S5E04 - SETI : METI or Messaging Extra-Terrestrial Intelligences episode artwork

EPISODE · Apr 20, 2026 · 47 MIN

S5E04 - SETI : METI or Messaging Extra-Terrestrial Intelligences

from Physics bytes ! · host Shahriar Zayyani

Up until now we've been talking about passively staring into the cosmos, with out eyes and ears, and hoping to catch something and being able to interpret it. But what if we were to take the initiative ! be more active about things ! Well that is what METI is all about. METI (or Active SETI) is all about Messaging Extra-Terrestrial Intelligences. But with that very idea come a whole host of questions, the biggest one of which is : Should we? Because there are dangers associated to it, and ethical questions. Victoria, Scarlett, Juliette, Hermine and Aurelien are here to help guide us through all of this. Enjoy the Listen ! :: Chapters :: 1:35 - What is METI/Active SETI3:36 - How would we even go about sending a message to another civilisation !?5:20 - Have there been any attempts in the past to contact extra-terrestrials?7:47 - Any recent attempts to send a message?9:38 - Can we trust scientist to decide what to say to extra-terrestrials…?10:47 - What is the technology necessary to send messages to ET civilisations?12:45 - Messaging ET civilizations, a project for the future humans … 13:45 - are aliens among us already?15:53 - the Kardashev scale of galactic civilisations17:25 - What is the “Great Filter”?19:27 - What role does Science Fiction play in SETI research ?22:05 - The “Dark Forest” hypothesis for the cosmic silence from “The Three Body Problem”26:18 - A defense of human non-violence by Scarlett !28:26 - Scarlett’s positive thoughts on the redeemability of humanity when faced with the new and the unknown 29:25 : Victoria’s not quite in agreement 30:37 - Aurelien is much more pessimistic about humanity’s reaction to contact with Extra-Terrestrials 31:51 - Juliette convinces herself to change her mind on the topic ! 32:55 - Hermine reflects on the topic and weighs in with her thoughts on the role of human Ego in all this34:49 : The big question : “should we engage in trying to contact extra-terrestrials”? Victoria’s answer 37:05 - Hermine’s answer 37:49 - Scarlett weighs in with a plan 41:04 - Juliette in support of her mates … and Stephen Hawking!41:48 - Aurelien…the only optimist?42:53 - Scarlett wonders about the risk humans pose to the universe43:54 - Final thoughts on the project -- Credits -- Intro Music : "Feelin Good" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Episode Music : "Mirage" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Apr 20, 2026

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S5E04 - SETI : METI or Messaging Extra-Terrestrial Intelligences

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