Hello! Is anyone out there? As the scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence marks its 50th anniversary, there?s been no contact as yet with alien beings. But SETI researchers maintain that we are not alone. Find out why in a SETI retrospective that looks at the past and future of the search. We remember the first scientific SETI search? Carl Sagan… how the SETI Institute began? the WOW signal?and the 1993 NASA budget cuts. We?ll also hear from critics of the search? scientists involved in optical SETI and SETI@home. Plus, international collaborations? and where the search is headed. Guests: Frank Drake – Director of the Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe, SETI Institute Jill Tarter – Director of the Center for SETI Research, SETI Institute Tom Pierson – CEO, SETI Institute Paul Horowitz – Physicist, electrical engineer, Harvard University Dan Werthimer – Chief Scientist, SETI@home, University of California, Berkeley Ben Zuckerman – Physicist, Astronomer, UCLA Descripción en español

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ENCORE Hollywood has a few ideas of how the world will end: killer asteroids ? lethal pandemics ? deadly ice-ages. These themes have all played out on the big screen. But, hey, they?re only movies, right? We?ll separate the science from the fiction in doomsday movies. From the 2012 prophesy of the Mayans ? to colliding worlds ? to abrupt climate change, find out which among this crowd of cinematic scares are for real, and which aren?t worth the price of popcorn. Guests: Dave Morrison – Astrobiologist, NASA Ames Research Center Phil Plait – Astronomer, keeper of badastronomy.com, and author of Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End . . . Lynn Rothschild – Astrobiologist, NASA Ames Research Center Ken Caldeira – Scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science’s Department of Global Ecology Descripción en español

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The march of computer technology continues. But as silicon chips and search engines become faster and more productive ? can the same be said for us? The creator of Wolfram Alpha describes how his new ?computational knowledge engine? is changing ? and improving – how we process information. Meanwhile, suffering from data and distraction burnout? Find out what extremes some folks take to stop their search engines. Also, the Singularity sensation of humans merging with machines? and, why for the ancient Greeks all of this is ?been there, done that.? A deep sea dive turns up a 2,000 year old computer! Guests: Jo Marchant – Freelance science journalist and author of Decoding the Heavens: A 2,000-Year-Old Computer—and the Century-Long Search to Discover Its Secrets Stephen Wolfram – Mathematican, computer programmer, and founder of Wolfram Research and Wolfram Alpha Fred Stutzman – PhD student at the University of North Carolina School of Information and Library Science Peggy Orenstein – author and contributing editor to the New York Times Magazine, which is where we found her article ?Stop Your Search Engines? Ray Kurzweil – Inventor, futurist and author, most recently, of The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology Descripción en español

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Popping a pill may help when you?re sick? but maybe not for the reasons you think. Sugar pills – placebos – cure illness better than prescription pills in as many as half of all cases in clinical trials ? and the placebo effect is getting stronger. Plus, the safety ? or otherwise – of electromagnetic waves, and the ?electro-sensitive? refugees who have built a camp to protect themselves from waves they say are causing pain. Is it all in their minds? And, New York Times reporter Dennis Overbye joins Phil Plait on the latest lapse in critically-thinking brains ? a wild idea that may not be so loony: namely, could a cosmic censor from the future be thwarting efforts to find the Higgs boson? It?s Skeptic Check ? but don?t take our word for it! Dennis Overbye – Domestic Correspondent, New York Times Phil Plait – Keeper of the skeptical website badastronomy.com and author of Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End . . . Steve Silberman – Contributing editor, Wired Magazine, author of ?The Placebo Problem? in the September 2009 issue Leeka Kheifets – Epidemiologist, School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles Descripción en español

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It’s always an adventure to go digging in Seth?s storage locker ? who knows what we?ll find ? In this imposing pile of paraphernalia, tucked between boxes of socket wrenches and old 45s, we stumble upon the hunt for extrasolar planets, the evidence for water on moons of the solar system, theories of language, a controversial hypothesis for the peopling of the Americas, and a new dinosaur fossil. Guests: Steve Brusatte – Vertebrate paleontologist from the American Museum of Natural History in New York Steven Pinker – Psychologist, Harvard University Geoff Marcy – Astronomer, University of California, Berkeley Adam Showman – Planetary scientist at the University of Arizona Mike Collins – Associate Director, Texas Archeological Research Laboratory Descripción en español

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We think of major geologic events as taking place a long time ago ? but the Earth is just as active as it ever was. We?re a planet in motion. Discover why earthquakes might be increasing worldwide? descend into daring cave exploration? and take a trip to Hawaii where new volcanoes are gurgling up right now. Plus ? the supervolcano under Yellowstone Park… when might it erupt again? Guests: Robert Nadeau – Geologist, University of California, Berkeley Seismological Laboratory and part of a team from Rice University researching the San Andreas Fault Joel Achenbach – Reporter, author of ?When Yellowstone Explodes?, August 2009 National Geographic cover story Jim Kauahikaua – Scientist-in-Charge, United States Geologic Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Pat Kambesis – Geologist, Assistant Director of the Hoffman Environmental Research Institute at Western Kentucky University Descripción en español

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There?s no escape from the chattering classes ? they talk, squawk, squeal and sing all around us. Every animal communicates in some form ? it?s essential for survival. They?ve evolved to understand each other ? but do we understand them? Find out what?s coded in humpback whale song and whether human-cetacean dialogue is possible? how information theory reveals communication patterns within the animal kingdom? how plants call out to animals to protect them? and why only humans evolved language. Guests: Douglas Carlton Abrams – Author of Eye of the Whale: A Novel Laurance Doyle – Scientist at the SETI Institute Douglas Vakoch – Director of Interstellar Message Composition at the SETI Institute David DeGusta – Anthropologist at Stanford University Descripción en español

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From Mauna Kea in Hawaii, the view of the cosmos is spectacular. Giant black holes, distant galaxies, and extrasolar planets have all been uncovered by the massive telescopes that perch on this volcanic cone. Join the astronomers who use the Keck Telescopes to peer at objects so far away, their light started out before Earth was born. Also discover how the new Thirty Meter Telescope will dwarf even the massive glass eyes now in place, and why some of the world?s most important astronomical discoveries are being made in the Aloha State. Plus, why the building of telescopes on the volcano is controversial to some native Hawaiians. Guests: Charles Blue – Science writer, Thirty Meter Telescope Project Richard Ellis – Astronomer, California Institute of Technology Koa Rice ? Hawaiian culture consultant Julian Christou – Adaptive optics scientist, Gemini North Telescope Ashley Yeager – Outreach manager, Keck Telescope Taft Armandroff – Director of the W. M. Keck Telescope Descripción en español

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The undead, those mindless shambling specters from the grave, are enjoying a cultural (if not literal) resurgence, in films, books, and through strange, urban ?zombie crawls.? Discover the unearthly appeal of these reanimated beings and why playing dead may mirror the real social alienation of our digital lives. Also, how mathematicians use ?zombie attacks? to model real disease epidemics, such as swine flu. Plus ? another case of life in suspension: the promise and peril of cryonics. And, Phil Plait?s vacationing brains swallow a hoax moon-landing-hoax story. It?s Skeptic Check? but don?t take our word for it! Jim Yount – Chief Operating Officer, American Cryonics Society Robert Smith? – Mathematician, University of Ottawa Dan Vado – President of SLG Publishing, San Jose, California Edward Martinez – Makeup specialist, Hayward, California Phil Plait – Keeper of the skeptical website badastronomy.com and author of Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End . . . Brendan Riley – Assistant professor of English, Columbia College, Chicago Descripción en español

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It?s hot, too darn hot! And bright, too darn bright! But over-the-top photon flux doesn?t stop scientists from studying the sun. And solar eclipses are an ideal time for observing our favorite nuclear reactor. Discover what it was like to observe totality during the 2009 China solar eclipse. Plus, how a star is born ? the latest from the NASA Kepler mission to seek Earth-like planets ? and, planet-hunter extraordinaire Mike Brown discovers the tenth planet: an icy body beyond Pluto. Guests: Jay Pasachoff – Astronomer, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts Betsy Barton – Astronomer, University of California, Irvine Mike Brown – Planetary Astronomer, California Institute of Technology Jon Jenkins – SETI Institute scientist with NASA?s Kepler Mission Descripción en español

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ENCORE What makes up the universe? Lots of tiny particles with strange names: bosons, leptons, quarks and neutrinos. But physicists think there are more members to be discovered in this particle zoo. From strange particles to dark matter to vibrating strings, find out why you have to think small to understand the physics of the universe. Plus, other cosmic connections: is SETI a religion? Guests: Murray Gell-Mann – Physics Nobel Laureate, Professor Emeritus – California Institute of Technology, Distinguished Fellow at the Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico Brian Greene – Mathematician and physicist, Columbia University, author of The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory and, most recently, Icarus at the Edge of Time Lisa Randall – Physicist, Harvard University, author of Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe’s Hidden Dimensions David Wilkinson – Theologian, University of Durham, U.K. Descripción en español

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ENCORE Say what you mean. That’s difficult, if you don’t know what you’re thinking. But the neuromarketers do, and they’ll be happy to tell Madison Avenue what’s on your mind. Discover why this marketing strategy is wired for success. Also, Steven Pinker on how language reveals private thoughts as well as why the big-brained Homo neanderthalensis couldn’t out-compete Homo sapiens. And, we tease your gray matter with the “Monty Hall Problem.” Guests: Steven Pinker – Psychologist, Harvard University and author, most recently, of The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature A. K. Pradeep – Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Neurofocus in Berkeley, California Quentin Baldwin – Client Services Engineer at Neurofocus Richard Klein – Paleoanthropologist at Stanford University Deborah Bennett – Mathematician at New Jersey City University Descripción en español

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Humans have not gone unnoticed on this planet. We?ve left our mark with technology, agriculture, architecture, and a growing carbon footprint. But where is this trajectory headed? In the second of a two-part series: what we?ll lose and what will last in 1000 years or more. Discover what the planet might look like to geologists of the far-off-future? the stubborn longevity of plastic and radioactive waste… human civilization in space? and postcards from the galactic edge; crafting interstellar messages to E.T. Guests: Charles Moore – Sea Captain and founder of Algalita Marine Research Foundation Jan Zalasiewicz – Geologist, University of Leicester and author of The Earth After Us: What Legacy Will Humans Leave in the Rocks? Matthew Wald – Reporter for the New York Times and author of the article ?Is There a Place for Nuclear Waste?? in the August 2009 issue of Scientific American Doug Vakoch – Director of Interstellar Message Composition at the SETI Institute David Korsmeyer – Chief of the Intelligent Systems Division at NASA Ames Research Center Descripción en español

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Humans have not gone unnoticed on this planet. We?ve left our mark with technology, agriculture, architecture, and a growing carbon footprint. But where is this trajectory headed? In the first of a two-part series: what will be lost and what will still be around 100 years from now? James Lovelock says a hotter planet will prompt mass migrations. And Cary Fowler urges us to save our seeds ? the health of future farms may depend on it. Plus, from antibiotics to sewage systems: why human ingenuity ultimately saves the day. And, sure, humans will be around in a century, but ? with bionic limbs and silicon neurons ? would we recognize them? Guests: James Lovelock – Independent scientist and author of The Vanishing Face of Gaia Cary Fowler – Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust Russell Blackford – Philosopher, writer, and editor-in-chief of the ?Journal of Evolution and Technology.? Descripción en español

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We could choose not to pay income tax and suffer the consequences. But we can?t avoid death. The biological functions of all organisms eventually cease. But why should this be? Find out why animals die and meet one creature that is biologically immortal. Plus, a trip to the Body Farm where decaying bodies help science?how we might cheat the Big Sleep with drugs? why Mexican cemeteries look like villages? and a doctor?s fight against one of the world?s deadliest diseases. Guests: Bill Bass – Forensic Anthropologist, founder of the University of Tennessee Forensic Research Facility. Author of Beyond the Body Farm: A Legendary Bone Detective Explores Murders, Mysteries, and the Revolution in Forensic Science and fiction, written under the pen name, Jefferson Bass. The latest: Bones of Betrayal: A Body Farm Novel. Stanley Brandes – Cultural Anthropologist, University of California, Berkeley, author of Skulls to the Living, Bread to the Dead: The Day of the Dead in Mexico and Beyond Matt Kaeberlein – Pathologist, University of Washington Ross Donaldson – Doctor and author of The Lassa Ward Descripción en español

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ENCORE From iPods to Google to Facebook – information swims at our fingertips and friends are just a txt msg away. Digital devices have re-defined what it means to be connected – but how else are they shaping behavior? Join us for the second of a two-part series on how the network is changing how we think and act. Part II: Behavior: how computers compel us to interact with them… why your iPod may improve your health… why Facebook may leave you friendless… the unintended consequences of past innovation… and the growing threat of “videophilia.” Guests: BJ Fogg – Experimental Psychologist and Director of Stanford University’s Persuasive Technology Lab James Levine – Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic Andrew Keen – Author of The Cult of the Amateur; How the Internet is Killing Our Culture and Assaulting our Economy Patricia Zaradic – Conservation Ecologist with the Red Rock Institute Edward Tenner – Writer and consultant on technology and culture at Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania, and author of Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences and, most recently, Our Own Devices: How Technology Remakes Humanity Descripción en español

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ENCORE From iPods to Google to Facebook – information swims at our fingertips and friends are just a txt msg away. Digital devices have re-defined what it means to be connected – but how else are they shaping behavior? Join us for the first of a two-part series on how the network is changing how we think and act. Part I: Thought: whether Google is making us stupid… how the Internet is curtailing creativity… and the future of a hyper-networked world that does all our thinking for us. Guests: Nick Carr – Journalist and author of The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google. His article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” is the cover story of the July/August 2008 issue of Atlantic Monthly Jonathan Grudin – Researches human-computer interaction at Microsoft Corporation David Kirsh – Cognitive scientist, University of California, San Diego Jonathan Zittrain – Author of The Future of the Internet—And How to Stop It and co-founder of Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society Descripción en español

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Medicine?s back.. and this time it?s personal. Get ready to have your genome read? your brain scanned? and undergo a chemical analysis so detailed, it?ll reveal the Twinkie you had for lunch. Everyone?s different, and reading those differences at the level of the gene may provide a more accurate profile of health and how to treat disease. But are you ready to know what?s wrong with you? Discover the future of personalized medicine with biologist Craig Venter, as well as a man who turned his body over to the new science. Learn what his tests revealed. Plus, why stem cell research really is a horse race. And, why getting sick is sometimes the best thing. Guests: Craig Venter – Genome scientist Frank McCormick – Director of the Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, San Francisco David Ewing Duncan – Journalist and author of Experimental Man: What One Man’s Body Reveals about His Future, Your Health, and Our Toxic World Sharon Moalem – Neurogeneticist and Evolutionary Biologist at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and author of Survival of the Sickest Sean Owens – Director of the Regenerative Medicine Laboratory at the University of California, Davis Julie Burges – Animal Health Technician, Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, University of California, Davis Descripción en español

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Watch out, the moon is full? of intrigue. Our lovely satellite is blamed for all sorts of Earth-bound mischief ? from robberies to shape-shifting to general nutty behavior. It?s also the setting for more than one loony tale. In this hour, as NASA spacecraft return to the moon, a look at the mythology it inspires. Discover the true correlation between crime and a full moon? the 1835 reports of unicorns and man-bats living on moon? and, our favorite hair-raising howler: the werewolf! Also, why some still insist the Apollo moon landing is a hoax. Plus, space travel ? boxed and bundled. Guests: Phil Plait – Keeper of the skeptical website badastronomy.com and author of Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End . . . Matthew Goodman – Author of The Sun and the Moon: The Remarkable True Account of Hoaxers, Showmen, Dueling Journalists, and Lunar Man-Bats in Nineteenth-Century New York Jim Underdown – Executive Director for the Center for Inquiry West, Los Angeles and keeper of the blog Hollywood Reality Check June Pulliam – English professor, Louisiana State University Cynthia Phillips – Scientist at the SETI Institute and author, most recently, of Space Exploration For Dummies (For Dummies (Math & Science)) Paul Spudis – Senior scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute Descripción en español

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ENCORE When the economy’s down, will humans still be going up – into space, that is? We investigate the future of human spaceflight at the International Astronautical Congress in Glasgow, Scotland and find out whether sending Homo sapiens to the Moon and Mars is still a good idea. Also, the chief of Virgin Galactic is happy to send you into space on a private flight – but it may max out your credit card. Plus, an Apollo astronaut’s view from orbit… dining with South Korea’s first astronaut… and one of Britain’s great science fiction authors on how space science fuels the imagination. Guests: Rusty Schweickart – Former NASA astronaut and Chairman of the Board of the B612 Foundation John Mankins – 25-year NASA veteran who managed the Agency’s exploration technology activities Sanjoy Som – Planetary scientist at the University of Washington, Seattle Will Whitehorn – President of Virgin Galactic Yi So-yeon – Biomechanical engineer and South Korean astronaut Stephen Baxter – Science fiction author, most recently of Weaver: Time’s Tapestry, Book Four Descripción en español

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