<p>Is all the talk about Chinese spy balloons just a mis-direct by the Defense Department? Ross makes the case, and why the mainstream media is lapping it up. Ross also has a lot to say about Jacques Vallee's new book. Bryce links the term "Majestic" to his "Dark Skies" series, and offers praise for two other UAP-related podcasts: "Weaponized" with Jeremy Corbell and George Knapp, and "Merged" with Ryan Graves.</p> <p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href= "https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a></p>

99 Chinese Balloons?

Need to Know is a smart, serious, and accessible podcast about the reality of UFOs/UAP and what the phenomenon may mean for all of us. Produced by Stellar Productions, the show is hosted by award-winning writer/producer and former CNN correspondent Bryce Zabel, who continues the signature UFO/UAP conversation format he helped pioneer: informed, evidence-driven, open-minded, and focused on what the public has a right to know.

Today, Need to Know features Bryce in conversation with historian Richard Dolan, one of the field's most respected researchers and authors. Together, they examine breaking news, government disclosures, historic cases, credible witnesses, official documents, and the shifting landscape of Disclosure. The show also includes expanded formats such as Project Book Club with Chrissy Newton, Need to Know Xtra with Tyler Stevens, and other special episodes that explore the mystery from fresh angles.

From 2021 to 2025, Bryce co-hosted Need to Know with investigative journalist Ross Coulthart. Their collaboration helped define the show's distinctive mix of journalism, analysis, historical context, and plainspoken curiosity. In 2025, Ross moved on to host Reality Check for NewsNation, while Bryce continued the Need to Know mission and also agreed to produce Sound, Light & Frequency for iHeartPodcasts.

With exclusive interviews, breaking-news analysis, hidden history, and thoughtful commentary grounded in evidence, Need to Know guides listeners through the noise and toward understanding. The questions remain urgent: What is happening in our skies? What do governments know? Who — or what — may be behind the phenomenon? And what happens next?

Stellar Productions is the production company of Bryce and Jackie Zabel. Its work spans television, film, books, and podcasts, with credits including the NBC UFO series Dark Skies, the Syfy original film Official Denial, the Disney animated feature Atlantis: The Lost Empire, the WGA Award-winning limited series Pandemic, the UFO disclosure book A.D. After Disclosure, and the podcasts Need to Know and Sound, Light & Frequency.