We roll right into our conversation by first getting Peter's perspective on the changing landscape of UFO report collection and he reacts to what he sees as a disturbing trend of people taking cases from the NUFORC and acting as if they were the ones who collected the report. He also talks about what makes the NUFORC special, such as their strong endorsement from the FAA and local police departments as well as the open sharing of reports on their website. Before we really dive into discussion of the NUFORC, we get an update from Peter about his big move to an abandoned missile site in Washington state and what he would like to do with the property in the future.

We then begin discussion of the NUFORC, starting at the beginning of Peter's tenure as director with him recounting how he first ended up being the director of the National UFO Reporting Center in 1994. Peter talks about his initial days as director and how the incoming calls far outweighed his original expectations. We also talk about what has motivated Peter to keep running the hotline after all these years and he reflects on the sacrifices, both financial and time wise, he has made over the years. This segues into some discussion on just how many people actually write down their UFO sighting and why that is an essential step that anyone who has seen a UFO should take. This segues into a discussion on how many of the reports that Peter gets nowadays are poorly written. As such, we then find out from Peter what is the ideal information to include in a UFO report.

The conversation then turns to the evolution of the NUFORC, starting with how the hotline was set-up back in 1994. This leads to discussion on how the Internet has affected both Ufology as well as the NUFORC. Peter weighs the pros and cons of the Internet with regards to the NUFORC. Peter also reflects on some of the difficulties with other folks who don't want to reciprocate the sharing of UFO reports. We also get an update on the ongoing problem of prank callers inundating the NUFORC. He also puts forth what he sees should be the national policy on cell phones to help alleviate the problem of prank calls.

We move on to discuss a remarkable, recent case covered on the NUFORC website: an August 15th, 2009 series of UFO sightings that spanned 11 states. We also reflect on why this remarkable series of UFO sightings were not covered in either the mainstream media or the underground, esoteric media. Peter also recalls how these nights of multiple case reports are not a wholly unique occurrence. This leads to some discussion on the media's lack of coverage of UFOs and Peter reflects on some of his troubles in dealing with the media, notably the Chicago Tribune and their coverage of the O'Haire UFO event. Peter also recalls the night of the Stephenville UFO sighting and what the scene was like at the NUFORC that evening.

Up next we cover a fascinating story from Peter's career: his 1997 meeting with members of the US government who were interested in the information he's collected at the NUFORC. In tremendous detail, he recounts the story of how it came about and speculates on why the government wanted to talk to him in the first place. He also reveals some stunning information imparted to him by the government agents who requested the meeting as well as a mindboggling question they asked him about the UFO phenomenon. He also shares the specific sort of cases which piqued the government's interest enough to organize this meeting.

Following that, we talk about the ongoing UFO file releases that have been happening all over the world and we get Peter's opinion on why the US seems to be the one holdout on such file releases. Heading towards the close, we look at another interesting case that Peter has received since our last interview, Peter talks about a November 4th, 2008 "car mutilation," which saw a vehicle disfigured in an odd fashion by a mysterious force. Images of the car can be seen here (scroll down a bit and you'll see them). He also shares some interesting recent information about what happened to all the evidence from this case.

Wrapping things up, we find out if Peter has an endgame in mind as to his future as director of the NUFORC and how the lack of an endgame plan for researchers is a systemic problem throughout Ufology.

Peter Davenport, Director of the National UFO Reporting Center since July 1994, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, where he lived to the age of 14. As a boy, he attended high school in St. Louis, Ethiopia, and New Hampshire.

Peter received his undergraduate education at Stanford University in California, where he earned bachelor's degrees in both Russian and biology, and a translator's certificate in Russian. His graduate education was completed at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he earned an M.S. degree in the genetics and biochemistry of fish from the College of Fisheries, as well as an M.B.A. degree in finance and international business from the Graduate School of Business.

He has worked as a college instructor, a commercial fisherman, a Russian translator in the Soviet Union, a fisheries observer aboard Soviet fishing vessels, a flight instructor (gliders), and a businessman. Peter was the founding president of a Seattle-based biotechnology company, which, at one time, employed over 300 scientists and technicians.

Peter has had an active interest in the UFO phenomenon from his early boyhood. He experienced his first UFO sighting over the St. Louis municipal airport in the summer of 1954, and he investigated his first UFO case during the summer of 1965 in Exeter, New Hampshire. Peter has been witness to several anomalous events, possibly UFO related, including a dramatic sighting over Baja California in February 1990, and several nighttime sightings over Washington State during 1992.

In addition to being the Director of the National UFO Reporting Center, Peter is a current member of MUFON, and is a former Co-State Section Director (King County), and former Director of Investigation, for the Washington State chapter of MUFON.

His website is www.ufocenter.com

topics discussed:
1 hr 30 min
12.9.09
503
Peter Davenport