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This weekend, I will have the privilege of participating in the hybrid live event “We Interrupt This Program” at the historic Virginia Theatre in downtown Champaign, Illinois. The production utilizes a unique “Show and Tell” format, as described here.
The “Show” is an original satirical play written by four-time Emmy winner Bill Odenkirk (The Simpsons, Futurama, Mr. Show). The story follows a small, local Midwestern radio station attempting to re-broadcast Orson Welles’ famous “The War of the Worlds” radio drama on the anniversary of its 1938 airing, when it’s interrupted by news that an actual alien ship has appeared over an Illinois cornfield.
The “Tell” is a live, unscripted cosmic panel discussion titled: “Is the Truth Out There?”, moderated by Emmy-winning PBS host, Sarah Edwards.
The star-studded production blends comedic veterans with premier scientific discussion. The “Show” features the actors: Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad) and Jill Talley (Mr. Show, SpongeBob SquarePants), whreas the “Tell” includes the discussants: Ahmed Best (Star Wars prequel trilogy), Bill Odenkirk and myself. The special musical guest is Ryan Groff (five-time Grammy-nominated songwriter for Avril Levigne/KORN)
The show will feature music directed by Graham Edwards as well as immersive background projections spanning the theatre’s massive screen. The immersive projections of archival footage of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) will display available visual evidence, while the discussion will examine the arguments for and against the possibility that some UAP representing alien technology, and how biases and culture shape what people believe.
Earlier tomorrow, I am scheduled to give a special seminar at the University of Illinois (advertised here), titled: “Searching for Extraterrestrial Technological Artifacts Near Earth: Are There Packages in Our Mailbox?”
My lecture will serve as a prelude to the “Show and Tell” event at the Virginia Theater (with its 1,500 seats nearly sold-out). I will provide the latest updates on the “Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters” from the vantage point of my leadership of the UAP Science Advisory Council (https://uapsac.com/) in service of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the White House, the Pentagon, the FBI and the Intelligence Community.
We live in exciting times where UAP reality might be more interesting than UAP storytelling.
As I argued in an essay posted here two days ago, the way to separate UAP reality from UAP storytelling is by following the evidence, like a detective searching for clues to resolve a mystery. I further explained yesterday here, in Brian Keating’s podcast “Into the Impossible,” that UAP research is a golden opportunity to demonstrate to the public the value of evidence-based science in guiding us robustly towards a better understanding of the unknown. Scientific evidence is the only way to amplify the signal-to-noise ratio and to separate the wheat from the abundant chaff in the chatter on social media.
Naturally, my simple ask for evidence is not popular among UAP storytellers on social media, both skeptics and believers, because they hate to be proven wrong by digital data or material clues.
Whether we are visited by the technological products of a cosmic neighbor is not up to us. We must study the physical reality rather than listen to stories that members of the audience tell us.
Earlier today, I received an uplifting email from Italy:
“Dear Professor Loeb,
I’m writing from Italy simply to thank you.
I have been following your work for some time, from your writings on ‘Oumuamua to the Galileo Project and your analysis of 3I/ATLAS. What I admire most is not only your scientific results, but your attitude: the willingness to ask questions that others avoid, and to insist that the answer should come from data rather than from prejudice or ridicule.
In a field where curiosity is often discouraged, your example reminds many of us that open-mindedness and rigor are not opposites, but belong together.
Thank you for your work and for the time you dedicate to sharing it with the public.
With sincere admiration,
Andrea Tarantino
Trieste, Italy”
Authorized publication by Dr.Avi Loeb
