Recently, the government released a long-awaited report: a look at unexplained aerial phenomena.

We explore the report and what implications it may have. Will it do anything to quell theories of extraterrestrial visitors?

Guest: Julian E. Barnes, a national security reporter for The New York Times.

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Background reading:

The United States has no explanation for unidentified objects, but the report stops short of ruling out aliens.
Rather than explaining when sightings of U.F.O.s were really just sightings of top-secret planes, the government has sometimes allowed public eagerness about the possibility of aliens to take hold.
U.F.O.s were once a taboo topic for the federal government, but not anymore. Why are we all talking about them now?

For more information on today’s episode, visit

nytimes.com/thedaily

. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Inside the U.F.O. Report