Join Beth Johnson for a thought-provoking conversation with Professor Dagomar Degroot, an environmental historian at Georgetown University. They delve into the themes of his new book, Ripples on the Cosmic Ocean, set to be released on October 28, 2025. Ripples on the Cosmic Ocean offers a sweeping history of human encounters with the solar system. Professor Degroot reimagines the solar system as a dynamic network of interconnected systems, exploring how cosmic events and environments have influenced human history and understanding. Drawing inspiration from James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis, he treats the entire solar system as a network of interconnected systems of exchange and influence, all of which shape even the most innocuous facts of life on Earth. 📘 Order the book: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674986503 (Recorded live 28 October 20250.)

Do Aliens Speak Physics?: And Other Questions about Science and the Nature of Reality (Whiteson & Warner, 2025) is a mind-bending exploration into what it would mean, scientifically and philosophically, for humans to communicate with an extraterrestrial intelligence through the language of physics. Daniel Whiteson, a particle physicist, and Andy Warner tackle deep questions: Are concepts like "number," "space," "time," and "laws of nature" universal, or are they shaped by our biology, culture, and perception? What assumptions do we make that might not translate to a species evolved under utterly different conditions? The book pushes us to examine where physics ends and human perspective begins, to reflect on whether alien minds might think mathematics differently, sense reality differently, or have radically different "basic science." Join us on SETI Live as communications specialist Beth Johnson speaks with co-author Daniel Whiteson about the surprising places he found ambiguity, what assumptions underlie science as we know it, and what our notion of physics might reveal — or blind us to — when grappling with alien intelligence. Learn more about the book: https://sites.uci.edu/alienphysics/ (Recorded live 16 October 2025.)

How do planets start? Host Simon Steel (SETI Institute) speaks with Melissa McClure (Leiden University), lead author of a new study that caught the earliest spark of planet formation. Using JWST and ALMA, the team detected silicon monoxide (SiO)—both gaseous and likely crystalline—and pinpointed where hot, rock-forming minerals are condensing inside the protoplanetary disk of HOPS-315, ~1300 light-years away in Orion. They also map the action to a belt-like region similar to our Solar System's asteroid belt. What does SiO reveal about shocks, heat, and the first solids that seed planets? Join us to unpack the chemistry, the physics, and the cosmic "baby book" of a solar system in the making. ESO press release: https://www.eso.org/public/unitedkingdom/news/eso2512/ Nature paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09163-z (Recorded live 9 October 2025.)

The Sun is restless again! A massive coronal hole has opened up, sending streams of solar wind racing toward Earth. These high-speed particles not only light up our skies with dazzling auroras but can also affect satellites, power grids, and communications. In this special SETI Live, heliophysicist Dr. Becca Robinson (SETI Institute) joins host Simon Steel (Deputy Director of the Carl Sagan Center at the SETI Institute) to explain what coronal holes are, how they form, and what their impacts mean for both our technology and our understanding of the Sun. Join us on October 7 at 2:30 pm PT for a deep dive into the science of solar storms, space weather, and the mysteries of our nearest star. Aurora videos courtesy of Vincent Ledvina, The Aurora Guy, https://theauroraguy.com/ Participate in citizen science at https://aurorasaurus.org/ Learn more about the MUSE mission: https://muse.lmsal.com/ (Recorded live 7 October 2025.)

Join host Beth Johnson and guest Dr. Sam Courville, lead author of a new study on Ceres, as they dive into the possibility that the dwarf planet may have had the energy needed to support habitability for much longer than once believed. Using data from NASA's Dawn mission, researchers uncovered evidence of persistent geologic activity, brine movement, and long-lived energy sources beneath Ceres' icy surface. Could this small world in the asteroid belt have been more habitable than we ever imagined? Press release: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-ceres-may-have-had-long-standing-energy-to-fuel-habitability/ Paper: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adt3283 (Recorded live 2 October 2025.)

Join host Dr. Franck Marchis and guest Dr. Andy Rivkin (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory) for a discussion on asteroid 2024 YR4 and its potential impact on the Moon. Thanks to new observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), scientists have refined the asteroid's orbit and determined there is about a 4% chance it could strike the Moon in December 2032. While there is no risk to Earth, a lunar impact could create a crater nearly a kilometer wide and send debris into space—possibly affecting satellites or even producing a visible meteor shower. In this episode, we'll explore how JWST contributed to narrowing the odds, what such an impact would mean for lunar science, and how planetary defense research helps us better understand and prepare for near-Earth objects. NASA Blog: https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/planetary-defense/2025/06/05/nasas-webb-observations-update-asteroid-2024-yr4s-lunar-impact-odds/ (Recorded live 25 September 2025.)

What happens after we discover life beyond Earth? The question is no longer "if," but "when"—and how humanity responds could shape our future. Host and planetary astronomer Franck Marchis welcomes Martin Dominik, one of the authors of a new white paper on the societal, political, and philosophical challenges we'll face once alien life is confirmed. From public communication and policy to our collective sense of identity, this discussion explores how to prepare for the biggest discovery in human history. 📄 Read the paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.11587 📰 Universe Today article: https://www.universetoday.com/articles/scientists-are-planning-for-life-after-finding-aliens (Recorded 18 September 2025.)

Join communications specialist Beth Johnson and Dr. Charles-Édouard Boukaré (York University) as they dive into new research on molten rocky exoplanets—worlds so hot that their surfaces are oceans of magma. This international study, led by York University, sheds light on how these fiery planets form, evolve, and what their extreme environments can teach us about the diversity of planetary systems. From the physics of molten mantles to what telescopes like JWST might reveal about their atmospheres, we'll explore the cutting-edge science that's reshaping our understanding of exoplanets beyond our solar system. 📄 Learn more: Press release → https://www.yorku.ca/news/2025/07/29/international-research-lead-by-york-u-prof-sheds-light-on-molten-rocky-exoplanets/ Paper → https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-025-02617-4 (Recorded live 11 September 2025.)

Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is a world of methane rivers and lakes, icy boulders, sandy dunes, and a vast subsurface ocean. Could this distant world harbor life? A new study led by Dr. Antonin Affholder, now a fellow at ETH Zurich, suggests that Titan's ocean might support life—but only in the tiniest amounts, making it incredibly hard to find. Join communications specialist Beth Johnson as she chats with Dr. Affholder to explore what this means for the search for life beyond Earth, why organics on Titan may not provide enough fuel, and how NASA's Dragonfly mission might help answer these questions. (Recorded live 4 September 2025.)

Join us for a special livestream featuring Dr. Abel Méndez from the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, hosted by SETI Institute researcher Dr. Lauren Sgro. They will discuss the latest on LaserSETI, the all-sky project searching for optical technosignatures, including exciting updates from the new installation in Puerto Rico. This special "LaserSETI Live" will also dive into Méndez's new study on the legendary Wow! Signal, in which he and his team revisit one of the most intriguing mysteries in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence with fresh analysis and new insights. This event connects Puerto Rico's rich legacy in radio astronomy with today's cutting-edge search for signals of life beyond Earth, so don't miss this livestream! (Recorded live 30 August 2025.)