Journalism · Research & investigation
Leslie Kean
Investigative journalist and UFO author
Who they are
Leslie Kean is a journalist whose UFO work includes a 2010 book and reporting with Ralph Blumenthal and Helene Cooper on a Pentagon program in 2017. With Blumenthal, she introduced David Grusch’s allegations to readers in 2023. Her significance here is the publication and framing of consequential reporting, distinct from independent proof of the extraordinary claims reported.
Her reporting connects witness and official accounts with the modern public disclosure debate.
Selected contributions
- Coauthored the 2017 Pentagon-program story and the 2023 report on Grusch’s allegations.Source ↗Source 2 ↗
- Authored UFOs, combining her investigation with contributed accounts from pilots and officials.Source ↗
Selected works
Journalism · 2017
Glowing Auras and ‘Black Money’: The Pentagon’s Mysterious U.F.O. Program
Cooper, Blumenthal and Kean report on the Pentagon UFO program, its funding and accounts from participants. This is contemporary journalism about the program, distinct from its underlying government records.
Online December 16, 2017; print December 17 as “Real U.F.O.s? Pentagon Unit Tried to Know.”
Reading scope & citation
Coauthor’s article listing plus front-page opening/byline of coauthor-hosted print scan inspected; direct NYT retrieval failed. No complete article audit claimed.
Journalism · 2023
Intelligence Officials Say U.S. Has Retrieved Craft of Non-Human Origin
Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal report David Grusch’s allegations about concealed recovery programs and his complaints to oversight authorities. This is reporting of claims and supporting source accounts, not public authentication of retrieved material.
Reading scope & citation
Fresh byline, title, opening claims, complaint discussion and author note read; existing event-source review reused. Reused prior inspected evidence: Supporting passages inspected; not a cover-to-cover audit of every linked publication
Book · 2010
UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record
Combines Kean’s investigation with contributed accounts from pilots and officials, including their encounters and responses by governments. The description establishes the book’s scope, rather than verifying each account.
Original publication 2010; linked page features the August 2, 2011 Crown paperback, ISBN 9780307717085.
Reading scope & citation
Publisher description and format metadata read; book text not read.
ISBN: 9780307717085
In the timeline
- Dec 16, 2017 – Dec 17, 2017The story reaches the front page
- Jun 5, 2023Grusch’s recovery-program allegations become public
Biography sources
- Intelligence Officials Say U.S. Has Retrieved Non-Human Craft ↗The Debrief
- Intelligence Officials Say U.S. Has Retrieved Craft of Non-Human Origin ↗The Debrief
- UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record ↗Penguin Random House / Crown
- Real U.F.O.s? Pentagon Unit Tried to Know ↗The New York Times; print extract hosted by coauthor Leslie Kean