“Interstellar Intelligence” – with Harvard Astrophysicist Avi Loeb

Summary

Avi Loeb (Harvard Biography, Wikipedia) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss intelligence in outer space. He is a Professor in the Department of Astronomy at Harvard University. 

What You’ll Learn

Intelligence

• The Galileo Project & its goals
• The Intelligence Community and Outer Space
• Government positions on the existence of extraterrestrial life
• Connections between intelligence and astrophysics

Reflections

• The enormity of our universe
• Evidence over opinion or speculation

And much, much more …

Episode Notes

This week on SpyCast, Andrew was joined by Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, author of the new book Interstellar: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Our Future in the Stars. Avi has been called the “World’s Leading Alien Hunter,” and that’s no exaggeration – in addition to his tenured professorship, Avi is the Head of The Galileo Project, the Director of the Institute for Theory and Computation, and the Founding Director of the Black Hole Initiative. He has also authored 8 books and written over 1000 research articles. 

We spoke to Avi about what his work means for the intelligence community: Should the government extend their intelligence efforts into outer space, and if so, what involvement should scientists have in this work, and how has the government attempted to make sense of UFOs and other unexplainable phenomena in the past? Tune in to find out. 

And… 

Pop culture has massively impacted our world’s perception of an “alien” – When you think of extraterrestrial life, your mind probably goes to ALF, E.T. the Extraterrestrial, or Marvin the Martian. In reality, if extraterrestrial life does exist, they probably won’t be wearing a green helmet or be particularly fond of Reese’s Pieces. While there is no way to concretely pin down what our neighbors might look like, here are a couple of ideas from scientists. 

Quotes of the Week

“And my hope is that realizing that we have a smart neighbor that we can learn from would convince us to change our priorities from fighting over territories on this small piece of rock, trying to kill each other, to something more noble, just looking up and having bigger aspirations because there is so much more real estate out there than you find here on Earth.” – Avi Loeb.

Resources 

SURFACE SKIM

*Spotlight Resource*

• Interstellar: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Our Future in the Stars, Avi Loeb (Mariner Books, 2023) 

*SpyCasts*

• I Helped Solve the Final Zodiac Killer Cipher with David Oranchak (2024)
• The 18-Year-Old Soviet Spy on the Manhattan Project: Ted Hall with Director Steve James (2023)
• Espionage and the Metaverse with Cathy Hackl (2023)
• The Information Battlespace – Foreign Denial and Deception with Bill Parquette (2023)

*Beginner Resources*

• What is Astrophysics? A. Belter, Space (2022) [Short article]
• What You Need to Know About Astrobiology - The Search for Life in the Universe! NASA, YouTube (2020) [2 min. video] 
• Glossary of astronomical terms, International Comet Quarterly (n.d.) [Glossary]

DEEPER DIVE

Books

• In Plain Sight: An Investigation into UFOs and Impossible Science, R. Coulthart (HarperCollins, 2023) 
• Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth, A. Loeb (Mariner Books, 2022)
• Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, N. deGrasse Tyson (W. W. Norton & Company, 2017) 

Articles

• What Does Extraterrestrial Intelligence Look Like? A. Loeb, Medium (2024)
• U.S. recovered non-human 'biologics' from UFO crash sites, former intel official says, V. Romo & B. Chappell, NPR (2023) 
• The Search for Extraterrestrial Life as We Don’t Know It, S. Scoles, Scientific American (2023) 
• Overview of the Galileo Project, A Loeb & F. H. Laukien, Journal of Astronomical Instrumentation (2023)
• Detection of Moving Objects in Earth Observation Satellite Images, E. Keto & W. A. Watters, Journal of Astronomical Instrumentation (2023) 
• Avi Loeb's Galileo Project Reaches for the Stars, I. Y. Gilman, The Crimson (2022)

Video

• The Galileo Project will usher in a new frontier of "space archaeology" in search of ET relics, The Galileo Project, YouTube (2021)

Primary Sources 

• Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (2024) 
• Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (2021)
• UFO Files: The Untold Story (1979) 
• Space tests branded as propaganda (1964)
• People Are Talking About … Little Green Men (1964)
• Unidentified Flying Objects: Writer Says They’re a Dangerous Problem (1954) 

*Wildcard Resource*

• This week, our recommended music accompaniment to this episode is, of course, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars by David Bowie.
• This 1972 album, a classic example of the Glam Rock and early Punk era, includes the single “Starman,” which Andrew mentions in this episode.