In the first half, UFO researcher Peter Levenda joined George Knapp to discuss his new book co-written with Tom DeLonge from To The Stars Academy (TTSA), delving into UFO and alien mysteries. These include the experiences of contactees and abductees, and theories revolving around genetics, consciousness, and a human-machine symbiosis. Levenda suggested we could look at the physical descriptions or morphology of the typical small "grey" aliens to better understand them. They are said to have no nose and a spindly body, he noted, and this seems to indicate that oxygen may not be that important to them. And their lack of ears and very tiny mouth implies they don't communicate through voice (indeed, abductees have said that communications are often telepathic in nature). "You can come away with an impression," he remarked, "that maybe this a machine and not an organic being."

The abductees report that their human biology and reproduction abilities are of significant interest to the greys. This could be because humans are a kind of self-replicating machine for DNA, he theorized, "and perhaps the machines that are investigating us do not self-replicate," and thus are fascinated by a technology they don't completely understand. As to why advanced beings would need to conduct somewhat crude experiments on humans, Levenda pointed out that if the greys are a machine or biological robot, they may be programmed to conduct specific experiments. He also addressed animosity in the UFO community to TTSA-- many view DeLonge as an outsider and interloper, and are suspicious of military affiliations with his organization. Rather than aimed at UFO insiders, the To the Stars project, he explained, is directed at the world-at-large, and serves to legitimize the field for scientists and academics.

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The last two years has seen an explosion in public interest in UFOs, which has spawned a new level of commitment by people who dive into the topic themselves. They are discovering their own info, developing sources, and writing and sharing material on social media, websites, and podcasts. In the latter half, two of these "citizen journalists," UFO Joe (Joe Murgia) and Danny Silva detailed how they are breaking UFO stories that are later picked up by mainstream media outlets, while serving as rapid responders to brush fires set by agents of disinformation. Author Grant Cameron dubbed the two, and others like them as the "young guns of ufology." In contrast to some mainstream reporters, "we're able to get more information from the direct sources," because of our devotion to the topic, Silva explained.

There are often fractious online debates over intricate details of cases, such as the Gimbal UFO video, said UFO Joe. Silva talked about his research into "metamaterials"-- alleged artifacts or debris from UFOs. The materials, he said, are thought to be held by the government, or hidden in looser organizations such as "special access" programs. UFO Joe got to know some of the Naval vets involved in the "Tic Tac" sightings on the USS Nimitz and Princeton. Most people believe that the Tic Tac UFOs are not human-made technology, yet "if it turns out to be ours," Joe said, it's even "a bigger story than extraterrestrials, I think...if we have that technology, right away we change the world. It could change everything about energy."