February 18, 2002

SETI Institute Debuts Radio Talk Show

(Mountain View, CA) - The SETI Institute announced today the debut of its weekly, nationally-syndicated radio program, "Are We Alone?" - an hour-long, caller-driven talk show designed to answer listeners' questions about the search for life in the universe.

"This is humanity's greatest adventure," said Dr. Seth Shostak, program co-host and Senior Astronomer for the SETI Institute, "and for the first time listeners can get understandable, entertaining, science-based answers to their questions during a show that is wholly dedicated to the search for life elsewhere."

"Are We Alone?" debuted February 17, 2002 at 9 p.m. (EST) on Radio America, a radio syndication service with more than 400 affiliated radio stations nationwide.  The program is broadcast live in RealAudio at Radio America's Web site:

http://www.radioamerica.org

The show helps further the mission of the SETI Institute: to explore, understand and explain the origin, nature, prevalence and distribution of life in the universe.  This private, not-for-profit organization is addressing an age-old question: "Are we alone?"

"We stand on the threshold of a new era in which our technology and our understanding of the cosmos are sophisticated enough to pursue this question far more intensively than ever before," according to Frank Drake, the acknowledged father of SETI, and the Institute's Board Chairman.

Unlike other programs that deal with the subject of extraterrestrial life, "Are We Alone?" emphasizes (1) space exploration that hunts for signs of life on Mars and other worlds, (2) the SETI search for signals from intelligent beings, and (3) astronomical research of the kind that is finding myriads of planets scattered through the vast spaces of our galaxy.

"Are We Alone?" draws on scientists from the SETI Institute as well as experts from NASA, academia, major observatories, and elsewhere.  The Institute is home to many eminent researchers, including Jill Tarter, who leads a team developing a sophisticated new radio telescope, the Allen Telescope Array, that will greatly speed the scrutiny of star systems for signs of intelligence.  Another Institute scientist, Chris Chyba, heads up a group that investigates such exciting puzzles as the possibility for life on Mars and Europa, and the origin of biology on our own planet.  Chyba recently received a prestigious MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.

"I believe that humanity is on the verge of finding life beyond Earth," said Bill Oxley, creator and co-host of the show.  "This program ensures that anyone can participate in what is clearly a major voyage of discovery."

For further information on the show "Are We Alone?" call Bill Oxley at 760-533-9332 or by email: bill@setiradio.com  For affiliate relations and advertising sales information for the show, call Dan Deeb at 760-966-0500 or by email: dan@setiradio.com  For information regarding the SETI Institute and its work, contact the Public Information Office, at 650-961-6633 and see its website: http://www.seti.org