The X-Files: The Truth Is Complicated
About this episode
This episode explores the complex mythology of The X-Files and its influence on the perception of UFOs and government secrecy.
For more than thirty years, The X-Files has been one of the most influential television shows ever made about UFOs, alien abduction, government secrecy and the possibility that extraterrestrials are already here. In this episode of Sound, Light & Frequency , Bryce Zabel and Brent Friedman go back inside the mythology of Mulder and Scully to ask a deceptively simple question: what did The X-Files actually say was going on? The answer involves real aliens, a secret Syndicate, abductions, genetic experiments, alien-human hybrids, black oil, rival extraterrestrial factions, government infiltration—and a conspiracy so layered that even Mulder is constantly mistaking disclosure for disinformation. But the bigger question is the one Bryce and Brent have been asking all season: did Hollywood borrow the UFO story from UFOlogy, or did UFOlogy eventually start borrowing it back from Hollywood? Much of what The X-Files dramatized—crash retrievals, MJ-12-style secrecy, alien bodies, implants, reverse engineering, government disinformation and abduction lore—was already circulating before the show premiered…
People in this episode
Host: Bryce Zabel
Guest: Brent Friedman
Topics covered
- UFOs
- alien abduction
- government secrecy
- extraterrestrials
- cultural impact
- mythology
Keywords
- UFO mythology
- alien-human hybrids
- government disinformation
- MJ-12
- abduction lore
- cultural impact
- disclosure
- disinformation
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: iHeartPodcasts
Books & works: The X-Files
More episodes of Sound, Light & Frequency
- Project Blue Book: UFO TV Creators Talk Shop
- ET Walks Into a Bar
- Peaks and Valleys of Woo
- Life After Contact
- Stranded on Earth
- Making (and faking) Aliens
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Sound, Light & Frequency podcast page.