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Its been a big week for aliens in Washington. In a podcast that aired last weekend, former President Obama revealed that he believes in extraterrestrial life. Days later, President Trump declared that he would order Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other agency leads to start declassifying government files pertaining to alien life and UAPs, short for unidentified aerial phenomena the mysterious sightings we once called UFOs. In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump announced his plans, citing intense interest on a subject once lumped in with the paranormal. Interest in all things alien has surged in the last five years as the U.S. government began to release formerly classified documents, hold hearings, and generally acknowledge a topic once seen as too far out. I will be directing the Secretary of War, and other relevant Departments and Agencies, to begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters, Trump wrote. Obama wants to believe Obama set off the current firestorm of excitement around alien life when he casually confirmed his beliefs in an interview with podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen. “They’re real but I haven’t seen them,” Obama said. “They’re not being kept in Area 51. There’s no underground facility unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States. The comments generated so much buzz that he published an Instagram post the following day clarifying his thoughts: Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good theres life out there, Obama wrote, adding that solar systems are so far apart that the odds are low weve been visited by aliens and as president he never witnessed anything to convince him otherwise. Trump promised to release the fresh documents after accusing Obama of divulging classified information in the interview when he veered into alien territory. I don’t know if they’re real or not, Trump told Fox News. I can tell you, he gave classified information. He’s not supposed to be doing that he made a big mistake. Obamas comments werent his first time weighing in on matters extraterrestrial. In 2021, the former president told James Corden that UAPs are as real as anything else that the U.S. military observes. What is true, and Im actually being serious here, is that there is footage and records of objects in the skies that we dont know exactly what they are, Obama said. A former president speaking candidly on the subject might be surprising, but Obama famously counts Liu Cixins elaborate thought experiment on an alien invasion of Earth, The Three-Body Problem, among his favorite books. Extraterrestrial talk gains legitimacy After decades of being shunned as a topic best left to the tinfoil hat set, the government has lent mysterious flying objects and alien life major heft in recent years. In 2020, the Department of Defense published three clips of unexplained aerial phenomena observed by Navy pilots that had previously leaked to the public. The worlds most powerful military admitting that it couldnt explain the strange behavior of some objects in the sky through intel or scientific means was a surreal, historic moment met with excitement from UAP enthusiasts. That same year, the DoD formed a dedicated task force to investigate UAP sightings. The mission of the task force is to detect, analyze and catalog UAPs that could potentially pose a threat to U.S. national security, the agency wrote in its announcement. Other explanations, like malfunctioning equipment and stray weather balloons, pose no threat and remain very much in the mix. The governments disclosures didnt stop there. In 2021, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence published a preliminary assessment on the topic to give Congress an overview of how the intelligence agency handles reports of mysterious flying objects, which are sometimes spotted by servicemembers. We currently lack data to indicate any UAP are part of a foreign collection program or indicative of a major technological advancement by a potential adversary, the agency wrote in the report, ruling out one possible avenue of explanation. A year later, Congress held its first hearing on UFOs in more than 50 years. While testimony from Pentagon officials flatly rejected claims that the U.S. has knowingly been visited by alien spacecraft a stance echoed by a more recent report the government confirmed that it doesnt always have an explanation for some of the things pilots spot in the skies. The truth remains out there, somewhere.
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Were told from a young age to follow our dreams. But for Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon, chasing your dreams is overrated. Instead, she recommends a different approach, especially for young people: Chase your talents, not your dreams. The 49-year-old, who has a $400 million-plus net worth, shared the advice in an Instagram reel this week: I just got off the phone with a young woman who is looking for career advice, she says in the clip, which has since racked up over 482,000 likes and thousands of comments. She wants to switch from one job to another, Witherspoon says, adding that the woman is currently unhappy at work. This is a predicament many will relate to. LinkedIn data consistently finds that the average worker will change roles every three to four years. But when Witherspoon questioned her about what she was actually good at, the woman drew a blank. She had a hard time telling me what her specific talents were. This, to Witherspoon, is the key. Gallup data shows that roughly 60% of employees feel emotionally detached at work, while fewer than one in four strongly believe their job aligns with their strengths. You dont chase your dreamsyou chase your talents, Witherspoon explains. Everybody has dreams. It doesnt mean youre gonna be that thing. You are supposed to do what youre talented at. This advice should speak to a generation increasingly moving away from the idea of a dream job altogether, and instead prioritizing work-life balance over climbing the career ladder. According to Gallup research, those who use their talents are six times as likely as other employees to be engaged at work, and are three times more likely to report a high quality of life than those who do not. Its your job in life to figure out what your specific unique talents are, and go chase them, says Witherspoon. So, the next time you feel lost or stuck at a crossroads in your career, take Witherspoons advice and: Get clear on your dreams. Be honest about where your talent truly lies. Find the roles where the two intersect. That path that is meant for youthe one youre looking for? Likely, it will show up when you follow what youre naturally good at.
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My family had Slide Show Night when I was growing up. Not every Saturday, but a whole bunch of Saturdays. Either my sister or I would be in charge of setting up the projector, the screen, and loading the carousel. During the show, there’d be a few landscapes or skylines taken during vacations, but almost all the shots were up close. Like most dads, mine wasn’t a professional photographer, but he did a good job of capturing memory triggers: faces, gestures, and decorations. Before we were driving age, my sister and I were given our own cameras as Christmas gifts. We’d spend our own money buying and developing film. We basically documented our Gen X life: playing in the woods, sledding, beach trips, birthday parties, and even selfies. (I shot a 24-exposure roll of me stupidly rock climbing in regular clothes and treadless high-tops on Pikes Peak in Colorado.) Years later, when I graduated college and started working on transportation studies, that same camera came with me. It seemed natural to shoot study areas before and after team meetings. When I’d put together slide shows to document the work we did, I kept noticing two distinct types of picture: the charming local ingredient (e.g. historic train caboose), and the oppressive transportation ingredient (e.g. wide arterial with turn lanes on all corners). {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/12\/speakeasy-desktop.png","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/12\/speakeasy-mobile.png","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cstrong\u003ESubscribe to Urbanism Speakeasy\u003C\/strong\u003E","dek":"Join Andy Boenau as he explores ideas that the infrastructure status quo would rather keep quiet. To learn more, visit \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/urbanismspeakeasy.com\/\u0022\u003Eurbanismspeakeasy.com.\u003C\/a\u003E","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"SIGN UP","ctaUrl":"http:\/\/urbanismspeakeasy.com\/","theme":{"bg":"#f5f5f5","text":"#000000","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#000000","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91453933,"imageMobileId":91453932,"shareable":false,"slug":""}} Documenting improvements I’d look at those pictures and recall how dangerous it felt getting those shots to document the transportation “improvements.” My industry of highly educated professional planners and engineers was defining success in ways that didn’t make sense when you looked at the pictures I took of the study areas. Infrastructure projects were being executed in ways that prevented residents and visitors from taking a comfortable walk around town. What is it about a place that makes people reach for a camera, hang out, spend money, and keep coming back? The status quo experts arent asking questions like that. Instead, theyre focused on technical requirements and processes that dont consider what the average person is looking for: a bench in the shade, a fountain, or a plaza for people-watching. Professionals create infrastructure that makes or breaks bonds between friends, families, and strangers. It’s paramount to understand the context of our work. Town planners and engineers have the opportunity to turn ordinary studies into recipes for creating places that are loveable, enticing, and even irresistible. Memorable human experiences If you make decisions according to industry norms, your downtown will be easy to resist, because itll be entirely oriented around motor vehicle traffic rather than memorable human experiences. Regulations and permitting are anchored to car-oriented engineering, and that anchor weighs down our communities. People across generations want walkable, bikeable downtowns. Millennials want them. Baby Boomers want them. Surveys consistently show communities of all types have an appetite for walkable, bikeable places. These are the places we see on family Slide Show Night or the modern social media equivalent. Encourage your local leaders to plan infrastructure for slideshow-worthy human experiences. Consider how people of all ages are going to interact with each other and with their environment, and then (only then!) design the infrastructure. The internet is loaded with friendly people who would love to exchange ideas with you about irresistible places. As legendary musician Frank Zappa said, progress requires deviation from the norm. That absolutely applies to planners and engineers working to create lovable, enticing downtowns. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/12\/speakeasy-desktop.png","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/12\/speakeasy-mobile.png","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cstrong\u003ESubscribe to Urbanism Speakeasy\u003C\/strong\u003E","dek":"Join Andy Boenau as he explores ideas that the infrastructure status quo would rather keep quiet. 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