All language subtitles for A.A.S20E01.1080p.WEB.h264.EDITH_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR:
A mysterious Egyptian pharaoh

who altered the religion
of an entire empire.

Extraordinary engineers
who lived in the sea.

And a cosmic visitor

who worked for
the United States military.

Throughout history, humankind
has received guidance

from otherworldly beings.

Now, Ancient Aliens examines
ten of the most

intriguing influencers
in history.

Teachers that just
might have been

visitors from another world.

♪ ♪

There is a major misconception

that the ancient astronaut
theory

credits all the accomplishments

of our ancestors
entirely to extraterrestrials.

But this is not the case.

What it suggests is that
our ancestors had teachers.

We can find countless
examples throughout history

of beings who came from the sky
and imparted knowledge

that led to the building
of incredible structures,

or changed the course
of history.

And one of the most
compelling accounts

describes no less than
200 otherworldly teachers

who had an impact
of biblical proportions.

At number ten on
our countdown of

the top ten alien influencers:
the Watchers.

NARRATOR:
Qumran, Israel, 1949.

A team of archaeologists
unearth hundreds of ancient

scrolls that are more than
2,000 years old.

Known as the Dead Sea Scrolls,
these documents contain

the oldest versions of
the Bible ever discovered,

as well as a controversial
text called The Book of Enoch,

which tells the tale
of a group of otherworldly

influencers known as
the Watchers.

WILLIAM HENRY:
The Watchers are
a group of these 200 angels.

The Book of Enoch says
they came from God's throne.

They're the highest order of
angels who were sent to Earth,

to give humanity knowledge.

The Watchers are a group
of angels who are dispatched

to watch humans
and to help humans.

Now, the Watchers are
very interesting because

they are angels
who interact with humans.

NARRATOR:
The Book of Enoch is
a firsthand account of

the biblical patriarch's
encounter with the Watchers.

Enoch was taken into the heavens

aboard a fiery chariot,
where he is given

powerful universal knowledge
by angelic beings.

They taught advanced knowledge
of metalworking, of astronomy.

But the most amazing thing is
that the Watchers taught Enoch

the secrets of heaven.

NARRATOR:
When Enoch returned
to Earth,

he shared this knowledge
with his fellow humans.

And as far as ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,

the account of Enoch
and the Watchers

is a compelling example
of an otherworldly influence

on human development.

The Book of Enoch is very clear

that the Watchers
are celestial beings.

We call them extraterrestrials.

There's no question they didn't
come from this planet.

However they got here,
the stories are clear.

It's that they were here
to assist humanity

in scaling
the evolutionary ladder.

Our next alien influencers
are celestial beings

who number not in the hundreds,
but in the thousands.

And they are believed
to visit Japan to this very day.

At number nine: the kami.

NARRATOR:
Ise, Japan.

In the center of this remote
coastal city is a massive

complex of 125
individual Shinto shrines.

They are dedicated
to the worship of

otherworldly beings
known as the kami.

The kami are these
celestial beings that are

able to inhabit basically
anything, from a human being,

to an animal,
and even inanimate objects.

So on the one hand, they're
these multidimensional beings,

but then,
they also describe them

as having come down
from their celestial

palace in the sky,
which is called Takamagahara.

There are over eight million
kamis, according to

the Shinto tradition, and each
one of them respond to certain

offerings that they like,
in particular.

They also will
respond more negatively

if they are disregarded
or forgotten.

So, all of them have
distinct individualities,

and certain likes
and dislikes as well.

NARRATOR:
According to ancient astronaut
theorists,

the kami are not only
otherworldly beings,

but have had a major influence
on Japanese civilization.

Evidence of which can be
found at the Ise Grand Shrine,

which according
to Japanese tradition,

is the home of the supreme
kami, the goddess Amaterasu.

Amaterasu is the principal
goddess

and principal god of Shinto.

All emperors
in the history of Japan

have claimed descent
from Amaterasu as well.

All of them trace their lineage
back to the kami,

all the way down to
Emperor Jimmu,

the first emperor
to unify Japan.

NARRATOR:
According to Japan's
oldest text, the "Kojiki,"

Emperor Jimmu united
the islands of Japan

in the sixth century BC.

It is written that his victory
was ensured

not only by Amaterasu,
but also by a kami that took

the form of a large
three-legged crow.

This so-called "crow"
guided him on his journey

and advised him in military
matters to ensure his success.

And when you look at ancient
depictions of this crow,

it is often depicted inside some
kind of an orb,

this circular disc.

So if you look at that,
you have to ask,

what, exactly, were the ancient
Japanese talking about here?

Because this, to me, sounds
more like he was being guided

by some kind of a flying craft
than an actual crow.

NARRATOR: Could Japan's
first Emperor, Jimmu,

and the imperial family today,
be direct descendants

of extraterrestrial beings
known as the kami?

And might the three-legged crow
really have been an alien craft?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes,

and as far as followers
of Shinto are concerned,

the kami still influence
earthly events to this very day.

Many Japanese actually have
Shinto shrines

in their homes,

so there's a daily
interaction with the kami.

And they will do
daily prayers or daily rituals

devoted to the kami,
and this benefits them

directly through long life
and health and prosperity.

The Japanese archipelago
is dotted with over

81,000 shrines that are devoted
to the kami gods.

The Japanese people will
visit the shrines

of the kami with the belief
that they are actually praying

to an extraterrestrial being
who can fulfill their blessings.

On the opposite side
of the world,

in the American Southwest,

you will find similar legends
of mysterious teachers

who descended from the heavens.

The native Hopi people
depict them as strange

humanoid figures with
various animal features.

Number eight on our countdown

of alien influencers:
the kachinas.

NARRATOR:
Black Mesa.
Northeastern Arizona.

The Native American Hopi tribe
has considered these peaks

sacred for more than
1,000 years.

According to their mythology,
this is where they were

visited by sky beings
known as the kachina.

The kachinas, in Hopi tradition,

are related to the star people.

All Native American tribes
have these traditional

oral histories that people came
from the stars to visit them.

It's universal, all across
the United States,

that these gods, as we call
them today, came to Earth

and visited to provide
knowledge.

TSOUKALOS:
The translation for
the word kachina is very simple.

It means "teacher."

The Hopi refer to the kachinas

arriving in these
flying shields.

Orange, glowing shields, as
they're sometimes referred to.

They would touch down on Earth,
spend time with human beings,

teach them, give them knowledge,
and then they would use the same

quote-unquote shields
to fly back into the sky.

And that's interesting that
the Hopi are very clear in

relaying that the kachinas were
not part of the ethereal realm,

but that they happened to
be part of our physical world.

NARRATOR:
According to Hopi mythology,
the kachina arrived to share

knowledge about agriculture,
astronomy and medicine.

To this day, the Hopi celebrate
the influence of the kachina

with rituals to connect them
with the sky beings.

Central to these are
sacred objects

that are believed to be
a likeness of the kachina.

CLIFFORD MAHOOTY:
The kachina is a representation

of the actual gods
that used to come

into the villages eons ago.

Some of them are warriors.

Most of them are
priesthood-type kachinas,

and they come from different
parts of the universe.

TSOUKALOS:
The Hopi are very clear
in suggesting

that the kachinas were
celestial beings

that imparted knowledge.

And if you compare that to
the ancient astronaut theory,

that's exactly what it talks
about, that the knowledge was

imparted by beings
who visited us.

on our list
er

descended from the heavens.

Sometimes,
they emerged from the sea.

Like a group
of mysterious beings

who taught
the ancient Greeks metallurgy,

and were described
as humanoid entities

with fish-like features.

At number seven on our countdown

of the top ten
alien influencers:

the Telchines.

NARRATOR:
The Aegean Sea.

On the eastern edge
of the Greek archipelago

lies the picturesque island
of Rhodes.

Today, it is home
to more than 115,000 people.

But according
to Greek mythology,

it was once inhabited
by a mysterious group

of advanced beings
known as the Telchines.

The Telchines
are an interesting aspect

of this early Greek mythology.

They are, in some cases,

described as having dog heads
and fish-web hands.

RADER:
The Telchines were known

for that reason
as "fish people."

They had their special
semidivine powers,

technologically advanced beings

who are greater than humans.

They were bigger, they're
stronger, they're smarter.

TSOUKALOS:
It's very interesting
that the Greeks

were very, very clear
in describing

what they looked like.

The Telchines are amphibious.

During the day,
they would walk on land,

but at night,
they would go into the water

and then reemerge
the following day.

NARRATOR:
According to legend,

the Telchines were
highly skilled metallurgists.

They were said to have created
Poseidon's magical trident,

and to have cast
the first bronze statues

of the gods of Olympus.

The Telchines were known
for their, uh, ability

in metalsmithing,
in various magical

or highly technological
developments.

And they came up with
new stuff all the time.

So, they were represented
as a somewhat advanced race,

if you will.

NARRATOR:
According to mythology,

the Telchines shared the secrets
of their advanced smithcraft

with the ancient Greeks.

TSOUKALOS:
The Telchines are the ones

who taught the local population

about metallurgy,
how to make swords

and how to forge them in fire,
and things like that.

You have to remember that,
at some point,

these things were not invented,

so all of a sudden,
these new things are there,

and when you look
at the ancient accounts--

how or why our ancestors
came up with this--

our ancestors are telling us,

"And then we were taught by,"
in this case,

"the Telchines how to make iron,
how to make metal."

The reason why this ties into
the ancient astronaut theory

is because the entire
Greek pantheon of gods

is based on
an extraterrestrial idea

that the ancient gods
of Greece were

visiting extraterrestrials.

NARRATOR:
While the idea that the Greeks

could have been influenced
by amphibious metalsmiths

may sound like science fiction,
there is historical evidence

that a group called
the Telchines truly did exist.

RADER:
We do actually have
evidence of these beings.

They were actual ancient Greeks

who had specific tasks
and trades like,

uh, metallurgy,
like smithing, and so on.

And so, the Telchines
could, in fact, not just be

these mythological beings
but actual people.

HENRY:
And if that is the case,
then that opens up the question

of whether or not
extraterrestrials

lived in the sea.

This is a-a common theme
that we find around the world,

of great civilizer gods
that emerged from the sea,

and from time to time,
they will come to the surface

as influencers of humankind,

or as instruments
of advancement for humanity.

Curiously, in West Africa,

there are also accounts
of mysterious teachers

who had a fish-like appearance.

And according
to the Dogon tribe,

these alien influencers
didn't come out of the sea

but traveled to Earth
from an invisible star.

At number six on our countdown:
the Nommo.

NARRATOR:
Mali, Africa, 1931.

French anthropologist
Marcel Griaule

treks through
the forbidden desert

in search of the mysterious
Dogon tribe.

When he finds them,
he becomes fascinated

by their culture and traditions,

including the tale of mysterious
teachers called the Nommo.

According to Dogon mythology,
the Nommo came from the sky,

had a fish-like appearance
and aided

in the development of humankind.

They described
these Nommos as being

very, like, mermaid
or merman-like,

but bequeathing lots
of knowledge of astronomy,

math and science
to this ancient race.

The Dogon actually said, "Well,

"this was our creator god Nommo,

"who descended from the sky
in a loud whirlwind

of a storm of thunder,
smoke and lightning."

And their knowledge
of everything

was given to them by that being.

NARRATOR:
According to the Dogon,

the Nommo not only taught them
about agriculture,

math and medicine, but shared

advanced astronomical
information.

The Dogon priests said
that the Nommo

were coming from
the star system of Sirius,

but they said that their star

was a different,
smaller star in Sirius,

and the Nommo planet went around
this secondary star.

Well, the French anthropologists
were amazed at that,

and were confused as well.

Because that companion star
to Sirius

had not really been officially
discovered at that time.

HENRY:
How is it possible
that they have this knowledge

unless that knowledge
was given to them

by beings who came
from that star system?

But you have to ask,
did the Nomo

come from the stars?

Were they extraterrestrial
beings that came to Earth

as great teachers,
as influencers of human culture?

g

to ancient astronaut theorists,
is the country of Australia,

because for thousands of years,
the Aboriginal people

have been passing down stories

of their celestial ancestors.

And one of the most
compelling tales

involves a mysterious teacher

who descended from the heavens
in a flying canoe.

Number five on our countdown

of the top ten
alien influencers:

a visitor known as Baiame.

NARRATOR:
The Aboriginal people
have lived here

for more than 60,000 years,

making them the most ancient
continuous culture in the world.

For tens of thousands of years,

they have preserved
the sacred knowledge

of their earliest ancestors,

passed down through art
and detailed oral histories.

And there is one figure
who is said

to have had a greater influence
on Aboriginal traditions

than any other:

a mysterious teacher
named Baiame.

Baiame is our god creator,
who came from the Morning Star.

And Baiame arrived here
to Mother Earth a long time ago.

We say our ways of life
that are passed down

from generation after generation
have been given to us by Baiame.

TSOUKALOS:
Baiame is a deity

that helped
the local population,

gave knowledge
and showed people,

in various
scientific disciplines.

Essentially, it was a teacher.

Oh, wow.

NARRATOR:
In 2016,

ancient astronaut theorist
Giorgio Tsoukalos

traveled to the Brisbane Water
National Park in Australia.

There he met with Aboriginal
Elder Kevin Gavi Duncan,

and was eager to learn more
about Baiame

and the story
of his otherworldly origins.

So, what are we looking at here?

So, this image
is an actual image of Baiame.

-That's what our people believe.
-Okay.

DUNCAN:
This site is considered around
8,000 to 10,000 years old.

TSOUKALOS:
Wow.

Baiame came from what-- a place

that we call the Morning Star,
within the Mirrabooka,

-Mm-hmm.
-"Mirra" means "stars"
and "booka" means river.

It is the Milky Way
that flows across the,

-the night sky.
-No kidding. Okay.

TSOUKALOS:
And so, he is one
of those sky heroes

that has descended
from the Milky Way?

DUNCAN:
Yes, he's a sky hero.

And this is the canoe.

This was his vessel

that he sailed through
the Milky Way.

When he landed,
they said the fire

came from his feet and it burnt
the top of the mountain

and all around it
every time he landed.

-TSOUKALOS: This is incredible.
-People interpret that

as a spaceship of some kind,
as coming and going.

This is the way we simply
interpret Baiame's spaceship.

-Right, but it's because
the vocabulary...
-Right, yeah.

...didn't exist at the time.

Yes.

NARRATOR:
According to
the oral traditions,

when Baiame arrived, he created
the Earth for humans

and then showed them
how to survive.

Teachings that continue
to influence Aboriginal society.

We believe,
as Aboriginal people,

that Baiame walked
across the Earth

and basically, the land
was prepared for us

before life was started here.

We say, "Baiame,
teach us how we should

"equally have this
balance of life

between us
as human beings and the Earth."

The Aboriginals have
all kinds of ancient stories

of sky gods who manipulated
the continent

and created the rivers
and mountains

and then they left.

These are probably
some of the oldest stories

of extraterrestrial intervention

that we have on planet Earth.

Our people had much

ancient knowledge
of the star system,

and the constellation
of the stars.

The wisdom and knowledge that
have been given to us by Baiame.

NARRATOR:
It's said that Baiame

taught the ancient
Aboriginal people

astronomy, medicine
and various skills

to survive off the land,

including how to
make Australia's

most iconic hunting tool.

DUNCAN:
Baiame had given us
the spirit of technology.

We invented the boomerang,
which is aerodynamics.

It's something that's, you know,
influenced the technology

of today like airplanes and
helicopters, and other things.

And, we say that knowledge

of how to create these
things was given by Baiame.

NARRATOR:
Was Baiame
an otherworldly visitor

who bequeathed knowledge
that continues to influence

Aboriginal people to this day?

For elders like
Gary Simon Jagamarra

and many who share
the traditional beliefs

of their ancestors,

the answer
is a resounding "yes."

JAGAMARRA:
We all have stories
of people in crafts

coming from the stars,
going to the stars, and so on.

In order to keep them,
pass them down

to next generation,
we carved them,

we painted them,
we sang them.

We danced them in stories

to guarantee
that they passed down.

So, when the visitors left,
we didn't forget about them

and we never forget
about the things

that they passed down to us and
the knowledge they passed down.

s

to investigate is Egypt.

Its mythology is
a treasure trove of evidence

for the ancient
astronaut theory,

including accounts of UFOs,
advanced technology

and the story
of a mysterious man

who received his knowledge
from the stars.

Number four on our list of the
top ten alien influencers:

Imhotep.

NARRATOR:
Saqqara, Egypt.

Located just 15 miles
south of the Giza Plateau

stands what mainstream
archaeologists suggest

is the oldest pyramid in Egypt:

the Step Pyramid of King Djoser.

Constructed in
the 27th century BC,

this monument was designed

by a mysterious figure
named Imhotep.

ROMANY:
Imhotep was a commoner,

but he became the high
engineer, the main architect.

And he came out of nowhere.

We don't know his history,
we know that he

came into power,

ascended the ranks,

and became the closest man
to the king.

And he came up with
the idea of a pyramid.

YOUNG:
It was a step pyramid.
And if you look at it,

it's sometimes described
as "stairway to the gods,"

these enormous steps
up into the sky.

And it was the first time
a stone ceiling was suspended.

It is an amazing breakthrough
pioneer architectural moment,

and the beginning of
the making of pyramids in Egypt.

NARRATOR:
Imhotep designed
the Djoser Pyramid

to be the most impressive
monument in Egypt.

The six-tier,
four-sided structure

originally stood 205 feet tall,

with a base measuring 358 feet

by 397 feet.

It was an engineering
achievement so extraordinary

that it enshrined Imhotep in
the annals of Egyptian history.

Remarkably, the iconic
structure was not

Imhotep's sole accomplishment.

Imhotep was a high priest.
He also was a high physician

and the most ancient
medical document

ever found in the world

was a papyrus written by Imhotep

that explains
how to treat trauma.

NARRATOR:
But of greater interest to
ancient astronaut theorists

is what influenced Imhotep's
incredible accomplishments.

ROMANY:
You go to look back
at Imhotep

and how he gained
that knowledge.

And what's written is puzzling

because it says Imhotep received

the book that fell from the sky.

NARRATOR:
Did Imhotep really
gain his knowledge

from an otherworldly source?

Or, is it possible, as ancient
astronaut theorists suggest,

that there is a more
profound explanation?

There are great mysteries
about who Imhotep was,

where he came from.

This is interesting because
later on, Imhotep is deified.

And what's fascinating
is the depictions of him.

He looks like he's
got this oversize head.

He's got strange-looking hands.
He almost looks nonhuman.

what we appear to be
dealing with here

is possibly
an extraterrestrial being

who took on a human existence.

The story of Imhotep
is fascinating,

but he wasn't the only alien
influencer in ancient Egypt.

One of the most intriguing
was a controversial pharaoh

who worshipped a mysterious
disc-shaped deity

and was depicted
with an elongated skull.

At number three: Akhenaten.

NARRATOR:
Of the many pharaohs
of ancient Egypt,

none are more mysterious
and controversial

than Akhenaten.

He ruled from 1353 BC

until his death 17 years later.

His reign was
dominated by controversy

when he abandoned the pantheon
of old Egyptian gods

and instead demanded
that his subjects

worship a single deity:
the sun god Aten.

Akhenaten was
the most unique king

in all of ancient Egypt.

At a time where Egypt
was most prosperous,

he decided to change everything.

To change Egypt's
most strongest beliefs.

To change religion.

YOUNG:
Akhenaten announces
there will be one god,

they will be
a monotheistic people.

Aten, the sun god,

would be the one divinity
they all worshipped.

The image is the sun disc.

It shook the empire
in really terrible ways.

NARRATOR:
Unlike the pantheon
of anthropomorphic gods

that had been
worshipped for centuries,

the god Aten
was simply represented

by a disc-shaped object.

The Egyptian aristocracy

was so confused and angered
by Akhenaten's installation

of this abstract deity,

that after his death,

they went to extreme lengths
to obliterate his legacy.

HENRY:
The ancient Egyptians
did not want us to know

anything about Akhenaten.
You can only wonder,

was it in fact to protect
an even darker secret?

NARRATOR:
What secret could have
inspired Akhenaten

to make such drastic changes

during a time
of tremendous prosperity?

Ancient astronaut
theorists suggest

there may have been
an otherworldly influence,

and as evidence,

point not only to the
disc-shaped god he worshipped,

but also to the way
he and his wife, Nefertiti,

were depicted
by artists of the time.

CHILDRESS:
He, and Nefertiti
and their children

all had elongated heads

as we see all around the world

and is often associated
with extraterrestrials.

Akhenaten has been
suggested as possibly

being an extraterrestrial
or part extraterrestrial.

TSOUKALOS:
One has to wonder
if Akhenaten may have been

some type of
an extraterrestrial hybrid.

And perhaps that sun-disc Aten

that Akhenaten prayed to

wasn't a sun in the sky at all,

but it could have been
an extraterrestrial

that instructed Akhenaten.

of otherworldly guidance
unt

occurred in the distant past.

In fact, one alien influencer

allegedly crash-landed
on Earth in the 1950s

and then shared the secrets
of his technology

with members
of the U.S. military.

Number two on our countdown
of the top ten

alien influencers: J-Rod.

NARRATOR:
Groom Lake, Nevada.

Hidden within
a ring of mountains,

this dry lakebed is
the location of Area 51,

the nation's most infamous
military installation.

For decades
rumors have swirled that this

top secret facility is hiding

not only
extraterrestrial technology,

but a living alien being
known as "J-Rod."

J-Rod is an alien

who allegedly worked at Area 51

over a period of years
to help reverse engineer

extraterrestrial technology.

NARRATOR:
A number of
government whistleblowers

have come forward with
the story that J-Rod

was first discovered
inside the cockpit

of a downed alien craft.

According to their accounts,

on May 21, 1953,

government officials secretly
gathered a team of scientists

to investigate the crash
of an unidentified flying object

on the outskirts of
Kingman, Arizona.

There were 40 engineers
that boarded a bus,

and they took a long
three and a half hour ride

from Phoenix to Kingman.

When they got there,
it was nighttime.

There were MPs on
all corners of the craft.

It's about a 40-foot diameter
disc-shaped craft

that was perfectly intact,
there wasn't a scratch on it.

There were four beings
associated with this craft.

And they shipped it
to Groom Lake.

DOLAN: Groom Lake is
the Area 51 region in Nevada.

When Area 51
was just bare bones,

they took the craft
and the aliens

out to that location in
the middle of the Nevada desert,

because it was so remote,

and around that,
they built Area 51.

This is where the story
of J-Rod originates.

J-Rod survived
and worked directly

with our own government.

What's very interesting here
is here we have

an extraterrestrial
in government custody,

and he could certainly have

all kinds of
information to reveal,

and what they are apparently
talking about is technology

and the reverse engineering
of extraterrestrial technology.

NARRATOR:
One man who claimed to
have worked with J-Rod

is Captain Bill Uhouse,
a former Air Force test pilot,

who was assigned to Area 51
in the mid-1960s.

We had a long period
of introduction

into meeting,

you know, an alien.

And I called him J-Rod.

That's the name
that the linguists gave him.

And he talked, he would talk,

but he'd sound just like,

if you spoke,
he'd sound like you.

You know, he's like
one of these, uh,

a parrot. (chuckles)

But he'd try and answer
your question, you know?

Basically, it was only

engineering advice
or science advice.

DENNET: Bill Uhouse said
he met this being

at least ten times
over a period of years,

and he learned
it was J-Rod's mission

to help reverse engineer

technology that was

apparently from
the 1953 Kingman UFO crash.

NARRATOR:
While the sensational account

of Captain Bill Uhouse
strikes many as outlandish,

shortly after he came forward,

a microbiologist
named Dan Burisch

confirmed the claim.

There's another whistleblower
by the name of Dan Burisch.

And Dan Burisch
said that he was hired

as a microbiologist to,
basically, care for J-Rod,

ensuring that he
remained healthy.

And, uh, this went on
for years and years and years.

NARRATOR:
According to Dan Burisch
and Bill Uhouse,

J-Rod was housed in
a special underground chamber

at Area 51.

And J-Rod was not
the only extraterrestrial

believed to be working with
the United States government.

ROJAS:
There's a lot of stories

that we've worked with
aliens at Area 51,

and that they worked
at the White House

uh, and the Pentagon
as advisors,

helping us to better our world,

and they have been
sharing information

for us to
enhance our technologies.

TSOUKALOS:
This idea that actual,
physical extraterrestrials

could potentially be influencing

the course of the world

is a possibility.

I am sure
there's envoys out there

that do the same thing,

not just on a planet,

but in entire planetary systems.

We're just moments away

from revealing the top alien
influencer on our countdown,

and we've saved
the best for last

because this one
has had an impact

across the whole world.

end n

of the top ten
alien influencers,

and this last one has led to

a seismic shift in
beliefs and attitudes

towards the possibility

that extraterrestrials
are visiting Earth.

At number one on our countdown:

Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.

NARRATOR:
The New York Times releases

three videos that were
recorded by U.S. fighter jets.

The footage, which appears
to show encounters between

U.S. Navy aircraft and
unidentified flying objects,

was brought to them by
government whistleblower

Luis Elizondo.

DOLAN:
Luis Elizondo is a former
intelligence officer

in the Department of Defense.

From everything
that we can see,

he had a very stellar career,
very fine career.

And, in 2007, he was selected
to run the AATIP program.

So that's the Advanced Aerospace
Threat Identification Program,

the UFO program.

NARRATOR:
The release of the videos
not only sparked

a wave of interest about
UFOs across the country,

but forced lawmakers on
Capitol Hill to take notice.

CHILDRESS:
This was a real turning point

in the United States
because The New York Times

basically said that, yeah,
there are UFOs out there.

The government's
looking at them.

It's actually
an important investigation.

This really shows that

UFOs and the study of UFOs

and the investigation
has entered the mainstream.

NARRATOR:
The influence of the videos

released by Elizondo
emboldened other whistleblowers

to come forward
with evidence of UFOs.

Including Navy pilot
David Fravor

and former Area 51 engineer
Bob Lazar.

And in June, 2023,

former intelligence officer
David Grusch

testified before Congress
about a covert military program

that has craft
of non-human origin.

I was informed in the course
of my official duties

of a multi-decade
UAP crash retrieval

and reverse engineering program.

NARRATOR:
The impact of the testimony
of these whistleblowers

has brought the idea of

extraterrestrials visiting Earth

into mainstream conversation.

But, as far as ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,

this is no accident.

They suggest that the dramatic
influence the whistleblowers

have had on the public
is part of a plan

by extraterrestrials.

TSOUKALOS:
What's really fascinating
is that in the 1960s,

Erich Von Däniken proposed
in Chariots of the Gods?

that aliens would show up
when Earth civilization

would reach a certain
level of technology.

And with everything
that's going on right now,

this may be the time
when we will make contact.

ERICH VON DÄNIKEN:
Some thousands of years ago,

the extraterrestrials
promised to return

in a faraway future.

And we have good reasons to
believe that now they are back.

More and more of
these proven UFO cases

appear to the public.

Before, it was never
shown to the public.

We know we are not alone.

We are under observation,

and it must be extraterrestrials

because they show a technology
which we do not have.

NARRATOR:
For the first time in history,

members of Congress, senators,

and the U.S. military

are openly talking about
the possibility of

an extraterrestrial presence
on Earth.

TSOUKALOS:
All of a sudden, since 2017,

these stories have become
front-page news.

And it clearly shows
that there was

a type of a paradigm shift

that's happened
over the past 25 years.

And, for someone like me,
it's-it's incredible.

The idea that extraterrestrials

are deliberately
revealing themselves to us

is truly thrilling.

But what's clear to
ancient astronaut theorists

is that we've had contact
with alien influencers

for thousands of years.

From heavenly beings
described in the Bible

to strange amphibious creatures

and even mysterious visitors

seen in our skies today.

Perhaps the next
alien influencer

will finally reveal the truth

about humankind's
extraterrestrial past.

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