Joe Rogan Experience #2545 - Jesse Michels · Aired Aug 25, 2026
Claim summary · not a verbatim quotation
A UFO emerged from the plume during the Starfish Prime nuclear test in 1962.
The finding
What the evidence shows
A detailed review of the declassified footage behind this story, done with help from nuclear test film experts, concluded no UFO event occurred. The bright object people point to was the test's own Thor booster rocket, heated to a glow by X-rays, and the claim also points to the wrong test since the footage in question is from Bluegill Triple Prime in October 1962, not Starfish Prime in July 1962.
Read the supporting source · douglasjohnson.ghost.io ↗Quick answer & review status
Quick answer
Is it true that a UFO emerged from the plume during the Starfish Prime nuclear test in 1962?
No, not as stated. A detailed review of the declassified footage behind this story, done with help from nuclear test film experts, concluded no UFO event occurred. Jesse Michels said it (matched by voice) on Joe Rogan Experience #2545 - Jesse Michels, aired Aug 25, 2026, at 1:30:10. The supporting source is douglasjohnson.ghost.io, linked below.
The context belongs here.
No separately verified on-air correction is recorded for this check. That is not a claim that nobody corrected it.
- Attribution
- Not independently confirmed in this record
- Editorial context review
- Not recorded; generated finding
- Coverage
- One selected claim from the episode
Revisions to this check
No dated revision is recorded here. Older checks may predate this log.
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