AARO

Referenced in 13 episodes

Definition

An office within the U.S. government established to assist in the identification and analysis of unidentified phenomena across all domains, with a particular focus on UFOs; it aims to increase transparency about government knowledge of these incidents.

Related episodes

The Pentagon's UFO Debunker Is Lying. We Can Prove It.

WeaponizedOct 31, 2026

George Knapp and Jeremy Corbell accuse former AARO director Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick of lying in his latest attempt to debunk claims that Lockheed Martin once stored and analyzed recovered alien craft and nearly transferred leftover material to Robert Bigelow's ASAP program. They argue that multiple insiders, including Jay Stratton in his new book, corroborate the deal and that Kirkpatrick should be called before Congress under oath to back up his own allegations. The hosts also discuss newly released AATIP files on the Tic Tac incident and Skinwalker Ranch, including a 'monster map' of creature sightings, and defend David Grusch's claim that he viewed crash-retrieval footage in an official capacity.

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UFO Cover-Up Claims & Pentagon Fallout, with Ben Schreckinger

That UFO PodcastOct 16, 2026

Journalist Ben Schreckinger, who first made his name covering Donald Trump's rise for Politico, explains how he put Jay Stratton's claim that former AARO director Sean Kirkpatrick was compromised by a secret UFO legacy program directly to Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick called it nonsense and hit back, accusing Stratton and his 'band of pseudoscientists' of violating national security law. The conversation also covers Trump's stance on disclosure, the Jim Ryder lead in Stratton's book, John Herrington's shifting account of the Brent Friedman story, and the surprising overlap between UFOs and psychic research.

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New Military Whistleblowers, Four Soldiers Break Their Silence on Reddit, and Has David Grusch Gone Wild?

Somewhere in the SkiesOct 14, 2026

Host Ryan Sprague and co-host Suzanne Landers look at three new military UAP whistleblowers featured in Steven Greer's latest documentary, then read four dramatic military UFO encounters posted on Reddit. The stories range from a black seamless object in the Vietnam jungle to artillery shells fired at a cigar-shaped craft in Iraq and a dead alien recovered at McGuire Air Force Base in 1978. The episode closes with David Grusch's startling Joe Rogan claims about seven-foot reptilian beings, warfare between non-human species, and a foiled assassination plot against him.

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Buried for 74 Years: Edward Ruppelt’s 1952 Flying Saucer Talk | Full Audio

Somewhere in the SkiesSep 19, 2026

A newly declassified 1952 audio recording captures Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, the first director of the US Air Force's Project Blue Book, briefing MIT Lincoln Lab scientists on the flying saucer problem. Ruppelt describes about 800 case files and says roughly 20 percent of them, many from airline pilots, scientists and military personnel, could not be explained. He walks through famous cases like the Lubbock Lights, the New Mexico green fireballs and unexplained radar tracks, raising questions that sound remarkably like today's UAP debate.

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PURSUE Tranche 6 UFO Files RELEASED | Breakdown & Reactions

Somewhere in the SkiesSep 19, 2026

Ryan Sprague reacts live to the sixth batch (tranche) of UFO files released through the Pentagon's PURSUE initiative, which includes military infrared videos, police cellphone footage, and Defense Intelligence Agency technical documents. The highlight is a newly declassified 1952 audio presentation by Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, head of Project Blue Book, in which he admits that about 20% of roughly 800 cases remained unexplained. Sprague dismisses most of the videos as poor quality but finds Ruppelt's candid discussion of the Lubbock Lights, the green fireballs, and silent disc-shaped objects historically valuable.

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The New UFO Whistleblower Waiver - 20 Questions The Government Wouldn’t Answer

WeaponizedSep 18, 2026

George Knapp and Jeremy Corbell dig into the Department of War's new PURSUE waiver, which supposedly creates a protected lane for UFO whistleblowers bound by NDAs. They sent 20 formal questions about who runs PURSUE and what protections it offers, and the only reply was a referral to the White House. The hosts argue the real threats facing whistleblowers are intimidation and break-ins, not NDA prosecution, and they suggest the deeper mystery lies with experiencers rather than hardware.

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FBI UFO Unit Revealed, Recovered Alien Beings, Sandra Bullock’s UFO & AARO’s Secret Deal

Somewhere in the SkiesSep 9, 2026

Ryan Sprague and Suzanne Landers break down a week of UFO news, from Sandra Bullock's account of five lights merging over St. Martin to journalist Tom O'Neill's claim that a congressional staffer described recovered craft and beings seen in classified briefings. They cover Rep. Anna Paulina Luna revealing the name and challenge coin of an FBI UAP investigation unit, plus a possible Pentagon AARO contract with David Marler's National UFO Historical Records Center. The episode closes with Robert Bigelow and Brandon Fugal discussing a consciousness-focused shift in Skinwalker Ranch research, including healing experiments and a suspicious oil drilling operation near the Mesa.

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He Saw Four TIC TAC UFOs - Then AARO Came Calling

WeaponizedSep 8, 2026

Navy Senior Chief Alexandro Wiggins describes watching four Tic Tac-shaped objects rise out of the ocean off San Diego in February 2023, move in perfect unison, and then shoot toward the coast at impossible speed. After testifying about the sighting before Congress with the Navy's full support, he says the Pentagon's UFO office AARO pressured his chain of command to force him into a classified briefing, even threatening to involve the Secretary of War. George Knapp and Jeremy Corbell call this witness intimidation and argue that the recent government UFO file releases are mostly recycled material.

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Henry Zebrowski: UFOs, Aliens, and the Last Podcast on the Left (SITS CLASSIC)

Somewhere in the SkiesAug 28, 2026

Comedian Henry Zebrowski of Last Podcast on the Left joins Ryan Sprague for a freewheeling talk about UFOs, the February 2023 shootdowns of unidentified objects over North America, and why the government suddenly started saying 'UFO' again. Zebrowski discusses the Trinity crash, Annie Jacobsen's claim that Roswell involved surgically altered children sent by Stalin, and his belief that the phenomenon is a '25-layer cake' with many explanations at once. He names Rendlesham Forest and the Ariel School sighting as his strongest cases and explains how Jacques Vallée shaped his view of a psychic, trickster-like phenomenon.

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James Fox: UFO Retrieval Programs, Non-Human Intelligence & The Program (SITS CLASSIC)

Somewhere in the SkiesAug 12, 2026

Filmmaker James Fox joins Ryan Sprague to discuss his independently released documentary 'The Program,' which explores alleged UFO crash retrieval programs and hidden databases of high-resolution UAP imagery. Fox reveals new developments on the 1990 Calvine, Scotland UFO photograph, including an interview with a kitchen coworker of the alleged photographers, and recounts a meeting inside a secure facility with the head of AARO. He also highlights a handwritten J. Edgar Hoover memo he believes could reference Roswell and argues that whistleblower immunity is the key to real disclosure.

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U.S. Government is Luring UFOs, Catholics Prepare for Disclosure, Bigfoot Corpse Found

Somewhere in the SkiesJul 22, 2026

Hosts Ryan Sprague and Suzanne Landers return after a month-long break to cover a December 2025 incident in which U.S. intelligence officials reportedly succeeded in luring glowing orange orbs over a sensitive military site in the American Southwest. They also discuss Charles 'Snake' Stewart's claim that he found a Bigfoot corpse in the Adirondacks whose DNA shows it to be a Neanderthal-human hybrid, and a new Catholic documentary about how the Church may respond to UFO disclosure. The episode also honors Laurie Wickens, the late primary witness to the 1967 Shag Harbour UFO crash, and celebrates the rescue of the Roswell Daily Record newspaper.

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UFO Black Sites Named, New Evidence Coming Soon & More

That UFO PodcastJul 25, 2025

This episode covers the latest happenings in the UFO community, featuring key insights from notable commentators. Highlights include interviews and new evidence regarding UFO sightings and government interactions. The discussion revolves around the increasing transparency and interest in unexplained aerial phenomena.

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Breakdown: New data, deception & missed opportunities

That UFO PodcastJul 14, 2025

This episode explores recent news stories surrounding UFO and UAP phenomena, examining public perception and government actions regarding disclosure. The discussion includes the role of whistleblowers and leadership within relevant organizations. Key insights are shared on legislative actions and data collection related to unidentified aerial phenomena.

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