UFO Mythology, With David Halperin
On this episode of American Prestige, a discussion about the role of UFO sightings in politics and culture.

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On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek speak with David Halperin, retired professor of Jewish studies at UNC Chapel Hill, about his book Intimate Alien: The Hidden Story of the UFO. The group looks at the phenomenon of UFO encounters as part of a longer tradition of mythology, examining their relationship to the historical epochs in which they occur, their place in politics and culture, and what ultimately the search for aliens says about our own views of humanity.
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A digital composite of a UFO above an urban park.
(Ray Massey / Getty Images)On this episode of the American Prestige podcast, we speak with David Halperin, retired professor of Jewish studies at the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill, about his book, Intimate Alien: The Hidden Story of the UFO.
We examine the phenomenon of UFO encounters as part of a longer tradition of mythology, examining their relationship to the historical epochs in which they occur, their place in politics and culture, and what ultimately the search for aliens says about our own views of humanity.

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
Danny and Derek welcome back Akbar Shahid Ahmed, Diplomatic correspondent for The Washington Sun and author of Crossing the Red Line: Biden, His Advisors, and Israel’s War on Gaza, to talk about the Biden administration’s role in enabling the genocide in Gaza. They discuss the conditions in the Strip as of the current day; Biden’s small inner circle of Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, and Brett McGurk; Jack Lew’s role of ambassador and the dubious war crime review process he implemented; the Rafah red line and its immediate collapse after Israel invaded; and the Democratic Party’s domestic political miscalculations heading into 2024 and 2028.
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