Nick Pope (journalist)

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Nick Pope
Nick Pope (journalist).png
Pope in 2008
Born1965 (age 5859) [1]
England
Occupation(s)Author and former civil servant
Spouse Elizabeth Weiss [2]
ParentGeoffrey Pope [1]

Nick Pope is an English media commentator and former civil servant. Whilst an employee at the British Government's Ministry of Defence (MoD), Pope was responsible, among other duties, for investigating UFO phenomena to determine if they had any defence significance.

Contents

He moved to the United States in January 2012. [3] [4]

Ministry of Defence

Pope worked as a civil servant for the Ministry of Defence from 1985 to 2006. From 1991 to 1994, he worked in Secretariat (Air Staff) Sec (AS) 2a more commonly known as the "UFO desk", where his duties included investigating reports of UFO sightings, to see if they had any defence significance. At the time, while the Ministry of Defence stated that it "remains totally open-minded about the existence or otherwise of extraterrestrial lifeforms", it also stated that there was no evidence to suggest that any UFO sightings posed any threat to the UK or that they were extraterrestrial in origin. [5] It is clear from material that Pope wrote whilst still at the MoD that he did not share the MoD's view that conventional explanations could be found for all UFO sightings. [6]

Pope's final posting in the MoD was to the Directorate of Defence Security. In 2009, MoD announced that UFO sightings would no longer be investigated. [7] [8] [9] He moved to the United States in 2012 in order to pursue a relationship with anthropologist Elizabeth Weiss. [1]

Media work

In November 2006, Pope stated that the government's "X-Files have been closed down". [10] He came to appear in the media as a commentator, covering subjects that include the unexplained, conspiracy theories, space, science fiction and fringe science. [11] [1]

He does work for a number of film companies and public relations agencies, promoting the release of science fiction films. [12] [1]

On 24 June 2013, he appeared on IGN's comedy show Up at Noon promoting the game The Bureau: XCOM Declassified. [13]

In 2015, he appeared in multiple episodes of UFOs Declassified , airing on Canada's History Television, the UK's Yesterday, and Smithsonian Channel in the US. [14] Since 2019, he has often appeared on the New York Post UFO YouTube series The Basement Office alongside journalist Steven Greenstreet. [15]

Books

Open Skies, Closed Minds is Pope's autobiographical account of his interest in ufology. It provides an overview of the UFO phenomenon, with the emphasis on Pope's three-year employment as the Ministry of Defence desk officer where his responsibilities included investigating UFO sightings and any impact they might have on UK national defense. [16] Pope concludes that an alien race is waging a secret war on humanity, a position he has come to distance himself from since the publication of the book. [1]

In 1997, he released a second book on similar themes entitled The Uninvited. His book Encounter in Rendlesham Forest: The Inside Story of the World's Best-Documented UFO Incident, written with John Burroughs, USAF, Ret., and Jim Penniston, USAF, Ret., was published by Thomas Dunne Books in April 2014.

Pope has also written two science fiction novels, Operation Thunder Child and its sequel Operation Lightning Strike. [17] In 2018, Pope published the political thriller Blood Brothers. [18]

Related Research Articles

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An unidentified flying object (UFO), or unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP), is any perceived airborne, submerged or transmedium phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. Upon investigation, most UFOs are identified as known objects or atmospheric phenomena, while a small number remain unexplained.

UFO conspiracy theories are a subset of conspiracy theories which argue that various governments and politicians globally, in particular the United States government, are suppressing evidence that unidentified flying objects are controlled by a non-human intelligence or built using alien technology. Such conspiracy theories usually argue that Earth governments are in communication or cooperation with extraterrestrial visitors despite public disclaimers, and further that some of these theories claim that the governments are explicitly allowing alien abduction.

<i>XCOM</i> Video game series

XCOM is a science fiction video game franchise featuring an elite international organization tasked with countering alien invasions of Earth. The series began with the strategy video game X-COM: UFO Defense created by Julian Gollop's Mythos Games and MicroProse in 1994. The original lineup by MicroProse included six published and at least two canceled games, as well as two novels. The X-COM series, in particular its original entry, achieved a sizable cult following and has influenced many other video games; including the creation of a number of clones, spiritual successors, and unofficial remakes.

Grey aliens, also referred to as Zeta Reticulans, Roswell Greys or Greys, are purported extraterrestrial beings. They are frequent subjects of close encounters and alien abduction claims. The details of such claims vary widely. That said, Greys are typically described as being human-like with small bodies, smooth, grey-colored skin; enlarged, hairless heads; and large, black eyes. The Barney and Betty Hill abduction claim, which purportedly took place in New Hampshire in 1961, popularized Grey aliens. Precursor figures have been described in science fiction and similar descriptions appeared in early accounts of the 1948 Aztec UFO hoax and later accounts of the 1947 Roswell UFO incident.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roswell incident</span> UFO legend caused by 1947 balloon crash

The Roswell incident is a conspiracy theory which alleges that the 1947 crash of a United States Army Air Forces balloon near Roswell, New Mexico was actually caused by an extraterrestrial spacecraft. Operated from the nearby Alamogordo Army Air Field and part of the top secret Project Mogul, the balloon was intended to detect Soviet nuclear tests. After metallic and rubber debris was recovered by Roswell Army Air Field personnel, the United States Army announced their possession of a "flying disc". This announcement made international headlines but was retracted within a day. Obscuring the true purpose and source of the crashed balloon, the Army subsequently stated that it was a conventional weather balloon.

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The extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH) proposes that some unidentified flying objects (UFOs) are best explained as being physical spacecraft occupied by extraterrestrial intelligence or non-human aliens, or non-occupied alien probes from other planets visiting Earth.

<i>X-COM: Terror from the Deep</i> 1995 video game

X-COM: Terror from the Deep is a strategy video game developed and published by MicroProse for the PC in 1995 and for the PlayStation in 1996. It is a sequel to X-COM: UFO Defense and the second game of the X-COM series, this time taking the war against a renewed alien invasion into the Earth's oceans.

<i>X-COM: UFO Defense</i> 1994 video game

UFO: Enemy Unknown, also known as X-COM: UFO Defense in North America, is a 1994 science fiction strategy video game developed by Mythos Games and MicroProse. It was published by MicroProse for DOS and Amiga computers, the Amiga CD32 console, and the PlayStation. Originally planned by Julian Gollop as a sequel to Mythos Games' 1988 Laser Squad, the game mixes real-time management simulation with turn-based tactics. The player takes the role of commander of X-COM – an international paramilitary and scientific organization secretly defending Earth from an alien invasion. Through the game, the player is tasked with issuing orders to individual X-COM troops in a series of turn-based tactical missions. At strategic scale, the player directs the research and development of new technologies, builds and expands X-COM's bases, manages the organization's finances and personnel, and monitors and responds to UFO activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rendlesham Forest incident</span> 1980 UFO report in Suffolk, England

The Rendlesham Forest incident was a series of reported sightings of unexplained lights near Rendlesham Forest in Suffolk, England, in December 1980, which became linked with UFO landings. The events occurred just outside RAF Woodbridge, which was used at the time by the United States Air Force (USAF). USAF personnel, including deputy base commander Lieutenant Colonel Charles I. Halt, claimed to see things they described as a UFO.

The National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) is an unidentified flying object (UFO) research group most active in the United States from the 1950s to the 1980s. It remains active primarily as an informational depository on the UFO phenomenon.

<i>The Bureau: XCOM Declassified</i> 2013 video game

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified is a 2013 tactical third-person shooter video game. It was developed by 2K Marin and published by 2K. As the eighth title in the turn-based strategy series X-COM and a narrative prequel to XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the game was released for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360 in August 2013. Set in late 1962 at the height of the Cold War, the game's premise mainly revolves around The Bureau, the predecessor of the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit (XCOM), as they attempt to repel an alien invasion. As a tactical shooter, players can use the battle focus mode to issue commands to two other agents accompanying the protagonist, William Carter. Players can permanently lose their squad members so they must make good tactical decisions.

<i>Open Skies, Closed Minds</i> Book by Nick Pope

Open Skies, Closed Minds, a book on ufology, expresses the views of Nick Pope, a former UFO investigator with the British Ministry of Defence (MOD).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Project Condign</span> British government study of UFOs (1997–2000)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilkley Moor UFO incident</span> Supposed alien abduction in 1987

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The time-traveler hypothesis, also known as chrononaut UFO, future humans, extratempestrial model and Terminator theory is the proposal that unidentified flying objects are humans traveling from the future using advanced technology. Some notable people have given recent public exposure to the hypothesis, such as retired NASA aerospace engineer Larry Lemke, Wisconsin congressman Mike Gallagher, and American filmmaker Steven Spielberg.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Garcia, Francisco (15 September 2023). "It's boom times for the 'Real Fox Mulder'". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 23 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  2. "Scholars denounce attempt to ban their archaeology book after being accused of racism against Native Americans (from Twitter)" . Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  3. "Latest News". nickpope.net.
  4. "Biography". nickpope.net. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  5. "Ministry of Defence policy statement on UFOs" (PDF).
  6. "Defence". nationalarchives.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 11 June 2006.
  7. "Ministry of Defence - Freedom of Information - Publication Scheme - Search Publication Scheme - How to report a UFO sighting". nationalarchives.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 4 December 2009.
  8. "MoD department that investigated UFO sightings 'closed'". The Telegraph. 4 December 2009.
  9. Nick Pope (4 December 2009). "How not to report a UFO". The Guardian.
  10. "'Aliens could attack at any time' warns former MoD chief", Evening Standard (published 9 November 2006), 13 April 2012
  11. Pope, Nick (29 July 2008). "Unidentified flying threats". The New York Times.
  12. Battle: Los Angeles - Nick Pope answers Facebook fan questions. YouTube. 11 March 2011. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021.
  13. "Aliens Probably Exist - The Bureau: XCOM Declassified on Up at Noon - IGN Video". IGN.
  14. "UFOs Declassified looks at hard evidence behind infamous sightings". thestar.com. 7 January 2015.
  15. "The Basement Office - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  16. "The truth is out there... UFO expert Nick Pope talks about aliens". The Independent. 11 October 2011. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015.
  17. "Andrew Lownie Literary Agency :: Authors :: Nick Pope". Andrew Lownie Literary Agency. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  18. Pope, Nick (15 November 2018). Blood Brothers. Thistle Publishing. ISBN   978-1-78608-075-2.