Across human history, we have looked to the heavens and seen things that didn’t make sense. Greg Eghigian chronicles how those human experiences were translated by believers, skeptics, investigators and hoaxers in the aftermath of the Second World War into the UFO phenomenon we still talk about today.   

Eghigian is a historian of the human sciences and medicine as well as modern Europe. He earned both his Master’s and Doctorate in Modern European History from the University of Chicago. He is now a professor of History and Bioethics at Penn State University. His past work has focused on how societies use science, technology, and medicine to define and treat people and behaviors deemed to be troubling, bizarre, or outright dangerous. In recent years, the modern history of supernatural and paranormal phenomena has caught Eghigian’s captivation. His 2024 book, “After the Flying Saucers Came: A Global History of the UFO Phenomenon,” depicts the social effects of claimed UFO sightings in the backdrop of the Cold War. He also has two other book projects in the works; a broad overview of the history of madness from the ancient world to the present and a study of the alien abduction phenomenon in the late-20th century. 

Across human history, we have looked to the heavens and seen things that didn’t make sense. Greg Eghigian chronicles how those human experiences were translated by believers, skeptics, investigators and hoaxers in the aftermath of the Second World War into the UFO phenomenon we still talk about today.   
Eghigian is a historian of the human sciences and medicine as well as modern Europe. He earned both his Master’s and Doctorate in Modern European History from the University of Chicago. He is now a professor of History and Bioethics at Penn State University. His past work has focused on how societies use science, technology, and medicine to define and treat people and behaviors deemed to be troubling, bizarre, or outright dangerous. In recent years, the modern history of supernatural and paranormal phenomena has caught Eghigian’s captivation. His 2024 book, “After the Flying Saucers Came: A Global History of the UFO Phenomenon,” depicts the social effects of claimed UFO sightings in the backdrop of the Cold War. He also has two other book projects in the works; a broad overview of the history of madness from the ancient world to the present and a study of the alien abduction phenomenon in the late-20th century.

Story in the Public Square is a weekly, 30-minute series that brings audiences to the intersection of storytelling and public affairs. Hosted by Jim Ludes and G. Wayne Miller, Story in the Public Square offers a spirited but respectful dialogue. Often funny, always provocative, each episode of Story in the Public Square
moves beyond traditional public affairs programming to consider the impact of narrative and storytelling on public life today.

Story in the Public Square is a weekly, 30-minute series that brings audiences to the intersection of storytelling and public affairs. Hosted by Jim Ludes and G. Wayne Miller, Story in the Public Square offers a spirited but respectful dialogue. Often funny, always provocative, each episode of Story in the Public Square moves beyond traditional public affairs programming to consider the impact of narrative and storytelling on public life today.

Advertisement