The Journal.: "The Pentagon's UFO Coverup"

Hosted by: Jessica Mendoza
Guests: Joel Shechtman (WSJ national security reporter)
Date: October 17th, 2025

Overview

This episode investigates the reality behind long-standing claims of U.S. government UFO coverups. Drawing on exclusive reporting from Joel Shechtman and discussions with officials, the episode explores the Pentagon’s actual role in fueling UFO myths—not to hide aliens, but to disguise sensitive military programs. The story blends myth, scientific investigation, military secrecy, and human psychology, revealing that the real “coverup” is stranger—and sometimes more mundane—than fiction.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Rise in Government UFO Scrutiny

[00:05-01:16]

• UFOs, or "UAPs" (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena), have shifted from conspiracy theory to serious congressional and Defense Department scrutiny.
• Whistleblowers have alleged the existence of secret government alien programs, including claims about recovered alien craft and even bodies.
• Joel Shechtman: “You’ve had a number of congressional hearings where these whistleblowers have come public saying that they had become aware of secret alien programs within the government.” [00:35]

2. Pop Culture, UFOs, and Roswell Metal

[03:17-06:43]

• The line between fact and myth often blurs in UFO culture.
• The story of mysterious “Roswell metal” begins with a 1990s episode of Art Bell’s Coast to Coast radio show, which shaped the mythos around crashed alien craft.
• The metal’s journey: from Art Bell to various UFO researchers, to Tom DeLonge (lead singer of Blink-182 and founder of To The Stars), and then to military contractors and the Pentagon.
• Jessica Mendoza: “The package Art Bell received back in the 90s contained a few shards of metal. They immediately piqued his interest.” [04:37]

3. Reverse Engineering at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works

[07:10-07:46]

• Lockheed’s Skunk Works, long the subject of UFO lore, was actually asked by the Army (at To The Stars’ request) to analyze the mysterious metal.
• Joel Shechtman: “So you actually had the story kind of become true because now they actually were trying to reverse engineer this, this piece of metal like in the very laboratory where that was said to have happened.” [07:10]
• Jessica Mendoza: "Almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy." [07:40]

4. The Pentagon's Modern UFO Program: AARO

[07:46-10:22]

• In 2022, the Pentagon set up the All Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), tasked with investigating reported sightings and allegations about secret alien technologies.
• Sean Kirkpatrick, a physicist and intelligence veteran, was chosen to lead the effort—granted unprecedented access to classified files and facilities.
• Jessica Mendoza: "So just to be clear, the Pentagon was asking Kirkpatrick to look into sort of the government itself to see if there was evidence of a cover up of alien technology." [10:12]
• Joel Shechtman: “Exactly. And what was extraordinary about it was that he was given, like, full access to, like, the files of the CIA and the military, and he was given the power to go to these type of secret sites.” [10:22]

5. The Surprising Reality Behind UFO Incidents

[12:05-14:32]

• Most UFO reports had prosaic explanations (balloons, drones, birds), but some, like the 1967 glowing orb disabling nuclear missiles, were more mysterious.
• Kirkpatrick uncovered that these incidents were actually the result of secret Air Force tests with electromagnetic pulse (EMP) generators designed to test system resilience during the Cold War.
• Joel Shechtman: “They would glow, like, bright orange or red, and then they would shoot an electromagnetic pulse that would really look like...a bolt of lightning. And that surge...could easily shut down like the hardware that you would need in order to launch these missiles.” [13:57]
• The secrecy led to confusion and the spread of extraterrestrial interpretations among military witnesses.

6. Intentional Disinformation: Project "Yankee Blue"

[14:51-16:05]

• The Pentagon’s disinformation stretched beyond confusion—sometimes it was part of hazing or indoctrination rituals.
• “Project Yankee Blue” involved showing new officers a fake flying saucer photo and telling them it was classified alien technology, binding them to secrecy under threat of severe consequences.
• Joel Shechtman: “What Kirkpatrick found was that this was a hazing ritual that went back, like, decades and really continued until, like, his investigation discovered it.” [15:48]

7. The "Coverup": Pentagon-Driven Mythmaking

[16:34-17:37]

• The AARO report concluded there was no evidence of extraterrestrial technology or contacts. However, it omitted the Pentagon’s own active participation in spreading UFO myths.
• Joel Shechtman: “In a sense, they’re trying to blame, you know, like, a few bad apples or some people that, you know, just were like, true believers. But what they left out of that report. And what we found was that it was clear that the Pentagon bared like pretty significant responsibility for the spreading of the story itself. Right.” [17:19]

8. UFO Believers' Reactions and Lingering Mysteries

[17:37-18:43]

• Many UFO enthusiasts remain deeply skeptical; some even believe reporting about the Pentagon’s disinformation is itself another layer of conspiracy.
• Joel Shechtman: “…they believed that the information … had been sort of fed to us as like just another layer of the cover up.... The truth is sometimes a lot stranger than fiction.... You could understand why people would be mistrustful of that explanation.” [17:48]

9. The Truth About the “Alien Metal”

[18:43-19:40]

• As part of Kirkpatrick’s investigation, the infamous Roswell metal was sent for extensive tests at a top government lab.
• Result: It was not extraterrestrial, nor did it possess special properties. It was likely a byproduct of WWII-era military manufacturing experiments with lightweight metal alloys.
• Jessica Mendoza: “It’s not some alien technology that has anti gravity properties. Most likely it came from some manufacturing tests during the World War II era, back when they were trying to create a new lightweight metal for military equipment.” [18:43]

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On myth becoming reality:

  • “So you actually had the story kind of become true because now they actually were trying to reverse engineer this, this piece of metal like in the very laboratory where that was said to have happened.”
    — Joel Shechtman [07:10]

• On the Pentagon’s access and scope:

  • “…he was given the power to go to these type of secret sites, you know, to scour Area 51 and other kind of secret locations that we don't even know about. Right. And see, like, you know, what is it that's actually going on there.”
    — Joel Shechtman [10:22]

• On the bizarre nature of the real coverup:

  • “The truth is sometimes a lot stranger than fiction. And I think the idea that you'd have like a hazing program like that that would go on for 40 years, like trying to deceive people in your own military. You know, in a way it's even like stranger than believing in aliens, right?”
    — Joel Shechtman [17:48]

• On the government’s final finding:

  • “It is important to underscore that to date, Arrow has not discovered any verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology.”
    — Arrow representative, quoted by Joel Shechtman [16:34]

Timestamps of Important Segments

• 00:05: Introduction and cultural backdrop of UFO myths
• 03:17: How Roswell metal started a decades-long trail of belief
• 07:10: The Skunk Works self-fulfilling prophecy
• 08:34: The formation and mission of AARO
• 12:05: UAP investigations and Cold War incident revelation
• 14:51: Project Yankee Blue and Pentagon hazing
• 16:34: Congressional findings and continued mythmaking
• 18:43: Final dispelling of the Roswell metal mystery

Conclusion

The episode reveals that the real Pentagon UFO coverup wasn’t about hiding proof of aliens—but about exploiting extraterrestrial myths for national security purposes, internal secrecy, and sometimes elaborate hazing. The ongoing power of belief, uncertainty, and myth in both government and public circles means that the story of UFOs—and the government’s role in their shadows—remains as compelling as ever.