The Secret History of Ufology: MUFON Edition with Erica Lukes & Recluse (Patreon)

This is an exclusive installment in The Farm's ongoing "The Secret History of Ufology" series. Joining me for this round is Erica Lukes of UFO Classified. Erica is a former member of MUFON, first working as a field investigator and later becoming a State Director for Utah. She's also been a guest on such TV shows as History's Ancient Aliens and The Travel Channel's UFOs: The Lost Evidence.

Erica's background is especially apt for the topic of discussion: the Mutual UFO Network, more commonly known as MUFON. On the surface, MUFON may not seem like the sexiest topic, but that's probably because you haven't been paying attention. MUFON is undoubtedly one of the sleaziest and most corrupt organizations active today. The upper echelons have been deeply implicated in a host of outrages, including pedophilia, sexual entrapment, data mining, and right-wing extremism. And that's just MUFON's "Inner Circle."

Rank-and-file members are routinely exploited by the organization. Simply filing a report with MUFON can lead one to losing the copyright to their encounter account (seriously). Personal data turned over to MUFON has likely been sold to a host of shadowy companies. And if you expect anyone to be qualified who works with MUFON, forget: Being anything from a field investigator to a member of the Inner Circle is determined by nothing other than how much cash you're willing to pony up to the outfit.

And those are just a few of the topics we touch upon. Also up for discussion are the Mormon mafia, nonlethal weapons, the dark uses of the real estate industry, and the real possibility of a QAnon-style operation breaking out in the UFO field. It's a fascinating talk chalk full of original research and first-hand accounts of the inner workings of MUFON. As always, I hope you guys enjoy.