Chasing Aliens

Faith and Conspiracy in the UFO Heartlands

De: Daniel Lavelle

Brought to you by Penguin.

From Orwell Prize winner Daniel Lavelle comes a wild road trip through the UFO heartlands into the dark heart of America

The US government has been investigating unidentified aerial phenomena in a secret division of the Department of Defence. President Obama admitted there are things happening in our skies that government cannot explain. A former intelligence official urged the US to disclose evidence of UFOs after saying the government has possession of ‘intact and partially intact’ alien vehicles. What, exactly, was going on?

Setting off on a road trip through the UFO heartlands to get some answers, Daniel Lavelle encounters government whistle-blowers and Harvard scientists who apparently have evidence of extra-terrestrial life, as well conspiracy theorists, amateur fanatics and Starseeds (those individuals who claim to be actual aliens), but where’s the line between a legitimate source and a harebrained grifter? He talks to those who claim to have been abducted by aliens, attends ‘sky watches’, as well as venturing into the fringes of the far-right and clandestine ranches run by the Pentagon where the truth – the long-awaited moment of disclosure – is jealously guarded.

Chasing Aliens is a wildly insightful journey into the dark heart of America, filled with adventure and hilarity, which will change how we think about UFOs, our (possible) neighbours in space and the ongoing search for meaning in a vast, unknowable universe.

© Daniel Lavelle 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

Reseñas de la Crítica

Lavelle, a young British journalist, won an Orwell Prize in 2023 for his reporting on homelessness (including his own experience). This book may seem like a swerve: he takes a road-trip across the United States, not only to investigate why more than 40 per cent of Americans believe aliens have made contact, but to meet some who claim it’s happened to them. But the same journalistic skills are at play: enthusiasm, deft writing and an attention to the strange, fascinating details of ordinary lives (Cal Revely-Calder & Lucy Thynne)