Joe Rogan Experience #1029 - Tom DeLonge

Episode Summary

Main Topics Discussed

• Tom DeLonge's Obsession with UFOs/UAPs: His lifelong interest stemming from junior high readings and extensive research during his music career.
• Advanced Aerial Threats (AATs): DeLonge's preferred term for what were previously called UFOs, highlighting a shift in perception and official terminology.
• Government Secrecy and Disclosure: The mechanisms by which information about AATs has been controlled, and DeLonge's unique role in facilitating a "middle road" for communication.
• To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science: DeLonge's company, founded with high-level former government and intelligence officials, aiming to build advanced technologies and disseminate information.
• Historical Context of the Phenomenon: Discussions around the Roswell incident, Project Paperclip, Cold War implications, and the theory of an international collaboration to deal with non-human intelligence.
• Advanced Technology & Physics: Concepts like "time travel" through gravity bubbles, exotic propulsion, and satellite tracking of AATs.

Key Insights & Memorable Moments

• DeLonge attributes his early interest in the paranormal to listening to Art Bell's radio show, appreciating Bell's open-mindedness to strange callers.
• He describes a unique form of "time travel" where advanced craft create a "bubble of gravity" causing a "red shift" effect, making the outside world appear frozen or slow.
• DeLonge's company, To The Stars Academy, includes high-profile individuals such as Dr. Hal Puthoff (Nobel nominee, plasma physicist, creator of the CIA's psychic spy program) and Steve Justice (former head of advanced programs at Skunk Works).
• He recounts his journey to gaining "permission" to discuss this topic, starting with his plan to create "science fiction for adults" based on real events, which led to high-level meetings near the Pentagon and at NASA Ames.
• A pivotal moment was a meeting at an airport where a high-level official stated, "He was the Cold War and we found a life form." This individual claimed all decisions during the Cold War were influenced by this discovery.
• DeLonge believes his "service" to these officials is his ability to communicate complex information to the public through books, films, and media platforms, something government agencies struggle with.
• He posits that the Roswell event (1947) and subsequent government actions (CIA, Air Force, National Security Act 90 days later) were direct responses to the discovery of crashed technology, possibly German in origin but based on alien tech.
• DeLonge claims the government infiltrated UFO groups in the 1950s to control information, comparing it to counter-intelligence tactics.
• He suggests that Project Paperclip had "two levels," bringing Nazi scientists to the US not just for the space race but because they possessed crucial knowledge about a "bigger issue."
• A powerful anecdote involves a general telling him, "You've been given permission, shut the [__] up and get to work" after he inquired about getting the DIA involved.
• He reveals being subjected to a two-day "interrogation" by six agency representatives who wanted to understand how he independently pieced together the existence of an "international concerted effort" to deal with the phenomenon.
• DeLonge mentions that satellites are programmed to track "episodic visits" of these craft, distinguishing them from known objects like ICBMs or planes based on their unique heat signatures and erratic movements.

Notable Quotes or Revelations

• "I don't call them that anymore we call these advanced aerial threats."
• "[He said] he was the Cold War and we found a life form."
• "[A colonel told me] you've been given permission, shut the [__] up and get to work."
• "I said you know I'm thinking about talking about what the crash in the late forties and they go why just that one?"
• "The universe is [__] gigantic and there's life everywhere every [__] where."
• "I believe that there's a reason what the Cold War never got hot is because we were working with Russia on this specific issue."
• "They call it episodic visits." (Referring to the frequency of craft entering Earth's atmosphere.)

Overall Themes

• The Existential Threat and Human Response: The underlying theme is humanity's long-standing, often covert, struggle to understand and respond to non-human intelligence, framing it as a national and international security issue.
• Controlled Disclosure and Information Management: DeLonge portrays himself as a conduit for a controlled release of information, navigating the delicate balance between government secrecy and public awareness.
• The Power of Independent Research: His story emphasizes that dedicated research and pattern recognition can uncover truths that parallel, or even exceed, what intelligence agencies possess, driving his unique collaboration.
• Advanced Technology and Its Implications: The podcast delves into speculative but presented-as-real technologies that challenge conventional physics, suggesting a revolutionary shift in human understanding and capability.
• The Complex Nature of "Government": DeLonge highlights that "the government" is not a monolithic entity, but a layered, multi-faceted organization with differing levels of knowledge and agendas regarding this phenomenon.