The Paranoid Strain

We continue the sad story of the very silly Stalin/Roswell story that the otherwise solid Annie Jacobsen decided was fit to print, and then we provide you with the minimum recommended daily requirement of Art Bell content, in this case specifically focused on the 51st Area. It's a long one, and we hope it's fun for you. See you in a couple of weeks with another epic episode, featuring some guests who may or may not be...stupid. See you then.

As promised, here's Annie Jacobsen's super-weird story about the *real* reason Area 51 was founded. It's super dumb. But fascinating. But dumb. Seriously. Real, real dumb. I don't know how she possibly believed this crap. Enjoy!

We continue our exploration of the (actual) history of Area 51, this time emphasizing some of the truly awful, irresponsible, and dangerous stuff that went on there--not just nuclear tests, but a simulated dirty bomb explosion with radiation that should clear up in about fifty thousand years, plus an nauseating story about poisoning employees and then refusing to acknowledge said poisoning because the place where they worked doesn't even officially exist. Next time: one of the weirdest goddamned stories we've ever covered. And it's from an otherwise sensible book. I KNOW! Can't wait for you to hear about it.

Merry Christmas, or Happy Hannukah, or like whatever you're into, folks. This time, we talk about Area 51's original raison d'etre, the notorious U2 spy plane. We learn how and why this odd-looking thing was built, how it played into one of the earliest crises of the Cold War, and how its weird shape and unbelievable maximum altitude essentially made sightings of it as a truly unidentified flying object nearly inevitable.

We put J Allen's story to bed, and begin our exploration of the most mysterious stretch of desert on earth, Area 51. This time, we learn what happened when show artist Willem UFO and I visited Rachel Nevada, the wide spot in the road nearest to the Groom Lake secret facility. More Area 51 in a couple of weeks!

Hynek was a good dude. But like Icarus, he chose repeatedly to fly too close to Carl Sagan's sun. We cover Hynek's turn from skeptic to believer, and then his repeated and largely embarrassing run-ins with the greatest science communicator of the 20th century, who repeatedly pantsed Hynek in public debates over the course of decades. Next time, we wrap up Hynek and move on to Area 51! Happy Turkey day for our American listeners. Enjoy your Thursday, everyone else.