Episode 913: Avi Loeb on 3IATLAS

Newt's World

Gingrich 360

News, Politics

4.7 • 6.3K Ratings

🗓️ 23 November 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Newt talks with Professor Avi Loeb about the latest news on 3I/ATLAS, the third interstellar object discovered passing through our solar system. Loeb highlights its unusual characteristics and the possibility of it being a technological artifact rather than a natural object. He emphasizes the importance of scientific curiosity and the need for academia to embrace risk-taking and exploration beyond conventional boundaries. He advocates for a broader search for intelligent life in the universe, suggesting that the discovery of alien technology could significantly alter human priorities and investments in space exploration. Their conversation also touches on the cultural and institutional challenges within the scientific community, urging a shift towards a more open-minded and exploratory approach to science. He concludes with a reflection on the potential of science to inspire and engage the public, particularly the younger generation. Avi Loeb is the Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science at Harvard University. He serves as Director of the Institute for Theory and Computation within the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and also heads the Galileo Project. His blog about 3I/ATLAS is avi-loeb.medium.com

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an I-Heart podcast.
0:02.3	Guaranteed Human.
0:07.8	On this episode of Newts World, the United States Congress passed legislation called the
0:13.8	George E. Brown Jr., Near Earth Object Survey Act of 2005, which mandated that NASA find and track 90% of the near-earth
0:26.1	objects, called Nios, of course, larger than 140 meters by 2020. As a result of that legislation,
0:35.1	we're now starting to look at the skies more closely and with better technology.
0:39.7	And as my guest today has said, we're now pursuing one of the most exciting questions in science, are we alone?
0:48.2	Here to discuss the recent discovery of 3i Atlas.
0:58.0	I'm really pleased to welcome my guest, Professor Avi Loeb. He is the Frank B. Bear Jr. Professor of Science at Harvard University.
1:03.0	He serves as director of the Institute for Theory and Computation
1:08.0	within the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for astrophysics, and also heads
1:12.8	the Galileo Project. As you can imagine, we're going to have a lot to talk about. His articles
1:19.2	about 3i-Aplas can be found atavi-lobe.mid Medium.com. I'll be welcome and thank you for joining me on Nitzworld.
1:50.5	It's my great privilege to speak with you, Noot.
1:53.5	There are a lot of things I want to ask you about, but obviously we have to start with
1:58.2	Three-Eye Atlas.
1:59.7	Let's talk about what happened after Congress passed the
2:03.7	legislation asking that we track near-earth objects. What does that actually lead to as a practical
2:09.8	thing?
2:11.1	Right. So the story starts 66 million years ago when a giant asteroid, the size of Manhattan
2:17.2	Island, hit the earth, and
2:18.9	we learned the lesson. We think that we are more intelligent than these animals were. They were
	...

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