Controversial

Alexander says Jack Anderson’s column flipped his ‘psychic warfare’ article’s tone

Name: Alexander says Jack Anderson’s column flipped his ‘psychic warfare’ article’s tone
Uploaded: 2026-07-27T20:21:00+00:00
Description: Alexander recounts how his 1980 Military Review article on Soviet-linked “psychic” research drew press attention while he was posted to the Pentagon. He says columnist Jack Anderson’s coverage portrayed the work as wasteful, and claims he later saw a draft that was initially positive before being reframed for ridicule.

The Why Files · The Basement: John B. Alexander | Green Beret, Spoon Bender, UFO Investigator · July 27, 2026

The Why Files

The Basement: John B. Alexander | Green Beret, Spoon Bender, UFO Investigator

"He actually showed me the draft article, which was written positively, and they just flipped a few words from look at the neat stuff they're doing. So, look at how they're wasting your money and whatnot."

Alexander recounts how his 1980 Military Review article on Soviet-linked “psychic” research drew press attention while he was posted to the Pentagon. He says columnist Jack Anderson’s coverage portrayed the work as wasteful, and claims he later saw a draft that was initially positive before being reframed for ridicule.

About this episode

The Why Files host AJ Gentile interviews retired US Army colonel John B. Alexander about his military career and his long-standing interest in anomalous phenomena, including UFOs, near-death experiences (NDEs), and claimed psychokinetic effects. Alexander recounts attending and documenting West African voodoo ceremonies featuring alleged fire immunity and other feats he says he could not explain. On UFO history, he argues Roswell remains a “conundrum” and says he never found Roswell references in official files, while offering an alternative view that the MJ-12 list was real but related to Continuity of Government planning rather than UFOs.

A major thread centres on Cold War-era interest in Soviet “psychic” research and how Alexander’s 1980 Military Review article, “The New Mental Battlefield”, triggered press backlash; he alleges a Jack Anderson column reframed a draft initially written more favourably. He describes spoon-bending “PK parties” involving senior officers, and work with polygraph pioneer Cleve Baxter on experiments monitoring isolated white blood cells; Alexander claims a National Research Council panel witnessed a notable response but that the published 1988 report omitted it.

Alexander also details funding inventor John Hutchison after viewing film of purported levitation and material changes, while acknowledging inconsistent reproducibility. He outlines creating an inter-agency UFO study group and says he chose the term “advanced theoretical physics” to avoid FOIA attention. Discussion ranges into Skinwalker Ranch (including a calf death he says prompted a conclusion the event did not occur at the discovery site), NDE research developments, and cautions around ayahuasca use.

Key takeaways

Alexander says MJ-12 documents may be authentic but were linked to Continuity of Government planning, not UFO secrecy.
He recounts writing “The New Mental Battlefield” and alleges press coverage inverted the article’s intent and tone.
Alexander claims he could ‘beat’ a polygraph but not white-blood-cell monitoring, and says an NRC panel observed a reaction later omitted from its report.
He says he funded inventor John Hutchison after viewing film of anomalies, but concedes results were hard to reproduce and he did not see the key effects occur in real time.
Alexander describes forming an inter-agency UFO group and says he used a non-UFO title to reduce FOIA scrutiny.
He recounts a Skinwalker Ranch calf incident and says advisers concluded the key event did not occur where the carcass was found.
He discusses shifts in NDE research, including reports of post-NDE psychic effects and terminal lucidity.