Garrett Graff, a writer and historian who specializes in 'near history', discusses his book, 'UFO', about the US government's search for alien life. He touches upon how we often misunderstand UFO sightings, suggesting they could be due to a mix of physical anomalies and governmental or adversary secret flight technologies. Graff also shares his belief in the possibility of alien civilizations, arguing probabilities suggest the existence of life outside Earth. He then relates UFO conspiracies to a societal mistrust in government and institutions, tying it back to events like the Watergate scandal. Graff finally introduces his forthcoming oral history book on D-Day, emphasizing how his work emphasizes explaining and organizing complex events in an understandable and comprehensive way.
"When people ask 'do UFOs?'...That's not actually the question that they mean. The question that they really mean is, 'are we alone?' Because the truth of the matter is of course UFOs exist. All a UFO is an unidentified flying object, and there are things out there that we don't know what they are. Whether those are extraterrestrial is a very different question and potentially unrelated to the question of, are there extraterrestrials."
Transcript and video available here: https://www.thendobetter.com/arts/2024/2/14/garrett-graff-aliens-mysteries-of-ufos-watergate-911-government-trust-podcast
Contents:
00:31 Exploring the Mysteries of UFOs
03:05 The Probability of Alien Life
06:21 The Government's Role in UFO Research
19:03 The Impact of Conspiracy Theories
29:40 The Connection Between UFOs and Politics
33:28 The Importance of Trust in Government
47:21 The Writing Process and Future Projects
Rasheed Griffith: Progress, Caribbean, Policy, Food, Music, Talent Assessment, Culture
Henry Oliver: Late Bloomers, Second Act, Hidden Talent, Biography, John Stuart Mill
Alyssa Gilbert: Climate Tech Innovation, Policy, Technology
Hannah Ritchie: Not the End of the World, sustainability, climate, progress
Hana Loftus: Architecture, Regeneration, Planning, Resilience, Design, Jaywick Sands
Lucy Easthope: Disaster Recovery, Risk, Hope, Planning, Memoir, When The Dust Settles
Nina Gené: Venture Philanthropy, Jasmine Social Investments, Impact Investing
Pen Vogler: Food History, Culture, Class, Strawberries, Sugar, Industrialisation, Eating Habits
Joanne Limburg: Autism, Feminism, Motherhood, Grief, Writing, Jewishness, Letters to my Weird Sisters
Fuchsia Dunlop: Chinese Cuisine, Culture, History, Philosophy, Knife skills, Texture and Mouthfeel
Fergus Butler-Gallie: priesthood, frocks, scouse, faith, Liverpool, and Mummified Hearts
David Edmonds: Derek Parfit, future selves, paradox, effective altruism, philosophy, biography
David Ruebain: disability, protest movements, law, equality, inclusion, interdependence
Jennifer Doleac: reducing crime, policing, justice, policy
Patrick House: Neuroscience and Understanding Consciousness
Chris Stark: 2023, Climate Policy, NetZero, Adaptation, Heating, Buildings, Incentives
Jade O'Brien: stock broker to teacher, reflections on finance and education, women in finance
Kanjun Qiu: AI, metascience, institutional knowledge, trauma models, structure of knowledge, creativity and dance
Florence Evans: Mud Larking, Art Collecting, Dealing and Curating
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