Ep. 12 — A 64-year old non-fiction book, Flying Saucer Pilgrimage, has new resonance today in light of an upcoming U.S. government report on UFOs / Bryan Cunningham, Executive Director, UCI Cybersecurity Policy & Research Institute. | Techtopia with Chitra Ragavan podcast - Listen or read transcript on Metacast
Ep. 12 — A 64-year old non-fiction book, Flying Saucer Pilgrimage, has new resonance today in light of an upcoming U.S. government report on UFOs / Bryan Cunningham, Executive Director, UCI Cybersecurity Policy & Research Institute.
UFOs are back in the news. After decades of secrecy, the American public and especially UFO-believers are waiting for a report from the Defense Department to Congress this month. The report is expected to reveal what our military, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies know, and don’t know, about unidentified aerial phenomena or UAPs. That’s the government’s fancy new terminology for UFOs.
The upcoming report would have been a wish-come-true for Bryant and Helen Reeve. Between 1953 and 1955 — one of the most prolific periods in U.S. history for UFO sightings — the Detroit couple traveled 23,000 miles over that two-year period conducting a detailed “oral history” of so-called “saucerers” — those who had witnessed flying saucers.
The Reeves documented their oral history in a fascinating book called “Flying Saucer Pilgrimage,” published in 1957, describing in great detail their interaction with these UFO “contactees.” I had the pleasure of talking to their grandson, my friend Bryan Cunningham about the prescience of some of their assertions in light of the upcoming report, and how their extraordinary UFO journey influenced his life and career in national security and intelligence.
Cunningham is executive director of the UC Irvine Cybersecurity Policy & Research Institute. He’s an international expert on cybersecurity law and policy, a former White House lawyer and adviser, and a media commentator on cybersecurity, technology, and surveillance issues.
Read the Transcript
Download the PDF
Chitra Ragavan:
UFOs are back in the news. After decades of secrecy, the American public and especially UFO believers are waiting eagerly for a report from the defense department to Congress this month. The report is expected to reveal what our military, law enforcement and intelligence agencies know, and most importantly, don't know about unidentified aerial phenomena or UAPs. That's the government's fancy new terminology for UFOs. Hello, everyone. I'm Chitra Ragavan, and this is Techtopia.
Chitra Ragavan:
The upcoming report would have been a wish come true for Bryant and Helen Reeve. Between 1953 and 1955, one of the most prolific periods in US history for UFO sightings, that Detroit Michigan couple traveled 23,000 miles over a two-year period, conducting a detailed oral history of so-called sorcerers. Those who had witnessed flying saucers. The Reeves documented their oral history in a fascinating book called Flying Saucer Pilgrimage, published in 1957. Here now to tell us more about Bryant and Helen Reeve and their extraordinary UFO journey is the grandson, my friend, Brian Cunningham. Cunningham is executive director of the Cybersecurity Policy and Research Institute at UC Irvine. He's an international expert on cybersecurity law and policy, a former White House lawyer and advisor, and a media commentator on cybersecurity, technology and surveillance issues. Brian, welcome to Techtopia.
Bryan Cunningham:
Thank you, Chitra. It's wonderful to be here. I don't know if I'm the only person who's appeared on both of your excellent podcasts, but I'm happy to be one of them. I really like the Techtopia approach. It's been great so far. Hopefully I won't ruin it today.
Chitra Ragavan:
Oh, it's an honor and privilege, Brian. 67 years ago, on December 16th, 1954, your grandparents, Bryant and Helen Reeves, wrote a letter to president Dwight Eisenhower and they were not happy with him. What was their beef with the president and what was their advice to him?
Bryan Cunningham:
It's fascinating for me to read this telex in the book as an intelligence officer. Just think about the fact for a second, that this was literally using the Telegraph. And as they say in the book, I think they were sending it from Mexico and they paid 52 pesos to send it, but what they were really doing and if they were alive today, what I'm sure they would have done is they were filing a freedom of information act request.
