Jack Brewer

Early Work & Research Focus

Jack Brewer is a freelance writer and longtime UFO researcher who has built a reputation as one of the field's most critical voices. Through his blog, The UFO Trail, established in the early 2010s, he has documented patterns of exploitation, misinformation, and intelligence community manipulation within UFO culture. Rather than pursuing sensational claims or alien narratives, Brewer focuses on rigorous historical research and the sociology of the UFO community itself.

Published Works

Brewer is the author of two major nonfiction books:

• "The Greys Have Been Framed: Exploitation in the UFO Community" — a critical examination of how public perception of the UFO phenomenon has been shaped by uninvestigated claims, the intelligence community's influence on narratives, and the problematic behavior of researchers within the field
• "Wayward Sons: NICAP and the IC" — an investigation into the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) and its entanglement with U.S. intelligence agencies during the Cold War

Both works emphasize that understanding UFO history requires recognizing deliberate disinformation campaigns and separating genuine anomalies from cultural artifacts shaped by government and media narratives.

Expanding Frontiers Research (EFR)

In 2022, Brewer co-founded Expanding Frontiers Research, a Utah-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, with researcher Erica Lukes. The organization is dedicated to applying rigorous research methods and transparency to UFO investigation, explicitly rejecting the uncritical acceptance of claims that has characterized much of ufology.

EFR's stated mission is to provide the public reliable information through proven research practices, particularly through filing and analyzing FOIA documents. Since its founding, Brewer and Lukes have submitted over 300 public records requests and appeals, using declassified government documents to build evidence-based historical accounts of UFO-related events and institutional behavior.

Public Engagement & Credibility

As of 2025–2026, Brewer remains an active speaker and researcher, appearing on podcasts including The AP Strange Show and at venues like Anomaly Academy's monthly lecture series. His approach contrasts sharply with the credulous tone of much contemporary UFO media—he argues that awareness of deception within the UFO genre is essential to understanding both genuine anomalies and the cultural phenomena surrounding them.

Brewer represents a skeptical-but-serious school of UFO research: one that takes the history of government secrecy and intelligence manipulation seriously while remaining deeply critical of unverified claims and the exploitation that occurs within UFO communities.