LECTURE: THE UFO PHENOMENON
A HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF UNEXPLAINED OBSERVATIONS AND THE NEED FOR SERIOUS INQUIRY
16 July 2026
On July 16, as part of our We Are Not Alone season, historian Alexander Bartels will guide audiences through the enigmatic modern history of UFOs, from their rise to mainstream attention in the twentieth century to the present day, highlighting extraordinary cases and bringing us up to date on current developments.
“Behind the scenes, high-ranking Air Force officers are soberly concerned about the UFOs. But through official secrecy and ridicule, many citizens are led to believe the unknown flying objects are nonsense. To hide the facts, the Air Force has silenced its personnel.”
This was written to Congress in 1960 by the first director of the CIA, Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter. Statements like this do not stand alone. From generals to former presidents like Obama and from intelligence people all over the world to fighter pilots: there seems to be an unexplained phenomenon that is taken seriously by people who know how to look at the sky – and beneath the ocean surface…
So, what is going on here?
While the vast majority of UFO reports can be explained in conventional terms, a persistent remainder consists of observations that are difficult to reconcile with straightforward explanations. It is precisely this category that has kept military and intelligence communities worldwide engaged for more than seventy years.
Whether these observations point to natural phenomena, unknown advanced technology, or something else entirely, they deserve rigorous scientific study: skeptical but open-minded.
Alexander Bartels (1993) is a historian with a lifelong fascination for UFO phenomena, about which he has written for NRC Handelsblad. He is part of the collective Wanderwelle, whose music is released through Important Records and presented at venues such as EYE, Paradiso, and Carré. Their debut film was selected for a Gouden Kalf, and they are currently in an ongoing collaboration with photographic artist Roger Ballen.
Please note that this lecture will be presented in Dutch. Tickets for the We Are Not Alone program are sold separately.
