The serious hunt for alien life

Bring up aliens and a lot of people will scoff. But not everyone is laughing. Around the turn of the century, 3.8 million people banded together in a real-time search for aliens — with screensavers. It was a big moment in a century-long concerted search for extraterrestrial intelligence. So far, alien life hasn't been found. But for scientists like astronomer James Davenport, that doesn't mean the hunt is worthless. It doesn't mean we should give up. No, according to Davenport, the search is only getting more exciting as new technology opens up a whole new landscape of possibilities. So, today, we're revisiting our episode on the evolving hunt for alien life. Want more space content? Let your opinion be heard by dropping us a line at [email protected]! Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy