There are some things you should always check, like the hygiene rating on your local takeaway,

the setting on your razor, and whether the party actually is fancy dress.

The other thing you should check is your Experian credit report, especially if you're looking to borrow money.

It lets you understand what lenders see, so you can increase your chances of getting the best deals.

It's dead easy to check it and completely free.

See it in seconds. Download the Experian app today.

Welcome to Scientific American Science Talk posted on May 5th, 2016.

I'm Steve Murisky.

On this episode, this probe, if it's actually run by artificial intelligence, as it approaches

our planet, it would recognize that there's an intelligence species on this planet because

it would sense our radio and TV broadcasts.

It would see the lights from our cities.

And it intentionally homes in on the brightest spot that it sees because it wants

to take advantage of our electric power.

That's Mark Alpert.

He used to be an editor at Scientific American before he left to write science thrillers.

His latest is the Orion Plan, and though it's fiction, there's an awful lot of science

in it and inspiring it.

We talked in his apartment on the Upper West Side, so again, enjoy the occasional vintage

sirens of New York's emergency vehicle fleet.

Mark, I want to start at the end of the book.

In fact, past the end of the book, the author's note says, I got the idea for this novel back in 1999 when I edited a special

...