MERGED is a platform to enable the mainstream exploration of UAP through the lens of pilots, scientists, and innovators.
Ryan will host discussions on UAP that prioritize scientific inquiry and maintain an open-minded approach. In addition to exchanging ideas, MERGED will serve as a conduit for identifying technologies, companies, and individuals that can contribute to the ecosystem of UAP research and understanding.
Ryan Graves is a former pilot who flew the F-18 Super Hornet fighter jet. In 2014, he and his colleagues regularly encountered unidentified aerospace phenomena (UAP) off the coast of Virginia Beach. These sightings were so frequent that they had to cancel training missions. By 2021, there have been 11 documented near misses with UAP. The MERGED Podcast is here to explore this phenomenon and the efforts to understand it through the perspective of pilots, scientists, and innovators. Ryan believes that the UAP phenomenon is an engineering problem and that a rational, science-first approach is needed to explore it.
MERGED is a podcast about Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) research. The host of the show is Ryan Graves, a retired Navy pilot. While on training missions, he and his colleagues had several encounters with UAPs. After leaving the Navy, Graves founded Merged Point. This company studies UAPs through a scientific lens. This podcast is the companion to the project.
When most people hear about UFO sightings, they tend to dismiss them as the products of overactive imaginations. Pop culture has created a cartoonish picture of aliens. Images of little green men and cows beamed up into flying saucers come to mind. Testimonies of encounters tend to be the stuff of conspiracy theories. In short, it's easy to dismiss believers, unless the believer is someone like Graves. In addition to an impeccable military record, the podcast host’s résumé is impressive. He is a pilot, a scientist, and an engineer. He also has direct experience with UAPs.
Graves invites people onto the podcast to talk about UAPs. One guest is astrophysicist Adam Frank. He specializes in star formation and the habitability of exoplanets. He presents theories about what an extraterrestrial civilization might be like. In another episode, Graves talks with Tim Gallaudet. During his time at the NOAA, Gallaudet received reports about UAPs in oceans. He makes the case for the necessity of undersea research on alien life.
Many episodes of the podcast include conversations with pilots. Alex Dietrich is a retired Navy pilot who has sighted UAPs. She makes the case for a systemic UAP reporting system. Mark Hulsey is a pilot who questioned the secrecy of reports detailing UAP sightings. He suffered backlash from going public.
Graves also talks to philosophers, psychologists, and social scientists about UAPs. With every podcast episode, he builds his case for a considered, science-based exploration of their existence. MERGED may appeal to skeptics who need hard facts to decide what they think of this phenomenon.
Episodes