#154 – Avi Loeb: Aliens, Black Holes, and the Mystery of the Oumuamua

Lex Fridman Podcast

Avi Loeb is an astrophysicist at Harvard. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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EPISODE LINKS:
Extraterrestrial (book): https://amzn.to/39xdnkT
Avi’s Website: https://astronomy.fas.harvard.edu/people/avi-loeb

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OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(10:08) – Are we alone in the universe?
(14:23) – Consciousness
(19:01) – Sending digital copies of humans to space
(23:38) – Oumuamua
(45:42) – Alien space junk
(49:41) – What do aliens look like?
(1:06:58) – Drake equation
(1:08:00) – Industrial polution from aliens
(1:19:52) – UFO sightings
(1:27:48) – How long will human civilization last?
(1:30:28) – Radio signal from Proxima Centauri
(1:33:49) – Breakthrough Starshot project
(1:36:49) – Space race
(1:42:00) – Human space exploration
(1:47:15) – Social media is a threat to society
(1:52:04) – Are humans ready for discovering an alien civilization?
(1:56:15) – Mayans used astrology to wage war
(1:57:31) – Black holes
(2:16:20) – Stephen Hawking
(2:19:59) – Grigori Perelman
(2:24:24) – Theory of everything
(2:31:23) – Dark matter
(2:34:06) – Advice for young people
(2:37:10) – Memories of my father and mother
(2:41:38) – Existentialism
(2:43:52) – Mortality
(2:46:27) – Meaning of life