Lue Elizondo on Shawn Ryan: What AATIP Was (and Wasn’t)
Fast Facts
- Guest: Luis “Lue” Elizondo | Host: Shawn Ryan
- Recorded/Published: February 7, 2025
- Platform: Shawn Ryan Show #168 (2h 50m) Apple Podcasts
- Core themes: AATIP vs. AAWSAP, government transparency, consciousness angles
Chapter Guide
- 00:00 — Cold open
- 00:05 — Elizondo’s family background and service
- 00:05:57 — AATIP clarity: “not covert,” sensitive program, not Title 50 Podcasts - Your Podcast Transcripts
- 00:07:16 — OSAP/AAWSAP origins and how AATIP fit in Podcasts - Your Podcast Transcripts
- 01:15:35 — Human perception limits, consciousness, and “most of reality” outside our senses Podcasts - Your Podcast Transcripts
- 02:47:00 — Closing remarks
Key Ideas
- AATIP ≠ covert black program. Elizondo stresses AATIP was sensitive and classified in parts but not a Title 50 covert operation. This is a useful correction for media narratives. Podcasts - Your Podcast Transcripts
- AAWSAP → AATIP lineage. He traces AATIP’s roots to OSAP/AAWSAP, a broader effort that included Skinwalker Ranch research, with AATIP focused on “nuts and bolts.” Podcasts - Your Podcast Transcripts
- Government posture evolved post-2017. The public learned of AATIP in 2017. Successor tasking moved through UAPTF and beyond. Treat the landscape as shifting. Wikipedia
- Perception limits. A long riff on how human senses gate what we can know, hinting at why UAP may look “impossible.” Podcasts - Your Podcast Transcripts
- Receipts exist. FOIA’d AATIP product list and the 2023 House hearing provide touchstones for evaluating claims. Intelligence Resource ProgramCongress.gov
Pull Quote
“AATIP was not covert… it was sensitive.” Podcasts - Your Podcast Transcripts
Receipts and References
- AATIP overview and timeline — good primer on status, budget, and successors. Wikipedia
- FOIA: DIA list of AATIP papers — confirms a corpus of studies produced under contract. Intelligence Resource Program
- 2017–present U.S. government posture on UAP — broad context of programs and Navy videos. WikipediaWIRED
- House Oversight UAP hearing (July 26, 2023) transcript — baseline for later testimony and media claims. Congress.gov
- Episode page and transcript — Apple listing for date/length; third-party transcript used for timestamps/quotes. Apple PodcastsPodcasts - Your Podcast Transcripts
Takeaway
- Strength: Clearer-than-usual distinctions between AAWSAP and AATIP. The “not covert” clarification matters for credibility checks.
- Caution: Elizondo’s role and some claims are debated. Keep separating claim from confirmed using public docs and hearings. Wikipedia
- Watch for: How Congress re-approaches disclosure language, and whether we get more primary-source releases rather than secondhand summaries. YouTube
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What if?... AATIP wasn’t just “sensitive” but was the cover label for something even deeper? Imagine the public program was the “polite surface” while the real tech analysis ran under a different designation.
For the Curious
- Primer on AAWSAP and Skinwalker-adjacent research lines. journalofscientificexploration.orgLibby App
- The cryptoterrestrial paper as a left-field hypothesis frame. Fox News
⚠️ Callout: The Elizondo Debate
Some researchers and journalists argue that Lue Elizondo exaggerated his role in AATIP or misrepresented program details. Critics point out:
- Disputed Title: The Pentagon has stated he wasn’t officially director of AATIP.
- Shifting claims: At times his descriptions of AATIP and AAWSAP appear inconsistent.
- Media spotlight: Some say he has leaned heavily into the UFO celebrity circuit without providing verifiable documents.
- Credibility gap: Without official confirmation of all his claims, skeptics consider parts of his story speculative or self-promotional.
Takeaway: Treat Elizondo’s statements as one perspective ... valuable, but not definitive. Always cross-check with FOIA releases, congressional hearings, and independent sources.
