you can read it
on the Weird Darkness website. I've placed a link to
it in the episode description, and the article also includes
the video trailer for the documentary, as well as linking
to the actual documentary on Amazon Prime if you're interested,
and you can find more stories of the paranormal, true crime, Strange,
and more, including numerous stories that never make it to
the podcast in my Weird Darknews blog at Weird Darkness
(26:54):
dot com. Slash news to me
A documentary featuring senior US officials is revealing what some
claim is an eighty year cover up of non human
technology and bodies. I'm Darren Marler, and this is weird
dark news. Something is happening in Washington and it has
nothing to do with partisan politics. Former military officials, intelligence
community members, and elected representatives from both sides of the
(00:34):
aisle are sitting for interviews, going on record, and making
statements that would have been career ending just a decade ago.
They're saying that humanity is not alone in the universe.
They're claiming the US government has recovered non human technology
and biological remains. They're alleging that our adversaries are in
a secret race to reverse engineer these materials. All of
(00:57):
this is now captured in a documentary that premiere at
south By Southwest in March twenty twenty five and will
be released nationwide tomorrow November twenty first, twenty twenty five.
Dan Farrah spent three years making The Age of Disclosure
in Secrecy, interviewing thirty four senior members of the US government, military,
and intelligence community. Three years of tracking down sources, convincing
(01:20):
them to go on camera, and piecing together testimony that
paints a picture of something extraordinary happening in our skies.
The film premiered at south By Southwest on March ninth,
twenty twenty five, and receives an OSCAR qualifying run in
select theaters in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, d C.
Beginning tomorrow, November twenty first, with a concurrent release on
(01:40):
Amazon Prime Video. The timing is significant when you consider
how much momentum the up conversation is gained in recent years.
Congressional hearings are happening, whistleblowers are coming forward, the stigma
that once made this topic radioactive is starting to crack.
Farah is making his directorial debut after previous producing the
(02:00):
science fiction film Ready Player one and the fantasy series
The Shanara Chronicles. Going from science fiction to documentary work
about non human intelligence represents quite a shift. Farah went
from telling fictional stories about other worlds to documenting what
some believe are real encounters with technology not made by
human hands. Among the interviewees are high ranking politicians from
(02:23):
both the Democratic and Republican parties, including Secretary of State
Mark Rubio and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand as congressional hearings about
UAPs and the proposed UAP Disclosure Act have seen major
bipartisan support people with security clearances, military backgrounds, and reputations
to protect. The film's central figures include j Stratton, former
(02:45):
Defense Intelligence Agency official and director of the government's UAP
Task Force, and Lewis Alizondo, former Department of Defense official.
Elizondo has become one of the most recognizable faces in
the UAP disclosure movement, and his story is complicated enough
that it deserves its own examination. Lewis Alizondo is the
former director of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program or
(03:07):
a TIP, an unpublicized US government program created in two
thousand and seven committed to the investigation of UAPs or
UFOs as they were known at the time. That's the
official description. The reality of who Alezondo is and what
role he actually played has become one of the most
contested questions in the UAP discussion. Elexando was allegedly recruited
(03:29):
to ATIP in two thousand and nine, where he was
reputedly tasked with investigating the national security implications of military
UAP encounters. His background before ATIP included counterintelligence work and
protecting American aerospace technology. According to the Department of Defense,
the ATIP program ended in twenty twelve due to budget cuts,
though Alizondo claimed that while the efforts government funding ended,
(03:53):
the program continued with support from Navy and CIA officials
even after his resignation in twenty seventeen. In twenty seventeen,
Eleixando became a public figure in the UFO world. Elizondo
released several short videos of military jets encountering unidentified objects
as part of a campaign while working for To the
Stars Academy of Arts and Science. To the Stars was
(04:16):
founded by Tom DeLong of Blink one eight two, which
added another layer of strangeness to the story. A punk
rock musician and former intelligence officials teaming up to push
for UAP disclosure sounds like the plot of a science
fiction movie, except it actually happened. The Navy confirmed the
authenticity of the videos, stating only that they depict what
they considered to be unidentified aerial phenomena. Those videos became
(04:40):
some of the most analyzed footage in UAP history, military
pilots encountering objects that moved in ways that seemed to
defy physics objects with no visible means of propulsion, objects
that could drop from eighty thousand feet to sea level
in seconds. The problem is that Eleazando's claims about his
role have been challenged. Elexando's role within a TIP has
(05:03):
been questioned, and there is a lack of confirming evidence
that he was involved in the program, With government spokespeople
issuing alternating and conflicting accounts of his role, the Pentagon
has given different answers at different times about what Alexondo
actually did. In twenty seventeen, Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White confirmed
Alexando as an a TIP leader to Politico, but in
(05:24):
June twenty nineteen, Pentagon spokesperson Christopher Sherwood added to the
Intercept that Alexando had no responsibilities with regard to the
ATIP program while he worked in OUSDI up until the
time he resigned. Those are two completely contradictory statements from
official Pentagon sources, So who's telling the truth. Senator Harry
(05:45):
Reid sent a letter in twenty twenty one to NBC
News stating that as one of the original sponsors of ATIP,
he could state as a matter of record, Elexando's involvement
and leadership role in the program. Reid was one of
the senators who pushed for a tip's creation in the
first place. He earmarked the money for it. If anyone
would know who ran the program, it would be him.
(06:06):
The ambiguity around Alizondo's role hasn't stopped him from becoming
the face of UAP disclosure efforts. He's testified before Congress,
He's written a memoir, He's appeared in documentaries. Now he's
one of the key voices in the Age of Disclosure
documentary coming out tomorrow. Whether you believe his claims about
his government role or not, his influence on the public
(06:27):
conversation about UAPs is undeniable. On November thirteenth, twenty twenty four,
the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a joint
subcommittee hearing titled Unidentified Anomalist Phenomena Exposing the Truth at
eleven thirty am in the Raeburn House Office Building. This
wasn't the first Congressional hearing on UAPs, and it probably
(06:47):
won't be the last. The November hearing brought new testimony
and new witnesses to the public record. The witnesses included
Tim Galladett, Rear Admiral U S. Navy, retired and Chief
Executive Officer of Ocean STL Consulting, Lewis Alisondo, author and
former Department of Defense official, Michael Gold, former NASA Associate
Administrator of Space Policy and Partnerships, and Michael Schellenberger, founder
(07:11):
of Public Each brought different expertise and different perspectives to
the table. Galadet's testimony stood out because of the specificity
of what he described. In his written testimony, Galadet stated
that confirmation that UAPs are interacting with humanity came for
him in January twenty fifteen, describing a specific incident. He
(07:31):
described being part of the pre deployment naval exercise off
the US East Coast that culminated in the famous Go
Fast video, in which a Navy FA eighteen jets censors
recorded an unidentified object exhibiting flight and structural characteristics unlike
anything in the US arsenal. The Go Fast video is
one of three Navy videos that have become central to
(07:53):
the UAP discussion. Pilots tracked these objects, radar systems picked
them up. The footage exists, and then something strange happened
with that footage. Galadet said he was among a group
of commanders who received an email containing the video, which
was sent by the operations officer of Fleet Force's command,
But the very next day, the email disappeared from his
(08:13):
account and those of the other recipients without explanation. Someone
higher up the chain of command made that video vanish
from official military email systems. The video itself would eventually
be released to the public years later, but in twenty fifteen,
someone wanted it buried. An early exchange between Alizondo and
(08:34):
Representative Nancy Mace, who led the hearing as chairwoman of
the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, IT and Innovation, suggested that the
US is intent on learning more about UAPs, including efforts
to recover any objects that might crash. Mace asked direct
questions about crash retrieval programs. When asked if programs were
designed to identify and reverse engineer craft Alszando responded that
(08:58):
they would have to have a conversation in a close
oosed session, explaining he signed documentation three years ago that
restricts his ability to discuss specifically crash retrievals. That is
a careful answer. He didn't say such programs don't exist,
he said he's legally prohibited from talking about them in public.
Representative Jaren Moskowitz questioned Ela Zondo about the document he
(09:19):
signed with the Defense Department, noting that he specifically said
the document meant he couldn't talk about crash retrieval. The
fact that the document exists and specifically mentions crash retrieval
implies there is something to retrieve. Michael Schellenberger brought a
different kind of evidence to the hearing. Schellenberger's public news
site recently published a story alleging that the US government
(09:42):
is operating an active and highly secretive program called Immaculate
Constellation through the Department of Defense. According to Schellenberger's reporting,
this isn't a program from decades ago, It's happening now.
S Shellenberger shared a document with lawmakers that he described
as a whistleblower report about the pro pro saying it
uses high quality imagery and other sophisticated tools to capture
(10:04):
data about UAPs. The document he provided to Congress described
as systematic effort to collect and analyze UAP data while
keeping that information away from congressional oversight. Vice President G.
D Vance has made multiple public statements about his interest
in UAPs, and his comments reveal someone who is genuinely
trying to make sense of the phenomenon. Speaking with New
(10:26):
York Post columnist Miranda Devine on her podcast pod Force
one in October twenty twenty five, Vance shared his perspectives
on the subject. He explained that the topic often came
up in conversations with Secretary of State Mark Arubio, noting
that both men have long shared an interest in unidentified
anomalist phenomena. They talked about it back when they were
both senators together. Vance approached the subject through his Christian faith,
(10:51):
which led him to interpret the phenomenon differently than some
of his colleagues might. He framed his view through faith
rather than fear, stating that he's a big believer that
there are things out there that we can't explain. He
suggested that if another person sees something identified as non human,
he might see an angel or a demon, indicating his
belief that there are spiritual forces working on the physical
(11:12):
world that many don't see or understand. That's an interpretation
you don't often hear from government officials. Most framed UAPs
purely as a national security concern or a scientific mystery.
Vance is willing to say publicly that maybe what we're
dealing with isn't extraterrestrial at all. Maybe it's something that
exists in a spiritual dimension that occasionally manifests in physical form.
(11:36):
On The Ruthless Podcast in August twenty twenty five, Vance
revealed his fascination with the subject in more direct terms.
He mentioned that he planned to use part of the
August congressional recess to dive into the UAP issue, jokingly
offering to take the show's hosts to Area fifty one
once he got to the bottom of it. He acknowledged
he had not solved the mystery yet, but noted the
(11:56):
administration was only six months in at that point. The
Vice President's interest appears to extend beyond casual curiosity. He
stated that he cannot allow himself to become so busy
that he doesn't get to the bottom of this, emphasizing
that he will pursue answers. That's a significant commitment from
someone in the second highest office in the country. Vance
(12:16):
is saying that understanding UAPs is important enough he is
willing to dedicate time and political capital to it. There
is new documentary that releases tomorrow alleges an eighty year
global cover up of non human intelligent life. That timeline
would take us back to nineteen forty five, right around
the time at the first alleged crash retrievals that UFL
(12:37):
researchers have claimed happened in the southwestern United States. The
key voices of the Age of Disclosure documentary explained that
elements of the US government are engaged in a high stakes,
secret cold war race with adversarial nations like China and
Russia to reverse engineer technology of non human origin. The
documentary frames this as an arms race. The first nation
(13:00):
to successfully understand and replicate this technology gains a massive
strategic advantage. It's not just about understanding where these objects
come from. It's about figuring out how they work and
building our own versions. Farah pointed out that many high
ranking figures believe the government has taken an antiquated approach
to the disclosure of information about UAPs. The secrecy that
(13:23):
made sense in nineteen forty seven doesn't necessarily make sense
in twenty twenty five. The world has changed, the public
conversation has changed, the government's approach to secrecy hasn't kept pace.
When asked about why the government would not share this information,
Parah explained that there is beneficial technology that could emerge
from it, but this technology could also be used by
(13:44):
bad actors to cause significant destruction. That's the double edged
sword of disclosure. If this technology exists and can be understood,
it would revolutionize energy production, transportation, maybe even our understanding
of physics. It could also be where weaponized. The documentary
reveals highly compartmentalized and top secret programs within the US government,
(14:06):
so secretive that the President of the United States isn't
always aware of their full extent that have been conducting
research on recovered UAP material, including biological bodies of humanoid
life forms. The documentary claims there are programs so classified
that even the President doesn't have full access to them.
These programs are allegedly studying recovered materials and biological remains.
(14:29):
The nuclear connection keeps coming up in UAPA reports. The
film examines UAP activity in and around nuclear sites and
military bases, sometimes interfering with nuclear capabilities. Former military personnel
have described incidents where nuclear missiles were temporarily disabled while
UAPs were present. Russia has reported similar incidents at their
(14:50):
nuclear facilities. The experts Parah assembled are in agreement that
this behavior reads as a coordinated effort on the UAP's
part to do a reconnaissance and research on US capabilities,
perhaps out of their own feeling of existential threat, having
assessed humans as unreliable and capable of destroying themselves. If
you were a non human intelligence observing Earth and you
(15:11):
saw these hairless apes building weapons capable of destroying their
entire planet, you might want to keep tabs on those
weapons too. In interviews about the documentary, Fear characterized the
alleged reverse engineering race between nations as similar to the
Manhattan Project. The comparison is apt in several ways. The
Manhattan Project was conducted in extreme secrecy. It brought together
(15:34):
the brightest scientific minds of its generation. It involved technologies
that seemed impossible at the time. It fundamentally changed the
global balance of power. The first country that successfully decodes
this technology could establish technological dominance for generations, similar to
how the US became the definitive superpower after developing atomic weapons.
(15:55):
First nuclear weapons gave America a strategic superiority for years.
Whatever nation cracks the code on UAP propulsion technology first
would have an even greater advantage. We're talking about technology
that apparently moves without visible means of propulsion, that can
perform maneuvers that would destroy any conventional aircraft, that can
operate under water and in space with equal ease. China
(16:19):
and Russia aren't sitting on the sidelines. They're conducting their
own UAP research programs, They're recovering their own materials, they're
having their own encounters. The documentary suggests that this international
competition is one reason why disclosure has been so difficult.
Nobody wants to show their hand. Nobody wants to reveal
how much they know or what capabilities they might be developing.
(16:43):
The film received mixed reviews from critics, with Metacritic assigning
it a score of fifty two out of one hundred
based on four critics, syndicating mixed or average reviews. The
critical response has been divided between those who find the
testimony compelling and those who see the documentary as well
produced speculation. In a November twenty twenty five interview with
the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, scientist Charlie lin Weaver said the
(17:07):
whole film is full of people who are not scientists
talking about a topic that he considers very scientific, but
dismissed it as beloney. Liin Weaver's criticism reflects a common
skeptical position. These are military and intelligence personnel, not scientists
with PhDs and physics. They're describing observations and claiming access
to classified programs, but they're not providing the kind of
(17:29):
data that would convince the scientific community. Writing in The
Hollywood Reporter, Daniel Feinberg called the film a sensationalistic wolf
in understated Sheep's clothing and noted that almost nothing in
the age of disclosure is new per se, but that
the quality of its production values set it apart from
similar films. Feinberg acknowledges that Farah made a professional, polished documentary.
(17:53):
Polish doesn't equal proof. Finberg stated that nothing is proven
and thus nothing can be refuted. That's the fundamental problem
with classified information. The witnesses say they've seen extraordinary things,
but can't share the evidence because it's classified. That creates
an unfalsifiable claim. Believers will say the secrecy proves there
(18:14):
is something to hide. Skeptics will say the lack of
evidence proves there's nothing there. Despite the critical skepticism, the
documentary has generated significant public interest. The initial trailer dropped
in January twenty twenty five, leading up to the films
south By Southwest premiere, and quickly reached more than twenty
million views across YouTube and social media. Twenty million people
(18:36):
watched a trailer about alleged government cover ups of non
human technology. The public appetite for this information clearly exists.
During his Fox News interview with Brett Bher, Farah addressed
the skepticism surrounding the topic. He pointed out that if
someone said there is a constant terrorist threat penetrating the
airspace over nuclear weapons sites, no one would laugh at that.
(18:59):
He suggested at joking about UAPs is similarly inappropriate given
what the witnesses are claiming. The witnesses aren't describing lights
in the sky that could be anything. They're describing structured
craft operating in restricted airspace around the most sensitive military
installations in the world. During the Fox News interview, Farah
(19:19):
suggested that President Donald Trump could be the first president
to speak openly about this unexplained phenomenon. He stated that
he thinks it's only a matter of time before there
is a sitting president who steps to the microphone and
tells all of humanity that we're not alone in the
universe and that the United States intends to lead the way.
Trump has been asked about UAPs before and has given
(19:40):
characteristically vague answers. He has said that he's been briefed,
He's said that he's heard some interesting things. He has
stopped short, though, of making any definitive statements. Pharah believes
Trump might be willing to go further than previous presidents.
Farah pointed out that Mark Rubio, now serving as Secretary
of State, is one of the most informed people in
(20:00):
the United States regarding this topic. Rubio has been involved
in UAP hearings for years. He's pushed for greater transparency.
He is publicly stated that there are objects operating in
restricted airspace and we don't know what they are. Having
someone like Rubio in a senior position in the administration
could make disclosure more likely. The bipartisan nature of congressional
(20:22):
interest in UAPs has been evident in multiple hearings, with
representatives from both parties pressing for greater transparency. It's not
a Republican issue or a Democratic issue. Both parties have
members who believe the government is hiding information about UAPs
and that information should be shared with Congress and the public.
In twenty twenty, the Pentagon acknowledged the existence of a
(20:45):
program similar to a TIP, called the Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon
Task Force or UAPTF. After a TIP officially ended in
twenty twelve, the work didn't stop, it just moved to
a different program with a different name and different oversight.
The unclassified but previously unacknowledged program was made public during
(21:05):
a June twenty twenty hearing of the Senate Select Committee
on Intelligence, and the program has been given classified briefings
to Congressional committees and aerospace executives for over a decade.
The fact that aerospace executives are receiving classified briefings about
UAPs suggests that the government believes the private sector might
have a role to play in understanding this technology. It
(21:25):
also suggests that the government is concerned about whether adversaries
are developing similar technologies. The UAPTF has since evolved into
other organizational structures within the Pentagon. The government continues to
collect data on UAP encounters. Pilots continue to report sightings.
Readar systems continue to track objects that shouldn't be able
(21:46):
to move the way they do. The phenomenon isn't going away,
and the government's response to it continues to adapt. The
December twenty twenty four drone sidings over New Jersey added
another layer to the ongoing discussion. Su UV sized drones
were seen over the skies, terrifying some residents and prompting
the Trump administration to release a report on the phenomenon.
(22:08):
These were not small commercial drones. They were large, They
flew at night, and nobody seemed to know who was
operating them. In late January twenty twenty five, White House
Press Secretary Caroline Levitt revealed their findings, stating that after
research and study, the drones flying over New Jersey in
large numbers were authorized by the FAA for research and
(22:28):
various other reasons. That explanation satisfied some people and left
others with more questions. Authorized by the FAA for what, research,
operated by whom? Why weren't local authorities informed if these
were legitimate operations. The New Jersey incident shows how quickly
the public reacts when they see things in the sky
(22:49):
they can't explain social media exploded with theories. Local news
covered it extensively, Congress demanded answers. The government eventually provided
an explanation, but trusting government explanations of aerial phenomena isn't exactly.
At an all time high, Pharah noted in interviews that
some high level politicians were afraid of how participation in
(23:09):
the film might tint their reputation or impact them politically.
The stigma around this topic is real. Being associated with
UAPs can still damage a career even as the conversation
becomes more mainstream. Some intelligence officials legitimately believed that their
lives would be in danger if they participated in the film,
and after long conversations with their significant others, they decided
(23:33):
it wasn't worth it. That's not paranoia about Internet trolls
or career concerns. That is fear of physical danger. Pharah
said it was eye opening, noting that the more you
go down this path, it becomes clear that this alleged
eighty year cover up has been enforced with threats. If
the cover up is real, it has been maintained through
a combination of classification, compartmentalization, disinformation, and in some cases intimidation.
(23:58):
Whistleblowers who have come forward have described being followed, having
their careers derailed, and facing legal threats. David Grush, who
testified before Congress in twenty twenty three, described facing retaliation
for his disclosures. The government has laws protecting whistleblowers, but
those laws don't always work as intended when dealing with
classified programs. The documentary represents a pyridigm shift in how
(24:23):
UAPs are discussed publicly. Thirty four government officials went on camera,
put their names and reputations on the line and said
they were dealing with something real. Whether the claims made
by those officials will lead to concrete disclosures remains to
be seen. Congressional hearings continue, with both parties pushing for
greater transparency. The National Defense Authorization Act for twenty twenty
(24:46):
four included provisions requiring greater transparency around UAP encounters. The
National Archives is establishing a collection of unidentified UAP records
that can be publicly disclosed. The machinery of government disclosure
is more, albeit slowly. The question is no longer whether
these objects exist in our skies. The Pentagon has confirmed
(25:07):
that the Navy has confirmed that the question has evolved
into who controls them, where they come from, and what
their purpose might be. Those are harder questions to answer,
especially if the government doesn't know the answers itself. If
Dan Farrah is right, if the thirty four people he
interviewed are telling the truth, then we're living through one
(25:27):
of the most significant moments in human history. We're on
the cusp of learning that we are not alone, that
we've never been alone, and that our government has known
this for decades. If the skeptics are right, then we're
watching an elaborate exercise in confirmation bias, where sincere but
mistaken people are interpreting ambiguous data through the lens of
(25:47):
extraordinary claims, where classified programs exist, but they're studying terrestrial threats,
not non human technology. Where the videos show real objects,
but those objects have mundane explainstions that just haven't been
made public yet. The truth, as it so often does,
probably lies somewhere in the complicated middle. There are objects
(26:09):
in our skies that trained military observers can't identify. There
are encounters that our sensors record that don't match known
aircraft performance characteristics. Whether those objects represent non human intelligence,
secret terrestrial technology or something else entirely remains the central question.
If you like to read this story for yourself or
(26:30):
share the article with a friend, you can read it
on the Weird Darkness website. I've placed a link to
it in the episode description, and the article also includes
the video trailer for the documentary, as well as linking
to the actual documentary on Amazon Prime if you're interested,
and you can find more stories of the paranormal, true crime, Strange,
and more, including numerous stories that never make it to
the podcast in my Weird Darknews blog at Weird Darkness
(26:54):
dot com. Slash news to me
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