The Micah Hanks Program

This week, sudden news of the firing of former AARO Deputy Director Tim Phillips has sparked controversy following a series of interviews in which he discussed UAPs—particularly black triangle craft exhibiting silent flight, low heat signatures, and advanced maneuverability. Though Phillips emphasized these objects are likely terrestrial in origin, possibly foreign adversary technology, although his sudden departure now raises ques...

Since the story of a remarkable 2004 U.S. military UAP incident involving the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group first came to widespread public attention, speculation has ensued about whether anomalous aerial vehicle popularly known as the "Tic Tac" might be a secretive U.S. technology. Now, new claims have come to light that argue the unusual vehicle could belong to American defense contractor Lockheed Martin, but how credible are t...

In July 2021, researchers conducted a week-long scientific expedition off California’s Catalina Island to study unidentified aerial phenomena using visible, infrared, and radiation sensors. While most anomalies were resolved through analysis, one unexplained event—captured around 4 a.m. on July 16—remains outstanding, marked by a dark object and possible coincident ionizing radiation.

This week on The Micah Hanks Program, we are jo...

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away... there was once an effort to construct "the largest encyclopedia in history, both in terms of breadth and in terms of depth,” which its co-founder said should also fundamentally “be a reliable resource.” That site, of course, is Wikipedia, and today, that same co-founder, Larry Sanger, has his doubts about the success of its mission, saying in 2021 that whether or not it can be relied on anym...

Since the Second World War, sightings of anomalous phenomena near U.S. strategic sites have been logged, pointing to what some interpret as a serious national security for not only America, but for militaries around the world. What are these objects, and what are the intentions of their operators? 

Following a recent "bombshell" report by the Wall Street Journal revealing the Pentagon's secretive disinformation efforts involving UFOs since the Cold War, controversy has erupted over the extent of the long-running deception, whether the new "revelations" are actually just more disinfo, and what this means in terms of investigation of "real" UAP incidents. 

Throughout the Cold War, the Pentagon secretly produced fake images, documents, and other materials related to alleged UFO programs, which were leaked through covert placement in public areas, dissemination through the UFO community, and even shown during fake briefings provided to members of the U.S. military. Today, the full extent of the secretive disinformation campaign remains unknown, and questions linger over why it was carr...

Between 2008 and 2010, a secretive program within the Defense Intelligence Agency investigated several high-profile UAP incidents, exploring their national defense implications and the possibility of whether new technologies could be derived from their study. Known as the Advanced Aerospace Weapons Systems Application Program (AAWSAP), the program was the catalyst behind a resurgence in interest in mysterious aerial phenomena that ...

A mysterious metallic sphere allegedly discovered near Buga, Columbia, has recently made headlines, after viral videos appeared online which claim to show the object in flight prior crashing into the ground. While some mainstream outlets have picked up the story, what are the actual details about this purported "mystery sphere"? 

Recently on Capitol Hill, lawmakers were provided a classified briefing on UAP by the FBI, and now several U.S. Representatives are saying the Bureau needs to be more involved in the Pentagon's investigations into anomalous phenomena. We take a look at what members of Congress have had to say about the FBI's briefing, and where things may go from here. 

In recent days, a bombshell NewsNation’s special, "Hunting UFOs: The Desert Sky Mystery," hosted by Ross Coulthart, told the story of Border Patrol agent Bob Thompson and his claims of anomalous aerial sightings along the U.S.-Mexico border. However, while the program presented the story as being "the first time" Thompson had come forward, that's not quite the c...

In 2023, a massive Chinese spy balloon drifted through U.S. airspace before being shot down off the South Carolina coast. Since that time, much has been learned about the notorious incident, which prompted some to consider whether a majority of the unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) observed by military personnel could be similar, relatively simple technologies used for surveillance of our warfighters. But is that really the ca...

Recent advances in genetics and paleoanthropology are revealing a complex world where multiple hominin species coexisted, interbred, and left behind their DNA in modern populations. Fossils like the Denisovan jawbone Penghu-1 found in Taiwan and enigmatic remains from Red Deer Cave suggest that some archaic humans may have survived into the Holocene, much later than previously thought. Meanwhile, studies of modern genomes have unco...

This week, the potential discovery of signs of biosignatures in the atmosphere of a distant planet has aliens on the minds of many scholars. Meanwhile, a recently published study, “Exploring expert figures in alien-related UFO conspiracy theories” investigates how “expert figures”—including scientists, self-proclaimed researchers, and UFO witnesses—are used to legitimize alien-related conspiracy theories online. But what do these f...

In 2004, an incident involving an unidentified aerospace vehicle encountered by personnel serving aboard the USS Nimitz carrier strike group off the Baja California coast gave rise to one of the most widely-discussed UAP incidents in modern history. Now, new information has come to light about a similar 2023 incident, reported by personnel aboard the USS Jackson who say they observed—and filmed—four similar objects, one of which wa...

In what is likely to be one of the major science stories of the year, Texas-based Colossal Biosciences has brought the dire wolf—or at least something very close to this ice age canine—back from extinction, with the help of genetic engineering. The remarkable achievement has been met with awe, praise, and also controversy, as experts debate the exact nature of the "dire wolves" the company has created, as well as the implications o...

For many decades, agencies within the United States government have collected information on a range of different unexplained phenomena. From military encounters involving UFOs, to possible evidence of ancient mysteries collected during reconnaissance missions by spy planes, several examples of the U.S. government's "anomaly files" have been made public through inquiries under the Freedom of Information Act. 

On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, became the victim of an assassin's bullet during a motorcade visit through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. Although the Warren Commission later concluded Kennedy's assassination had been the work of one man, Lee Harvey Oswald, questions have remained about what other information might remain in holdings of the intelligence community. 

It is one of the greatest questions humankind has ever faced: are we alone in the cosmos? If alien life on other worlds exists, are there intelligent forms that may be capable of communication? Or is it even possible that some form of non-human intelligence might already be present closer to Earth than we realize?