Into the Impossible With Brian Keating

Did We Find Alien Technology? Avi Loeb Explains

Mar 21, 2026
Avi Loeb, theoretical astrophysicist and chair of the Galileo Project, advocates open scientific searches for technosignatures. He discusses puzzling interstellar objects, non‑gravitational motion, possible technosignatures like light sails and AI probes, tensions with scientific publishing, and why more intercepts and surveys could change everything.
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
ANECDOTE

Paper Rejections Turned Into Public Dispute Over Peer Review

  • Loeb describes repeated editorial rejection he calls academic harassment after an editor blocked peer review of several of his papers.
  • He appealed to the chief editor and then published an essay that publicly named the associate editor and prompted community pushback.
INSIGHT

Small Buried Cylinder On Mars Warrants Rover Follow‑Up

  • A curious 20 cm cylindrical object appears in Curiosity rover imagery and is partly buried, raising a plausible technological origin.
  • Loeb says Curiosity could return to that site in days–weeks to resolve whether it's rover debris or something unknown.
INSIGHT

Mars Could Be The Source Of Earth's Early Life

  • Panspermia between Mars and Earth is plausible and may mean Earth life originated on Mars.
  • Loeb cites early Mars habitability, frequent rock exchange, experiments showing microbes survive GPa pressures, and a meteorite that never heated above 40°C.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app