Episode Guide

The Hotspot Connection

Season 19 opens by examining "UFO hotspots"—locations where sightings and unusual phenomena reportedly recur across decades or even millennia. Ancient Aliens theorists argue these concentrations aren't random, citing locations like the Hudson Valley in New York (where thousands witnessed craft over several years in the 1980s), the Marfa lights in Texas, and San Diego's coast, where the USS Omaha recorded Pentagon-confirmed footage of an oval craft descending into the ocean in 2019. Filmmaker Jeremy Corbell and other researchers suggest these hotspots indicate something about Earth's geography attracts extraterrestrial attention, pointing to the consistency of reports and the advanced technology seemingly on display—craft moving without conventional propulsion over highly restricted military zones.

The Crop Circle Code

This episode investigates over 10,000 documented crop circles appearing across more than 50 countries, asking whether these elaborate formations—some spanning hundreds of feet with mathematical precision—represent attempts at extraterrestrial communication. Ancient alien theorists point to the 1966 George Pedley sighting in Australia, where a witness reported seeing an object rise from a lagoon and create a geometric pattern in the reeds below, as evidence these formations connect to UFO activity. The 1678 woodcut pamphlet "The Mowing-Devil" suggests the phenomenon has centuries-old roots, depicting a farmer who saw mysterious lights and discovered circular depressions where crop stalks were folded but not broken. Researchers cite eyewitness accounts of strange lights appearing above fields minutes before crop circles manifest, along with claims that microwave radiation has been detected at formation sites, as evidence these patterns carry messages containing "cosmic truths" from alien ancestors.

Mystery of the Lost Temple

The discovery of Karahan Tepe, an 11,000-year-old megalithic site in southern Turkey, challenges conventional timelines of human civilization, which mainstream archaeology places at around 6,000 years ago with the Sumerians in Mesopotamia. Ancient astronaut theorists argue that sites like Karahan Tepe—along with allegedly 10,000-year-old underground cities—demonstrate engineering capabilities impossible for hunter-gatherers of that era. The episode suggests that Sumerian cuneiform tablets describing the Anunnaki, sky beings who brought civilization and caused a great flood, may record actual pre-flood history. A 3,700-year-old tablet translated by Dr. Irving Finkel in 2009 presents a flood narrative at least a millennium older than the biblical account, which proponents interpret as evidence of catastrophic events that destroyed an advanced pre-Sumerian civilization—one possibly built with extraterrestrial guidance or even by giants.

The Power of the Obelisks

Ancient Astronaut Theorists examine why Egyptian obelisks—hundreds of tons of precisely carved granite monuments—occupy positions of power in major cities from Paris's Place de la Concorde to Washington, D.C., suggesting they may have served a purpose beyond commemoration. According to the episode, the obelisks' geometrically perfect design, always carved from granite and capped with pyramid-shaped benben stones, might indicate a technological function. Theorists David Childress and others propose that these monuments acted as electromagnetic conductors or "lightning rods" absorbing energy from the heavens, potentially facilitating communication with extraterrestrial visitors. The benben stone itself, they note, was associated with the god Atum's vehicle for traveling between earth and the stars, which Ancient Astronaut Theorists interpret as evidence of an interstellar connection rather than purely mythological symbolism.

The MUFON Files

The episode profiles MUFON (Mutual UFO Network), a volunteer organization with over 4,000 investigators worldwide that has spent five decades compiling a database of UFO sightings and alleged encounters. Ancient astronaut theorists suggest this archive may contain definitive proof of extraterrestrial visitation, pointing to cases like the 1997 Phoenix Lights incident in Arizona—a mass sighting that drew several current MUFON investigators to the organization. The episode highlights MUFON's recent collaboration with the U.S. government on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) research, with contributors noting that congressional officials now want answers regardless of whether UAPs originate from extraterrestrial civilizations or human adversaries. MUFON field investigators describe their methodical approach to examining witness reports, with one veteran claiming to have reviewed over a thousand cases and finding certain incidents unlike anything in their experience.

Cosmic Impacts

This episode explores whether meteor impacts on Earth—from Arizona's Barringer Crater, formed 50,000 years ago by a 300,000-ton asteroid, to the Chicxulub impact that ended the dinosaurs 66 million years ago—might represent more than random cosmic events. Ancient astronaut theorists, including those interviewed for the episode, propose that certain celestial objects could be deliberately directed toward Earth by extraterrestrial intelligence to deliver essential resources or even "stimulate the evolution of a species." The episode points to mysterious meteoric events, including a shooting star over Mexico that allegedly created an electromagnetic dead zone and a meteorite claimed to contain "extraterrestrial technology that points towards intelligence," as potential evidence of guided intervention rather than natural phenomena.

Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind

This episode explores claims that high-level government officials have engaged in direct contact and communication with extraterrestrial beings—what the Center for the Study of Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence defines as "Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind." Ancient alien theorists point to alleged meetings involving Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon, mysterious visitors introduced to British Royal Family aides, and a purported spreadsheet labeled "Non-terrestrial Officers" as evidence of ongoing diplomatic relations with alien civilizations. The episode arrives amid unprecedented congressional attention to UFOs, including a May 2022 House Intelligence Committee hearing where officials acknowledged that unidentified aerial phenomena represent real objects posing potential security risks, and new legislation requiring the Defense Department to review UFO sightings dating to 1945.

Alaska: Into the Wilderness

This episode explores whether Alaska's vast wilderness—over 600,000 square miles of desolate terrain—harbors unexplained phenomena linked to extraterrestrial activity. Ancient astronaut theorists point to the state's staggering rate of missing persons (500 to 2,000 annually), electromagnetic anomalies, and frequent UFO sightings as evidence of otherworldly presence. The most famous case is the October 16, 1972 disappearance of U.S. Congressmen Hale Boggs and Nick Begich, whose twin-engine Cessna vanished between Anchorage and Juneau despite what became the most expensive search operation in American history at the time—covering 360,000 square kilometers with over 40 aircraft yet recovering not a single piece of debris. Theorists suggest Alaska's remote landscape, with 17 mountain ranges, 3,000 rivers, and 3 million lakes, provides ideal cover for non-human activity in one of Earth's last true frontiers.

The Giants of Malta

Commercial and military pilots have reported thousands of UFO encounters over the decades, but one of the most documented cases involves Japan Airlines Flight 1628 in 1986. As Captain Kenju Terauchi, an experienced former fighter pilot, flew his 747 cargo plane near Anchorage, Alaska, he reported two oval-shaped objects pacing his aircraft at 500 miles per hour before being replaced by what he described as a "gigantic spaceship the size of maybe two aircraft carriers." The episode features ancient astronaut theorists like Giorgio A. Tsoukalos arguing that the sheer volume of pilot testimony—from both civilian and military aviators—demands serious attention, especially given that Anchorage Air Traffic Control and NORAD at Elmendorf Air Force Base confirmed tracking a large unidentified object on radar during Terauchi's encounter.

The Top Ten Pyramids

Ancient astronaut theorists argue that Malta's megalithic temples, among the oldest stone structures on Earth at 5,600 years old, may conceal evidence of extraterrestrial contact far earlier than mainstream archaeology acknowledges. The episode focuses on mysterious "cart ruts"—grooves carved into Malta's limestone bedrock—that extend as much as 140 feet below current sea levels in the Mediterranean. Researchers like Robert Schoch suggest these ruts could only have been created when sea levels were lower, potentially dating them to before the last ice age ended around 12,000 years ago—thousands of years before the Sumerian civilization and long before Malta's known megalithic builders disappeared around 3,000 years ago. The episode also highlights discoveries of elongated skulls in underground complexes, which some theorists interpret as evidence of "giant hybrid beings" created through alien intervention.

The Top Ten Mysterious Devices

In this countdown of pyramid sites worldwide, Ancient Aliens proposes that the global distribution and architectural similarities of these structures point to extraterrestrial influence. At number ten, the episode focuses on El Castillo at Chichén Itzá in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, a limestone step pyramid built between the 9th and 12th centuries AD. The structure was designed to honor Kukulkan, the "Feathered Serpent" deity who Mayan tradition describes as a teacher bringing astronomy, calendar-making, and agriculture before departing with a promise to return. Ancient astronaut theorists Giorgio Tsoukalos and others suggest the pyramid's famous equinox shadow effect—where triangular light patterns descend the staircase to stone serpent heads at its base—may commemorate an actual spacecraft landing, with Kukulkan representing an extraterrestrial visitor rather than a mythological figure.

The Top Ten Mysterious Islands

This episode counts down ten artifacts that ancient astronaut theorists interpret as technological devices potentially left by extraterrestrial visitors. Among them is the djed pillar, a column-like symbol found throughout ancient Egypt including at the Temple of Seti I in Abydos. Giorgio Tsoukalos and other theorists argue the djed resembles a Tesla coil or electrical conductor, suggesting ancient Egyptians possessed electricity—a claim they connect to the Dendera light bulb carving, where a bulb-like image appears to rest on a djed pillar. The episode also references the Dropa Stones, mysterious grooved disks reportedly discovered by archaeologist Dr. Chi Pu Tai in 1936 in China's Bayan-Kara-Ula Mountains, though the summary cuts off before elaborating on this claim.

The Top Ten Alien Craft

In this countdown episode, "Ancient Aliens" revisits ten islands around the world where, the show argues, evidence suggests extraterrestrial contact in Earth's distant past. The Big Island of Hawaii claims the number ten spot, highlighted for the native Hawaiian tradition that their ancestors descended from the Pleiades star system. Tribal leader Kimokeo Kapahulehua discusses the Kumulipo creation chant, which describes the god Lono descending "on a rainbow" from the stars. Ancient astronaut theorists including Giorgio Tsoukalos propose that isolated islands like Hawaii may have served as controlled "experimental laboratories" for extraterrestrial visitors, with the Big Island's pre-contact ecosystem—free of reptiles, mosquitoes, and rats—presented as evidence of an unusually "pure" testing ground. The episode also features the Isle of Man, where Irish mythology describes the Tuatha Dé Danann arriving in "cloud ships," a phrase the show interprets as possible descriptions of advanced aerial craft.

Edgar Cayce: The Sleeping Prophet

This episode counts down the top ten alleged alien craft types witnessed throughout history, arguing that the consistency of shapes reported across time and geography suggests extraterrestrial visitation. Ancient astronaut theorists highlight V-shaped craft as a prime example, pointing to mass sightings over New York's Hudson Valley in 1982-1983—where an estimated 5,000 witnesses reported a football-field-sized silent object—and the 1997 Phoenix Lights event witnessed by thousands including Governor Fife Symington, a trained Air Force pilot. The episode's most striking historical case comes from Nuremberg, Germany in 1561, where a contemporary woodcut depicts a "celestial battle" involving a large black V-shaped object and hundreds of other shapes witnessed by thousands of citizens. Theorists like Giorgio Tsoukalos argue the Nuremberg witnesses lacked vocabulary for spacecraft but described exactly that, making it "one of the greatest mass sightings of a UFO phenomena in all of recorded history."

The Gods of Greece

This episode pivots from its title to explore Edgar Cayce, the early 20th-century Kentucky psychic who recorded over 14,000 trance readings covering medical diagnoses, past lives, and prophecy. Ancient astronaut theorists, citing Cayce's childhood encounter with a winged female figure by a creek and his claims of receiving information from angelic sources, propose he may have been selected by extraterrestrials as a messenger to humanity. The episode frames Cayce within a lineage of shamans spanning 30,000 years, referencing a female shaman discovered at Dolní Věstonice in the Czech Republic in 1949, and suggests these figures across cultures may have served as communication channels between humans and a "higher realm" that could be extraterrestrial in origin.

The New UFO Hunters

This episode examines whether the gods of ancient Greece—Zeus, Apollo, Poseidon, and others—might have been extraterrestrial visitors rather than mythological figures. Ancient astronaut theorists point to the advanced technology attributed to these deities, such as Zeus's lightning bolt capable of destroying entire cities and Poseidon's earthquake-inducing trident, as potential descriptions of alien technology. They note that every major intellectual achievement of Greek civilization, from the Parthenon designed by architects Ictinus and Callicrates to the mathematical theorems of Pythagoras, was credited by the Greeks themselves to divine inspiration. The theorists suggest that accounts of gods physically interacting with humans and creating demigods represent genetic manipulation by extraterrestrial beings, arguing that the Greeks "clearly said the gods were real" and took these entities as literal, physical presences in their lives.

Power of the Talisman

This episode shifts focus from ancient mysteries to contemporary UFO investigations, arguing that the 21st century represents an unprecedented turning point in legitimizing the study of unidentified aerial phenomena. The program highlights former intelligence official David Grusch's June 2023 testimony to Congress claiming the U.S. government possesses "craft of non-human origin," which ancient astronaut theorists present as validation of a long-suppressed truth. The episode traces official U.S. military UFO programs from 1947's Project Sign through Project Grudge and Project Blue Book, suggesting a decades-long pattern of government knowledge. Contributors argue that modern technological advances and institutional acceptance—from NASA to the Pentagon—have created an environment where witnesses can report sightings "without fear of retribution," fundamentally changing the investigation landscape.

The Top Ten Mysteries of the Deep

Ancient astronaut theorists explore humanity's universal belief in talismans—objects thought to hold mysterious energy or divine power—asking whether this enduring practice reflects more than mere superstition. From bear claws used by prehistoric hunters to Venus figurines symbolizing fertility, from ancient Egyptian artifacts believed to channel the power of gods to modern Christian crosses and Saint Christopher medals, virtually every culture has consecrated physical objects as conduits to supernatural forces. The Iroquois called this energy "Orenda," while Japanese Shinto tradition attributed souls to physical items. Contributors suggest these objects serve as "material concretions of the divine," providing tangible connection to invisible realms, and question why this practice persists across all human societies if it lacks foundation in reality.

The Top Ten Alien Petroglyphs

The Yonaguni Monument, discovered in 1987 by dive operator Kihachiro Aratake off Japan's Yonaguni Island, sits at number ten in Ancient Aliens' countdown of underwater mysteries that may evidence extraterrestrial contact. The massive stepped formation, lying just 60 feet below the surface, features what proponents describe as precise cuts, terraces, standing monoliths, and dolmen-like structures spanning a vast area. Japanese archaeologist Masaaki Kimura argues the presence of tools and engraved stones proves artificial construction, while Ancient Aliens theorists including Giorgio Tsoukalos suggest the monument could date to 20,000 years ago—when sea levels were lower during the last ice age. The episode connects the structure to Japanese imperial mythology, where emperors claimed descent from a dragon god's lineage, interpreted here as potential evidence of extraterrestrial ancestry.

The Alien Architects

In "The Alien Architects," Ancient Aliens counts down the top ten petroglyphs worldwide that theorists believe document extraterrestrial visitation. The episode opens with Winnemucca Lake in Nevada, where limestone boulders display deep-cut spirals, zigzags, and abstract patterns dated by University of Colorado radiocarbon testing to between 10,500 and 14,800 years ago—making them North America's oldest known petroglyphs. Ancient astronaut theorists including Giorgio Tsoukalos highlight that these carvings predate the Clovis culture, raising questions about who created them. Local Paiute oral tradition adds another layer, claiming the Si-Te-Cah—a race of red-haired giants standing over seven feet tall who lived on floating cities—carved these images, not their own ancestors. The episode then moves to Rock Art Ranch in Arizona, where nearly 3,000 Navajo petroglyphs depict figures identified as "star people," which theorists interpret as evidence of ancient contact with celestial visitors.