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BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette T he Ozark Mountain UFO Conference, now in its 34th year, is "one of the longest running and best attended UFO conferences in the world," organizer Forest Crawford claims. "It has always featured top researchers and scientists from all over the world and attracts an average of 500 people to the Inn of the Ozarks in beautiful Eureka Springs." Hosted by Ozark Mountain Publishing, the conference — back April 8-10 after two years of pandemic pause — features merchants, a Saturday evening movie screening and speakers as well known as Nick Pope. A journalist and sci-fi author, Pope is an expert on Great Britain's "X Files" and has a unique perspective from his years working inside government. He answered these questions for What's Up! Q. Were UFOs anything you were aware of growing up? Were you a sci-fi fan? A. Before I was assigned to the British government's "UFO Desk" I had no awareness of the UFO phenomenon — to the point that I hadn't even heard of Roswell. I liked science fiction — reading classics like "The War of the Worlds" and watching TV shows like "Star Trek" and "Doctor Who" — but regarded it as entertainment and not something fact-based. I don't know whether my love of sci-fi made me open-minded about UFOs, but I hope that I would have been open-minded anyway. Q. When you worked for the British government, was your job really to disprove UFO possibilities? And at what point during that job did you think maybe they couldn't all be disproved? A. The day-to-day business was to investigate the sightings, to assess the national security implications for the United Kingdom, identifying any potential threats and anything else of more general defense or scientific interest. Part of the job involved drafting material for our public affairs office, so they could respond to questions from the media. In doing this, and in dealing with public correspondence, we downplayed the true extent of our interest and involvement in the subject. It wasn't quite like joining the ranks of the "Men in Black," but I guess it made me complicit in a cover-up of sorts. That said, most things at the MoD involved classified information, so secrecy was hardwired into me! Q. The BIG question: What do you think UFOs are? There are factions now who say they're from another timeline or from inside the earth or conjured up by our collective imagination. What do YOU think? A. I think we'll discover that there's no single APRIL 3-9, 2022 WHAT'S UP! 3 Five Minutes, Five Questions Ufologist Nick Pope 5X5 Nick Pope, considered an international expert on the UFO phenomenon, will be one of the speakers at the Ozark Mountain UFO Conference April 8-10 in Eureka Springs. While he says his work in the British government "wasn't quite like joining the ranks of the 'Men in Black,'" it did make him "complicit in a cover-up of sorts." (Courtesy Photo) See UFOs Page 4 FAQ Ozark Mountain UFO Conference WHEN — April 8-10 WHERE — Inn of the Ozarks in Eureka Springs COST — $20-$30 for individual speakers; $35-$80 for day passes; $150 full conference; $50 streaming INFO — ozarkufoconfer- ence.com