I was a flight medic in the USAF; never a pilot. There is something extremely compelling about hearing two trained military aviation safety officers have this conversation. The level of credibility is just so high... You cannot ignore people like this. Great podcast. Thank you, Ryan.

This is the Lex Fridman podcast for pilots and UFOs …. Thanks Ryan !!!

Back in 1994, this happened to me and the Captain in a USAir Express part 121 Commuter flight at night. I was the First Officer. We were over the Adirondacks at night, on Top of an overcast. No Moon. We had an encounter with a craft/orb that lasted about 12-15 minutes. This was a scheduled airline flight. It was not on Boston Center’s Radar. There was no traffic in front of us for 300 miles yet we signaled to it back and forth with our wing landing lights. We were in a Beechcraft 1900. A Twin Turboprop 19 seat airplane. Pratt&Whitney PT6 engines. 2680 hp. The light it used was not a high intensity landing light. It was more like a soft warm LED light that instantly turned off and on opposite to ours. It wasn’t a reflection. We even turned off all of the interior lights. The object then moved off the right/starboard wing paused and then left quickly. The object when we first saw it was at about 1 o’clock and 2 to 3 miles at our altitude which scared me because that’s close ! The next crew on that route that next week encountered the same thing. It never showed up in TCAS and was never a primary target. So far in my life I have had 5 encounters. 2 up close. I left Aviation with 13,383 flight hours. All civilian flight time. I flew the B1990C/D, DC-9/10-30’s, B-717’s and a year for a Cargo Company. I have been within 100 feet of a flying -silent Black Triangle. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about it. I have been in some precarious circumstances in my life. Possible life ending moments. This Black Triangle, the fear that welled up inside me was beyond malevolent dark fear. I have never felt that ever with a terrestrial fear. It is hard to describe. If you have ever FELT the Fear sound which is called infrasound, it would have been that fear vibration of below 20hz. 15-18hz. We never reported it. Boston Center asked if we wanted to. We declined because of the fear for our jobs. We didn’t want anything in our employee files and you never wanted the FAA to revoke your First Class Medical. You lose that, your career is over. I am really glad that times are changing and flight crew can speak freely. There was a stigma of -you were crazy- if you encountered something back 2012 and earlier. Great Interview. Awesome guest.

My uncle, in WWII, never mentioned it when a craft flew beside him for almost 30 min on one side then flew over him and followed him some short distance off the other wing tip for another lengthy stretch. But he told me, a 15-year-old, because I was in the astronomy club, the rocket club, and was reading Project Bluebook. He was in the FAA into his 80s. And never told.

This is exactly the type of fact-based discussion that the UAP topic needs. Thank you Ryan both for your service as well as starting this podcast. Can't wait for future episodes!

This is the content we were hoping Ryan would be able to bring. Really looking forward to it.

I am a retired Army helicopter pilot with FAA commercial ratings in helicopters and fixed wing aircraft with over 6000 flying hours. In 1967/68 I was in Viet Nam on the first of my combat tours. Our aviation company was A Co, 9th Aviation Battalion based in Bearcat located about 30 miles East of Saigon. We had a 10 aircraft first light launch mission scheduled from the second base at Dong Tam along the Mekong River that was a 45 minute flight distant. We flew down in several hours before sunrise, refueled and parked along the runway to wait in the late night dark. Sitting in the pilots seats my copilot and I saw a light moving lower in our view about 70 degrees above the horizon and at first thought it was a satellite- I had seen Sputnik and others. We called out to several other crews standing nearby to "Hey, check this out". Then the light stopped moving... and after a while the light moved laterally. By then many were watching and suddenly it changed direction again and moved off very quickly disappearing in a few seconds. The entire event lasted about 12 minutes. Many of the pilots and crew discussed this and the general consensus was we had witnessed the same thing but had no explanation for it. I have mentioned this to only a few over the years but feel compelled to share this here. The event remains very clearly etched in my memory.

This is the real deal. No unfounded speculation, just observations and practical talk from the most credible sources. Well done Ryan, please keep it up.

This is absolutely top quality content. Brilliant conversation. Two believable guys. No trash talk no bull shit. Just insightful talk.

12,000 hours flight time? Dang. I don't know what he's going to say, but he's one hell of a witness.

This is what we need. No exaggerated nonsense, just factual pilot reports.

We could not ask for two more stable, sane, professional, accomplished people to bring this subject out into the light. Thank you both very much. Fantastic podcast.

This is how a UAP podcast is done. Excellent work Ryan.

Good lord, you don't disappoint. What a great guest, and an amazing interview. This is exactly what we need to dispel the stigma. Thank you Ryan.

Blown away by how substantive this conversation was. Mark is a man of courage & integrity who has broken the silence for airline pilots and is now engaged with nothing less than reforming how the aviation world handles the many sightings of anomalous phenomena. It is typical practice, for instance, for a pilot making a UAP report to be put on periodic psychological evaluations. Few pilots want this on their record so they simply don't talk about what they saw. How does this help aviation safety? Ryan, kudos for a rock-solid podcast!

Ryan, just a huge thanks for your efforts. Not a pilot myself. Just another ufo denialist that happened to have my denial shattered by an encounter some 23 years ago. Like you guys, I 've had my worldview turn upside down in a few seconds and tried to find answers. I quit after a while, since the only thing I got was smirks by skeptics and endless bullshit-ology by believers. Also, big thanks to David Fravor for opening the can. If there's a chance we ever find out wtf it is we saw, it will be because of people like you and Dave. Keep it strong man.

This channel is going to reach escape-velocity really fast. Ryan, you are an amazing host. A genuine multitalent

This is the future of Ufology. Gone are the snake oil salesmen with coerced annoying media voices. In comes the highly trained veterans and academics. This is the detail and validity that I have always wanted. Thank you. 🤟🤝🖤

Ryan, this topic needs your pragmatic, measured, and careful questioning which unfolds over the hour-plus video. And all the while, you're educating folks like me with zero experience in flying and physics. This deep dive into the particulars of instrumentation helps keep this topic laser-focused. My favorite thing: You never said, "So. Mark, do you think this is alien tech?" It would have been an easy move but would have completely changed the entire exchange and undermined your own credibility as a person truly concerned with out nation's response to anomalies. So deep appreciation for that! Much much luck, Ryan!!!

I had a very similar encounter to his at the end of January this year, 2024. We were flying from DCA to SDF and had just reached top of climb at 32000 feet when I noticed an orange light at our 1 o clock, about 10 degrees above us, that appeared then disappeared. It seemed to be sweeping right to left. And it kept doing it. Then a second light appeared a few degrees above it, sweeping right to left. We flew 300 miles, making slight turns for our route, and the lights stayed in the same sector of the sky repeatedly sweeping right to left, never getting closer. Both of us in the cockpit saw it. Someone on 121.5 (guard) even asked “Hey, does anyone else see those lights?” We lost sight of them once we started our descent and passed through a cloud layer.

The Merged podcast is crucial to the ongoing discussion. This is the type of information and professional analysis that has generally been lacking in the current sphere of ufology. I’ll be following the work of the AIAA with great interest. Keep the heat on, Ryan!

Great conversation, sober, considered, relevant. Thankyou gents, gives me hope.

Thanks Ryan and Mr. Hulsey. Great conversation. I appreciate your efforts here as do a lot of other people I'm sure. On a side note, as a former navy avionics tech who put in those 18hr days on the deck serving with the Screwtops, I personally appreciate the shout out to the guys pouring sweat to keep those aircraft mission ready. Thank you.

My dad was a Marine Corps pilot (1943 - 1959) and corporate (1960 - 1983). I had to drag a couple of stories out of him, there could have been more. One in the 70s, involved a silver disc flying across his front (Fairchild F-27) to his starboard side and then flying below and to his right briefly before shooting away. The second occurred when he was over DC in a Lockheed Jetstar flying north at night. They saw a bright light, like a fireball at their altitude (don't know) going west from the New York airspace, lighting up the clouds as it went. He heard radio chatter from pilots all over the Northeast basically saying "look at that thing! and what the heck is that?" When they got to their destination in New York (don't know which airport) he called the tower and they said no one would make a report. I'm sure he didn't either. He told me this before he died in '88 so I'll never know if there were more incidents, but I've always felt that many pilots have the same experiences.

I've become so used to super-chat on every other channel that I came in here expecting to see Ryan passing the plate, but what I'm getting is viable information in a format that lends it even greater credibility because it didn't come with an admission fee.

What an incredible interview, Ryan. Thank you both for bringing this conversation to the public.

When I heard you say you were looking to start you’re own podcast on the topic, I knew you’d follow through but I didn’t anticipate you putting it all together so quickly. I’m here for it, thank you for creating a space to allow for open minded, critical thought on this topic.

Wow man. I cannot believe we can have this type of content. Thank you Ryan.

Great job Ryan. Nice to see a pilot asking a pilot,pilot questions 🤣

This is groundbreaking information, Ryan. Excellent context about the altitude… 1) the shooting star, stopping and joining… that is the 2nd account I’ve heard this week. Chris Lehto’s interview on his KZfaq channel w pilot, Erik Delgado's describes the same shooting star stopping. 2) the F-18 report of the underwater phenomenon speed. 3) The discussion is changing for the better now by getting rid of the stigma.. Keep up the great work!

Hi, Ryan. The orbs in the sky have been occurring for many years. I lived in Canada (Pembroke, Ontario) between 1966 and 1969. During this time, I worked as a SCUBA instructor ate the Forces base at Petawawa, just North of Pembroke. One night, while returning from Quebec, across the bridge which links Ontario and Quebec, on a clear winter's night, I saw three orbs rotating around each other which suddenly disappeared. This was a long time before drones were available, and the speed at which they appeared to move (they were just above a range of mountains, and obviously some miles away) could not be matched by any airframe of which I am aware, and certainly not in those days. I am now 77 years old, but this has lived with me since my early 20's. Dr Nigel Williamson, PhD Mech. Eng.

Two highly trained, military fighter pilots comparing notes on uap/ufo experiences, down to even the equipment used and shared tactics/terminology. Never thought I'd see anything like this.. VERY grateful for this material both being created and shared. Thank you both VERY MUCH.

I would love for you to host a roundtable discussion with other pilots along with a few credible and well seasoned UFO researchers

This is so unbelievably detailed, both technically and you also reinterpret it to explain the terms to us. It's insane how easy it is for the mass media to simply say "they were radar anomalies, could have been balloons", and then 90% of everyone watching the dummy-box turns off and thinks the whole thing is concluded.... Meanwhile they never explain (or themselves comprehend) the details such as the target aspect or the way the targeting box locked on despite nothing being visually visible, which undeniably confirm it was a real "thing" out there flying beyond our technical capabilties and speed, and on top of that being literally invisible. Which by extention means 100% it was not a natural or "random" thing, it was an intelligently controlled craft beyond Earth tech. When you completely omit the technical details, it just becomes "nothing to see here folks, bill nye said it was just a cloud on their radar". Really quite shocking how moronic the mass media is. Or maybe they want to be, to avoid facing the undeniable points of evidence. Because IF they were as detailed as the interviews on youtube are, there'd be no question anymore about it being natural. For some reason, they want and need it to remain ambiguous. Same thing with the leaked gimbal videos. Why does it cut off right when the object starts to turn on its side mid-air? Why dont we get to see the next 60 seconds of what happens? Because if we were allowed to see that, it'd be 100% undeniable evidence. And for some reason someone or something doesnt want it to be undeniable.

This is amazing to hear these two pilots having a frank conversation about UAP's/UFO's. This can only grow from strength to strength! Great stuff, Ryan! Kudos to you!

Merged is shaping up to be one of my favorite podcasts! Thank you Ryan

I"m so happy that you are doing this. I'm already way more comfortable listening to you than to ANYONE else in the field. The Lex Fridman analogy is true. The professional and kind athmosphere you create is what the topic really needs. I'm very happy there's a place now which isn't about fearmongering, drama, fake videos or alien occultism. And Mark is an amazing witness! When I heard his story last November I got the chills. I've seen 2 UAPs through my life and his account was kind of like a mixture of those two. (I wish there would be a good platform to talk about them, but that's not a KZfaq comment) And now hearing how credible a pilot he is, I'm even more excited for his account. It's surreal but also somehow just fits into the movement patterns people see all the time, don't you think? I'd use the word playful and cheeky. Would you agree that those fit well? I'm thinking a lot about this and how we could very easily misinterpret the real intention behind these occurrences. All in all thank you for bringing Mark in and for the podcast itself. And keep it up, I was subscribed in a minute. :)

Out of the Park Ryan! Thank you and your guest for your service! Thank you for this new channel I can get excited and amazed about during this difficult time. And especially for your great interviews, your natural approach, allowing the guests to direct the conversation with you, and so much more! Let’s get this channel’s subs and likes and views up to 50,000 feet! Rockin! 🦋✨🎍

Thank you Ryan for raising the conversation on this topic to a professional and scientific level. To all of us who are interested in knowing what is happening behind this phenomenon, we are very grateful that this is the new standard of conversations that must be generated to find out what is the phenomenon about

Outstanding interview - and thanks for 'interpreting,' Ryan. Thank you for your concern for the aviation world -- and thank you both for your service.

great discussion, the first episode with Garry Nolan was really good as well. I like how Lt. Graves lets his guests talk without interrupting, he seems comfortable as an interviewer but not super polished or phony.

The Genie isn't going back in the bottle... Not this time

I once saw a UAP which at first looked like a shooting star, but just stopped and started doing a racetrack pattern late at night in the Bains Kloof pass mountains in South Africa. Too bad I was 13 years old and nobody gave a damn. Grateful that I got to witness it though, and even more grateful that there are others who are way more educated than me that can bring such events to light.

Clever with the watermark when Mark starts going in. This channel deserves as much traction as it can get. Anyone interested in UAP, flight safety, or national security needs to hear stories like these from bona fide pilots and veterans.

Thanks for bringing Mark on. These are absolutely the professional-level conversations we need to be having. 👏

I don't think people really realize how amazing this podcast is, and what it's doing to destigmatize pilots discussing the things they see in the sky.

Between you and Corbell & Knapp's Weaponized, I haven't felt this enthusiastic in years. So stoked and it's only two episodes in. It's gonna be a great year

Thank you for your work Mr Graves, please continue to share with us your experiences and those of your fellow aviators. This discussion needs more professionals like yourself driving it to gain the attention it truly deserves. Much respect.

Exzellent Interview! The proposals of Marc should be realized immediately! Video Monitoring of the airspace around EVERY Air craft!

This is the single most important conversation I've witnessed on the topic. I've already watched this twice. Incredibly fascinating. Very grateful to you both for the courage you've shown. Thank you!

This was a GREAT interview. Thanks for all the risks you’ve taken to get here Ryan. You’re the man!

Covid is kicking my ass. This podcast was a great respite. Helped me forget about how crappy I feel. Became interested in this topic after a decade at UAL.

Super interesting stuff I can't wait for more episodes. Thank-you everyone who works on the merged podcast

This is an excellent interview. These first hand stories from military pilots are the real deal.

When you really really really stop and think about what we're talking about here. it is absolutely mind-boggling. thank you Ryan

Really good stuff. Thanks for coming forward. People need to know.

I’m so glad what your doing Ryan! I can already tell your channel is going to explode! Can’t wait to see who comes forward in the future! I’m already hooked. Keep up the good work, it’s important. Thanks again!

This podcast is going to explode. There is such a huge demand for content in this subject thats fresh and with substance…i already know we are getting it here.

Wow. The paradigm has shifted. In my lifetime. After 44 years of serious interest.

The laughing air traffic controllers reminded me of the commander of the radar operator blowing off his subordinate's report of the approach of a large number of unidentified targets - the first wave of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

It's great finally hearing reliable, reasonable, qualified people talking about this in public. Keep up the great work please!

Thank you for your courage in stepping forward and helping us fit the pieces of the puzzle together.

I think it's fascinating how different all these encounters are. Definitely seem to be more then just a drone. Some encounters the pilot gets close enough to see, others are clearly not trying to be seen. Very interesting

Fantastic podcast. Thank you for this conversation. Best wishes from from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Excellent interview, I was hoping we will get more in depth discussion with more pilots who have experienced these objects and this is perfect. Please keep doing these. 👍

Great production quality, keep it up!

Geez what have I done with my life … NOTHING! Although I am a chick with a pilots licence! Best pod ever Ryan! Two totally credible guys here. Keep ‘Em coming . Mic drop!

This is gonna be a great podcast

So far, out of 100s of channels I have found over the yrs. This tops the chart for serious discussion on this topic. So good, and very needed.

Best most credible voice and voices! Thank you Ryan for creating this!

Ryan Graves is the man period!! The best to come forward from his line of work Not to mention his incredible resume.. This guy is super smart and exactly what we need to get to the bottom of this phenomenon. And the quantum business.. Don't even get me started. Incredible!

I had an experience in 2003. I was outside late at nightand Ilooked up and saw a fast moving object which suddenly made a sharp 45 degree angle turn.. And when I say sharp I mean sharp. It was totally against the laws of physics. It was something that I think about every day.

Ryan you have a great channel. I have shared it and will continue to do so because you are one of those credible people in sea of false info and mis info from people who are not credible. Thanks.

Great content, looking forward to all future conversations coming, shining a light on the reality of what is going on out their in our skies. Go Ryan!

Terrific show, Ryan. So happy to watch your program!

This is superb. Fantastic setting, very interesting and informative. The quality is also perfect. Ryan, thank you for all that you have done.

So happy(&grateful) you started this Ryan. Rational, intelligent discussions are needed for this topic. Hoping for answers one day for what I've seen.

Love former military pilot to pilot talk. I can listen to you two chat all day long regardless of topic. Fantastic podcast. Ryan, you nailed it from EP1 - a natural. I am surprised that cameras are not installed on planes. Front, back, top and bottom. About 20 years ago I saw a near miss approaching Burbank airport. A private jet was about 3k feet up ready to land heading straight when a Southwest 737 merged from its left and ended up right on top of the private jet. The 737 was at most 50 feet above the private jet stacked right on top of it. The flew together for a few seconds until the private jet realized the 737 was on top of him. He banked to the left at an extreme angle. I thought for sure they were going to collide over a very populated area. Given the angle in which the 737 was coming the private jet was just below the pilot's field of view. If there was a simple camera out the nose of the 737 or out the side of the private jet all would have been avoided. Not sure why the other avoidance systems were not working.

This is excellent, professional and informative. Thank you both!

Excellent insight into how pilots work. Great to see these issues being broken down and analysed. I am becoming a geek!!

Nice work Ryan. This is the next best thing to either seeing a close up vid of a uap or witnessing one first hand: a reliable, experienced source. Cheers 🍻

Love the new channel. Great discussion. Looking forward for more guests

This was a great conversation. Kudos to you, Ryan for affording pilots, aviators and others to come forward and share their experiences, insights and perspectives in a safe space. Your commitment and efforts to shine the spotlight on the safety of flight risks that UAP pose are greatly appreciated.

Fantastic work Ryan! Love your work and loving ‘Merged’ 👏🏻

Aloha from Hawaii Mr. Graves. Thank you for serving our country and thank you for starting a podcast on the UAP phenomenon! Looking forward to more content! Subbed

I have to say, I really appreciate Ryan, taking the time to ask his guests to explain things (that he already knows), in Laymans terms. Making sure the audience understands what exactly is being talked about. I have watched all available episodes back to back and I am thoroughly enjoying this content. Fascinating. Keep it coming!

Thanks for making this podcast Ryan. Much respect.

Finally, intelligent discussions on a very important subject. Awesome show!

Just found you. This is really good and you’re a great interviewer, letting your guests talk. I’ve contacted Greer with photographic evidence of something we witnessed too. Who knows when if ever I’ll hear back, but what we witnessed while watching an ISS feed was incredible. An entire fleet of black craft exiting the same hole in the clouds, traveling across the screen like specks of pepper. I managed one screen grab which captured it leaving the atmosphere and out into space! I just realized the date and time stamp on my iPad tells me the exact time. Someone else can figure out where the ISS was when we saw that.

I love the depths of discussion here and technical talk missing from nearly all other channels. Keep it up! 👍🏼 🛸

Great job Ryan! Lots of support for this podcast!

All the best and ❤️ from india.Thank you ryan for your courage to speak out.

Amazing amazing amazing podcast-you’re opening the door for others to speak out and shine the light on the subject. What you do is significant. Thank you so much.

This is an impressive discussion. Very little has changed over the decades with respect to open discussions on this topic and I'm hoping that videos like this will assist this change. My father worked for the Royal Aircraft Establishment in the UK and I remember him telling me about an incident which disturbed both him and others involved with a particular project. It was either the late 1950's or early 1960's when RAE were conducting high altitude tests with a Canberra bomber. Ground radar picked up something at even higher altitude tracking the Canberra. This continued for at least half an hour until it changed direction and disappeared at an incredible velocity. Whatever is out there, they've been there for a long time!

Absolutely fantastic gentlemen. Thank you both, soaked up every minute and really appreciate your efforts towards transparency and destigmatisation

Mark Hulsey is a great example of doing what’s right for not only safety but mankind and so is your podcast. The cat’s out of the bag and this topic should be normalized instead of stigmatized for being “woo woo” among other things. The sooner we can openly acknowledge, share, and analyze data, then people in all fields can contribute to finding answers and solutions to these challenges and questions of pilots, military, and civilians. Keep doing what you’re doing this content is easy to listen to any time.

Solid content. Impressive thus far,keep up the great work man ✌️

I'm a long-haul trucker and I have witnessed 3 outstanding UFO sightings in Illinois the 2000 UFO over Millstadt Illinois. And the 2006 Chicago O'Hare incident. There's another part of that story that I have never heard anyone speak of. The night before the Chicago O'Hare sighting I was on my way to deliver my load at the airport approximately 50 miles outside of Chicago I started hearing a lot of truckers on the CB radio saying they were pull off the side of the road watching a UFO hovering just off the highway. About two miles ahead I could see the lights and there was probably ten trucks and quite a few cars pulled off on the shoulder of the road I pulled off the road myself and watched it for approximately 20 minutes I would say it was about 500 Ft in the air and this thing was absolutely massive I would estimate at least a mile-and-a-half in circumference after about 20 minutes it just started looking fuzzy and just disappeared never seen it move it just vanished. The next day I delivered my load at the airport around 4:00 pm that's when I saw the disc over the flight Tower but it was nowhere near the size of the one I saw the night before. To this day I have never heard anyone mention the citing the night before but there was at least 10 tractor trailers and at least 15 cars pulled over on the shoulder and we all stood out there and watched it. The most surprising thing about the incident no one hardly said one word to each other until we got back in our trucks and then you could hardly get a word in on the radio everybody was talkin all the way to Chicago

After this interview, this is my favorite channel now. And I learned new stuff about aviation...had to google some things you mentioned. I'm impressed.

Great interview. If you keep up with the calibre of interview thus far the channel is really going to move the needle for the topic. Thanks Ryan