Need a Break from the News? Check out this show on UFOs

Last week, I finished watching all the episodes of National Geographic's series, “UFOs: Investigating the Unknown."

I hadn't heard about it until two friends of mine posted on their social media sites that they appeared in the second season, so I had to check out their episode.

I recommend the series overall.

As someone who follows the UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) disclosure discourse, I find the subject interesting and important. However, since the New York Times article by Leslie Kean about the secret Pentagon office researching UFOs headed by Lue Elizondo, many TV series on the topic have felt repetitive. That said, this series does include some repetitions, particularly the discussion around the Tic Tac video and Ryan Graves.

For those who might not be familiar, the Tic Tac video is one of the famous declassified videos of a UAP. Ryan Graves is a former Naval pilot who has played a pivotal role in UAP disclosure and in pressuring Congress to take action on this important issue.

Despite some repetitiveness, the series is filled with fascinating new information and arguments that expand the discussion into new and exciting areas.

One of the aspects I found particularly engaging was the involvement of scientists throughout the series. Viewers gain insights from a variety of scientists in different fields, including my friends, astrobiologist Jacob Haqq-Misra, astronomer Beatriz Villarroel, and pathologist Garry Nolan, and astrophysicist Avi Loeb.

The discourse from these scientists is often more compelling than anything I've heard from government employees, proclaimed insiders, or even members of Congress. While I get the impression that the study of UAPs is still somewhat taboo in the scientific community, it seems to be less so than in the past.

When people first engage with this topic, they often think of little gray aliens probing individuals, which can lead to somewhat juvenile conversations.

However, when something unexplained occurs in our physical world, it logically makes sense that the scientific community should be the ones we turn to for answers.

Instead, we often place our hopes on Congress and the Pentagon to unveil the truth about these UAP sightings. It's quite ironic when you think about it—since when have Congress and the Pentagon been eager to disclose any truth? I'm not making a partisan statement; both liberal and conservative administrations have a history of lacking transparency.

The series touches on this point, particularly through Garry Nolan, who suggests that the scientific community shouldn't wait for government permission to investigate this phenomenon. I agree with him.

Whether it's UAPs or any other unexplained event in our universe, scientists should strive to discover the truth and report their findings, regardless of what they may uncover.

Another aspect of the show that I want to discuss is the experiencers. I understand that “experiencer" is a term that might make some people roll their eyes; it does have an eye-roll quality to it.

But consider this: It is estimated that 10% of Americans have had a UFO experience, and 5% claim to have had an abduction experience. To clarify, you can see a UFO without getting abducted (which is what I'd personally prefer—spoiler alert: I haven't had either experience).

Of the 5% claiming abduction experiences, some may be fabrications, while others might involve genuine but explainable phenomena. However, 5% of the American population translates to approximately 17 million people. Statistically, it's hard to believe that 17 million Americans are either lying or unable to distinguish between an alien abduction and a bad acid trip or other experiences.

So, what should we call these individuals? They have experienced something they can't explain, something that has fundamentally changed their lives and worldview, yet no one can provide them with reasonable answers. The term “experiencers" seems appropriate when viewed in context.

The experiencers interviewed in this show were incredibly interesting and compelling. Their experiences were fascinating, but what I found most intriguing were the discussions about what it's like to be an experiencer.

It must be incredibly challenging to undergo such an event and feel like there is no one and no authority to turn to for support. To have your being violated (and I'm not just referencing probing, though that is certainly violating; consider being teleported to another location against your will by unknown beings—that's a violation) and to realize that if you tell anyone, you will likely be ridiculed, treated as if you are the problem, and told to stop talking about it.

Do you know what that sounds like?

It resembles the experiences of many women who have been sexually assaulted in the military. Let me clarify: I’m not equating sexual assault in the Department of Defense (DOD) with UFO abductions, but I can understand how the feelings of an experiencer might relate to those of a survivor of military sexual assault.

Here’s a thought: we have established that not all 17 million experiencers are lying or confused. So, let’s use that as a baseline. If we assume that the legitimate experiencers had something take them from where they wanted to be without their consent, held them captive without permission, conducted experiments, or collected samples of their bodily fluids without consent, and then returned them without any explanation—shouldn’t we, as the American public and government, be eager to understand what that’s about?

I’m not a scientist, but as a student of law and policy, I can see that we’re talking about issues like kidnapping, assault, and in some cases, sexual assault, along with various human rights violations, including false imprisonment and torture.

It will take the collaboration of professionals, including scientists and experiencers, to help us uncover the truth behind the UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) phenomenon.

This topic has made me reflect on my potential role in this discovery process.

Who says only scientists and experiencers have contributions to make to this discussion? Whatever is happening in our skies and to our people is concerning, dangerous, and likely threatens the very principles upon which our institutions are built. I can’t think of a more pressing need for policy and law experts like myself to engage in this discourse.

I challenge each of you to first consider whether you believe it’s essential to find answers to these phenomena. If your answer is no, I’d be curious to know why.

Then, I challenge you to examine your own skills and passions to see how you could contribute to this topic. You don’t have to believe in aliens to care about this issue. I’m still a skeptic, even though I find the subject fascinating. My husband is convinced that UAP sightings might involve humans from the future; I’m not so sure, but I do acknowledge that I don’t know what they are. I want to find out—whether it's little green men, our own people testing technologies, humans from the future, or something else entirely. It’s strange, and we should aim to figure it out.

At the very least, check out the show. It’s intriguing, and I'm sure many of you could use a break from the regular news.