Disclosure! How Aliens Were Here All Along

with Dr. Susannah Crockford

Live Recording: August 10th, 2:30 - 4:00 pm EST

Pay What You Want before August 10

What if beliefs about UFOs and aliens aren’t just science fiction—but the foundation of new religious movements, spiritual identities, and modern apocalyptic visions?

Extraterrestrial life and unidentified flying objects have fascinated people for over a hundred years now.

In this lecture, I explain the prevalence of stories about UFOs and aliens and how such stories constitute a form of contemporary religion. Starting with an overview of how UFO and alien beliefs have changed over time in the US, I trace the history from early 20th century Theosophical Society claims about Ascended Masters and flying ships to hostile visitors invading and abducting unsuspecting witnesses in the post-war period to military sightings and record collecting of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) over decades. These stories form the wider cultural milieu in which groups known as UFO religions have emerged, religions which feature extraterrestrial life in their theologies, such as Heaven's Gate and Scientology.

The focus of this lecture will be on starseeds, people who believe they are aliens in human bodies, with special missions on earth to help its ascension. Unlike UFO religions, starseeds tend to be individuals, working as influencers online rather than in organised groups. They form part of the wider current of metaphysical spirituality, or what was once known as new age spirituality. In recent years, starseed influencers have taken centre stage at metaphysical conferences like Contact in the Desert and the Conscious Life Expo as well as online, where they dominate spiritual content. Among their many ideas and claims, disclosure is perhaps the most widely known in popular culture. Disclosure is the idea that the US government knows about aliens, has covered it up, but will soon release details. It forms a millenarian event, after which the current military and political system will fall and a new order, potentially led by benevolent aliens, will begin. It is the moment when everything will change. Beyond new Spielberg movies, disclosure also drives conspiracy theories, further encouraged by Donald Trump with his declassification of UAP documents.

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Course Features

90 min Lecture + Q&A

Searchable Transcript

Additional Resources

Your Instructor

Dr. Susannah Crockford

Susannah Crockford is a Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Exeter, where she teaches and advises in Social and Political Sciences, Philosophy, and Anthropology.

As a scholar of religion and anthropology, her research examines the intersection of spirituality, environment, and health, with a special emphasis on new age and metaphysical movements. She is the author of Ripples of the Universe: Spirituality in Sedona, Arizona (University of Chicago Press, 2021) and is currently completing her second book, A Perturbed System: Religion and Climate Change at the End of a World, forthcoming from the University of Chicago Press in 2026. She holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and has held positions at Ghent University, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Your Instructor

Dr. Susannah Crockford

Susannah Crockford is a Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Exeter, where she teaches and advises in Social and Political Sciences, Philosophy, and Anthropology.