AudioBlog: Remembering Nick Pope

AudioBlog: Remembering Nick Pope

From Podcast UFO by Producer: Donna Killeen

April 16, 2026 · 11 min

About this episode

The episode reflects on the life and contributions of Nick Pope to the UFO community following his passing.

by UFO History Buff & Author , Charles Lear Last week, Nick Pope, full name Nicholas George Pope, passed away on April 6th at the age of 60. A fixture in the UFO scene, Pope first gained notoriety with his 1996 book , Open Skies, Closed Minds. Besides providing an overview of UFO history up to that point, the book has an autobiographical account of his time as the head of the “UFO desk” at the Ministry of Defense from 1991 t0 1994. After the book came out, he became a go-to “UFO expert” whenever an authoritative comment was needed to punch up a news story. He maintained his interest and a media presence and was sought after as a speaker at conventions and a commentator in various documentaries. By the time of his passing, he was a well-known personality in the UFOtainment industry, having appeared regularly on Ancient Aliens and at Contact in the Desert. In the midst of his notoriety and association with the more sensationalistic aspects of UFOlogy, his commentary seemed to be heartfelt and true to his actual beliefs.According to Pope in his book, he was a skeptic before he was assigned to the “UFO desk” in Secretariat (Air Staff) Department 2A at the Ministry of Defense. He…

People in this episode

Guest: Charles Lear

Topics covered

  • UFO history
  • Nick Pope
  • UFO desk
  • Ministry of Defense
  • UFO expertise
  • UFOtainment
  • skepticism

Keywords

  • Nick Pope
  • UFO history
  • Ministry of Defense
  • Open Skies Closed Minds
  • UFO expert
  • skepticism
  • UFO desk

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Ministry of Defense

Books & works: Open Skies, Closed Minds

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