Leslie Kean

Last verified 2026-06-09. Roles and affiliations may have changed since.

Co-author of the 2017 NYT story that revealed AATIP and the 2023 Debrief story that introduced David Grusch. Reporting relies on named sources.

Current role: Independent investigative journalist and author; co-reports UAP stories with Ralph Blumenthal for The New York Times and The Debrief; contributing producer, UFOs: Investigating the Unknown (as of 2026-06-09)

Former roles:

Investigative journalist and host, KPFA (Berkeley), Flashpoints

Background

Leslie Kean is an American investigative journalist. Her 2010 book UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record was a New York Times bestseller, and on 16 December 2017 she, Ralph Blumenthal and Helene Cooper published the Times story that disclosed the Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program. With Blumenthal she wrote the 5 June 2023 Debrief article that introduced David Grusch, which was followed by the July 2023 House hearing. Her reporting names its sources, which this site treats as credible named-source reporting rather than as official confirmation. Her site lists her books and production credits.

On the record

2026-06-09 – US Capitol steps – hosted, with filmmaker James Fox, a press conference with David Grusch and Reps. Burlison, Moskowitz, Luna and Burchett calling for release of UAP files and passage of the UAP Disclosure Act. – Organiser's release, PR Newswire
2026-01-30 – The Debrief, with Blumenthal – reported that Reps. Burchett, Luna and Burlison met three Brazilian Varginha (1996) witnesses in Burchett's office on 15 January, and that a National Press Club event followed on 20 January. Rep. Eric Burlison: "If there's any government that's holding information about the knowledge of whether or not we are alone or not alone in the universe, that is not for any government, no matter how powerful it is, to withhold from the rest of humanity." The piece notes the case lacks physical or documentary evidence. – The Debrief
2024-08-16 – The New York Times, with Blumenthal – "A Memoir Offers an Insider's Perspective into the Pentagon's U.F.O. Hunt", on Luis Elizondo's forthcoming memoir. – Listed on her site
2023-06-05 – The Debrief, with Blumenthal – reported David Grusch's claims that the US holds recovered craft. Grusch: "We are not talking about prosaic origins or identities." Also quoted Jonathan Grey, a named intelligence official: "The non-human intelligence phenomenon is real. We are not alone." – The Debrief
2019-05-26 – The New York Times, with Cooper and Blumenthal – "'Wow, What Is That?' Navy Pilots Report Unexplained Flying Objects", on Lt. Ryan Graves and East Coast sightings in 2014-15. – Baruch College bibliography entry
2017-12-16 – The New York Times, with Cooper and Blumenthal – disclosed the $22 million Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program run by Luis Elizondo. – NYT

Responses and criticism

Coverage of the 2023 Debrief story noted that Grusch did not claim to have seen craft himself and had gathered his information through interviews with other officials, so the article's central claims rest on his account and those of the officials he cites. – The Week, summarising The Guardian

Timeline of involvement

2010 – UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record published
2017-12-16 – NYT story reveals AATIP
2019-05-26 – NYT story on Navy pilot sightings
2023-06-05 – Debrief story introduces David Grusch
2024-08-16 – NYT piece on Elizondo's memoir
2026-01-30 – Debrief story on the Varginha witnesses in Congress
2026-06-09 – hosts Capitol press conference with Grusch and four members

Relevant links

Part of the Key People in Disclosure series. Verified 2026-06-09. Spotted an error? Reach out.