PBS Voices asks 'Why Is the Government Taking UFOs Seriously Now?' for World UFO Day

Happy World UFO Day! For this year's observance, I'm sharing the companion video to the one I featured in Monstrum examines aliens for World UFO Day, "Subcultured" on PBS Voices asking Why Is the Government Taking UFOs Seriously Now? (feat. Dr. Emily Zarka).

Interest in aliens, UFOs, and UAPs is on the rise after, especially after a 2017 report revealed the details of a secret Pentagon program. But WHY are we so fascinated with life outside Earth?
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In this episode of Subcultured, Josef Lorenzo meets with members of the UFO community to find out why humans are so fascinated with aliens in the first place. We talk to UFOJane, a UFOlogist who studies sightings in Texas; Dennis Sant, who has had a UFO experience himself; and discuss advocacy with Luis Jimenez, who is pushing for more information on UAPs from the government. Dr. Z from the PBS @Storied series Monstrum also stops by to talk about what drives humans to ponder extraterrestrial life. Why have UFOs gained mainstream traction?

I didn't see this video in time to include it in last year's post. As I wrote at my Dreamwidth journal, " If I had, it would have been the lead video and the post would have a different title. Darn!" I'm getting my chance this year.

Based on Lorenzo's reporting, the answer to the question appears to be a combination of increasing public interest or at least belief in alien visitation, and a sense of real threat, which harkens back to what I wrote two years ago.

If many UAPs are secret weapons programs, especially foreign ones, that's a cause for concern.

John Michael Greer thinks that UAPs being secret weapons programs is the most likely possibility, stating so most recently in last month's Toward the Breaking Point. In fact, he thinks it's a cover story for U.S. weapons development. While I'm not sure about the cover story part, I do think secret weapons programs are a likely explanation for many sightings. For example, the one UAP sighting I had almost certainly was one of an Osprey flying at night while it was still being tested and developed — nothing extraterrestrial or paranormal about it, although it certainly might confuse people unfamiliar with the aircraft. Here's an image of an Osprey at night to show my readers what I mean.

The image I embedded two years ago has disappeared, so here is a new one.

What would you think if you didn't already know what this was?

Just to drive home the point, the caption for this image states "This is not a flying saucer but a CV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft at night - The Aviationist."

As for the possibility that UAPs can bridge left and right, I wish. The partisan divide in responses to the pandemic makes me skeptical about that happening.

UAPs are an ongoing subject of Congressional hearings and public interest, so I'm sure to return to the topic. In the meantime, I'm planning on posting a postponed entertainment feature tomorrow, so stay tuned. Television Critics Association Awards nominations, anyone?