Into the Impossible With Brian Keating

• Is 3I/ATLAS Alien Technolgy? Avi Loeb & MIchael Shermer DEBATE

  Get my My new book, Focus Like a Nobel Prize Winner -- https://a.co/d/hi50U9U It's just 99¢ on Kindle for launch week ONLY. It’s the perfect companion to this conversation—lessons in thinking clearly, staying curious, and pushing past conventional wisdom from my conversations with 22 Nobel Prize winners! Brian Keating sits down with Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb and renowned skeptic Michael Shermer to dissect the latest enigma sweeping through our solar system—3I/ATLAS. • What makes 3I/ATLAS extraordinary? • It’s the third confirmed interstellar object to visit our solar system—after ʻOumuamua and Borisov—racing through space at hyperbolic speeds and exhibiting an orbit intriguingly aligned with our ecliptic plane • Observations by Hubble and James Webb reveal a coma dominated by carbon dioxide, with traces of water, carbon monoxide, nickel, and cyanide—an unusual chemical signature even among comets. • Avi Loeb’s provocative hypothesis: He and collaborators propose that 3I/ATLAS might not be natural at all—but potentially a piece of alien technology, given its improbable trajectory, ecliptic alignment, and close approach to Mars and other planets—arguably orchestrated rather than accidental. • Michael Shermer pushes back: A constructive skeptic’s view on whether the evidence truly supports Loeb’s scenario, grounding the discussion with a critical evaluation of observational data versus speculative inference. Don’t miss this rare convergence of cutting-edge astrophysics and disciplined skepticism—because how we interpret 3I/ATLAS could redefine our understanding of interstellar visitors. Key Takeaways: •00:00 NASCAR Fascination with 3i Atlas •07:40 Cosmic Anomalies Suggest Tech Origins •13:02 Interstellar Comets: Ubiquitous Wanderers •17:11 Interstellar Object Frequency Dilemma •23:46 Challenging Mainstream Scientific Conformity •31:09 Balancing Exoplanet Exploration Funding •35:33 Comet Nickel Detection, No Iron •38:39 Open-Mindedness in Scientific Consensus •45:53 "Trusting Experts vs. Skepticism" •50:09 "Assessing Extraterrestrial vs. Natural Objects" •55:48 Hallucinations During Transcontinental Bike Race •01:02:13 Eyewitness Testimony's Unreliability •01:05:34 Government Secrecy and National Security •01:12:54 Seeking Direct Evidence of UFO Claims •01:16:44 Comet: A Dirty Iceberg Analogy •01:21:27 New Astrobiology Approach: Onsite Sampling •01:29:18 Analyzing Spacecraft Non-Gravitational Acceleration •01:31:52 Free Moon Rocks: Myths and Offers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Thomas Hertog: What Came Before The Big Bang?

  Please join my mailing list here 👉 https://briankeating.com/list to win a meteorite 💥 In a sweeping conversation drawn from his collaboration with Stephen Hawking, Thomas Hertog explores the radical “no-boundary” theory—a vision of the cosmos with no singular beginning, evolving laws of physics, and a past that isn’t fixed until observed. Rejecting the untestable multiverse, Hertog and Hawking built a fully quantum cosmology that embeds the observer within the equations, predicting inflation and replacing anthropic guesswork with a falsifiable framework. Hertog explains how time could emerge from something deeper than the Big Bang, why constants of nature may be dynamic, and how holography hints the laws of physics themselves might fade away at the origin. He then turns to the experiments—from next-generation CMB polarization to gravitational wave backgrounds—that could confirm or refute this bold vision, challenging us to see the universe as a living, evolving system whose history we help to shape. — Key Takeaways:  00:00 Intro  01:03 Thomas’s first reaction to Hawking’s theory  03:38 Hawking’s model of the Big Bang 07:20 The no-boundary proposal  22:18 The role of conscious observers in cosmology 24:34 The wick rotation and its implications 29:29 The future of physics and experimental tests 37:57 The experimental minimum 40:04 The holographic principle  43:57 Work Thomas would like to share with Hawking  49:11 Outro — Additional resources:  📚 On the Origin of Time by Thomas Hertog: https://a.co/d/ftze4JC — ➡️ Follow me on your fav platforms: ✖️ Twitter:⁠ ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating⁠  🔔 YouTube:⁠ https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1⁠  📝 Join my mailing list:⁠ ⁠⁠https://briankeating.com/list⁠  ✍️ Check out my blog:⁠ ⁠⁠https://briankeating.com/cosmic-musings/⁠  🎙️ Follow my podcast:⁠ ⁠⁠https://briankeating.com/podcast⁠  — Into the Impossible with Brian Keating is a podcast dedicated to all those who want to explore the universe within and beyond the known. Make sure to follow/subscribe so you never miss an episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Ben Shapiro: Free Will, AGI, and the Scavengers Ruining America's Future

  Please join my mailing list here 👉 https://briankeating.com/yt to win a meteorite 💥 We talk with Ben Shapiro about his new book “Lions and Scavengers” and how we each have a lion and a scavenger inside of us. Today’s society is shaped by lions who build great things, while the scavengers try to tear them down. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Additional resources: Ben Shapiro’s NEW Book Lions and Scavengers: https://www.amazon.com/Lions-Scavengers-Story-America-Critics/dp/1668097885 Ben Shapiro’s Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BenShapiro ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join this channel to get access to perks like monthly Office Hours: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmXH_moPhfkqCk6S3b9RWuw/join 📚 Get a copy of my books: Think Like a Nobel Prize Winner, with life changing interviews with 9 Nobel Prizewinners: https://a.co/d/03ezQFu My tell-all cosmic memoir Losing the Nobel Prize: http://amzn.to/2sa5UpA The first-ever audiobook from Galileo: Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems: Ptolemaic and Copernican https://a.co/d/iZPi9Un 📺 Watch my most popular videos:📺 Neil Turok https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt5cFLN65fI Frank Wilczek https://youtu.be/3z8RqKMQHe0?sub_confirmation=1 Eric Weinstein vs. Stephen Wolfram https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI0AZ4Y4Ip4?sub_confirmation=1 Sir Roger Penrose: https://youtu.be/AMuqyAvX7Wo Sabine Hossenfelder: https://youtu.be/g00ilS6tBvs Avi Loeb: https://youtu.be/N9lUceHsLRw Follow me to ask questions of my guests: 🏄‍♂️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating 🔔 Subscribe https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1 📝 Join my mailing list; just click here http://briankeating.com/list ✍️ Detailed Blog posts here: https://briankeating.com/blog 🎙️ Listen on audio-only platforms: https://briankeating.com/podcast #universe #podcast #briankeating #intotheimpossible #science #astronomy #cosmology #cosmicmicrowavebackground #intotheimpossible #briankeating #benshapiro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Brian Keating Takes on Terrence Howard, Bart Sibrel, and Flat Earth Theories - Part 1

  Please join my mailing list here 👉 https://briankeating.com/yt to win a meteorite 💥 Brian Keating sits in the guest chair on Julian Dorey's podcast. This fascinating conversation dives deep into the heart of science, skepticism, and the culture wars swirling around them. Together, Brian and Julian tackle everything from wild theories about NASA, the South Pole, and the moon landing, to the challenges of scientific gatekeeping, the allure of conspiracy thinking, and the importance—and limitations—of critical thinking. You'll hear candid reflections on podcast rivalries, the pitfalls of confirmation bias, and the struggles scientists face in the public eye. Brian offers a behind-the-scenes look into debates with figures like Terrence Howard, the claims of Bart Sibrel, and the real impact of science denial. Plus, you'll get personal stories from Brian’s own adventures at the South Pole and insights into why science sometimes gets it gloriously, or painfully, wrong. - Key Takeaways: 00:00 Choosing Grad School Over NASA 07:56 Misleading Findings and Self-Deception 13:24 "Moon Rock Mystery: Colors Explained" 16:19 Nobel Laureate Show Dilemma 25:33 "Questioning Experts and Conspiracies" 31:09 Nostalgia for Past Snow Days 35:12 South Pole Tragedy: Fatal Expedition 41:16 "Exploring Uncharted Places" 45:40 Nordic Power Struggles and Empire Decline 48:44 Dark Matter or Modified Gravity? 54:55 Podcaster's Open-Minded Approach 59:53 Challenging Math: Terence Howard's View 01:06:58 Critique of Platform Misuse 01:11:10 Animal Mourning and Human Awareness 01:17:45 Debate on Science and Vaccine Misinformation 01:21:40 The Mayor's Low Threshold Dilemma - Join this channel to get access to perks like monthly Office Hours: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmXH_moPhfkqCk6S3b9RWuw/join 📚 Get a copy of my books: Think Like a Nobel Prize Winner, with life changing interviews with 9 Nobel Prizewinners: https://a.co/d/03ezQFu My tell-all cosmic memoir Losing the Nobel Prize: http://amzn.to/2sa5UpA The first-ever audiobook from Galileo: Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems: Ptolemaic and Copernican https://a.co/d/iZPi9Un 📺 Watch my most popular videos:📺 Neil Turok https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt5cFLN65fI Frank Wilczek https://youtu.be/3z8RqKMQHe0?sub_confirmation=1 Eric Weinstein vs. Stephen Wolfram https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI0AZ4Y4Ip4?sub_confirmation=1 Sir Roger Penrose: https://youtu.be/AMuqyAvX7Wo Sabine Hossenfelder: https://youtu.be/g00ilS6tBvs Avi Loeb: https://youtu.be/N9lUceHsLRw Follow me to ask questions of my guests: 🏄‍♂️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating 🔔 Subscribe https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1 📝 Join my mailing list; just click here http://briankeating.com/list ✍️ Detailed Blog posts here: https://briankeating.com/blog 🎙️ Listen on audio-only platforms: https://briankeating.com/podcast #universe #podcast #briankeating #intotheimpossible #science #astronomy #cosmology #cosmicmicrowavebackground #intotheimpossible #briankeating Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• The Computer Expert That Just Solved AI’s TOUGHEST Challenge (ft. Rose Yu)

  Please join my mailing list here 👉 https://briankeating.com/list to win a meteorite 💥 Could an AI physicist soon out-innovate Einstein?  In this exciting interdisciplinary exploration, UC San Diego’s Rose Yu dismantles the romantic myth of genius-driven science and instead offers a thrilling look at how AI could become not just a computational tool, but a genuine partner in discovery. Rose draws from her pioneering work in traffic forecasting, pandemic modeling, and high-energy physics to show how machine learning is evolving and what it can offer to the scientific community. She walks us through the fascinating ways AI is already helping us rethink what’s possible in science: from generating novel hypotheses to rediscovering fundamental symmetries, and even beating traditional simulations in both speed and precision. With her characteristic clarity, Rose explains how she’s built data-driven surrogates for complex phenomena like the spread of epidemics and the turbulence of fluids. We also tackle some of the more existential questions: Can an AI ever experience “happy thoughts”? How close are we to AGI? And should we be worried about AI replacing us?  If science is humanity’s greatest invention, this episode is a fascinating look at its future. — Key Takeaways:  00:00 Intro  01:04 Can an AI physicist out-innovate Einstein?  02:07 Why are GPUs so good for AI? 12:24 Traffic modeling and AI 16:08 Is AI just imitating physics? 24:53 Epidemiology modeling and AI  30:49 Should we be worried about AGI? 34:32 The benefits and dangers of AI 39:53 AI scientists and scientific productivity  42:19 The impact of AI on academia and education  52:34 Outro  — Additional resources:  💻 Rose Yu’s website: https://roseyu.com/  — ➡️ Follow me on your fav platforms: ✖️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating  🔔 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1  📝 Join my mailing list: https://briankeating.com/list  ✍️ Check out my blog: https://briankeating.com/cosmic-musings/  🎙️ Follow my podcast: https://briankeating.com/podcast  — Into the Impossible with Brian Keating is a podcast dedicated to all those who want to explore the universe within and beyond the known. Make sure to follow/subscribe so you never miss an episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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