The Legacy of Roswell and Stanton Friedman (1947)

Micha Verg

Alright, so, I gotta say, this is, uh—this is pretty exciting for me. Welcome everyone to the very first episode of The UFO Timeline Project Podcast! I’m Micha Verg, and, honestly, I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. UFOs have been such a huge part of my life, you know?

Victoria Bakken

And I’m Victoria Bakken! I can definitely feel your enthusiasm, Micha. I mean, we’ve been talking about this project for months now, and it’s finally happening. Our goal with this podcast is pretty simple: we want to create an immersive space for anyone curious about UFO history, where facts meet conversation, without any, well—fluff or sensationalism.

Micha Verg

Exactly! For those of you tuning in, we’re building on our website, UFOTimelineProject.com, which is all about documenting, you know, the timeline of UFO sightings and incidents from across the world. But listen, we’re not just listing off dates and facts. This is about digging deep—

Victoria Bakken

Totally—making connections—

Micha Verg

Exactly, making connections! And also sharing the stuff that gets overlooked. Like, I started this because, well, UFOs have been part of my family story. My, uh, my dad—he was a pilot and a World War Two vet—he had this encounter back in the fifties that sparked me to dive, like, waaaay deep into learning all about this stuff.

Victoria Bakken

And it’s fascinating—I mean, you’ve got firsthand stories that connect with history in such a personal way. And for me, I bring years of experience in media to the project. I’ve worked on countless shows, but this, so far, feels like the one where I’ll learn the most, alongside our listeners.

Micha Verg

And that’s what makes this, like, the most fun for me. We can dive into the history, yeah, but also explore everything that makes this topic, uh, so mysterious and compelling. I don’t know, Victoria, it kinda feels like we’re filling in the gaps of history here, doesn’t it?

Victoria Bakken

It does. And that’s what we’re hoping for with this show—a combination of exploration and storytelling. Whether you’re a skeptic or a full-on believer, there’s something to take away from understanding the history and the cultural impact of UFOs.

Micha Verg

And, uh, if you haven’t already, check out the site at UFOTimelineProject.com! We’ve got some great resources there, and we’ll be adding more as we go. This really is just the beginning.

Victoria Bakken

Right, so let’s make this official—welcome to The UFO Timeline Project Podcast. It’s time to talk about the events that shaped the UFO phenomenon as we know it today. And, Micha, I think I know the perfect place to start...

Victoria Bakken

So, Micha, I gave it some thought, and I think we should kick things off with one of the most iconic cases out there—the Roswell incident. You know, 1947, small town in New Mexico, a mysterious object crashes, and suddenly, the world is buzzing with speculation. It’s the perfect starting point for this journey.

Micha Verg

Oh yeah, I mean, Roswell is—it's like—if there’s a Mount Everest of UFO cases, this is it. Everyone’s heard of it, but Victoria, I think so many people miss the bigger picture here. It’s not just about a crash—it’s about what came after. You’ve got this explosion of interest in UFOs, government coverup theories, and this entire culture of curiosity about, you know, life beyond Earth. Honestly, I wonder where we’d be without it!

Victoria Bakken

Exactly. It marked this huge shift in how people thought about UFOs. Before Roswell, it seemed like sightings were these isolated, random stories, but the crash made it, well, more mainstream in a way. It became something society couldn’t really ignore anymore.

Micha Verg

And the timing was so important. Think about it—1947. The world had just come through World War Two, the Cold War was kicking off, and technology was advancing in ways people could barely wrap their heads around. Add to that these reports of a flying disc, and it’s like, whoa, are we talking aliens? Secret weapons? It was the perfect storm for, uh, speculation.

Victoria Bakken

And let’s not forget the narrative twists. First, the military says they recovered a “flying disc,” but then—nope, wait—it’s just a weather balloon. That shift is what really fueled the distrust and conspiracy theories, right?

Micha Verg

Oh, totally. Like, if they hadn’t flip-flopped on their story, maybe it wouldn’t have blown up the way it did. But once that newspaper headline went out—“RAAF Captures Flying Saucer on Ranch in Roswell Region”—that was it. People were hooked. And, you know, the interesting thing is that it didn’t just disappear after the initial buzz. It simmered for decades, and the questions just wouldn’t go away. What really crashed out there?

Victoria Bakken

Right. And then you have the cultural impact. I mean, Hollywood picks up on this narrative, and suddenly you’ve got flying saucers in movies, books, and even music. Roswell practically created the modern image of aliens and UFOs that we all recognize today.

Micha Verg

Yeah, it became part of the DNA of pop culture. But for me, the timeline itself is fascinating. Like, it wasn’t just a single event; it’s how the story evolved over the years. You’ve got eyewitnesses speaking out decades later, claims of recovered debris, even talk about alien bodies. It’s this layered, ongoing saga that just keeps pulling us back.

Victoria Bakken

And that’s what makes it such a pivotal moment in UFO history. It’s not just what happened in Roswell, but how it opened the floodgates for everything that came after. Suddenly, UFO sightings weren’t just dismissed—they were part of the conversation, part of the public consciousness.

Micha Verg

Exactly, it was like the spark that lit the fire. And, honestly, Victoria, the story might’ve faded into obscurity if it weren’t for one person who refused to let it go. You know who I’m talking about, right?

Micha Verg

You know who I’m talking about—Stanton Friedman. He’s the guy who refused to let Roswell slip into obscurity. Without him digging up the story decades later, I don't think we'd even be talking about it today.

Victoria Bakken

Absolutely. Friedman was really the first investigator to take the Roswell incident seriously. Back in the seventies, when UFOs were sort of just dismissed as, you know, fringe stuff, he started digging into Roswell and uncovering all these little threads that no one had bothered to follow. It was groundbreaking.

Micha Verg

Yeah, totally! And, you know, this was pre-internet, right? Like, he was traveling all over the place, knocking on doors, finding witnesses, interviewing people who hadn’t talked about this stuff in decades. He wasn’t just asking questions—he was pulling the story back from the brink, piece by piece. It’s, uh, it’s amazing how relentless he was.

Victoria Bakken

And it wasn’t just witnesses. Friedman's ability to analyze and challenge government documents was key. He found memos and records that raised even more questions about Roswell and the broader UFO phenomenon. He wasn’t afraid to ask, essentially, “What’s the government hiding?”

Micha Verg

Oh, for sure! And you know, Victoria, I actually got to meet him once.

Victoria Bakken

Wait, really?

Micha Verg

Yeah, yeah. It was a few years before he passed. I was at this UFO conference, and, well, I kinda just walked up to him, totally fanboying, and told him how much his work meant to me. And he was... he was awesome. Like, so approachable. We talked for maybe twenty minutes, and he shared how he saw himself not as a believer, but as a, uh, scientific investigator. He reminded me that skepticism doesn’t mean dismissal—it means you need evidence.

Victoria Bakken

That’s incredible. And it really aligns with how he approached this whole, let’s say, Roswell revival. He was meticulous—like you said, going door to door, interviewing those ranchers, former military personnel, anyone connected to the incident. He wasn’t just collecting rumors, he was building a foundation of documented testimony and facts, which completely redefined how people saw Roswell.

Micha Verg

Right. He gave it credibility. And he wasn’t afraid to put himself out there, either. I mean, going on TV, debating skeptics, holding his own against, you know, people who thought UFO researchers were just chasing sci-fi dreams. He changed the game for investigators like him—and, honestly, for people like me.

Victoria Bakken

It’s true. Friedman didn’t just reawaken public interest; he also set a higher standard for UFO research. He treated it seriously, and because of that, people started taking it seriously too. It really was a turning point.

Micha Verg

Totally. And something else I love about him: he brought the human element into it. Like, when he found witnesses, he wasn’t just looking for testimony, you know? He wanted their stories. I think that’s part of what kept Roswell alive all these years—it became more than just a UFO case. It was personal.

Victoria Bakken

And that’s what distinguishes someone like Stanton Friedman. He didn’t just investigate; he preserved history. Without his work, who knows how much of this story would’ve been lost.

Micha Verg

Exactly. And, you know, we’re still discovering things. This case, this timeline—it’s like it never ends. The more you dig, the more questions come up, especially when you look at, uh, some of the materials claimed to have been recovered. That’s where it gets really interesting...

Victoria Bakken

You’re absolutely right, Micha. The Roswell timeline does feel never-ending. And when you think about those materials people claimed were recovered, that’s what set the stage for all the theories, investigations, and documentaries we see today. It wasn’t just about the incident; it became a turning point that reshaped how people view UFOs entirely.

Micha Verg

Yeah, and the materials supposedly recovered from the crash—oh man, that’s where the rabbit hole gets deep. You know, stuff like memory metals that some witnesses claimed could bend and snap back, almost like nothing we’d ever seen before.

Victoria Bakken

Right, the so-called debris. And let’s be clear—even skeptics admit something unusual happened out there. Was it alien? Was it advanced military tech? The mystery is, honestly, kind of the whole point—it keeps the story alive, keeps people asking questions.

Micha Verg

And isn’t that the beauty of it? I mean, whether you’re a die-hard believer or on the fence, Roswell pulls you in. It’s—like—it’s part of this larger puzzle of UFO phenomena, and every piece of it feels like it could be the key to some bigger truth.

Victoria Bakken

It’s amazing how one event can ripple through history like that. I think what makes Roswell so enduring is that mix of real-world intrigue and, well, the what-ifs. Even now, decades later, we’re still debating, still investigating, still looking for answers.

Micha Verg

Exactly. And, Victoria, that’s why we started this podcast—to keep that curiosity alive, to dig into the stories that have shaped this phenomenon over the years. Roswell is just one piece, but it’s, uh, such a big one. I feel like it’s the one that planted the seed for everything else.

Victoria Bakken

Absolutely. It’s hard to talk about UFO history without mentioning Roswell, but it’s also just the beginning. There’s so much more to uncover, so many chapters in the timeline still waiting to be explored.

Micha Verg

And that exploration—that’s what it’s all about. I mean, this is why we're here, right? To dig deeper, to ask the questions no one else is asking, and to bring these stories to life in a way that, you know, really matters to people.

Victoria Bakken

And on that note, we’ll wrap up today’s episode. Thank you so much for joining us on this journey. This is just the beginning, and we’re so excited to keep diving into the rich history of UFO phenomena.

Micha Verg

Yeah, yeah—and don’t forget to check out UFOTimelineProject.com for more resources, stories, and updates. There’s plenty more where this came from.

Victoria Bakken

Until next time, Micha.

Micha Verg

Yeah, until next time, Victoria. And to everyone listening—keep your eyes on the skies.