SETI Live

SETI Institute
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SETI Live is a weekly production of the SETI Institute and is recorded live on stream with viewers on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Twitch. Guests include astronomers, planetary scientists, cosmologists, and more, working on current scientific research. Founded in 1984, the SETI Institute is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary research and education organization whose mission is to lead humanity's quest to understand the origins and prevalence of life and intelligence in the Universe and to share that knowledge with the world.

  1. 2d ago

    Humanity's Plan for First Contact: Who Speaks for Earth?

    What happens after we discover evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence? The International Academy of Astronautics has just ratified the first major update to the SETI post-detection protocols in more than 15 years. These new guidelines address the realities of today's world, including social media, AI-generated misinformation, deepfakes, international coordination, and the challenge of responsibly communicating extraordinary discoveries. At the same time, the SETI Institute has launched the Discovery and Futures Lab, a new interdisciplinary initiative dedicated to exploring the scientific, social, ethical, legal, and cultural implications of discovering life beyond Earth. Join host Dr. Lauren Sgro and guests Dr. Lucian Walkowicz and Dr. Chelsea Haramia as they discuss what these new protocols mean, why humanity needs to prepare for transformative discoveries before they happen, and how scientists, policymakers, communicators, and the public might respond if we ever receive convincing evidence that we are not alone. Could humanity agree on how to respond? How do we combat misinformation? Who gets to speak for Earth? And what can history teach us about one of the biggest discoveries in human history? Tune in for a fascinating conversation about the future of discovery, responsibility, and our place in the cosmos. Press release on the updated protocols: https://www.seti.org/news/beyond-disclosure-day/  Press release on the Discovery and Futures Lab: https://www.seti.org/news/seti-institute-launches-discovery-and-futures-lab-to-explore-the-human-dimensions-of-life-beyond-earth/

  2. 6d ago

    What Juice Revealed About Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

    What can a visitor from another star system teach us about our own cosmic neighborhood? Join host Dr. Franck Marchis and guest Dr. Cecilia Tubiana (INAF) for a conversation about interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS and the surprising observations made by ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) during its rare close encounter with this ancient traveler. In November 2025, Juice turned five of its instruments toward 3I/ATLAS, capturing a once-in-a-lifetime dataset as the comet passed through the Solar System. From massive water vapor outgassing to tails stretching millions of kilometers into space, the observations are helping scientists better understand what this object is made of, how it behaves near the Sun, and what it can tell us about planetary systems beyond our own. We'll talk about: • how Juice managed to observe 3I/ATLAS while en route to Jupiter • what scientists learned about the comet's water, dust, and composition • why this interstellar object looks surprisingly familiar—and why that's exciting • how these observations support planetary defense and future spacecraft science • what 3I/ATLAS may reveal about the early history of the Milky Way Press release: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice/Five_things_Juice_has_revealed_about_Comet_3I_ATLAS

  3. Oct 6

    Life is But a Stream: Planetary Systems Along Stellar Streams

    In this episode of SETI Live, Jeremy Webb joins Moiya McTier to discuss Life is But a Stream: The Distribution of Planetary Systems Along Stellar Streams and Their Properties. Stellar streams are elongated structures of stars moving through the Milky Way, often shaped by tidal interactions and the galaxy's gravity. Jeremy Webb's research explores how planetary systems are distributed along these streams and what their properties can reveal about planet formation and evolution in dynamic galactic environments. Together, they'll dive into how astronomers trace stellar streams, how planetary systems survive and evolve within them, and what this research tells us about the broader history of our galaxy. Read the paper: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae67fd

  4. Oct 2

    Not Planets, Not Stars: NASA Volunteers Doubled the Number of Known Brown Dwarfs

    What happens when hundreds of thousands of volunteers team up with NASA to explore the sky? In the case of Backyard Worlds: Planet 9, thousands of new brown dwarfs. NASA citizen scientists have helped discover more than 3,000 brown dwarfs, effectively doubling the known population of these mysterious objects over the past decade. These discoveries are helping astronomers better understand the boundary between planets and stars, revealing rare ultra-cool worlds, extreme T subdwarfs, and even brown dwarfs that may host aurorae. Dr. Lauren Sgro and special guest Dr. Adam C. Schneider (United States Naval Observatory) discuss how citizen scientists made these discoveries, why brown dwarfs are so difficult to detect, and what this growing catalog is teaching us about our galactic neighborhood. Press release: https://science.nasa.gov/get-involved/citizen-science/nasa-volunteers-double-known-population-of-brown-dwarfs/  Paper: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ae5b60  Backyard Worlds: Planet 9: https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/marckuchner/backyard-worlds-planet-9

  5. Sep 29

    The Sounds of Intelligence: A Conversation with 2026 Drake Award Recipient Lori Marino

    What does intelligence sound like? For decades, scientists studying whales and dolphins have uncovered remarkable evidence of sophisticated communication, social complexity, self-awareness, and cognition in cetaceans. Today, a new generation of research tools and analytical methods is opening an even deeper window into the sounds and possible language structures of these extraordinary marine mammals. Join SETI Institute President and CEO Bill Diamond for a fascinating conversation with 2026 Drake Award recipient Dr. Lori Marino as they explore the cutting edge of dolphin and whale communication research, what these discoveries reveal about intelligence on Earth, and how they connect to broader questions at the heart of SETI. Together they'll discuss:  🔹 How scientists study whale and dolphin communication  🔹 New breakthroughs in cetacean cognition research  🔹 Whether dolphin and whale sounds may contain language-like structure  🔹 The ethical and philosophical implications of understanding non-human intelligence  🔹 What studying intelligence on Earth can teach us about detecting intelligence elsewhere in the universe Dr. Lori Marino is a neuroscientist, expert in animal behavior and intelligence, and the 2026 recipient of the SETI Institute's Drake Award. Read the announcement: https://www.seti.org/news/seti-institute-names-lori-marino-as-2026-drake-award-recipient/

  6. Jul 28

    Lava Worlds & Nightside Volcanoes on K2-141 b

    How do you study volcanoes on a planet more than 200 light-years away? Join us for SETI Live as host Moiya McTier talks with planetary scientist Claire Marie Guimond about the extreme lava world K2-141 b—a rocky exoplanet so hot that parts of its surface may be covered in oceans of molten rock. Using advanced mantle convection models, Claire and her collaborators investigated how heat moves through the planet's interior and where volcanic hotspots may form—including on the planet's permanent nightside. Together, we'll explore what these models reveal about alien geology, how lava worlds compare to Earth, and what volcanism might mean for a planet's long-term evolution. We'll also dive into how scientists can study volcanic activity on distant worlds, what makes lava planets important to planetary science, and what questions remain about one of the galaxy's most extreme exoplanets. Paper: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/547/3/stag390/8501203 (Recorded live 7 May 2026.)

  7. May 6

    Galactic Islands of Tranquility: How "Little Red Dots" May Brew Life's Building Blocks

    A newly identified class of distant galaxies—nicknamed "little red dots"—may be doing something extraordinary: quietly creating the raw ingredients for life. Join host Dr. Simon Steel as we explore groundbreaking new research from Dr. Remo Ruffini and Dr. Yu Wang from the International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics Network (ICRANet), suggesting that these compact, enigmatic galaxies could act as "molecular islands," forming complex organic molecules in environments surprisingly calm compared to the chaotic early universe. - What makes these galaxies so special? - How can such small, distant objects produce life's building blocks? - And what does this mean for the possibility that life's chemistry is widespread across the cosmos? We'll break down the science behind these "galactic oases," how they were discovered, and why they may reshape how we think about the origins of life in the universe. Press release (pdf): https://www.icranet.org/LRDs-Molecular-Islands-Press-Release.pdf  Paper: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ae3a76  (Recorded live 30 April 2026.)

  8. Apr 28

    The 45 Best Places to Look for Alien Life

    Where should we actually be looking for life beyond Earth? Astronomers have identified 45 Earth-like worlds that could be among the most promising places to search for biosignatures—chemical signs of life in distant atmospheres. Inspired by the idea of a real-life "Project Hail Mary," this research helps narrow the search for habitable planets and guides future telescopes toward the most compelling targets. Join SETI Institute planetary astronomer Dr. Franck Marchis and guests Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger and Abigail Bohl from Cornell University as they explore: - How scientists define an "Earth-like" world  - What makes a planet a strong candidate for life - How these 45 planets were selected - What telescopes, like the James Webb Space Telescope, can (and can't) detect - What this means for the future of SETI and exoplanet exploration Are we closer than ever to finding life—or just getting better at knowing where to look? Press release: https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/research-highlights/best-places-look-alien-life-scientists-identify-45-earth-worlds Paper: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/547/3/stag028/8526432 (Recorded live 17 April 2026.)

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About

SETI Live is a weekly production of the SETI Institute and is recorded live on stream with viewers on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Twitch. Guests include astronomers, planetary scientists, cosmologists, and more, working on current scientific research. Founded in 1984, the SETI Institute is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary research and education organization whose mission is to lead humanity's quest to understand the origins and prevalence of life and intelligence in the Universe and to share that knowledge with the world.

Information

  • Creator
    SETI Institute
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    160
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2023-2026
  • Show Website
    SETI Live

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