The truth is out there, and National Geographic is making sure we know it in their new docuseries UFOs: Investigating The Unknown.
UFOs continue to pique people’s interest. This fascination has developed over time and even permeated into our culture. It can be both perplexing and exhilarating to consider the possibility that some of the celestial bodies in our skies are extraterrestrial in origin. Add in some conspiracy theories and you have the makings of a great sci-fi show or movie. But what happens when those conspiracy theories are proven true?
National Geographic opens the “X-Files” in their docuseries UFOs: Investigating The Unknown. The series reveals the truth regarding the US government’s long-standing practice of debunking UFO encounters. The series utilizes archive news footage, official papers, eyewitness testimony, as well as interviews with military people, political figures, and experts to make its point. Despite the denial, the series uncovers the true motivations of individuals behind Project Blue Book and the steadfast attempt to refute reports of UFOs (or UAPs – Unidentified Aerial Phenomena – as the government like to call them), despite their genuine desire to also find answers.
A Run Down Of UFOs: Investigating The Unknown Episodes
UFOs: Investigating The Unknown is broken down into five parts. From the 1940s to the present, the series diligently lays out the history of the UFO coverup:
Episode One
SECRET PENTAGON UFO PROGRAM takes a deep dive into the government UAP program which gives an inside story behind the 2017 story in The Times. This episode examines how the revelations challenge everything we thought we knew about UFOs and goes behind the scenes with stories from the Navy pilots who saw mysterious objects tracking their fighter jets.
Episode Two
GIANT UFO IN TEXAS revisits the mass sighting of the Stephenville, Texas, case with new interviews and perspectives. It examines why the once serious government effort transitioned to a PR campaign to debunk the phenomenon as nonsense, despite evidence to the contrary.
Episode Three
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS AT NUCLEAR BASES explores the challenging UFO taboo left in the wake of the U.S. government formally ending its UFO program and examines a years-long mass sighting known as the “Hudson Valley Wave.”
Episode Four
CITIZENS TAKE CHARGE looks at a range of citizens who took charge to make sense of continued UFO encounters, including dedicated field investigators, sighting repositories, obsessive conspiracy theorists, and former government officials who have risked their reputations to speak out in favor of renewed government involvement.
Episode Five
GOVERNMENT BREAKS SILENCE examines the 2015 Navy pilot reports of strange encounters, the 2022 Congressional hearing following the latest developments around the historic 2021 intelligence report, and considers whether we are entering a new era of transparency and discovery about this mysterious phenomenon.
The Government Wants The Truth
Every episode is more interesting than the one before. But what surprised me the most were the interviews with government representatives. My interest was sparked when I learned that Luis Elizondo, a former U.S. Army Counterintelligence Special Agent and employee of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, left his job because his superiors wanted him to conceal his findings. The idea that there are those in our government who are similarly in the dark and want answers was cemented after seeing Senior Advisor to the President John Podesta, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and even former US Senator Harry Reid argue for more government transparency about UAPs.
Also astonishing is the fact that Jimmy Carter’s request for NASA to establish a division to examine UFOs in the 1970s was circumvented by the Department of Defense. Now, 30 years later, with the announcement that NASA will commission an independent study of UAPs, it makes me wonder how much info they have in the archives that aren’t being disclosed. (Sidenote: As of December 22, 2022, NASA has now updated the definition of UAP to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena).
The Time Is Now To Investigate the Unknown
As fascinating as UFOs: Investigating The Unknown is, there was one drawback. There was no mention of the potential pilots of these UAPs. The flying items are the series’ point of emphasis. Is it implausible to think the government has had near interactions of the third kind if they have had close encounters with UAPs in the past, as the series has revealed? I suppose that topic belongs in a different series.
In light of the recent disclosure of a secret Pentagon UFO program and the attempt by the government to discredit any talk of unidentifiable flying objects in the sky, the time has never been better for investigating these phenomena. The simple acknowledgment that UFOs do exist and that we need to learn more about them opens the door to many more new insights about humanity and our place in the cosmos.
UFOs: Investigating The Unknown is intriguing and compelling investigative reporting.
Whether or not you believe the truth is out there, the series has solidified that we are not alone.
UFOs: Investigating The Unknown premieres on the National Geographic Channel on Monday, Feb. 13.
