The Phoenix Lights episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 15, 2026 · 26 MIN

The Phoenix Lights

from The State Files Podcast · host The State Files

On March 13, 1997, thousands of people across Arizona looked up and saw something they couldn’t explain.Witnesses from Nevada to Phoenix reported a massive V-shaped formation of lights silently crossing the night sky. Some believed it was a group of aircraft flying in formation. Others insisted the lights were attached to a single enormous craft—large enough to block out the stars as it passed overhead.Hours later, a second event appeared above Phoenix: a row of glowing lights hovering in the sky before slowly fading away one by one.The U.S. military later explained the second sighting as illumination flares dropped during a training exercise. But the earlier formation seen moving across the entire state has never been fully explained.In this Case File episode of The State Files, Cooper, Duncan, and Dee reconstruct the timeline of the Phoenix Lights, examine eyewitness testimony, and explore the possible explanations behind one of the most widely witnessed UFO sightings in American history.Nearly thirty years later, one question still lingers over the Arizona desert:What exactly crossed the sky that night?00:00 Introduction- The Silent Formation03:38 The First Sighting07:01 The Phoenix Lights Mashup07:50 The Giant Over Phoenix11:00 The Lights Return14:08 Intermission - A Sky Full Of Witnesses16:45 The Governor's Press Conference20:44 The Lasting Mystery23:12 Update - What Happened After 199724:04 Credit Roll Banter (Duncan & Dee Debate)25:48 Disclaimer (Dee)26:13 More Rabbit Holes`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` The State Files Website: https://thestatefiles.com The Case File: https://thestatefiles.com/the-phoenix-lights/

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Mar 15, 2026

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