#2419 - John Lisle
Historian John Lisle discusses the history of CIA mind control research, focusing on MKUltra, its OSS roots, and figures like Sidney Gottlieb, George White, and psychiatrist Ewen Cameron. He explains how the program was structured, the drugs and psychological techniques that were tested, the disastrous impacts on unwitting subjects, and the near-total lack of oversight. The conversation expands into government secrecy, real versus fabricated conspiracies, cognitive dissonance, cult dynamics, social media disinformation, and how human psychology shapes both science and belief in conspiracies.
#2416 - Dan Farah
Joe Rogan talks with filmmaker Ben about his documentary "The Age of Disclosure," which focuses on UAPs/UFOs and testimony from government, military, and intelligence officials. They discuss alleged crash retrieval and reverse-engineering programs, non-human craft and beings, nuclear and oceanic UAP activity, and a secret high-stakes technology race with China and Russia. The conversation also explores government secrecy, the need for amnesty and whistleblower protections, remote viewing programs, and the personal risks taken by those trying to bring this information to the public.
#2414 - Brian Simpson
Joe Rogan and comedian Bryan Simpson discuss recent UFC fights, Dagestani training culture, and why elite wrestlers and fighters develop such unusual levels of discipline and resilience. They dive into the realities of weight cutting, diet and self-discipline, the comedy industry's gatekeeping and diversity debates, and strange internet subcultures like furries and bronies. The conversation also covers government overreach in events such as Waco, Ruby Ridge, and the Tulsa massacre, as well as debates over Epstein files transparency, wealth taxes, political corruption, and how charities and institutions often mismanage funds.
#2411 - Gavin de Becker
Joe Rogan talks with criminologist Gavin about historical and modern government operations, pharmaceutical industry behavior, and public health policy. They discuss CIA covert programs like Project Gladio, patterns of propaganda and information control, and parallels between the AIDS crisis and the COVID-19 response. Gavin argues that citizens must adopt deep skepticism toward government, media, and pharmaceutical narratives, using examples from vaccine policy, Agent Orange, baby powder litigation, population control documents, and the war in Ukraine.
#2401 - Avi Loeb
Avi Loeb discusses the anomalous interstellar object 3I Atlas, arguing that its unusual trajectory, mass, and composition warrant serious consideration of technological or otherwise non-standard explanations rather than automatic classification as a normal comet. He contrasts the scientific community's resistance and institutional inertia with the high potential stakes of discovering alien technology, and describes his own efforts such as the Galileo Project and an expedition to recover fragments of an interstellar meteor. The conversation also explores AI-driven societal risks, philosophical humility about humanity's place in the cosmos, and concrete proposals for systematically searching for extraterrestrial intelligence and technosignatures.
Cosmic Queries - ALIENS! with Jake Roper
Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-host Chuck interview YouTube science communicator Jake Roper in a Cosmic Queries episode focused on aliens in movies and TV. They discuss the plausibility of alien diseases, energy weapons, and iconic movie aliens, as well as how humanity might react to first contact, whether governments would hide evidence of intelligent life, and why self-replicating machines are a likely form of extraterrestrial visitors. Throughout, they compare cinematic depictions with basic physics, biology, and astrobiology concepts to assess what could and could not work in reality.
Selects: How Area 51 Works
Josh Clark and Charles W. "Chuck" Bryant trace the history of Area 51 from its origins as part of a World War II bombing range and Nevada nuclear test site to its role in developing secret U.S. spy and stealth aircraft. They explain how black projects, the U-2 and SR-71 programs, and extreme security practices shaped the base, and how Bob Lazar's 1989 claims helped fuse Area 51 with UFO and alien lore. The hosts also discuss Roswell myths, more outlandish conspiracy theories, modern operations at the base, and a 1990s worker-health lawsuit that forced the U.S. government to finally acknowledge the facility's existence.