Tim Marchman: And you, Makena?
Makena Kelly: I feel like I have this popular story in my head, and maybe it’s real, I need to check it, but Jimmy Carter, upon taking office, saw some UFO files and cried, and never said anything about it again.
Tim Marchman: I think I’ve heard this too.
Makena Kelly: Yes, and I don’t know if it’s real. I tried doing some searches. And thinking about Trump finding out these things, I don’t know if he would disclose them. I wouldn’t be optimistic.
Tim Marchman: I don’t think they are going to publish anything because he was already president and he did not publish the material in question. I think what the secret files would show if they were declassified is that the United States covered up Lee Harvey Oswald and his relationship with the Soviet Union for fear that, if made public, it would lead to nuclear war. And that much of the subsequent cover-up has been a cover-up of the cover-up. And I think the UFO files would show that extraterrestrial biological entities crashed in New Mexico in the 1940s and took the US government on a voyage of discovery about the nature of the universe, including extraterrestrials who created religious figures well known throughout human history. as guides to give humans instructions on how not to harm their bodies, which are containers of souls that the aliens are harvesting for energy. This has been the theory, at least the one that many UFO advocates have been putting forward since the 1980s, and of course I firmly believe it’s true, perhaps Donald Trump will confirm it. Makena and David, thank you very much for being here. When we return, it will be time for our last Conspiracy of the week.
Tim Marchman: Welcome back to WIRED Policy Lab. This is Conspiracy of the Week, that part of the show where our guests bring their favorite conspiracy theories and I’ll judge instead of Leah. This week’s winner will be able to boast about it forever, so I hope they both brought something good to the table. Makena, let’s start with you.
Makena Kelly: Yeah, I’m glad you mentioned aliens and the JFK assassination because I’m going to complete the trifecta with this. One of the conspiracy theories that I think has had its moment in heaven, let’s say, this year, has been chemtrails. These are the trails that airplanes leave behind as they fly in the sky, apparently spreading all these chemicals and ruining and poisoning us, when in reality it’s just water vapor. Just earlier this year, with the hurricane in North Carolina, there were conspiracies about chemtrails taking place there. Tennessee legislators passed a bill that has to do with something and regulates chemtrails, crazy. But this week, my goodness, I was lost when I saw this. There was what appeared to be a satirical joke online about a Lufthansa pilot who refused to spray chemtrails on his son while piloting a plane. He apparently took a stand and said, “I won’t do it.” And the chemtrails community, I guess we can call it the chemtrails community, was really thrilled with this. And it’s not true, it was a joke. Yeah.