Uploaded October 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
The U.S. shot down several balloons – spy-related and otherwise – in early 2023 to great media fanfare. Meanwhile, NASA convened an independent panel to study what were once called UFOs and are now known as Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or UAPs. It’s probably not E.T., but there’s a whole lot of stuff up there … What is it, and how can science writers accurately and sensitively report on this conspiracy-fraught topic?
In this session at the ScienceWriters2023 conference, science writers heard about the panel's conclusions from experts and a science journalist who served on the panel. The session was part of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing's annual New Horizons in Science annual briefings. It took place in Boulder, CO on October 7, 2023.
In recognition of the public interest in this topic, the discussion has been reconstructed from a personal audio recording and a short video presentation. The audio has been edited for clarity.
The session was moderated by Dan Vergano, senior opinion editor at Scientific American.
Panelists:
• Iain Boyd, H.T. Sears Memorial Professor at the University of Colrado Boulder; director, Center for National Security Initiatives
• Nadia Drake, reelance writer and interim physics editor at Quanta Magazine
• Thomas Zurbuchen, director, ETH Zurich Space
• Mick West, writer and UFO investigator; author of "Escaping the Rabbit Hole: How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories Using Facts, Logic, and Respect"
The U.S. shot down several balloons – spy-related and otherwise – in early 2023 to great media fanfare. Meanwhile, NASA convened an independent panel to study what were once called UFOs and are now known as Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or UAPs. It’s probably not E.T., but there’s a whole lot of stuff up there … What is it, and how can science writers accurately and sensitively report on this conspiracy-fraught topic?
In this session at the ScienceWriters2023 conference, science writers heard about the panel's conclusions from experts and a science journalist who served on the panel. The session was part of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing's annual New Horizons in Science annual briefings. It took place in Boulder, CO on October 7, 2023.
In recognition of the public interest in this topic, the discussion has been reconstructed from a personal audio recording and a short video presentation. The audio has been edited for clarity.
The session was moderated by Dan Vergano, senior opinion editor at Scientific American.
Panelists:
• Iain Boyd, H.T. Sears Memorial Professor at the University of Colrado Boulder; director, Center for National Security Initiatives
• Nadia Drake, reelance writer and interim physics editor at Quanta Magazine
• Thomas Zurbuchen, director, ETH Zurich Space
• Mick West, writer and UFO investigator; author of "Escaping the Rabbit Hole: How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories Using Facts, Logic, and Respect"
