Skeptic Check: Disclosure Day

Skeptic Check: Disclosure Day

June 15, 2026 · 55 min

About this episode

The episode explores the intersection of Hollywood's portrayal of aliens and the reality of government disclosures regarding UAPs.

The latest Hollywood romp through the world of aliens has landed in theaters. Steven Spielberg’s movie Disclosure Day suggests that our government has been hiding a cache of evidence about alien visitation that spans decades. It’s fun fiction but does it mesh with reality? Officials have made a series of public disclosures containing information about the government’s UAP program over the years, releasing massive amounts of declassified documents along with audio and video files. Will the most recent data dump finally provide evidence that aliens are here? We look at the extended history of public desire to believe in extraterrestrial visitation, plus the scientific efforts to detect intelligent or microbial life on other worlds. Guests: Adam Kirsch – Senior editor at The Atlantic, and author of, “We Want to Believe: How Aliens Went Mainstream and Why It Matters” Sarah Rugheimer – Astrophysicist at the University of Edinburgh and author of “Searching for Extraterrestrial Life” Big Picture Science is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com to inquire about advertising on Big Picture Science. You can get early access to ad-free…

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