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Is there a ruined civilization on Mars? A theoretical physicist runs the numbers | Reality Check

2026-07-14 News & Politics
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Check your risk for free: Run a free dark web scan with OmniWatch to see if your personal information or passwords have been leaked. Link: https://tracking.omniwatch.com/?a=1722&oc=90&c=755&s1=newsnation&s2=ross Use code ROSS at checkout to get 50% off your first month of OmniWatch digital protection. In this episode of "Reality Check," Ross Coulthart sits down with theoretical physicist and philosopher of physics Maaneli Derakhshani for a long look at the anomalous features cataloged across the moon, Phobos and the surface of Mars. The conversation opens with Lue Elizondo's remarks on lunar anomalies, then works outward to the Phobos 2 spacecraft and the object NASA's own mission literature once described as a monolith along with the reason SETI took that object seriously enough to study. From there, Max walks Ross through the imagery that has drawn the most attention on Mars, from the so-called glass worm to the rectilinear formations near the Atlantis basin, applying the same fractal analysis that NASA and the Department of Defense use to separate natural terrain from engineered structures. Grounding the discussion in Carl Sagan's own standards for searching for evidence of past life, Max makes the case that some of these features deserve to be treated as genuine open questions rather than tricks of light and shadow. The episode closes on the face on Mars and the geometric relationships between formations that, Max argues, may have been meant to be seen. Also featured in this episode is the work of Jean Ward, Independent Mars Researcher, a colleague of Dr. Derakhshani's whose work can be found at https://www.youtube.com/jeanward and https://megalithicmars.com/ #MARS #NASA #anomalies CREDITS Host: Ross Coulthart Executive Producer: Andy Gipson Editorial Producer: Meagan Ourada Segment Producer: Christine Jenkinson Associate Producer: Will Tomasi Research Producer: Rob Jones Editor: Anthony Diasio On "Reality Check," NewsNation Special Correspondent Ross Coulthart takes a fact-based approach to tackle everything from unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) to mysteries often missing from the headlines. More Reality Check: https://www.newsnationnow.com/podcasts-newsnation/reality-check-with-ross-coulthart/ Email your questions to [email protected] NewsNation is your source for fact-based, unbiased news for all Americans. More from NewsNation: https://www.newsnationnow.com/ Get our app: https://trib.al/TBXgYpp Find us on your screen: https://www.joinnn.com/ CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:41 A Word from Our Sponsor 3:06 Elizondo, Lunar Anomalies, and What Might Be on the Moon 4:30 Artificial Ruins and the Clementine Mission 5:35 Turning to Mars, and the Phobos 2 Spacecraft 8:03 The Marina Popovich Photo 12:04 "Wouldn't It Be Sad if Putin Disclosed First?" 12:53 Camera Glitch or Real Object? What Analysts Say Off the Record 16:21 The PRIME Mission and the Object NASA Called a Monolith 20:42 Buzz Aldrin on the Phobos Monolith 26:01 A Roscosmos Quote, and a Nature Study on a Craft That Was Hit 30:13 Rendering a Structure 35 to 40 Meters Tall 34:29 Why SETI Took Phobos Seriously, and Aldrin's Observation Point 38:16 When Mars Had an Earth-Like Atmosphere, and Clarke's "2001" 41:35 To the Surface, What Actually Looks Anomalous on Mars 45:55 The Glass Worm, the Sand-Dune Debunk, and Mike Bara's Breakdown 52:38 The Space Act of 1958, and Who Controls Mars Imagery? 58:51 Aram Chaos, Run Through a Fractal Filter 60:09 So, Are They Artificial? Max Speculates 1:02:15 Three Anomalies, the Work of Jean Ward 1:05:33 Is Extrapolating Like This Legitimate? Sagan's Standard 1:10:46 Is Any of This Just Pareidolia? 1:12:50 Right Angles Near the Atlantis Basin, and What NASA Calls Chaos Terrain 1:17:12 Cities, Villages, Civilization? Max Answers Plainly 1:19:07 The Algorithms, and Who Else Runs Them 1:25:13 Buried Structures in Renaudot Crater 1:30:42 The Face on Mars, Sagan's Letter, and an Open Mind on "Cosmos" 1:37:01 Cydonia, How Big the Face Is, and Why NASA Landed Elsewhere 1:41:02 A Mimetolith, More Structures, and the Geometry Between Them 1:48:54 Wrapping Up, and an Invitation Back

Top Comments (10)

@loganslimcrocks7622 2026-07-14

EyesOnCinema getting that SHOOOOOOOUTOUUUUUUUT LETS GO!!!!

130 13 replies
@JeanWard 2026-07-15

Awesome interview, thank you Ross and Max. I'd be delighted and look forward to appearing on the show.

56 4 replies
@coastrider9 2026-07-15

Mars might hold the key to a lot of earth's history. We don't need to send humans, we need to send robots with cameras. The good news is , if artifacts are found, as it seems likely, they will possibly not have been looted, because humans have not been there yet! We may finally get some answers. Definitely worth the exploration. Of course , trying to get transparency will be a different issue.

52 11 replies
@michaeldaniels8859 2026-07-15

If I had gone to the moon, then be accosted by someone outside a venue questioning me...calling me a liar..I would have done more than punch him in the head. Fair play to Buzz. He's all we have left now.

30 8 replies
@keithphilbin3054 2026-07-15

Eyes On Cinema is a brilliant channel 👍

29 1 replies
@NewsNation 2026-07-14

Check your risk for free: Run a free dark web scan with OmniWatch to see if your personal information or passwords have been leaked. Link: https://tracking.omniwatch.com/?a=1722&oc=90&c=755&s1=newsnation&s2=ross Use code ROSS at checkout to get 50% off your first month of OmniWatch digital protection.

25 8 replies
@marcusblackbird3603 2026-07-15

"Carl Sagan, the guy on the left." Thanks.

16
@LookingInwardly 2026-07-16

I was present at the Soviet Consulate in San Francisco for Dr. Popovich's press conference, where the photo was released publicly. The gentleman standing next to her in the press conference photo you showed was Dr. James Harder, who was a lovely fellow and a pioneer in the use of Hypnotic Regression with a huge number of contactees/abductees. The press reported the release of the photo with ridicule... Very sad, as I understood it was the first time the Soviet Consulate in San Francisco had ever held such a press conference. The press conference happened at the same time as an event called the Berkeley UFO Symposium, which was a panel discussion featuring Dr. Harder, Dr. Popovich, Dr. Greer, and Colin Andrews. The Soviets took this seriously enough to invite the press into the consulate building, and Dr. Popovich was a serious and utterly credible individual. I am glad to hear that this information is resurfacing in this way... Thank you for all you are doing Gentlemen ✨🕊️

12
@markwardel6751 2026-07-15

Always great to see an episode with Dr. Max...this one particularly riveting.

7
@EvieDoesYouTube 2026-07-15

I've yet to see a YouTube video with a question mark in the title where the answer was "yes"

6

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