Barack Obama sparked fresh online chatter after joking that aliens are 'real' during an interview with podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen. The moment was clearly playful, yet it resonated because it touched on decades of curiosity about government secrecy.

Former President Obama said he did not see evidence that aliens “have made contact with us,” after sending social media abuzz by saying aliens were real on a podcast over the weekend.

“They're real, but I haven't seen them,” Obama responded.