Jesse Michels (American Alchemy)

Snapshot

Jesse Michels is the creator and host of American Alchemy, a fast-growing YouTube series and podcast that explores UFOs and UAP, non-human intelligence, hidden history, psychedelics, and the edges of science and culture. He appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience #2331 on June 3, 2025, which accelerated his reach. His show publishes weekly across YouTube, Apple, and Spotify. Spotify+3YouTube+3Apple Podcasts+3

Why he matters right now

• Audience gravity. Michels’ Rogan appearance condensed months of attention into days and anchored him in the broader UAP and alternative-history conversation. Apple Podcasts+1
• Cross-stream distribution. The same “episode spine” runs on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, and podcast indexes, which helps topics trend beyond a single platform. Podbean+3YouTube+3Apple Podcasts+3
• Topic breadth with a consistent lens. He packages hard-to-classify subjects under one brand line, “Exploring the nature of reality,” which makes it easier for mainstream audiences to sample fringe themes. YouTube

Core themes he keeps returning to

1. UFOs and UAP witnesses
   • Nuclear shutdown incidents, alleged underground sites, hangar encounters, and intelligence briefings surface repeatedly in his interviews. Examples include Robert Salas on Malmstrom AFB, Ross Coulthart on bases, Dr. Gregory Rogers on a hangar sighting, and Eric W. Davis on briefing culture. Global Player+3Podcast Notes+3Podnews+3
2. Religion, metaphysics, and NHI
   • From “angels and UFOs” to philosophical control-system takes. See Karl Nell and Diana Walsh Pasulka on biblical frames, and Jason Reza Jorjani on religion as behavioral architecture. Apple Podcasts
3. Occult and space history
   • Recurrent dives into Parsons, the occult, and how ritual or esoterica intersected early rocketry and NASA culture. YouTube
4. Psychedelics as contact technology
   • DMT entities and altered-state cognition appear as a parallel line of inquiry, including conversations that bridge neuroscience and anecdotal contact reports. Spotify
5. Simulation and consciousness
   • Interviews that test simulation theory and mind-first physics, often via academic or tech-adjacent guests. Spotify

Representative guests and episode touchpoints

• Robert Salas — Malmstrom nuclear shutdowns and national security implications. Podcast Notes
• Ross Coulthart — Alleged underground sites, investigative UAP journalism. Podnews
• Dr. Gregory Rogers — Flight surgeon account of a craft in a restricted hangar. Spotify
• Eric W. Davis — Intelligence briefings culture, what can and cannot be said on record. Global Player
• Jason Reza Jorjani — Philosophy, religion, and the idea of control systems around the phenomenon. Apple Podcasts
• Andrew Gallimore — DMT pharmacology and entity contact models. Spotify
• Matt LaCroix — Cataclysmic prehistory and lost civilizations. Podnews
• Rob Rhinehart — Culture and tech lifestyle experiments as they relate to larger civilizational narratives. Apple Podcasts

Note: Platform catalogs differ slightly on total count and ordering. Apple shows about 96 episodes as of October 2025, while indexes and YouTube playlists vary based on cross-posted formats. Apple Podcasts+2YouTube+2

Format and distribution

• YouTube anchor. Primary discovery engine via the American Alchemy channel and playlists. YouTube+1
• Podcast feeds. Mirrored across Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, and other directories. Apple Podcasts+2Spotify+2
• Talk-circuit amplification. Post-Rogan guesting and cross-interviews extend reach into adjacent audiences. Apple Podcasts

Credibility and reception snapshot

• Strengths. Access to high-signal guests, willingness to ask taboo questions, and a consistent editorial frame that ties disparate domains together. Reach boosted by JRE #2331 and a weekly cadence across platforms. Apple Podcasts+1
• Critiques in the wild. Some online threads question institutional ties or motives and push for stronger sourcing standards. These are community opinions rather than verified claims, but they shape discourse around the show. Reddit
• Net effect. He functions as a translator between niche research communities and mainstream curiosity, which is why his episodes often become entry points for newcomers to UAP, simulation, and fringe history.

Open questions The Galactic Mind may track

1. Which claims around nuclear-site incidents have the strongest documentary backbone and FOIA trail. Podcast Notes
2. What can be independently verified from hangar and base accounts versus long-standing lore. YouTube
3. Whether psychedelic contact models produce consistent, testable data or remain anecdotal clusters. Spotify
4. How much of the “occult rocket” narrative is sourced to primary documents versus retrospective myth-making. YouTube

How to cover Jesse on The Galactic Mind

• Case File — “UFOs and Nukes: Sorting documents from testimony” with a short credibility meter and links to declassified material.
• Dossier — “Occult origins of American rocketry” with a timeline of Parsons, Caltech, and media interpretations. YouTube
• Deep Think — “Psychedelics as a communications protocol” that compares DMT literature with contact reports. Spotify
• Signal Check — “New witness claims and where they fit in the evidence map” when he publishes a high-velocity interview.

Resource hub

• American Alchemy on YouTube. Episodes and playlists, updated weekly. YouTube+1
• American Alchemy on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Mirrors with minor catalog differences. Apple Podcasts+1
• JRE #2331 with Jesse Michels, published June 3, 2025. Useful for a macro overview of his lens. Apple Podcasts