Calling All Aliens
Anybody out there?

Are we alone in the universe? Is there other intelligence out there? COSMIC, the most ambitious SETI search yet, hopes to answer that. We hear updates on this novel signal detection project being conducted on the Very Large Array in the desert of New Mexico. 

Also, we chat with award-winning science fiction writer Ted Chiang about how he envisions making contact with aliens in his stories, including the one that was the basis for the movie Arrival. And find out why some scientists don’t want only to listen for signals, they want to deliberately transmit messages to aliens. Is that wise and, if we did it, what would we say? 

Guests:

Chenoa Tremblay – Postdoc researcher in radio astronomy for the SETI Institute and member of COSMIC science team

Ted Chiang – Nebula and Hugo award-winning science fiction writer, best known for his collections, Stories of Your Life and Others and Exhalation

Douglas Vakoch – Founder and president of METI International, a nonprofit research and educational organization devoted to transmitting intentional signals to extraterrestrial civilizations

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Featuring music by Dewey Dellay and Jun Miyake

Originally aired April 3, 2023

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Your Big Picture Science Hosts

Seth Shostak Host and Producer, Big Picture Science – Senior Astronomer, SETI Institute

Molly Bentley Executive Producer and Co-Host, Big Picture Science 

About Big Picture Science:

Big Picture Science is a weekly, one-hour radio show and podcast produced at the SETI Institute. Hosted by Seth Shostak, SETI Institute Fellow and Senior Astronomer, and science journalist Molly Bentley, Big Picture Science reports on modern science and technology with smart and humorous storytelling.

Themed episodes feature interviews with top scientists and technology innovators. All episodes try to answer the question, “so what?” Why does this research matter?

Big Picture Science topics range from the microbiome to virtual reality, from the physics of motion to the intelligence of animals. Every month one episode is devoted to critical thinking in “Skeptic Check”, which separates fact from fiction in topics such as Bigfoot and UFOs.

And of course we cover science related to the work of the SETI Institute.