Stuff You Should Know - "Selects: How Area 51 Works"

Podcast: Stuff You Should Know
Hosts: Josh Clark & Chuck Bryant
Date: September 27, 2025 (original from June 13, 2019)
Theme: A deep dive into the history, facts, and mythos of Area 51, separating government secrecy from extraterrestrial speculation.

Episode Overview

In this lively and detail-rich episode, Josh and Chuck unravel the mysteries, facts, and pop-culture legends surrounding Area 51. From its beginnings as a military testing ground to the engine of America's UFO conspiracy culture, the hosts illuminate the mundane and the fantastical. They dig into military aviation history, the roots and spread of alien rumors, security protocols, and the rare instances when the U.S. government publicly acknowledged Area 51's existence. The tone bounces between humor, skepticism, and open curiosity, always aiming to demystify, while never robbing the subject of its intrigue.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. What is Area 51? (02:22)

• Location: Less than 100 miles from Las Vegas, Nevada; the area is part of a larger 600 sq mile restricted airspace but the installation itself is likely just 60 sq miles.
• Purpose: Originally a military bombing and testing range, bordering on the Nevada Test Site, used for nuclear experiments.
• Name Origin:
  • Chuck: "Seems, I don't know about arbitrary, but no one knows if it really matters why it was named Area 51." (05:49)
  • Josh: "The area where Area 51 is located was denoted as Area 51, between.” (05:54)

2. The Aviation Connection (06:10)

• WWII Arms Race: U.S. lagged behind Germany in jet development.
• Lockheed Skunk Works: Led by Kelly Johnson, who delivered the P-80 Shooting Star and pioneered agile defense project management.
  • Josh on Skunk Works: "They were the first ones to kind of basically develop agile project management from what I understand." (07:55)
• Need for Secrecy: The U2 spy plane (Project Aquatone) required a secret location—hence, Area 51.

3. Founding of Area 51 (08:52)

• Site Selection: Attracted by Groom Lake, a dry salt bed, selected for its natural and regulatory isolation.
• Cover Story: Operation was disguised as "bomb experts cleaning up unexploded munitions."
• Executive Legality: Eisenhower's 1955 Executive Order 10633 expanded restricted airspace; by 1958, it was unlisted on maps.

4. Secrecy & Security (13:06)

• Strict Secrecy Measures: Workers underwent harsh interrogations, loyalty tests, and intra-base security partitions.
  • Josh: "...to even be on the base or in Area 51, you had to have the highest level of security clearance you could possibly have." (14:57)

5. The Spy Plane Era (15:26)

• End of U2 Secrecy: Downing of Gary Powers' U2 in 1960 revealed the U.S. did clandestine projects. Led to Project Oxcart.
• Project Oxcart & SR-71 Blackbird: Ultra-secret "black project" resulting in the legendary high-speed reconnaissance jets.
  • Chuck: “This kind of started the era that we still live in today in which the military just dumps money into secret projects.” (17:56)
• Infrastructure Boom: Facilities expanded, airspace restricted further.

6. From Planes to Aliens: How Area 51 Became UFO Central (25:01)

• Pop Culture Ties: "Extraterrestrial Highway" (Sign renaming the road to Area 51).
• Origins of Alien Association:
  • Tipping Point: In 1989, Bob Lazar went public on Las Vegas TV, claiming to work on alien tech at “S4”—a subsite near Area 51.
  • Bob Lazar's Credibility: Despite no evidence of his MIT/Caltech credentials, his stories included seemingly accurate details about security tech and resulted in observed UFO "test flights."
    • Chuck: “He just doesn't seem like some crackpot or a weirdo or like, he would be lying...he hasn't, like, made money off of this.” (26:34)
  • Josh: "Everything you hear about and think about from about Area 51 today did not exist pre-1989, pre-Bob Lazar." (29:01)

7. Disentangling Roswell and Area 51 (37:04)

• Roswell Myth: Roswell crash in 1947 is often conflated with Area 51, but at the time, Area 51 wasn't operational (nor even a secret site yet).
• Distance Fact: They're 800 miles apart; their linkage arose post-1980s UFO enthusiasm.

8. Other Conspiracies and Theories (39:00)

• Level 1: Alien corpses and tech, time/light-speed/interdimensional travel.
• Level 2: Alien-Human collaboration; Majestic 12 ruling government from underground.
• Level 3 (Wildest): Nazis and Soviets built a spaceship with mutant children to fake a UFO scare (Annie Jacobsen's book).
• File Room Loyalty Test: Multiple supposed insiders (including Lazar) said they were "tested" via being left alone with wild alien-related files—possibly a psychological loyalty test.

9. What actually happens at Area 51? (47:35)

• Most Likely: Ongoing black projects in aviation and electronic warfare; ongoing physical expansion is visible in satellite imagery.
• Security: Heavy surveillance; guards on-site and legal authority for deadly force, but trespassers are typically just fined.
• Staffing: Civilian workers are flown in secretly on "JANET" jets (Just Another Non Existent Terminal); highest security clearance required.
  • Josh: "They have to have everything from food services to custodial services..." (47:35)

10. Government Acknowledgement and Lawsuits (49:03)

• First Official "Acknowledgment": 1990s lawsuits by poisoned workers forced admission that Area 51 exists, though operational details still withheld.
  • Josh: "In court... the government representatives were saying, like, the place that they're talking about doesn't exist. Sorry." (50:30)
• Mosaic Theory: Rationale for total secrecy—any detail could be fit into a bigger intelligence puzzle.
• Environmental Catastrophe: Hazardous waste disposal made workers ill, but secrecy trumped safety.

11. Modern Day Area 51 (53:10)

• Public Knowledge: Satellite imagery now openly shows Area 51's expansion.
• Status Quo: “Yes, that something’s there. No, you can’t know what’s going on.”
• Josh: “Sorry, we kind of took the government tack here and didn’t really go all in on the alien theories, But I just don’t think that’s what it is.” (53:51)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Secrecy:
  • Josh (14:57): “To even be on the base or in Area 51, you had to have the highest level of security clearance you could possibly have... and even if you had that, you still couldn't see the U2 spy plane or know that it existed.”
• On Bob Lazar:
  • Chuck (26:34): “When you listen to Bob Lazar talk today, he just doesn't seem like some crackpot or a weirdo or like, he would be lying... he's basically like, listen, man, I kind of wish this wasn't attached to my name...”
• On Conspiracies:
  • Josh (39:28): “Don't forget interdimensional travel too. Why not another one I saw. There's some pretty low hanging fruit that I love. The moon landing was faked there.”
• On the Cult Status of Area 51:
  • Josh (25:22): “As synonymous as this base is with aliens and UFOs, that's actually relatively recent. It was operating for a good 25, 35 years... before aliens became tied to Area 51.”
• On Security:
  • Josh (46:12): “There's mics that listen to your conversation... like you were under as close surveillance as you've ever been in your life, from what I understand.”
• On JANET flights:
  • Josh (48:13): “You can see them on the tarmac… just look for the giant 737s that are white with the red stripe and pretty cool. No logo, no nothing.”
• On Government Denial:
  • Josh (50:30): “...the government representatives were saying, like, the place that they're talking about doesn't exist. Sorry.”

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:42 — Episode begins; setting the stage for Area 51’s mystique
• 02:28 — Geographic and historic overview of Area 51’s location and purpose
• 06:50 — Skunk Works and the birth of high-speed, secret jet engineering
• 08:39 — Project Aquatone and the U2 spy plane’s secret development
• 13:06 — Extreme security protocols and air base culture
• 15:26 — U2 downed, cold war secrecy pivots to blacker projects (Oxcart, SR-71)
• 25:01 — How Area 51 and aliens first got linked (Bob Lazar’s impact)
• 37:04 — Debunking the Roswell–Area 51 connection
• 39:00 — “Alien layers" of theories, from plausible to wildest
• 47:35 — What’s really happening at Area 51 today; logistics, workers, security
• 49:03 — 1990s lawsuits, hazards, government’s first public nod to Area 51
• 53:10 — Satellite imagery and the new, semi-transparent era

Summary in a Nutshell

Stuff You Should Know’s examination of Area 51 reveals a story of American secrecy, cutting-edge aviation, and the lavish imagination of a culture ready for conspiracies. Josh and Chuck lay out how a real-world military site spawned decades of rumors, the influence of witness testimony (notably Bob Lazar), and why, even after the government is forced to admit its existence, the mystique lingers. The real Area 51 is a place of innovation, danger, and tightly held secrets—alien or otherwise. But if you’re hoping for definitive proof of flying saucers, you’ll need to keep waiting.

Additional Resources

• For more on Area 51:
  • Annie Jacobsen's Area 51: An Uncensored History of America’s Top Secret Military Base
  • CIA declassified documents on Project Oxcart and U2
• For skepticism or UFO lore:
  • “Bob Lazar: Area 51 & Flying Saucers” documentary (for context, not endorsement)
  • Skeptoid podcast episodes on Roswell and Area 51