About this episode
Bryce Zabel and Richard Dolan reflect on the events of 2025 regarding UAPs and discuss the implications for 2026.
In this Need to Know year-end special, Bryce Zabel and Richard Dolan look back at 2025 as a year defined less by breakthroughs and more by normalization, confusion, and institutional digestion of the UAP issue. They revisit major moments including congressional hearings, the drone wave that flared and faded without resolution, the rise and limits of documentaries like Age of Disclosure, and high-profile figures such as Marco Rubio and Lue Elizondo. A recurring theme is the paradox of progress without clarity: more official attention, more testimony, more media coverage, yet no decisive evidence or conceptual resolution, leaving the public both validated and frustrated  Looking ahead to 2026, both hosts express skepticism that traditional disclosure is imminent. Dolan argues the phenomenon is being absorbed into bureaucracy as a permanent governance issue rather than treated as a mystery to be solved, while Zabel points to culture as the real accelerator, especially with Steven Spielberg's upcoming film Disclosure Day potentially shaping public perception more than government action. Together, they suggest the future of the UFO question may hinge not on official revelation, but…
People in this episode
Host: Bryce Zabel
Guest: Richard Dolan
Topics covered
- UAP issue
- cultural shifts
- government disclosure
- media coverage
- public perception
Keywords
- UAP
- disclosure
- congressional hearings
- documentaries
- cultural perception
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Age of Disclosure, Disclosure Day
More episodes of Need To Know
- UFO Hail Mary · March 30, 2026 · 1h 14m
- JC & Herrington (Sound, Light & Frequency) · March 25, 2026 · 1h 11m
- Crash · February 16, 2026 · 1h 14m
- Spielberg's Disclosure Day · December 22, 2025 · 1h 17m
- Age of Disclosure? · November 23, 2025 · 1h 11m
- Mirage Men - (Project Book Club) · November 3, 2025 · 1h 7m
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