Garrett Graff on the history of UFOs and our government’s attempts to make sense of them

By Lily Tyson

Published November 27, 2023 at 12:40 PM EST

Photograph of the supposed Westall UFO encounter where more than 200 students and teachers at two Victorian state schools allegedly witnessed an unexplained flying object which descended into a nearby open wild grass field. Dated 1966.

The United States has a long history of UFO sightings and reports, dating all the way back to the 1940s. This hour we talk about that history, and, specifically, how the U.S. government has related to these objects over time with Garrett Graff, author of the new book UFO: The Inside Story of the US Government’s Search for Alien Life Here — and Out There.

GUEST:

Garrett Graff: Journalist and historian. His latest book is UFO: The Inside Story of the US Government’s Search for Alien Life Here — and Out There. His previous book, Watergate: A New History was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

You can stream all of our Astronaughty Week episodes, where we explore the possibility of extraterrestrial life, in the player below.

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