Flying Saucers for the Friendly Skeptic

Two weeks after Kenneth Arnold’s sighting, something comes down in the New Mexico desert. We sort the 1947 record from the story that grew around it, with the voices of the men who were there and the Air Force investigators who went back decades later.

This episode uses interviews from the Roswell Reports sound recordings, made for the U.S. Air Force’s 1994–1997 Roswell reports and held by the U.S. National Archives. Works of the U.S. federal government are in the public domain (17 U.S.C. § 105). They’re used here for commentary and education, and their use doesn’t imply any endorsement by those agencies.

Roswell Reports sound recordings, Record Group 341. Courtesy U.S. National Archives, NAID 566843. Featuring Lt. Col. Sheridan Cavitt, Mary Cavitt, Glenn Dennis, Albert Trakowski, Bernard Gildenberg, Col. Dan Fulgham, Lt. Col. Bill Kaufman, Dr. Charles Coltman and MSgt. Ole Jorgenson.

Kenneth Arnold's 1947 sighting gives us the flying saucer, with stops at the 1896 airships, WWII foo fighters and the 1952 Washington radar blips along the way.

This episode uses historical recordings created by the U.S. government, including the National Archives, U.S. Air Force, NASA, the Department of Defense and U.S. congressional hearings. Works of the U.S. federal government are in the public domain (17 U.S.C. § 105). They’re used here for commentary and education, and their use doesn’t imply any endorsement by those agencies.

• Courtesy U.S. National Archives, NAID 25738 (Gen. Samford on flying saucers)
• Courtesy U.S. National Archives, NAID 566843 (Roswell Reports sound recordings)
• Courtesy U.S. National Archives, NAID 2788762 (Glenn Dennis interview)
• Courtesy U.S. National Archives, NAID 70511 (USAF UFO interview)
• Voice of America, courtesy U.S. National Archives (UFO sighting over Alaska)
• Audio: U.S. Air Force / All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, via DVIDS (Ruppelt briefing, 1952)
• Audio: NASA, via DVIDS (Gemini 7 and Mercury 9)
• Audio: U.S. House Committee on Oversight, [hearing date]
• U.S. Department of Defense video, via DVIDS (AARO Senate hearing, April 19, 2023