The UFO Phenomenon: Dealing with the Inconceivable

04/30/19 • 45 min

Coming in From the Cold: Untold Stories from the Cold War

In 1947 a wave of UFO sightings was covered by newspapers across the U.S. and Canada. This alarmed the U.S. national security establishment. Guests Ken Gause and Ralph Espach join Bill to discuss the UFO phenomenon and the response of the U.S. Government.

Previous Episode

The Cold War at Sea

In this episode of Coming in from the Cold, Bill welcomes Rear Admiral Mike McDevitt (Ret.) and Commander Steven Wills (Ret.) to discuss the Maritime Strategy of the 1980s. McDevitt and Wills recall some of the key players surrounding the development of the Maritime Strategy. This includes CNA analysts who used open source data to hypothesize that the goal of the Soviet Navy was to protect their ballistic missile submarines. Additionally, they point to Secretary of the Navy John Lehman, who helped convince the Reagan administration that a 600-ship fleet was necessary to challenge the Soviet Navy. Finally, the group discusses the key role that perception played in the Maritime Strategy, enhancing deterrence by reinforcing in the Soviet mind the idea that they could not win a war with the United States.

Next Episode

Bonus Episode: America’s First Female Terrorist Group

On October 20, 1981, an infamous crime shook the New York suburb of Nanuet. The botched robbery of an armored Brink’s trunk resulted in the death of two police officers and a Brink’s security guard. When the police first apprehended the robbers, they simply believed them to be a group of well-armed thieves. In fact, they were members of America’s first female terrorist group, the May 19th Communist Organization, the subject of Bill Rosenau’s new book, “Tonight We Bomb the U.S. Capitol.”