We begin by discussing one of McDonald's goals during his tenure studying UFOs: development of a national UFO monitoring system. We speculate on why such a system has yet to be put into place by the UFO research community. We also talk about whether or not McDonald ever expressed frustration or pressure over being perceived as a leader in Ufology and the unspoken hope of many in the field that he would provide some sort of UFO breakthrough. Following that, we find out about J. Allen Hynek's reaction, in his later years, to revelations about Project Blue Book and how other government agencies had also been investigating UFOs at the time.

Covering another huge event in UFO history, we look the Condon Report from a number of angles, starting with Ann giving us some perspective on what the mood was like in Ufology as the Report was looming on the horizon. She gives some amazingly detailed background into the infamous "Low memo" which tipped Ufology off to the fact that the Condon Report would be largely negative. She also points out the huge contribution of Jim McDonald in getting the Low memo out to the public and making people aware of what was really going on within the Condon Committee. We also find out what the reaction was like, from those within Ufology, when the Condon Report was finally issued.

Ann gives us her first hand perspective of the effect of the Condon Report on UFO studies at the time. We use that discussion to segue into talking about how Ufology has changed since the difficult stretch of years that saw the Condon Report, the closure of Blue Book, NICAP folding, and McDonald's death and discuss if the field was irreperably damaged by those events. This leads to some talk of the "abduction boom" which began in 1973 and changed the course of UFO studies heading into the future. Ann makes a startling contention about what the abduction phenomenon did to the world of UFO studies and speculates on whether or not McDonald would have gotten into abduction research, had he lived to see the "swarm" of abduction reports that began shortly after he died.

We then look at yet another key event in Ufological history: the folding of NICAP. We first find out from Ann what the on-the-ground reaction was to the unseating of Keyhoe as head of NICAP. Ann relates how extensive the discussion was regarding government infiltration of NICAP at the time, recounts McDonald's reaction to the NICAP shake-up and speculates on his feelings about the turmoil in the organization.

Looking at the series of events that preceded McDonald's death, we start with his clandestine meeting with "top government officials," and Ann recounts this mysterious event and speculates about what it had been about. We then talk about the Congressional Hearings on supersonic jets that McDonald was a part of, where he was viciously attacked by a Congressman for his UFO research. Ann also reflects of the grief and sadness that befell Ufology following McDonald's death.

Wrapping up our discussion on Jim McDonald's life, we talk about his suicide in 1971 and Ann relates some of the factors that converged and left him in a state of deep depression. She also speculates on whether or not there were any nefarious factors at work with McDonald's depression. We discuss if there was any lingering fear after McDonald's death, either in Ufology or in mainstream science circles that might have had interest in UFOs.

Looking at a few big picture themes from the book, we cover McDonald's internal debate re: UFOs and the government, in that he wondered if it was a "foul up" or a "cover-up" on the part of the government. We also get Ann's take on the idea that perhaps the government actually knows very little about UFOs but is projecting greater knowledge.

We then get Ann's opinion on the evolution of Ufology in the nearly four decades since McDonald's death. She provides some amazing perspective on the "abduction boom" of the 1970's and offers her opinion on why that was, in the long run, bad for Ufology. We find out where Ann thinks the field needs to go from here. We discuss Ufology's public relations problem and also find out if Ann ever gets frustrated or worried because she's been in the field for over 50 years, seen many colleagues pass on, and yet still there have been no tangible answers to the UFO enigma.

Closing out this landmark BoA:Audio interview, we find out what Ann's working on now and what we can expect from her in the future.

UFO researcher and author Ann Druffel dates her interest in the UFO question from 1945 when, as a schoolgirl, she viewed a bright yellowish object, very high in clear blue skies over Long Beach, California.

Interested in earth mysteries of all kinds, Druffel has researched various aspects of the UFO question and investigated reports of all kinds since 1957. She was one of the first investigators for NICAP, remaining with that organization from April 1957 to 1973. During the NICAP years she became acquainted with the renowned atmospheric physicist, Dr. James E. McDonald, and participated with him in several UFO cases during his six years of UFO research. After NICAP was destroyed by subversive agents from the FBI and CIA who had secretly penetrated into the higher realms of NICAP, Druffel joined the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) with which she is still actively associated as investigator, frequent contributor to their journals and other official capacities.

She was a U. S. consultant and regular contributor for the British research journal FLYING SAUCER REVIEW (FSR) through 2004. She has authored six books and numerous articles for newsstand magazines on UFOs and other earth mysteries and has contributed 190+ articles and columns for top UFO journals in the field.

Her website is www.anndruffel.com

topics discussed:
1 hr 25 min
3.2.09
415
Ann Druffel

Part 3 of 3