CONSPIRACY: Apollo 20

Summary

So Supernatural: CONSPIRACY: Apollo 20 – Detailed Summary

Episode Release Date: January 31, 2025
Host/Author: audiochuck | Crime House
Podcast Description: Delving into true crime's most bizarre occurrences, uncovering explanations that range from the plausible to the supernatural.

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1. Introduction to the Apollo 20 Conspiracy

The episode opens with host Ashley Flowers reminiscing about early conspiracy theories, particularly the skepticism surrounding the moon landings. She introduces a lesser-known theory suggesting that NASA continued its lunar missions beyond the publicly acknowledged Apollo 17, culminating in a secret Apollo 20 mission that allegedly uncovered evidence of an advanced alien civilization on the moon.

Ashley Flowers [00:07]:
“I think we've maybe been to the moon more times than NASA's actually let on.”

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2. Overview of the Apollo Program

Yvette Gentile and co-host Racha Pecorero provide a comprehensive overview of the Apollo program, detailing its inception in 1961 under President Kennedy's administration. The program officially concluded with Apollo 17 in 1972, primarily due to budget constraints and waning public interest. However, the hosts highlight that unofficial operations may have continued beyond this point.

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3. Emergence and Content of the Apollo 20 Video

In 2007, a YouTube user named Retired AFB published a video that reignited conspiracy theories about the Apollo program. This video purportedly revealed a top-secret Apollo 20 mission involving both American and Soviet astronauts who discovered alien technology on the moon's far side. The footage included visuals of an alien spacecraft and the body of a female alien, collectively referred to as the "alien Mona Lisa."

Yvette Gentile [14:16]:
“In 2007, a YouTube user named Retired AFB posted a video to his Channel One that flipped the story of the famous Apollo program completely on its head.”

The video showcases:

• A dual American-Soviet mission patch labeled Apollo 20 with crew names: William Rutledge, Leona Snyder, and Alexei Leonov.
• Footage of the Apollo 20 spacecraft approaching the moon's surface.
• An alien spacecraft with distinct structures.
• The discovery of a female alien with humanoid features but unique physiological traits.

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4. Debunking the Apollo 20 Video as a Hoax

Skeptics quickly debunked the Apollo 20 video. French artist Thierry Speth admitted to creating the footage as part of a fictional sci-fi project. He revealed that he utilized existing NASA moon photographs, overlayed alien structures, and fashioned the alien Mona Lisa from wax, akin to a Madame Tussaud's sculpture.

Racha Pecorero [24:36]:
“Thierry Speth did an interview in 2017 that was posted on YouTube. It looks like he's in his home studio and he's explaining how he made everything.”

Additionally, discrepancies such as the reuse of Apollo 17 spacecraft and inconsistencies in the mission patch further fueled suspicions that the video was a fabricated hoax rather than genuine evidence of a secret Apollo 20 mission.

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5. Counter Theories and Government Disinformation

Despite the debunking, alternative theories persisted. Journalist Luca Scantamborlo proposed that while the Apollo 20 video was fabricated, the mission itself was real and deliberately concealed by the U.S. government through a sophisticated disinformation campaign. He suggested that the government aimed to discredit UFO believers to mask the truth about extraterrestrial discoveries.

Racha Pecorero [27:10]:
“It's an excellent question, and Luca was armed and ready with an answer.”

The episode delves into the mysterious case of Carl Wolf, an Air Force sergeant who, after witnessing photographs of an alleged alien base on the moon during the Lunar Orbiter program, attempted to expose the findings. His untimely death in 2018 under suspicious circumstances—being struck by a tractor trailer with no subsequent charges—led to rampant speculation within the UFO community that the government sought to silence him.

Yvette Gentile [37:02]:
“In this case, the mystery surrounding Carl's death caused a stir in the UFO community.”

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6. Civilian Involvement and Alternate Claims

The narrative broadens with accounts from civilians like Vito Sacchetti, who in 1976 demanded access to NASA's moon photographs after reading claims of extraterrestrial presence. Although he only identified what he described as machinery and tank tracks, the lack of definitive evidence left room for speculation about possible disinformation efforts by NASA to quell civilian inquiries.

Furthermore, former NASA contractor Donna Hare alleged that the agency intentionally edited out evidence of alien technology in lunar photographs, labeling it an "open secret" among NASA staff. Esteemed Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell also weighed in, asserting his belief in alien life on the moon's far side based on grainy photographs suggesting extraterrestrial installations.

Yvette Gentile [39:48]:
“Donna Said it was an open secret at NASA, something that people talked about when they were off the clock...”

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7. Recent Congressional Hearings and UAP Developments

Advancing to more recent developments, the episode discusses the 2023 and 2024 U.S. Congressional hearings on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP). These hearings, striving to destigmatize UFO discussions, included testimonies from former Pentagon officials who claimed the government possesses extraterrestrial spacecraft and has engaged in disinformation campaigns to obscure these truths from the public.

Yvette Gentile [41:36]:
“A former member of the Pentagon's UFO task force actually said that the government is in possession of extraterrestrial spacecraft and that he knows exactly where these spacecraft are hidden.”

This governmental acknowledgment lends a new layer of credibility to long-standing conspiracy theories, suggesting that secret Apollo missions like Apollo 20 might have been genuine endeavors to interact with or conceal extraterrestrial discoveries.

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8. Conclusion: The Quest for Transparency

The episode concludes with hosts Yvette and Racha reflecting on the tangled web of conspiracy theories, hoaxes, and potential government cover-ups surrounding the Apollo 20 mission. They express a yearning for greater transparency from the government regarding UFOs and extraterrestrial life, advocating for an end to disinformation campaigns that hinder public understanding and discussion.

Racha Pecorero [44:36]:
“Leona Snyder, too. But who knows, with the way things are going, maybe we'll even get to hear from them firsthand if they really do exist.”

The discussion underscores a broader societal desire for truth and openness, especially concerning phenomena that challenge existing paradigms about human exploration and extraterrestrial life.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Ashley Flowers [00:07]:
  “I think we've maybe been to the moon more times than NASA's actually let on.”

• Yvette Gentile [14:16]:
  “In 2007, a YouTube user named Retired AFB posted a video to his Channel One that flipped the story of the famous Apollo program completely on its head.”

• Racha Pecorero [24:36]:
  “Thierry Speth did an interview in 2017 that was posted on YouTube. It looks like he's in his home studio and he's explaining how he made everything.”

• Yvette Gentile [37:02]:
  “In this case, the mystery surrounding Carl's death caused a stir in the UFO community.”

• Yvette Gentile [41:36]:
  “A former member of the Pentagon's UFO task force actually said that the government is in possession of extraterrestrial spacecraft and that he knows exactly where these spacecraft are hidden.”

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Final Thoughts

The "CONSPIRACY: Apollo 20" episode of So Supernatural weaves a compelling narrative that bridges historical Apollo missions, modern-day conspiracy theories, and recent governmental acknowledgments of UAPs. By meticulously dissecting the Apollo 20 video controversy and exploring both debunking efforts and ongoing speculations, the episode invites listeners to question the boundaries of official narratives and consider the possibilities that lie beyond the known.

Transcript

[Ashley Flowers]

Do you remember the very first conspiracy.

[Yvette Gentile]

Theory you ever heard?

[Ashley Flowers]

Because I do. It was about the moon landing. That the whole thing was made up, faked, in a Hollywood studio in an effort to win the space race. To be honest, though, it's not one I've ever really bought into, because I sort of think the opposite is true. I think we've maybe been to the moon more times than NASA's actually let on. The US government claims that they stopped sending people to the moon in 1972 after Apollo 17 because of money and what ultimately seemed like a lack of interest. But unofficially, that might not be the case. After hours of rabbit holes, I stumbled upon a new sort of moon conspiracy. One that says NASA didn't end with Apollo 17. It actually went all the way up to Apollo 20. And it consisted of a little bit more than just sticking a flag in the moon dust and staking out territory. Allegedly, Apollo 20 discovered something really juicy up there. Evidence of an advanced alien civilization equipped with video footage and everything. Hi, I'm Ashley Flowers, and this is so supernatural.

[Yvette Gentile]

Welcome back, y'all. I'm Yvette Gentile.

[Racha Pecorero]

And I'm Racha Pecorero. And today's topic is literally going to take us out of this world. Yvette and I have always been fascinated by all things outer space and especially the moon. We even just watched the 2024 film, Fly Me to the Moon, and it made me believe the landing of Apollo 11 could have actually been staged for all of the world to see, or it could have actually been real. Either way, it's a fascinating movie, and it makes you rethink everything you think you know about the moon landing.

[Yvette Gentile]

It just leaves your mind wondering back and forth, did it happen? Did it not happen? There are such brilliant human beings out there that work for NASA that I absolutely believe that it did happen. But then there's that other side, right? The what if? And part of what really fueled these theories on a major scale happened in 2007 when a video surfaced online that made people question narrative everything they thought they knew about moon landings. It suggested that there were more Apollo missions than the US Government had let on and that Apollo astronauts had found proof of alien life on the moon.

[Racha Pecorero]

While some skeptics said it was a hoax, others thought the video was part of an elaborate scheme carried out by the US government, one that top ranking officials found so serious they recently addressed it in front of Congress.

[Ashley Flowers]

There are some cases so infamous that we have all heard about them, but some of the coldest cases, the most Mysterious are the ones that you've never heard of before. I'm Ashley Flowers, and every Wednesday on my show the Deck, I dive into the cold, oldest of cold cases. Many of these victims didn't get the press coverage they deserved during the initial investigations, but I'm sharing what our reporting team has found on these stories in hopes that someone listening may have the information needed to bring answers to light. And that listener could be you. Listen to the Deck now, wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Racha Pecorero]

Aloha, listeners.

[Yvette Gentile]

It's Rasha here and Yvette.

[Racha Pecorero]

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[Racha Pecorero]

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[Racha Pecorero]

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[Yvette Gentile]

That's a U D I O C H U C K for all podcasts that are Chuck approved. Just like so supernatural. Okay, Rasha, I can't believe I've never asked you this before, but would you go to space if you could?

[Racha Pecorero]

100%, yes, absolutely.

[Yvette Gentile]

Damn, that was a quick answer. I was not expecting that.

[Racha Pecorero]

What about you? Would you?

[Yvette Gentile]

You know, probably not now. I mean, when I think about it, I'm a total island girl. So you know that I'd rather be at the beach in the sunshine, by the water. So for me to go to the moon, I would have to really build up my courage and I would have to meet all the crew who would be taking me up there to know that I was secure and safe. But I have to say, I've always been super curious about the dark side of the moon because Remember, we only ever see one side of the moon since it's tidally locked to our planet.

[Racha Pecorero]

I've always been so curious about this too. It's fascinating that we know so little about the far side of the moon, especially with how many times we've been up there.

[Yvette Gentile]

I felt the same exact way until I did the research for this episode. Turns out NASA and the US government may actually know a lot more about the moon than they've let on. Let's just start from the top. In 1961, the Kennedy administration launched the Apollo project, pun intended. It ran until 1972 and included 15 missions, six of which were moon landings.

[Racha Pecorero]

NASA's main goal on paper was to send man to the moon to study its formation, learn about the history of our solar system, and better understand our place within it.

[Yvette Gentile]

But in reality, it was just as much about beating other global powers and getting to it first. Mainly the Soviets and what was known as the great Space Race.

[Racha Pecorero]

And who doesn't like a little healthy competition? But at the same time, NASA began another sub project called the Lunar Orbiter program as sort of a recon mission. And in 1963, NASA sent one of these unmanned lunar orbiters to circle the moon to uncover where Apollo astronauts could safely land and really understand what's up there before we send people. The orbiter did its job. It got a bunch of high res photos of the near side of the moon and scouted out some good places to land. But it also snapped some shots of the far side of the moon, only the images weren't as clear, which suggested transmissions and communication on the far side of the moon would be pretty poor, AKA not the best place to send Apollo astronauts on future trips.

[Yvette Gentile]

Now, the first Apollo mission in 1967 was supposed to be manned, but unfortunately it ended in tragedy when a ground test killed the crew after canceling Apollo 2 and 3. The next few missions, Apollo 4 through 6, were unmanned tests.

[Racha Pecorero]

However, Apollo 7, which took off in 1968, was manned after orbiting the Earth for 10 days. The mission proved America could safely send man into space and now maybe even step foot onto the moon's surface.

[Yvette Gentile]

And that day came when Apollo 11 took off in 1969. On July 16, the now historic trio, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin changed the course of history forever when they landed safely on the moon. It also meant that the US had finally beaten the Soviet Union in the great space race. Apollo 12 through 16 were also successful, with the exception of 13. Unfortunately, that one took off in 1970 and it was nearly fatal. An oxygen tank exploded and the crew had to make an emergency landing in the Pacific Ocean. Still, the Apollo project carried on, but over time, the public started to lose interest. The general vibe was that going to the moon was kind of old news, which meant NASA couldn't get as much funding for their projects.

[Racha Pecorero]

They continued until 1972, when Apollo 17 took flight. This one didn't generate as much buzz as 11 or 13, but it was pretty cool. It was the first mission to have a geologist as part of the crew, and they spent more time on the moon than anyone had before. But no one's been back to the moon since. Officially, the Apollo program came to an end in 1972, which was kind of a shame, because Apollo 1820 would have looked a lot like 17, except they would have had the technology to travel even further and collect even more interesting data.

[Yvette Gentile]

But what many people don't know is while the US officially ended the Apollo program, they did drop a remix three years later in 1975. That's when the US teamed up with an old nemesis, the Soviet Union, for for a joint mission to space. Even though the two countries were basically mortal enemies, they knew that forming this kind of partnership meant safer and more advanced space travel for everyone. It was called the Apollo Soyuz Test Project. American astronauts flew into space on an Apollo spaceship, and there they docked to the Russian spacecraft known as the Soyuz. The goal wasn't to land on the moon, though, it was to practice what would happen in the event a rescue was needed. Basically a roadside assistance, but in space. And it was a huge success.

[Racha Pecorero]

At the same time, though, some people thought this partnership between the U.S. and the Soviets seemed a little fishy. Conspiracy theorists started to wonder, why would these rival nations, in the midst of a cold war, be putting their differences aside for a hypothetical rescue situation? What if it was a cover up or something? What if the stakes were a lot higher and they just didn't want the rest of the world to know? And what if the Apollo missions weren't over after all?

[Yvette Gentile]

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[Yvette Gentile]

In 2007, a YouTube user named Retired AFB posted a video to his Channel One that flipped the story of the famous Apollo program completely on its head. There was no narration or voiceover, but there was a ton of found footage and some captions to explain what was being shown. A top secret mission to space. As the video started to generate buzz over the next few days, Retired AFB shared even more details in the comments.

[Racha Pecorero]

Basically, the caption said that this all started back in 1971, a year before the Apollo project officially ended and four years before the Apollo Soyuz joint mission. That's when the Soviet Academy of Sciences, which is basically their version of NASA, contacted President Nixon. Allegedly, they wanted to team up on a mission, but this one would be different than all the rest because they wanted to bring astronauts to the far side of the moon. And it wasn't just for the heck of it. The Soviets said they had images of something spectacular. They wanted to check out a crashed spaceship and ancient alien ruins on the far side of the moon.

[Yvette Gentile]

According to retired afb, the ruins were one and a half billion years old and the Soviets wanted to know if what they were seeing in the photographs was accurate. Only the Soviets didn't have the technology to visit the site yet, but the US did, retired AFB said. Once The American government saw the photos, they were sold on the mission. And that's what kicked off the top secret joint mission known as Apollo 20. A crew of at least three, two Americans and one Soviet would venture to the dark side of the moon and investigate what the Soviets had captured on film. Now, I don't know why the story skips over Apollo 18 and 19. Maybe retired AFB thought those missions took off as well. Maybe they were canceled. Anywho, that's not as important. But Retired AFB did explain how the Apollo Soyuz mission fit into the equation. Basically, they said it was nothing more than a distraction since Apollo 20 took off around the same time they were able to hide the mission behind the publicity of the Apollo Soyuz rescue tests.

[Racha Pecorero]

Retired AFB even had names and dates of people on the Apollo 20 mission. They said. In 1976, American astronauts William Rutledge and Leona Snyder joined Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov onboard the ship. Now, Leonov's name made sense to some people because he was an officially known cosmonaut and he actually commanded the Soviet crew during the Apollo Soyuz mission. But Rutledge and Snyder, well, their identities were more of a mystery. But we'll dive into that more later.

[Yvette Gentile]

For now, let's talk about the actual footage in the video retired AFB posted. The original video is basically impossible to find nowadays. Everything we know comes from screenshots and short clips that other people have posted. But if you were to look at the footage, here's what you'd see. Everything is in full color, although I will say some of it's pretty grainy. The video opens with a shot from inside an Apollo spacecraft while it's in flight, headed towards the moon. The camera focuses on an orange porthole that looks out into space. Then it cuts to a shot of the control panel. The camera pans over all kinds of dials and buttons. To a non astronaut like me, it looks pretty darn real. Afterwards, the camera pans up to show two things taped to the console above the control panel. One is a combination of the American and the Soviet flags. It's no bigger than a postcard. The other is a mission patch. You know, like the kind you iron onto a jacket. It says Apollo 20 and actually has the names Rutledge, Snyder and Leonov. After that, the camera cuts into another shot. It seems to be looking out of the porthole. You can clearly see the surface of the moon as the Apollo 20 spacecraft comes in for a landing. At first you see craters from a bird's eye view, but then the camera cuts to an Image of what looks like a jetliner sticking out of the ground below. It's long, gray, and has lines and grooves carved all over it. Apparently, this is the alien spaceship the Soviets were looking for.

[Racha Pecorero]

But then the video cuts again. Suddenly, this time to the inside of what appears to be the alien spaceship. Then the camera points at something completely jaw dropping. It's the body of a female alien. Retired AFB assumes she died in the crash and says the crew was amazed that her body was perfectly preserved. The alien looks remarkably human. The main difference is that her facial features are really big, her skin and hair are brown, and her entire body is covered in a shiny substance. Retired AFB said it was a protective layer this alien race was known to wear during space travel. But there are also four metal tubes connecting the alien's eyes to her mouth. There's not a lot of explanation for this, but most people seem to think the tubes were there to help her breathe on the moon's surface. When the video cuts again, you see the female alien back in the Apollo spacecraft. Presumably, the plan is to bring her back to Earth with them.

[Yvette Gentile]

Unsurprisingly, people freaked out when the Apollo 20 video was first released.

[Racha Pecorero]

I have to say, it is pretty convincing.

[Yvette Gentile]

And some thought it was the ultimate proof that humans had made contact with an alien life form, even if that alien wasn't actually alive. People even started calling the body alien Mona Lisa because of how she looked in the footage. But there were several lingering questions, like who was retired afb? How did they get this footage? And how did they know so much about the Apollo 20 mission?

[Racha Pecorero]

It wouldn't take long to find out, because only days after posting that video, retired AFB took to the comments again, this time to reveal their identity once and for all. And it was a pretty shocking twist to the story. This wasn't just some conspiracy theorist. He claimed to be one of the Apollo 20 crew members. William Rutledge himself. Remember when the video was first posted, retired AFB named the three Apollo 20 crew members, Alexei Leonov, Leona Snyder, and William Rutledge. Well, we know Leonov was one of the Apollo Soyuz cosmonauts, so we can confirm he's a real guy. But we couldn't find any records of a NASA astronaut by the name of Leona Snyder or William Rutledge.

[Yvette Gentile]

We did, however, find something that made us think maybe there was someone at NASA by that name. Every year, NASA gives out the William Rutledge Lifetime Achievement Award for cost analysis. It's spelt the same way, and it does directly connect someone with that name to NASA. But to be honest, we couldn't find much else about the man the award was named after.

[Racha Pecorero]

Like us, a lot of people were looking to get to the bottom of this Apollo 20 conspiracy. There were several Freedom of Information act requests filed by civilians, mostly wondering if the whole thing was true or not. And for good reason. Because after retired AFB claimed to be William Rutledge, a whirlwind of counter theories ensued.

[Yvette Gentile]

Vloggers tore the Apollo 20 footage apart. They wanted to prove that the video was a hoax. So they used side by side screenshots to show that the Apollo spacecraft in the video was the exact same one used in the Apollo 17 mission. At face value, that's not anything earth shattering, because depending on a mission's technological needs, Apollo spacecrafts were used more than once.

[Racha Pecorero]

But the thing is, Apollo 17 is on display at the Speed Space center in Houston. And if you look closely at the porthole shown in the Apollo 20 video, you can tell based on the position of the handle, it's actually wide open, not suitable for floating around in space. Bloggers made similar points about the control panel and the console, which also appeared to be from Apollo 17. As for the mission patch with the crew's names on it, bloggers had an explanation for that too. Photoshop. Plus, Alexei Leonov was alive until 2019, and he never claimed to take part in Apollo 20. So once these accounts circulated, it seemed like most people were convinced the video had to be a hoax. Especially when a French artist named Thierry Speth came forward and sort of doubled down on those claims.

[Yvette Gentile]

Theory admitted that he made the video as a fictional sci fi film and posted it on YouTube. Turns out Thierry attended the art school of the Mets in northeastern France in the 80s. Eventually, he got a job with Boeing making 3D video simulations of airplane crashes. So a video project like this was probably right up his alley. He claimed he used existing NASA photographs of the moon and added the images of alien structures, the base, the spacecraft, I mean, all of it. He even said he created the alien Mona Lisa out of wax, sort of like a Madame Tussaud sculpture.

[Racha Pecorero]

Theory did an interview in 2017 that was posted on YouTube. It looks like he's in his home studio and he's explaining how he made everything. As he speaks, he's actually holding alien Mona Lisa's head and it looks exactly like what's shown in the Apollo 20 video. As another part of his project, Theory wrote a sci fi novel that told the same story the supposed Rutledge gave when the video was first posted. So if people weren't convinced the whole thing was a hoax before, they probably did now.

[Yvette Gentile]

And with all that coming to light, you'd think, okay, we can put this topic to bed, right? Like, clearly, this was just one big prank. Nothing to see here. Except the story doesn't end there. Because after Thierry Speth came forward, a journalist made claims that flipped the story on its head again. His name was Luca Scantamborlo.

[Racha Pecorero]

It's hard to trace exactly how Luca entered the chat, because if you search for old comments and message boards now, you run into a bunch of removed web pages. But we did find that even before that video, Luca had his suspicions about the US Government. In one interview, he said it was part of the government's legacy and culture to hide the truth about extraterrestrial life from people. Luca dug around for years, particularly regarding the Apollo 20 video. Finally, he formed a theory. He agreed that the Apollo 20 footage was fake, but he thought there really was an Apollo 20 mission.

[Yvette Gentile]

We're not clear on all the details of Lucas theory, but we know he thought the photos of the alien base and spacecraft on the far side of the moon, the things that supposedly sparked the Apollo 20 mission, were all real. He was convinced the government had proof something was going on up there. And Luca believed theory may have been hired by the US government to create the Apollo 20 video, post it online, and say it was a hoax. Basically, the goal was to bait and then discredit UFO believers while hiding the truth. Luca went public with this theory, and people in the UFO community ate it up. But others started asking one pressing question. Why would the government make a fake video about an Apollo 20 mission if they were trying to hide a real Apollo 20 mission?

[Racha Pecorero]

It's an excellent question, and Luca was armed and ready with an answer. He referenced a study that was conducted for NASA in the 1960s. It looked at how the discovery of intelligent alien life might change human values, beliefs, and social structures. And according to Luca, it found there was a good chance an all out panic would ensue if anyone found out aliens existed. Luca believed that the US Government's main goal was to prevent this social disorder. Hide the truth so you can go to your kids soccer games on Saturday in peace sort of a thing.

[Yvette Gentile]

So we're talking about a good old fashioned disinformation campaign.

[Racha Pecorero]

You know it.

[Yvette Gentile]

And while some of you who've been following us for a while may know what that is, some of you may not. So it's worth a recap. A government disinformation campaign is when Officials spread false information about a topic in order to cover up real information about it. And sometimes they plant false stories and fake evidence, things that muddy the waters so the public can't tell fact from fiction.

[Racha Pecorero]

And this is what Lucas Scantamburlo thought the US government was doing with the Apollo 20 video. He wasn't just pulling this out of nowhere. About 10 years before the Apollo 20 video surfaced, there was another alien video that caught the public by storm. But this one didn't show up online. It aired on national TV.

[Yvette Gentile]

One evening in 1995, millions of people across America were unwinding in front of their TVs when something unbelievable appeared on a Fox News Special broadcast. It was the footage of an autopsy. The video was fuzzy, but there was no denying it. Doctors weren't operating on a human being. They were examining an alien. For about an hour, viewers witnessed the autopsy in extreme detail. At one point, doctors even removed the alien's intestines. But what really shocked people was that, according to the narrator, this alien's body was uncovered from the Roswell crash. Apparently, the US government kept it in 1947, and this footage was taken shortly after. However, just like the Apollo 20 video, a decade later, people were quick to debunk the alien autopsy. Then some filmmakers came forward and they said that they were behind it. They admitted that the alien was fake and the whole thing was a work of fiction. And just like Luca felt with Apollo 20, many thought the government was behind the whole thing. They believed officials hired filmmakers to make the alien autopsy video, knowing people would debunk it. Then, if anything like Roswell ever happened again, it would be harder for people to believe claims about aliens. It's possible that the alien autopsy video influenced Lucas theory on Apollo 20 because the storylines are practically identical. There's footage showing alien life or technology drops. Some people are shook while other people debunk it. And eventually someone comes forward to claim they were behind the film. And as a result, people think the government was behind it.

[Racha Pecorero]

The storylines are very similar, but in a way it makes sense, because theories about government disinformation campaigns don't stop with these two incidents. Around the same time the Apollo 20 video was posted, a military official came forward to say people like Lucas Gantamberlo were actually onto something.

[Yvette Gentile]

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[Rodney Barnes]

I'm Rodney Barnes. All my life I've been collecting stories. I don't mean cheery little bedtime stories or cute anecdotes about my childhood. I'm talking about horror stories, cautionary tales, the kind of stuff that keeps you up at night. I'm talking about rumors and folklore about grisly murders from parts of the country you're not used to hearing about. Creatures with unfinished earthly business that stalk the woods at night, spirits that possess children, otherworldly phenomena capable of inducing madness. These are the stories that haunt me when I'm alone there and now. This is my chance to exercise them. To get them out of my mind and into yours. Welcome to Run Fool. New episodes come out every Tuesday. Follow Run fool wherever you get your podcasts.

[Yvette Gentile]

A few Years after the Apollo 20 video was released, a journalist named Lucas Cantamborlo proposed a theory. He claimed the US Government had created the video as part of a highly sophisticated disinformation campaign, all because they didn't want the public to know what they had really found on the far side of the moon. Lucas claims might seem totally outlandish to some people, but the thing is, he wasn't the only one speaking out about this very topic. Someone with direct access to top secret intel was making similar claims. And it all started in 1965.

[Racha Pecorero]

That's the year an Air Force sergeant named Carl Wolf was assigned to the Lunar Orbiter program, that sub project that did recon for Apollo. Well, Carl joined the team at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. He worked as a repairman, mainly for the high tech equipment that processed the orbiter's photographs. One day he was told that a piece of specialty equipment needed fixing. Then someone brought him into a lab he'd never been to before. Once inside, he noticed that scientists from all around the world were working on the project. He thought this was really odd, since the Lunar Orbiter was an American program, so he asked another airman about it. The airman then escorted Carl into a dark room. He showed him a series of photographs that had been recently captured by the lunar orbiter. The photo showed an alien base on the far side of the moon. He said the discovery was why NASA had secretly brought in so many scientists. Carl was stunned. He could clearly make out towers and domes in the photographs, and they definitely weren't natural lunar formations. But Carl kept what he saw that day a secret. For months, he expected the photos to break headlines. Then months turned into years. Eventually, Carl realized the US Government never planned to share the discovery with the public. So he decided to spill the beans himself. But he waited until the time was just right.

[Yvette Gentile]

Fast forward to 1993. A former doctor named Stephen Greer funded something called the Disclosure Project. Stephen's goal was to find out what the U.S. government knew about aliens. In 2001, he hosted an event in Washington, D.C. where UFO witnesses came together to share their experiences. Carl Wolf heard about it, and he reached out. Next thing you know, he's attending the event there.

[Racha Pecorero]

Carl spoke about the photos he saw at Langley. Afterward, a video recording of Carl's speech went viral. The video launched him into ufology fame. He retired from the Air Force and focused on alien and UFO intel for about a decade. During that time, the Apollo 20 video dropped. We don't know if Carl ever commented on the story, but his claims definitely aligned with Lucas Gantamborlo's theory about a government disinformation campaign. But then, in 2018, just as Carl was getting his story out on a wider scale, he was suddenly killed. Carl was out riding his bike when he was hit by a tractor trailer. But here's why many people think his death wasn't an accident. There was an investigation into his death, but no charges were ever brought against the driver, and police never released the driver's name.

[Yvette Gentile]

Okay, so it's not unheard of for authorities to keep that kind of stuff confidential. But in this case, the mystery surrounding Carl's death caused a stir in the UFO community. Carl's claims and Luca's theory had already caused a lot of mistrust in the government. People thought the government had seen silenced Carl to stop him from sharing what he knew specifically about alien bases on the moon.

[Racha Pecorero]

If that's true, the government was in for a rude awakening. Because Carl wasn't the only one who knew about those photographs showing unnatural structures on the moon. According to the documentary Aliens on the the Truth, even some civilians have stumbled upon photos of the moon's far side. For a man named Vito Sacchetti, it all started in 1976. That year, a book came out titled Somebody Else is on the Moon. The piece argued, surprise, surprise, that Apollo astronauts had been on the far side of the moon and encountered aliens there. And it is said NASA had photos to prove it. Vito wasn't a government or military official. He was a civilian. But reading that book made him angry. Why was his government keeping secrets about aliens from the public? Vito lived in Houston at the time where NASA's Space Flight center was located. So he showed up one day and demanded to see the photos. NASA employees refused him access at first, but he didn't give up. After multiple trips, NASA finally gave in. That day, Vito was escorted into a room with dozens of photographs laid out on a table. They all apparently showed the moon's far side. And while it doesn't seem like Vito saw images of actual aliens, he did see what he called machinery and tank tracks. But you have to wonder, was this another disinformation campaign? Was the government just trying to shut Vito up with a few fake photographs? I mean, it doesn't seem reasonable that they would just say, sure, civilian, come take a look at our secrets.

[Yvette Gentile]

Thousand percent. And this next story definitely convinces me there's something suspicious going on at NASA. In the early 2000s, a woman named Donna Hare was working as a contractor for NASA. She said she learned that NASA was intentionally editing out photographic evidence of alien technology on the far side of the moon. In fact, Donna said it was an open secret at NASA, something that people talked about when they were off the clock, but never when they were on the job.

[Racha Pecorero]

Even Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell agrees there's alien life on the far side of the moon. He said that he saw photos showing a tall celestial cylinder on top of a circular base and something that looked like a satellite dish. Based on these photos, Mitchell believed aliens had set up satellite technology on the far side of the moon to spy on Earth. He thinks the cylinder could actually be some sort of alien habitat where they've lived for long periods of time. Here's the thing, though. Most of the photos in the documentary are grainy and black and white. To me, they just sort of look like the moon. Rocks, craters, and ridges, not exactly bases or alien habitats. On the other hand, I know these are just the photos NASA has released. They tend to keep most of their lunar photos classified.

[Yvette Gentile]

That's the thing. For all we know, they have close ups of this stuff that are a lot clearer than we're seeing in any documentary.

[Racha Pecorero]

Totally. But I wonder if that will change soon, because the discussion on alien Life on and off the Moon is really starting to amp up in a way that's pretty game changing. In 2023, US Congress held a historic hearing to talk about what they've rebranded as uap, Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon. The new name is an attempt to remove the stigma that's been clouding the UFO discussion practically since Roswell. The point of this hearing was to pull back the curtain on what the government knows about uap. There's hours of witness testimony from the hearing, and while they don't specifically mention the far side of the moon, they do talk a lot about alien encounters here on Earth.

[Yvette Gentile]

A former member of the Pentagon's UFO task force actually said that the government is in in possession of extraterrestrial spacecraft and that he knows exactly where these spacecraft are hidden.

[Racha Pecorero]

And during that same hearing, a former Air Force intelligence officer claimed the government has recovered, quote, non human biologics from UAP crash sites, aka alien bodies.

[Yvette Gentile]

Then in November 2024, Congress held another hearing. This time, a former meteorologist for the Navy spoke and he warned that UAPS pose a safety risk for Navy pilots. He also claimed, and here's the real kicker, that some government officials have carried out disinformation campaigns to discredit UAP whistleblowers. Y'all, I mean, this is huge because it basically opens the door to say videos like Apollo 20 might not be a hoax, but could actually serve a purpose for the government. And while he didn't go into a lot of detail about what these disinformation campaigns look like, he referenced an hours long meeting that took place a few months before the hearing. He said that during this meeting, senior staffers tried to brainwash him into questioning the validity of his reports.

[Racha Pecorero]

I think it's a huge deal that former military leaders are finally starting to come forward. I just wish the specifics of these hearings weren't so vague.

[Yvette Gentile]

Unfortunately, I think they will continue to be vague until we start having more open discussions about the UAP phenomenon as a whole. Now, could there be alien bases on the far side of the moon? If y'all ask me, the answer is absolutely. But you know what, Russia? I think it's going to be a while until we hear about it in a congressional hearing.

[Racha Pecorero]

Sadly, I agree there's still a lot of headway to make. And right now, creating a safe space for pilots and civilians to report UAPS is their primary focus. Removing the stigma also means more transparency when it comes to the government's research on UAPs. And hopefully it also means an end to these disinformation campaigns that are clearly keeping people from coming forward with important information.

[Yvette Gentile]

Okay, Rasha, I'm curious. What is the main thing that you'd want to find out from one of these hearings?

[Racha Pecorero]

Well, since we watched Fly Me to the Moon, my favorite line from that is when Scarlett Johansson's character asks Woody Harrelson, are there aliens out there? And he says, what? Yvette?

[Yvette Gentile]

They walk among us.

[Racha Pecorero]

So that's what I want to know.

[Yvette Gentile]

Yeah, 100%. 100%.

[Racha Pecorero]

I'm also dying to know if William Rutledge was a real astronaut.

[Yvette Gentile]

Leona Snyder, too. But who knows, with the way things are going, maybe we'll even get to hear from them firsthand if they they really do exist.

[Racha Pecorero]

At the end of the day, I think we just want what most Americans want, right? Life, liberty, and the pursuit of more transparency from our government.

[Yvette Gentile]

And maybe a free trip to the moon.

[Racha Pecorero]

This is so Supernatural. An audio Chuck original produced by Crime House. You can connect with us on Instagram @sew, supernaturalpod and our website sosupernaturalpodcast.com Join Yvette and me next Friday for an all new episode. So what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve?

[Yvette Gentile]

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[Racha Pecorero]

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[Yvette Gentile]

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[Yvette Gentile]

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[Rodney Barnes]

I'm Rodney Barnes. All my life, I've been collecting stories. I don't mean cheery little bedtime stories or cute anecdotes about my childhood. I'm talking about horror stories, cautionary tales, the kind of stuff that keeps you up at night. I'm talking about rumors and folklore about grisly murders from parts of the country you're not used to hearing about. Creatures with unfinished earthly business that stalk the woods at night. Spirits that possess children, otherworldly phenomena capable of inducing madness. These are the stories that haunt me when I'm alone. And now this is my chance to exercise them, to get them out of my mind and into yours. Welcome to Run Fool. New episodes come out every Tuesday. Follow Run fool wherever you get your podcast.