Leslie Kean

Investigative journalist and NYT bestselling author. Together with Ralph Blumenthal, responsible for the groundbreaking NYT AATIP article in 2017 and the Grusch whistleblower article in 2023. Her 2017 article triggered the entire modern UAP debate.

Leslie Kean is an investigative journalist and author specializing in UFOs and unexplained aerial phenomena (UAP), known for combining rigorous reporting with first-hand accounts from credible sources. In 2010, she authored UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record, a New York Times bestseller featuring first-person accounts from military and government officials worldwide. She later coauthored a front-page New York Times article in 2017 revealing the Pentagon's secret Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, and in June 2023, she broke the story of whistleblower David Grusch's claims regarding U.S. government possession of vehicles of non-human origin.

Kean has also been active in advocating for government transparency regarding aerial phenomena. She cofounded the Coalition for Freedom of Information (CFi) in 2002 and won a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against NASA, advancing transparency in government records. Additionally, she organized the 2007 International Declaration to the U.S. Government, which was signed by 22 officials from 11 countries.

Beyond her work on unexplained aerial phenomena, Kean authored Surviving Death: A Journalist Investigates Evidence for an Afterlife, which won the Parapsychological Association Book Award and inspired a 2021 Netflix documentary series. She has contributed to various documentaries and series, including a History Channel UFO special and the Hulu/Disney+ series UFOs: Investigating the Unknown.