My Alien Hunting Astrophysicist - Dr Shelley Wright

Summary

Tosh Show: Episode Summary Title: My Alien Hunting Astrophysicist - Dr. Shelley Wright
Host: Daniel Tosh
Guest: Dr. Shelley Wright, Observational and Experimental Astrophysicist
Release Date: August 5, 2025

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1. Introduction to Dr. Shelley Wright

In this milestone 100th episode of the Tosh Show, Daniel Tosh welcomes Dr. Shelley Wright, an esteemed astrophysicist specializing in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Dr. Wright shares her extensive experience and dedication to the quest for alien civilizations.

Notable Quote:

Daniel Tosh [10:05]: "She has spent over 20 years and millions of dollars staring into space, hoping to find civilization on another planet..."

2. Background and Education

Dr. Wright provides an insightful look into her academic journey, including her time at UC Santa Cruz where she pursued her Ph.D. in astrophysics. She discusses the challenges and triumphs of her educational path, emphasizing her passion for astronomy and alien life.

Notable Quote:

Dr. Shelley Wright [12:31]: "I've always been interested in Astronomy, and yes, aliens."

3. Understanding SETI and the Drake Equation

The conversation delves deep into SETI, exploring its goals and methodologies. Dr. Wright explains the Drake Equation, a probabilistic formula used to estimate the number of active, communicative extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy.

Notable Quote:

Dr. Shelley Wright [19:22]: "The Drake Equation estimates the number of civilizations that could potentially communicate with us based on various probabilities."

4. Detecting Alien Signals

Dr. Wright discusses the current state of signal detection, highlighting the challenges of distinguishing genuine extraterrestrial signals from cosmic noise. She mentions that while SETI experiments receive a few signal candidates each month, none have yet been confirmed as alien in origin.

Notable Quote:

Dr. Shelley Wright [22:25]: "We receive a couple of candidate signals a month, but determining their origin is a meticulous process."

5. Advanced Technologies in SETI

Highlighting innovation, Dr. Wright talks about new telescopes being developed near the Palomar Observatory. These advanced instruments are designed to capture rapid, high-resolution images of the sky, enhancing the ability to detect potential signs of interstellar communication.

Notable Quote:

Dr. Shelley Wright [23:39]: "We're building telescopes that can take pictures of the entire sky all the time at 1.1 billionth of a second to spot unique phenomena."

6. The Great Filter and Cosmic Longevity

A profound topic covered is the Great Filter theory, which posits that there’s a stage in the evolution of life that is extremely hard to surpass, potentially explaining the Fermi Paradox. Dr. Wright elaborates on the implications of finding or not finding other civilizations.

Notable Quote:

Dr. Shelley Wright [19:59]: "If no other civilizations coexist with us, it suggests a Great Filter that could potentially threaten our existence."

7. Risks Associated with Alien Contact

The discussion touches upon the speculative risks if humanity were to make contact with an advanced extraterrestrial civilization. Dr. Wright weighs the possibilities of peaceful coexistence versus potential threats.

Notable Quote:

Dr. Shelley Wright [24:19]: "There's always a risk, but the vast distances and technological barriers might prevent any immediate threats."

8. Influence of Science Fiction

Dr. Wright and Daniel Tosh explore the impact of science fiction on public perception of space and extraterrestrial life. They discuss favorite sci-fi franchises, with Dr. Wright expressing a preference for Star Trek over Star Wars due to its utopian vision and scientific plausibility.

Notable Quote:

Dr. Shelley Wright [27:43]: "I really enjoy Star Trek because it pushes technological imagination in a more positive and scientifically grounded way."

9. Challenges in the Scientific Community

Addressing contemporary issues, Dr. Wright talks about the challenges posed by artificial intelligence in education, particularly how tools like ChatGPT are reshaping teaching methodologies. She also expresses concern over significant cuts to NASA’s budget, underscoring the importance of sustained investment in space exploration.

Notable Quote:

Dr. Shelley Wright [18:55]: "SETI is about searching for communication methods across interstellar distances, which requires innovative approaches and funding."

10. Personal Anecdotes and Light-Hearted Moments

Throughout the episode, Dr. Wright shares personal stories, including her upbringing in Honolulu and time spent in Haiti. The conversation is interspersed with humorous exchanges, such as playing "F, Marry, Kill" with historical figures like Einstein, Feynman, and Sagan, showcasing the guest's personable side.

Notable Quote:

Dr. Shelley Wright [48:08]: "I would marry Einstein. He was the more complete package."

11. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

As the episode wraps up, Dr. Wright emphasizes the importance of scientific curiosity and the relentless pursuit of knowledge about our place in the universe. Daniel Tosh thanks her for her insightful contributions, leaving listeners with a sense of wonder and encouragement to support scientific endeavors.

Notable Quote:

Daniel Tosh [48:36]: "Dr. Wright, thank you for being on our show. Your insights into the cosmos have been truly enlightening."

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Key Takeaways:

• SETI's Mission: The ongoing search for extraterrestrial intelligence relies on sophisticated technology and innovative methodologies to detect potential alien communications.
• Drake Equation Significance: Understanding the probabilities within the Drake Equation is crucial for estimating the existence of other communicative civilizations in our galaxy.
• Technological Advancements: New telescopes and rapid imaging techniques are enhancing SETI's ability to scan the cosmos more effectively.
• Great Filter Theory: The absence of detected civilizations could indicate a significant challenge in the evolution of intelligent life, posing existential questions for humanity.
• Science Fiction's Role: Popular media like Star Trek inspires scientific ambition and shapes societal views on space exploration and extraterrestrial life.
• Scientific Challenges: Budget cuts and the rise of AI present both obstacles and new opportunities for the scientific community to adapt and thrive.

This episode offers a comprehensive exploration of the scientific and philosophical aspects of the search for alien life, presented through engaging dialogue and expert insights from Dr. Shelley Wright.

Transcript

[Daniel Tosh]

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[Eddie]

Not available in all states.

[Dr. Shelly Wright]

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[Daniel Tosh]

Do you believe there are things the United States government isn't telling us about possible alien life forms? You have a bad poker face. Posh show. Tosh show from show. All right. Welcome to Tosh Show. This is our 100th episode. Is that true or no? No. What are we at? What are we at? What number are we at? Oh, this.

[Eddie]

Actually, it's Ballpark it.

[Daniel Tosh]

Ballpark it. It's ballpark 89. 20 past 69. Eating a snowman's asshole. That's what that is. Good stuff. How you doing, Eddie?

[Eddie]

I'm doing good. How are you doing, buddy?

[Daniel Tosh]

I'm well, I'm doing great. I'll tell you why I'm doing great. Our friend of the show, Dr. Jocelyn, My wife's best friend just had her baby. Healthy baby girl. All right. 14 pounds, 6 ounces. Large baby.

[Eddie]

That's a big girl.

[Daniel Tosh]

Big girl. Hopefully that, hopefully she loses some of that.

[Eddie]

Yeah, a little baby.

[Daniel Tosh]

That's, that'll be, that'll be a rough, rough go if she's just always in the 100th percentile of weight. No. So she has a healthy baby girl and things have just been going well and she was stressed out, you know. Right. She's like, I, I, she's so good at taking care of other people's babies that are born premature that she almost doesn't feel worthy of having such a healthy baby girl. And, and sure as she had a beautiful baby girl and they named her. I don't think she, she probably wouldn't mind me saying this on. Daniel. Daniel. Danielle, I believe they're calling her Named it. Named her after me. That was nice. Danielle Dwight. Beautiful, beautiful baby girl named Danielle Dwight. 14 pounds, 6 ounces. And my wife, of course, because she's a good friend, she's like, oh, I feel guilty I'm not there. And she's like, should I go there? I'm like, yes, you should go there. She's like, oh, I don't know. So I forced my wife to leave last night. She took a red eye to Charlotte, North Carolina. Got her direct flight left at 9:45 on American Airlines. There's three red eyes direct to Charlotte, North Carolina on American Airlines from LAX every night. Now go ahead, explain that to me.

[Eddie]

Unexplainable.

[Daniel Tosh]

What? Who in the. Why are so many fucking people going to Charlotte, North Carolina every single day on a red eye? That just means there's hundreds of people every day are just walking around Charlotte just real sleep deprived. Hornets, man.

[Eddie]

Yeah.

[Daniel Tosh]

All for a Hornets game. Yeah, yeah.

[Eddie]

Huh.

[Daniel Tosh]

All for the Panthers, you say yes. You ever been to a Panthers game? Maybe the worst franchise to go to ever. They just play this weird Panther roar after any play that was remotely like, oh, they only gained seven yards on this first down. We picked up six yards on a screen. Awful. What was I talking. I was talking about. She also immediately called to ask if I was, if I was going to be the godfather. Now I'm the godfather to her first child and now she's wanting me to be the godfather to her second child. And I'm like, I don't know. I don't know.

[Eddie]

I feel like that makes sense. You don't want two godfathers?

[Daniel Tosh]

No. Okay. So I have to do it. I have to do both of them.

[Eddie]

Divided family.

[Daniel Tosh]

So you had to become Catholic. Oh, do I? I don't know if I'm their godfather. She hasn't actually officially asked. I read into things. I know she wants me to take the kids if her and her partner die. Okay, that seems more important than the godfather thing.

[Eddie]

Yeah.

[Daniel Tosh]

Well. Hey, how to.

[Eddie]

How'd your wife's red eye go?

[Daniel Tosh]

Oh, okay. So my wife, I get on a direct flight. First class, guys.

[Eddie]

Hello.

[Daniel Tosh]

Uh huh. First, I don't know if it's lay flat. I didn't check, but it's 9:45. Anyway, we start getting the notifications as she's driving to the airport that the flight is going to be delayed. And then about one in the morning, that's when I turned my phone off. I couldn't, hadn't taken off. I. Well I, I typed stop. So I stop. The text not, not to my wife.

[Eddie]

The updates. Yeah, right.

[Daniel Tosh]

For the updates. I didn't want any more notifications. I didn't care that it was delayed anymore. I was like, she left me with the kids. So it's like, listen, I got my own battles ahead of me.

[Eddie]

I love sleep. Text her stuff.

[Daniel Tosh]

No, I didn't, I didn't text her. Stop. I. I told her, go, you'll get on a plane eventually. Yeah. Anyway, she got there, so I got the kids and I've got my in laws. And you're like, oh, the in laws? Well, that makes your wife's gone. That's not so hard. I disagree. When it's just me and the kids, just clear sailing, easy as can be. But when I've got the in laws, I'm just. It's just different versions of taking care of people. Yeah, Your four kids, I have to make sure that they eat because if I don't, they'll just sit around the house and just stare at their phones. So I gotta get them to go do stuff. I'm just coming up with activities. What are you doing with them tomorrow? I'm taking the crew to the BMX park and then we're gonna sit at a little small airport that has a little restaurant and watch planes take off and get milkshakes. And everybody couldn't be more excited about this. Speaking of dates, Amanda, my wife's cousin that we're trying to get hitched to an available man, I was going to set her up. We're going to come up with a reality show or we're going to do it on this show where we find potential suitors, fans of the shows that want to go through me and eventually become a family member. Now, she went on a date that wasn't sanctioned by me the other day. And the person that set it up was a friend of ours that we can all, we all, we all know where they stand politically.

[Eddie]

Okay?

[Daniel Tosh]

So I'm like, oh. I go. So I'm like going out with a MAGA guy. And she's like, no, not at all. Anyway, she goes out with this guy. I go, I go, is he short? They said he's average. I'm like, that's what short people say that are trying to be like, oh, no, five, eight is the average height. Whoa. Average to me is six feet. Six feet is an average height. Now if you're seven feet, oh, my goodness, you're tall. Yes, that's a tall person. There are seven foot people. Okay, so they get tall. Six feet gets average. And Then any one under six feet. Dwarfisms, right? It's different levels of dwarfisms. You're on the spectrum of dwarfisms.

[Eddie]

Calcium deprived cities.

[Daniel Tosh]

Right. You didn't drink enough milk. And that's fine. In some cultures. It's, it's an honor to be that small.

[Eddie]

It's useful.

[Daniel Tosh]

Anyway, so she goes out, this little fella, she's five, eight, all right? And apparently they hit it off and they were having some banter and then they kissed and I'm like, oh. So the next day I start messing with her like, you know, he's a trumper. And then she, she text a few things and he's like, he wrote back something about like, I, I really like the way he's shaking up the system. And then she was like, oh, no. And she wrote back, I think he's like an, an awful person. And then he wrote back, I don't want to. I'm not looking for anything serious. And that was the end. She never texted again at that point.

[Eddie]

Wow.

[Daniel Tosh]

No. But as soon as I was like, don't, don't write it. If you, if you actually like the person, don't ask because you're going to be real disappointed. He was loaded. He was rich, okay? That's the upside. Makes him taller. That's what. Right? Maybe if he stands on his money, he could kiss her without having to be on his tiptoes. I mean, I could have told her that that date wasn't going to work before she went on it, but whatever. She dusted the cooch off. Good for her. Wasn't in the stars. Now today's guest knows something about stars. Enjoy. Let's map out this week's amazing destinations and travel tips.

[Eddie]

Honestly, Will, I didn't plan any trips, but I did switch to T Mobile with their new Family Freedom offer.

[Daniel Tosh]

That's not the itinerary we're following.

[Eddie]

Well, I'm departing from AT&T and embarking on a new journey with T Mobile. They paid off my family's four phones up to $3200 and gave us four new ph on the house.

[Daniel Tosh]

Bon voyage.

[Dr. Shelly Wright]

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[Daniel Tosh]

PA show. I will not be asking today's guest to dumb her responses from my audience, but don't be surprised if I spend a good chunk of the interview blankly smiling and nodding. She has spent over 20 years and millions of dollars staring into space, hoping to find civilization on another planet, and at the time of this recording, has found nothing. Please welcome observational and experimental astrophysicist Dr. Shelly Wright. Thank you for joining us today on the Flat Earth News Network.

[Eddie]

I'm delighted to be here.

[Daniel Tosh]

Do you ever meet any Flat Earthers?

[Eddie]

I have not.

[Daniel Tosh]

Oh, really?

[Eddie]

Okay.

[Daniel Tosh]

You don't hang out with idiots?

[Eddie]

Well, you know, we could just go on a sailboat and fix that pretty.

[Daniel Tosh]

Quickly, but my son asked me, oh, man, I needed you recently. He did? Just, he's six, asked me about the. He goes, the Earth is round. How come the water? How does the water stay? And I just kept going with gravity. And I still. I still wasn't completely confident at things I was saying of why I'm like, it curves, it's curving. But it. How do you. How do you answer that one for me?

[Eddie]

Well, just like the air stays, right? So every location, it's just going to push down like a blanket everywhere across it. So doesn't matter if I'm here or there, it's going to push down.

[Daniel Tosh]

Okay, but here's what I. Is water in just a small bowl. Is it technically curving?

[Eddie]

Goodness, technically. Man, we're already gonna get to some like, infinity level discussion. Oh, goodness. Yes, yes, yes. But nothing to where we could measure it.

[Daniel Tosh]

Well, of course.

[Eddie]

I just keep going and going and going and going.

[Daniel Tosh]

I just want to know. All right, first question. I haven't even started. Do you believe in ghosts?

[Eddie]

No.

[Daniel Tosh]

Second question. What sign are you?

[Eddie]

Ooh, Scorpio.

[Daniel Tosh]

You grew up in Hawaii?

[Eddie]

I did.

[Daniel Tosh]

Were you born there?

[Eddie]

I was. I was born in Honolulu.

[Daniel Tosh]

Michelle, we was offended when I said Oahu is the worst of the Hawaiian islands. Do you agree or disagree?

[Eddie]

Disagree.

[Daniel Tosh]

What's your favorite island?

[Eddie]

Big Island. But Oahu's got great things. I agree that surf, good scuba diving, good hikes. It's got little pockets of everything.

[Daniel Tosh]

But is it the best island? No.

[Eddie]

No.

[Daniel Tosh]

Yeah, well, that's. What. Can you speak pigeon?

[Eddie]

I probably do on occasion. I don't know. I grew up there and I've been told that I don't quite speak English.

[Daniel Tosh]

As a kid, were you always interested in aliens?

[Eddie]

Always interested in Astronomy? Yeah. Probably. Aliens. Yeah.

[Daniel Tosh]

Where did you go to college?

[Eddie]

UC Santa Cruz.

[Daniel Tosh]

You have a PhD in horoscopes and a minor in Scientology.

[Eddie]

Yes.

[Daniel Tosh]

What are your thoughts on Scientology? I mean, it seems in theory that would have been right up your alley.

[Eddie]

Really?

[Daniel Tosh]

Why don't they believe that we are. They?

[Eddie]

I was an alien.

[Daniel Tosh]

Major Alien.

[Eddie]

Xenu or.

[Daniel Tosh]

Yeah, I mean, it's all alien based, right?

[Eddie]

I didn't get that in my schooling.

[Daniel Tosh]

Oh no. You also lived in Haiti for a while.

[Eddie]

Yes, I did.

[Daniel Tosh]

Your mother was working?

[Eddie]

She did reform work in Port au Prince, Haiti, and all through the country and I went through part of my high school there.

[Daniel Tosh]

Did you enjoy that?

[Eddie]

Yes and no. Yeah, it was hard times actually. I mean, I can imagine it was formative, but.

[Daniel Tosh]

Were you the whitest person in both Hawaii and Haiti?

[Eddie]

That pretty much sums it up, yes.

[Daniel Tosh]

You met your wife in your astrophysics PhD program. Would you say it was love at first contact?

[Eddie]

No.

[Daniel Tosh]

These are the end of my joke questions.

[Eddie]

I hate that answer. But no.

[Daniel Tosh]

Do you work with your wife ever?

[Eddie]

Sometimes we talk about work, but we don't. We stay on different projects.

[Daniel Tosh]

Like. But. But do you work in the same.

[Eddie]

We're in the same building, different floors. We ask for different floors.

[Daniel Tosh]

You go to work at the same time?

[Eddie]

We used to. But then you have like two kids and a dog and then you want to commute, but you don't because someone's got to pick up the kids here and there.

[Daniel Tosh]

Uh huh.

[Eddie]

Yeah.

[Daniel Tosh]

What? I just. Constant juggle is what that seems like. Who's the better astrophysicist? Do you guys have that fight all the time?

[Eddie]

She is.

[Daniel Tosh]

Who's working on the better projects?

[Eddie]

Probably she is. Yeah.

[Daniel Tosh]

Do you. Do you guys get competitive over what you're working on?

[Eddie]

Everyone asked this question. We've never. I don't think so. Okay. I don't think so. I don't know. Yeah. And then of course, people think we come home and all we do is talk about astronomy, but we don't talk about astronomy that much.

[Daniel Tosh]

Let's dive right into your dissertation, which was about the development and use of adaptive optics instrumentation to explore high redshift star forming galaxies. No, I'm kidding. I have no idea what any of that is. Oh man, that is impressive.

[Eddie]

No, no question there in that.

[Daniel Tosh]

No, I can't. Well, I mean, I just go to my questions. Have you ever shit your pants as an adult?

[Eddie]

No answer.

[Daniel Tosh]

Before we talk about aliens, explain to me how insignificant human life is compared to the scale of the universe.

[Eddie]

The classic like there's more grains of, you know, more earths in the universe and there are grains of sand. And you as a surfer knows there's a lot of sand out there. So you know, there's hundred billion galaxies in the observable universe and every galaxy has like billions of stars.

[Daniel Tosh]

What chapter in Genesis is that? Do you believe in aliens?

[Eddie]

Yes.

[Daniel Tosh]

Uh huh. Is there intelligent life out there?

[Eddie]

Likely. It's a big universe. Are we tolerge and I always say this in class, right.

[Daniel Tosh]

I mean I think there's an argument either way. I think we are. I mean despite my disdain for so.

[Eddie]

Many of them, Earth is just one of many worlds, even in our own galaxy. But I have to ask, do you believe in aliens?

[Daniel Tosh]

I don't. No. No, no, no. Sorry I jumped the gun there. Do I? Sure. I mean I can wrap my head around anything like that.

[Eddie]

Okay.

[Daniel Tosh]

I don't, I mean, yeah, I have no issue with there being. I like whatchamacallit.

[Eddie]

Have you ever been asked about alien ghosts? You know, I was thinking about this question of like do you believe in ghosts? But if you do believe in ghosts and then you believe in aliens or they're just the whole cosmos filled with alien ghosts.

[Daniel Tosh]

No, aliens can't have ghosts. Yeah, no souls. Aliens.

[Eddie]

Okay. Sorry to.

[Daniel Tosh]

Aliens don't have souls. No. What about alien abductions? Alien abductions? Where you at?

[Eddie]

No, no.

[Daniel Tosh]

Give me the date. Your day to day on a normal work day.

[Eddie]

Dog wakes me up 5:45, oh, it's too early. Go downstairs, pop the, the golden retriever in the car, drive out, go to a dog park, let it run around for an hour. Kind of just, you know, chit chat with the other dog park people. But then I go, then I go to work and I go to a lab and then I build things in the lab. So I work with engineers. We try to build cameras and spectrographs and things that go on telescopes. I like to build telescopes. And then I go teach. You know, like, you know, you're at a research university, you're doing research and then we go off and I really do enjoy teaching, but that's like only a small part about my, of my job.

[Daniel Tosh]

How large are your classes?

[Eddie]

If they're freshmen, non majors, they can be a few hundred, like Intro to Astronomy. You know, I have a class full now of like 18 and 19 year olds. And what's fascinating right now is like for a professor is how to deal with AI, right? You put something out and everything's like chatgpt.

[Daniel Tosh]

And is that, is Everybody just stealing and cheating.

[Eddie]

Everybody's using it. And so now it's like, what's the.

[Daniel Tosh]

Workaround as a professor?

[Eddie]

You more in class quizzes and finals. But you. I think, like, you know, there's some older professors are like, we can't do this. We have to stop this. But I think we just know that they're using it and then have to teach them how to use it it in an intelligent way. Where they're still learning. I don't know. We're still figuring it out in room.

[Daniel Tosh]

One on one verbal tests.

[Eddie]

Oh, gosh.

[Daniel Tosh]

Your nightmare. Are kids horrible? Are you still encouraged by every year or you're like, oh, a little bit of both.

[Eddie]

Nah, they're good kids.

[Daniel Tosh]

What's the ratio, Girl guy ratio.

[Eddie]

It's probably about 30%. Women, okay. Like physics and engineering, you know, dwindles. Biology can be 50, 50, but when you go into physics and engineering, the number of women drop.

[Daniel Tosh]

What about when you and your wife were in school?

[Eddie]

Ooh, I think that was probably about 20% or 25%. Yeah. When we were. I was, when I was a physics major at UC Santa Cruz, I think it was like 15%. So it's climbing.

[Daniel Tosh]

In addition to teaching at UCSD, SETI research is your focus. Can you discuss what SETI is or is it top secret?

[Eddie]

I can discuss it. It's the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Actually, you know, seti's looking for aliens that are communicating with us.

[Daniel Tosh]

Okay.

[Eddie]

Right. And then we're trying to, like, look for ways and detect ways that they could be communicating across interstellar distances.

[Daniel Tosh]

SETI was founded by Frank Drake. His Drake equation is considered the second most famous equation in science, after E equals MC squared. What is it and why have I never heard of it?

[Eddie]

It's the number of civilizations that are communicating with us. Right now we know that one exists in the Milky Way. That's us. Is there a second one, a third one? Thousands of them? It's all about, do they coexist at the exact same time? And if you look at the Drake equation, it's got a bunch of little probabilities like the number of habitable worlds, the number of those habitable worlds that have life, the number of those that have intelligent life, the number of those that are communicating. And then the most important factor is called El, which is the lifetime of a civilization.

[Daniel Tosh]

And how long is a civilization good for? Because I feel like I'm just right on the cusp of the end of it. Is that not the case?

[Eddie]

Right. No, this is Big. So let's say you detect two, you detect a second one. The probability that they've lasted hundreds of thousands of years or millions of years is huge because you've coexisted in our hundred years with them. And that's profound because that means that what they can do is survive themselves, survive nature, survive asteroids or whatever. And that should give us hope. But if the answer is there's no one coexisting with us, then there's likely what's called a Great Filter, something that's going to filter us out. Right. And that's what you're alluding to.

[Daniel Tosh]

Well, I just got sad about the Great Filter.

[Eddie]

And to answer seti, that's the Drake Equation, you have to know how many communicating civilizations are existing with us right now in our galaxy. And to do that, you gotta do a whole bunch of probabilities.

[Daniel Tosh]

Right. So that I can. I mean, when I say I can wrap my head around it, please bear with me, but. So you're saying we've only actually been able to communicate or try to communicate for the past hundred years? I don't know. Right. And so the odds that some other life form is in that exact same window of our hundred is absurd. Or maybe it's not.

[Eddie]

No, you've, like, hit the nail on the head. That's the issue with the entire Drake Equation. Or the issue of whether we can talk to or have a pen pal right now. Because cosmic time is billions of years.

[Daniel Tosh]

Sure.

[Eddie]

And then we're like a little sliver of a hundred years.

[Daniel Tosh]

Right.

[Eddie]

And so we have to be at the exact same time coexisting in probably a similar part of the galaxy. And so are they there? It depends. On, is habitable worlds common? Is evolution just a natural part of nature? And then do they make technology to communicate like we do?

[Daniel Tosh]

This is why I've never. I don't give a shit about Tom Brady. Okay. To call him the goat. The greatest of all time. I mean, in a sport that's only been played for however long, in a blip time of civilization, you really who care. I would love for us to finally reach another civilization and then go, and this is Tom Brady. He's the greatest of all time. And they're like, okay, at what? It wouldn't be that impressive. My point is, quit being so cocky.

[Eddie]

I'm just curious, like, how often are you guys getting signals that you think could be alien?

[Daniel Tosh]

Dylan wants to know how often you're getting signals that could be something else.

[Eddie]

We try to set, like, how well we can Detect something just at that threshold. And so we're looking at large patches of the sky. This is both at radio wavelengths or visible light wavelengths. We run SETI experiments like this. So I would say we get little candidates a couple times a month. And then the job is to figure out what is that noise, essentially, and chase that down and understand it. Because you want to operate just at the cusp, Right?

[Daniel Tosh]

Is it ever anything interesting?

[Eddie]

No. Sometimes maybe an astrophysical source that becomes interesting. One of the reasons why I like SETI research is that we think about how to take pictures of the night sky in a completely different way. Right. We're not trying to detect stars or galaxies like traditional astronomy. We're trying to detect interstellar communication. So we have to kind of tweak our instruments slightly different. And I think the opportunity is actually most likely you're going to discover something new about nature. And so I get excited about the astrophysical discoveries as well.

[Daniel Tosh]

Is there a big telescope that you're working on right now that will do something different?

[Eddie]

Okay, so in the SETI realm, we're trying to build new SETI telescopes here close to Palomar Observatory. It's like probably a two and a half hour drive, of course, no traffic. And we're trying to build up these new telescopes that are able to take a picture of the entire sky all of the time at 1.1billionth of a second. So we're taking really, really, really fast frames to look for something unique in the sky.

[Daniel Tosh]

And who's gonna sift through all this?

[Eddie]

Students and data and computers. I mean, okay, yeah, so we're doing that. And that's exciting. That's what I'll be doing this summer.

[Daniel Tosh]

What's the risk that whoever receives our messages aren't going to come and destroy us?

[Eddie]

Mm, I guess there's always risk for that, right? How far away are they? Do they have light travel? Can they go faster? Do they have, like, warp drive?

[Daniel Tosh]

These are all great questions.

[Eddie]

I don't know. Like the disc. Yeah. What are we?

[Daniel Tosh]

You. True or false? You think Star Trek is amazing and Star wars is horrible.

[Eddie]

False. Oh, I like both.

[Daniel Tosh]

Do you like them the same?

[Eddie]

No.

[Daniel Tosh]

You like Star Trek better, right?

[Eddie]

Yeah.

[Daniel Tosh]

Okay, well, I always trust people that say they like Star Trek better. More. I don't know why. My boy's like, I don't care.

[Eddie]

It's such a positive thing, right? They get to, like, cruise around and we're all like, united Federation of Earth. There's a beauty on that.

[Daniel Tosh]

Wait, wait, didn't you teach a class Using a lot of sci fi movies and stuff.

[Eddie]

I just started a class called Astronomy and Science Fiction. And so the idea is.

[Daniel Tosh]

Well, you just made up a class.

[Eddie]

Yeah, we like put in a proposal to make a brand new class. What I realized is that all the students attention spans last for a minute or two. So I was like, what if we just use media? So in my lectures, I would like lecture five or six slides and then show them like a two minute film clip that mimics what I'm trying to teach.

[Daniel Tosh]

And that worked.

[Eddie]

They were like, okay, they seemed into it, but yeah. And then no, they had to critique it. So we had to watch like, you know, like the Martian. Did you see the Martian?

[Daniel Tosh]

Did I.

[Eddie]

Or Interstellar. Did you see Interstellar?

[Daniel Tosh]

Oh, don't even get me started. Okay, yes, I've seen Interstellar. It makes me so mad.

[Eddie]

Good. Right?

[Daniel Tosh]

The movie infuriates me.

[Eddie]

All right, I wanna know why?

[Daniel Tosh]

Because you know why?

[Eddie]

Like I, there are questions I asked the students. I said, why would they land on a planet that's right next to a black hole? And why didn't they think there would be massive tides? Right.

[Daniel Tosh]

I mean, that was your problem with the movie. Okay, mine was dad in the bookshelf.

[Eddie]

Oh, okay.

[Daniel Tosh]

I mean the nonsense of the final third of the movie. I just was getting so mad that I was. Because I thought the first half or the first two thirds was so interesting. I was. At least, I was compelled. And then it just goes to Bonkersville.

[Eddie]

Because he floats around bookshelves too long.

[Daniel Tosh]

I don't care about any of that stuff. It was just so silly.

[Eddie]

Oh, he had to communicate with Murph.

[Daniel Tosh]

Why do you remember their names? Do you have some kind of crazy. How do you remember Murph? I don't remember anybody's names in a movie because the.

[Eddie]

All I did was talk about poor Murph the whole time.

[Daniel Tosh]

She didn't talk about it. She didn't say his son.

[Eddie]

Oh, goodness, I don't know what was the name exactly.

[Daniel Tosh]

No one does. Okay. When you, when you finished that movie, I just wanted to know if like you and your wife like looked at each other and high fived at the end of it. Like, that was amazing. They got it right finally. Or like I was just fuming going, I don't understand anything.

[Eddie]

There's some, there's some, you know, good. They took hard science, right? And then applied it, you know, in very Hollywood way. So it's a great, it's a great film clip to talk about. They talk about time Dilation. Biggest problem with time, you know, interstellar travel. Right. You leave the Earth, hundreds years passed and you're like, you know, two years older.

[Daniel Tosh]

Did you see the new Buzz Lightyear?

[Eddie]

No. Do they have time dilation?

[Daniel Tosh]

It's sad though, but my son and I like watching it together. But, but you know, there's. Because he keeps coming back, trying to figure something out and everybody is getting older and older and then eventually people are doing it.

[Eddie]

Oh, I should have used that.

[Daniel Tosh]

What are your favorite sci fi movies?

[Eddie]

Like I should have an answer to this.

[Daniel Tosh]

It doesn't matter if you don't. What ones don't infuriate you.

[Eddie]

I really do enjoy a lot of the Star Trek. I think they like, they take a lot of the creative and imagination and then kind of push it forward in a more utopic way. I would say, like, how could you use technology, like make the warp drive in these things? So I've always enjoyed science fiction from Star Trek.

[Daniel Tosh]

What about new movies?

[Eddie]

I enjoyed the Martian.

[Daniel Tosh]

All right, that was a good one. Why haven't I watched the Martian?

[Eddie]

Poop. Matt Damon makes potatoes out of his poop. I had so many essays about potatoes and poop from that movie.

[Daniel Tosh]

That seems, that seems unnecessary. Do you believe there are things the United States government isn't telling us about possible alien life forms? You have a bad poker face.

[Eddie]

No.

[Daniel Tosh]

Oh my. How dare you?

[Eddie]

But I'm sure there's interesting things in the sky that.

[Daniel Tosh]

How many confidentiality agreements have you signed throughout your career?

[Eddie]

Zero.

[Daniel Tosh]

Oh, okay.

[Eddie]

Is that.

[Daniel Tosh]

I don't know. I don't know. Unless you're a pro here and you just lied about that. What's the deal with all these declassified Pentagon alien docs? Is it possible that there's a cover up?

[Eddie]

Potentially, but I don't think for the reasons that people suspect.

[Daniel Tosh]

What do you think might be the reason?

[Eddie]

There's just so many things in the night sky. Like people say, you know, UFOs on a dynamifying flying objects, but you know, is it adversarial? Is it our own technology? Right. When you go back and look at classified materials from the 50s and the 60s and the 70s, even those were, you know, we were detecting ourselves essentially, right? You know, there's like 10,000 balloons launched every single day. Like industry balloons, commercial balloons, your kids, balloons.

[Daniel Tosh]

I'm a big believer on not letting our balloons go into the air. I talk to my kids about it. I make them panic about, we can't let any balloons, we'll kill everything.

[Eddie]

But there's just a lot of things up there. So I think things stay classified. Yeah.

[Daniel Tosh]

All right, my wife, I just want you to say that she's wrong, okay? And if you don't say that, we'll just edit it so that you do.

[Eddie]

Okay?

[Daniel Tosh]

No, when we look at stars at night, she almost every time she'll be like, I just saw a shooting star. And I call her a liar. I'm like, no, you don't. You're not seeing a shooting star every time.

[Eddie]

She's got good eyes. Yes. They're in a dark sight.

[Daniel Tosh]

Okay. But I mean, I do see stars. But you shouldn't see a shooting star every night.

[Eddie]

You'd have to be sitting there a good. I don't know if you guys, every night just stare up at the night sky for like an hour or something maybe then. Because, you know, there's always like meteors coming through, small ones through the atmosphere. But yeah, that would be.

[Daniel Tosh]

I feel like, I feel like I.

[Eddie]

Could sit there for like 20 minutes and not see anything, right?

[Daniel Tosh]

Well, I sit there constantly. I never see anything. And she is picking them off constantly.

[Eddie]

Is she seeing Starlink?

[Daniel Tosh]

No. I don't know.

[Eddie]

You know all of like the SpaceX satellites? Yeah, there's a lot of those now.

[Daniel Tosh]

I don't know. Do you own a ham radio?

[Eddie]

No.

[Daniel Tosh]

Telescopes?

[Eddie]

Yes.

[Daniel Tosh]

A lot of them?

[Eddie]

No, because I use big ones. Once you use a big one, you don't want the little ones anymore. Okay, yeah.

[Daniel Tosh]

What about binoculars? You got a pair of those?

[Eddie]

Those are the best to use. Yeah, yeah. If you're gonna go out camping or looking at the night sky, use a pair of binoculars.

[Daniel Tosh]

I don't like, I don't like binoculars. I like the one that's just a single eye.

[Eddie]

Uh huh. A telescope.

[Daniel Tosh]

Well, is that still just a telescope? Just a little handheld one?

[Eddie]

You mean like a pirate?

[Daniel Tosh]

Well, not a, not, not a viral one. I'm just like, somebody got me like a hiking one. It's just like a single tiny, short, little.

[Eddie]

Oh, a monocle. Like a monolithic.

[Daniel Tosh]

I think that's what it is. I do better with that.

[Eddie]

Do you like stargazing? No.

[Daniel Tosh]

Oh, I don't, but I think it's beautiful. I like knowing that we don't matter in the scheme of things. I'm big, I enjoy that. But I don't, I don't know, I like to just daydream. I'm that guy. I stare up at the sky and just daydream.

[Eddie]

Well, there's lots of space there to stare at.

[Daniel Tosh]

You know what we one time. This was crazy here in Malibu. One night we were looking out and we saw, I. We saw like a missile or something going. And this was like, like early, like at 9pm and then it exploded and then it mushroom cloud. Huge. And then it started coming toward us really quick. And it was as dumb as those movies where we're just standing there. I go, I guess we're gonna die right now. And it turns out that whatchamacallit, the naval base up the way was doing some test launches. Normally they do em at 3 or 4 in the morning. They did this one earlier and apparently forgot to send out a warning. Like, hey, this is just a total, you know, whatever. I don't know what they do, but it was.

[Eddie]

They were just exploding it out off the ocean or something.

[Daniel Tosh]

Yes. It was wild.

[Eddie]

Yeah.

[Daniel Tosh]

That was terrible.

[Eddie]

There you go.

[Daniel Tosh]

I thought it was the end of day. I was gonna stand there and wait for the wave to just come hit us.

[Eddie]

And what was your last thought?

[Daniel Tosh]

I don't know if I had anything. Nothing. Where are the best places to stargaze?

[Eddie]

High mountaintops. Gotta get away from the atmosphere. Dry. But the best place on Earth is Big Island. Mauna Kea, huh? You know, it's just sitting in the Pacific Ocean and air moves across Pacific Ocean. It's like smooth, smooth, smooth, smooth. And then it just hits a little mountain and kind of ripples. So you want smooth air to look through. Otherwise the stars twinkle too much. Ah. So I would argue Mauna Kea or Chile.

[Daniel Tosh]

Oh wow. These are like real answers.

[Eddie]

Yeah.

[Daniel Tosh]

Okay.

[Eddie]

I'm going to space. You gotta go to space. Otherwise are you.

[Daniel Tosh]

Do you have a huge desire?

[Eddie]

Not really. I would probably like, you know, get on the Vomit Comet or something.

[Daniel Tosh]

I don't like that. Is that what it's called? The Vomit Comet? Yeah, I like that. I have no desire. I grew up in Kennedy Space center and my sister was an engineer at NASA and my dad worked there and I just.

[Eddie]

Did you watch the launches?

[Daniel Tosh]

All of them even.

[Eddie]

Were you blown away?

[Daniel Tosh]

Even the one, the Challenger?

[Eddie]

Oh my goodness.

[Daniel Tosh]

That's where I went to high school. I went to Astronaut High School.

[Eddie]

You did?

[Daniel Tosh]

Uh huh.

[Eddie]

So you could be an astronaut?

[Daniel Tosh]

No, no, no.

[Eddie]

What did they teach you?

[Daniel Tosh]

The other school was Titusville High School. And so our school was just called Astronaut High School, which a lot of people think meant it was like a private cooler school. But it was not. It was just a. And if you go and check that, like the Zillow score of my high school, it might be a 4 or a 5 out of 10, which I'm told is really bad. I will say, as much as I hate him, Elon Musk, the like watching.

[Eddie]

The Falcon 9 launch.

[Daniel Tosh]

Those are pretty, they're pretty cool, right?

[Eddie]

And you see there, you see the curvature of the Earth, right? Because it goes. And then people send pictures and they go, what is this? And it's like a comet looking thing that's going. Because the rocket launches, right? But the Earth is moving, so it goes like that to get escape velocity out of the Earth.

[Daniel Tosh]

You're just like a good teacher. Isn't that good? Because I was like, I don't know why it does that. And then I'm like, oh, that, that's why. Was taking the pale blue dot photo really Carl Sagan's idea?

[Eddie]

We always say this and it's been said so many times. I hope that's not folklore, but I believe it was.

[Daniel Tosh]

Are we still getting.

[Eddie]

But you know, they like turn it around like at, you know, kind of like at the orbit of Saturn, right? And you have this like, I love the shot where you're like kind of grazing incidents on Saturn's ring. And then you have to like zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom into the image and then you see the little speck, right?

[Daniel Tosh]

It's pretty impressive. That's on. What was that on? What satellite's it on?

[Eddie]

Voyager 2. Oh boy. I better get that. Right?

[Daniel Tosh]

I don't know. But isn't it still going? Yes, but are we still getting images back?

[Eddie]

We get it pings back some information, like little pings, but it basically went out beyond.

[Daniel Tosh]

So, okay, so it's left the solar system.

[Eddie]

It's left what's called the solar system, the heliosphere. Right. Because the, the sun has a magnetic field and it's like cruising through the galaxy and it's like leaves that kind of sheath of that protection into what we call interstellar. And we could actually see it drop. Like we could see like the number of counts of particles go whooping like it's out.

[Daniel Tosh]

When do we stop getting pings?

[Eddie]

I don't know. That's a good question.

[Daniel Tosh]

I'm going to guess, I'm going to guess we get pings for 10 more years maximum.

[Eddie]

Okay.

[Daniel Tosh]

Document it.

[Eddie]

Okay.

[Daniel Tosh]

Give me, give me the answer. I want to know when it's going to stop. Oh, oh, oh.

[Eddie]

Wasn't it supposed to stop? I thought, yeah, A lot of these missions go on and on.

[Daniel Tosh]

No, this mission is going for like ever. It's going to fly forever. And somebody's going to catch it on the other side, right?

[Eddie]

This is a message in a bottle, right?

[Daniel Tosh]

It's a hundred percent a message in a bottle. This is what we're doing at this point. We're throwing. You don't have anything.

[Eddie]

2036.

[Daniel Tosh]

2036 is when it's going to stop giving us information.

[Eddie]

It's expected to continue transmitting until then.

[Daniel Tosh]

Thank you very much. That's not. That's, that's.

[Eddie]

That is like 10 years. Goodness.

[Daniel Tosh]

I don't think that it's going to continue. I think the batteries are dead. How does that work?

[Eddie]

So many of the Martian rovers were supposed to last five years and they just went on and on and on.

[Daniel Tosh]

Like, you think that's because somebody up there was recharging them? Interesting, interesting theory that you brought there. What do you. How about everybody getting a voice now? Does that just drive you insane how these conspiracy theorists are just magnified and amplified because of technology and the Internet and all that stuff? Or does it make your job harder? Or do you just. Like that people are getting dumber?

[Eddie]

I like that people are curious, right? Like, I just, I feel like that's a positive. But I'm a little. I'm always baffled that, you know, it's Occam's razor, right? Like, how do you're with these people that will be like, okay, and then this and then this. And then it's because, like, the aliens are here. And I'm like, well, okay, you know, these are. These, you know, people see certain things in the night sky or you do that. I'm just using an example here, right? This can apply to everything, but somehow there's just this, you know, leap that happens when the simpler solution is overlooked. Right? That's Occam's razor.

[Daniel Tosh]

I love the simpler solution.

[Eddie]

I really take note that wherever I go in the world, I've never met a person who's like, I'm not interested whether we're alone in the universe. Doesn't everyone kind of ask that question, like, what's the purpose of life? Or what's in the universe? Are there other beings with us? I feel like you go all over the globe and people ask this question.

[Daniel Tosh]

Well, a lot of us, you know, believe that we all get to live in the clouds at some point. That's going to be fun. No? Did you grow up in a religious family?

[Eddie]

My mom was. My father wasn't. And I think there was a conflict there.

[Daniel Tosh]

That usually causes a conflict.

[Eddie]

But so I had to, you know, I did have to, you know, go to church. And then I, at a young age, was like, I don't like this. So, you know, but my mom said, okay, and then kind of like, allowed that.

[Daniel Tosh]

Oh, See, at a young age, I knew I didn't like it, and if I voiced that, I was gonna be in trouble. So I didn't voice that. Just kept going until the day I finished high school.

[Eddie]

And I'm like, all the way through. At the astronaut school? Yes.

[Daniel Tosh]

It's not the astronaut school. Do you ever, like, look back at stories and like, oh, look at the creation and just the plausible. I mean, talk about a leap that you have to just constantly take to piece that together. Does that ever. Is that ever something that you enjoy poking holes in or.

[Eddie]

No, no, because I. You know, we really. I'm very agnostic about this. Like, I think there is a, you know, a certain hubris to say that we understand any of that. Like, I think people. Science can coexist with people's faith, and I think people invent a conflict that there isn't one really. I think that you can coexist. We don't know if there's a God or. I can't prove other. Either way. Right. Is there a God or not a God? They can't prove it either way.

[Daniel Tosh]

Church of Latter Day Saints. Interesting to you? More or less than traditional, because depending on how well they do, they get their own planets and universes as well.

[Eddie]

Oh, yes. Yeah.

[Daniel Tosh]

Right. Don't they? Yeah, I think so. One time I had a Mormon. He found out what I did. And we were talking. He was an older gentleman. And he told me. He said. And I'm like, I'm 50. And he says. He goes, Bae, aren't your parents a little ashamed of my comedy? That's what he said. He was trying to. He was like, are they ashamed of what you do? And I'm like, I just tell jokes. I don't think they're ashamed. But I enjoyed the conversation. Then he told me I needed to come over to his house because his wife is an excellent cook. And I'm like, what year am I in? I was just like, this is getting crazier and crazier. It just kept going. Yeah. Anyway, I never went over for dinner. I'm sure she's an amazing cook. I give everybody on the show gifts. I just give them stuff from my house. It's usually people don't get excited about it. First thing I'm going to give you is. This is a Gucci box of shoes that.

[Eddie]

Did you make a pinhole Camera.

[Daniel Tosh]

Yeah.

[Eddie]

Wow.

[Daniel Tosh]

But out of a fancy Gucci box.

[Eddie]

Wow.

[Daniel Tosh]

Because I thought that was. That was cool.

[Eddie]

That is incredible. Good job.

[Daniel Tosh]

Once you have that. I never wore this, but Can I grab it here? Yeah. You're gonna have to take all this off my desk at some point.

[Eddie]

Okay.

[Daniel Tosh]

Is it good?

[Eddie]

Yeah. Yeah, we'll do this. Yeah, we're gonna have to do this. This is exciting.

[Daniel Tosh]

Thank you. This is an Australian Open hat that's never been worn, but I went to the Australian Open.

[Eddie]

How did you know I like tennis?

[Daniel Tosh]

I was told you like tennis.

[Eddie]

Wow.

[Daniel Tosh]

Do you love tennis?

[Eddie]

I love tennis.

[Daniel Tosh]

I love it so much.

[Eddie]

Yeah. This is sweet. Thank you.

[Daniel Tosh]

I'm trying to get Coco Golf's dad to be on this show.

[Eddie]

That would be awesome.

[Daniel Tosh]

Because I like to talk to. To. To parents that have kids that have reached the pinnacle because, I don't know.

[Eddie]

They work so hard. Yeah.

[Daniel Tosh]

He doesn't. He won't be inside the stadium when she plays. He's there, but he won't be inside the tour. He can actually watch.

[Eddie]

Is now superstitious, do you think?

[Daniel Tosh]

Probably. But I also think it's really funny just to be that stressed out. It doesn't matter. I get. I get way too into tennis.

[Eddie]

You watch a lot of tennis?

[Daniel Tosh]

I do.

[Eddie]

Yeah. I watch it, too.

[Daniel Tosh]

Do you ever surf anymore?

[Eddie]

Last time I just felt like I was. I don't know. I still own a board. I do. I do.

[Daniel Tosh]

I don't want this. You put it on your door to lock your key while you go surfing. Okay.

[Eddie]

Oh, you put this on your, like, truck or something.

[Daniel Tosh]

No, it doesn't have to be a.

[Eddie]

Truck or, like, a wall.

[Daniel Tosh]

It can be a Prius, for goodness sakes. But, yeah, you put your key in there. You roll your window up, it locks in your window. And then you don't have to have your key on you while you surface. You're gonna love this. You get that.

[Eddie]

Thank you. Wow.

[Daniel Tosh]

You ever been to the South?

[Eddie]

Yes.

[Daniel Tosh]

Do you like the South?

[Eddie]

I love the food, yes. And people? Yeah. Yeah.

[Daniel Tosh]

You like the people?

[Eddie]

Yeah.

[Daniel Tosh]

I despise the people. I despise them, you know? I despise you, too. My wife's good friend, she was kidnapped by her husband and forced to move to Kentucky. And now she has Stockholm syndrome and things. Thinks that she loves it there, but I know that she doesn't love it there. And I constantly get on my soapbox and rant to them about how the politics of Kentucky are not good. How are you gonna raise your kids there? Stuff that you Wanna hear from your good friend's husband? Anyway, so he recently. But he was like, you know, we do have whatchamacallit. Their governor, Andy Beshear, he's like, we've got a great Democratic governor and he's trying to sell me on em. And he sent me this. He had them make me a colonel in Kentucky. So technically, now Daniel Tosh is a colonel, courtesy of Andy. But I'm like, don't you guys have bigger issues on the docket there?

[Eddie]

Wait, so you're a colonel? I don't understand.

[Daniel Tosh]

I don't know what it means. But anyway, I'm giving you. I'm giving you this because I don't.

[Eddie]

Wow.

[Daniel Tosh]

I don't. I don't want any. I don't.

[Eddie]

Credible.

[Daniel Tosh]

I don't want the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

[Eddie]

I love this. This is great.

[Daniel Tosh]

Well, anyway, yeah, so I'm a colonel, but I want you to have this and hopefully. Listen, I hope Andy Beshear turns around all the nonsense in Kentucky and makes things better for people. This. This a woman that we had on the show. She sent me this. She makes basically adult toys that are jewelry. Oh, okay. So this is a ring.

[Eddie]

Okay.

[Daniel Tosh]

That also. It's never been. This is brand new. I don't have any desire for it. Well, it comes off slowly.

[Eddie]

Yes.

[Daniel Tosh]

Well, you can open it. I think it's a box in a box.

[Eddie]

Pleasure jewelry.

[Daniel Tosh]

Yeah. No, this is a. It's like a ring, but it's fashionable. But you can wear it. But then it also will. You know, it'll also vibrate.

[Eddie]

Daniel's a amazing. Thank you.

[Daniel Tosh]

I hope it's. I hope.

[Eddie]

Whoa. Whoa. It fits.

[Daniel Tosh]

Oh, good.

[Eddie]

This. I mean, when, you know, we make contact with aliens, this will be.

[Daniel Tosh]

If you have that. That might be the peace offering that. That saves our planet from destruction. I didn't even think about that. Imagine they go to touch you. Did you like E.T. when you were a child?

[Eddie]

I loved E.T. did you like E.T.

[Daniel Tosh]

No.

[Eddie]

Really?

[Daniel Tosh]

Well, here.

[Eddie]

I mean, there's so many scenes.

[Daniel Tosh]

I was. Am still. So I pretend to not be. It was very emotional for me. It made me sad. I was just. I thought it was a sad movie. I didn't like sad movies.

[Eddie]

I thought, isn't that the point?

[Daniel Tosh]

Yes, but I don't enjoy watching that.

[Eddie]

Okay.

[Daniel Tosh]

And as a child, it would just make me sad. And I was like, oh, no, that's horrible. I get that you're supposed to like it. And then to know that. That Drew Carey or Drew Carey. Drew Barrymore. When I think of Drew Barrymore's life.

[Eddie]

That would have been a different film.

[Daniel Tosh]

Imagine E.T. with Drew Carey. I mean, it probably wouldn't have been so sad. Kind of a young Ohio kid walking around young Cleveland rocks. That really tickled me more than I thought it was. In the scientific community, Arthur C. Clarke, considered one of the greatest minds of the 20th century. Agree.

[Eddie]

No, Yeah, I think that's. Yeah, yeah. Quoted a ton, right? It's always quoted.

[Daniel Tosh]

Quoted. What about Elon Musk?

[Eddie]

Oof.

[Daniel Tosh]

Do you think he's one of the greatest minds? Can scientists determine exactly why none of his children love him? Is it the ketamine addiction? You don't have to answer any of my questions.

[Eddie]

I'll never get funded again.

[Daniel Tosh]

No, at least we enjoyed the question. There's probably one of his kids likes him. No, they all hate him. Yeah, that speaks volumes. Are you worried about the current administration cutting science funding?

[Eddie]

Ooh, yes. The NASA budget right now, it's dismal. Like, what is it? It's about 50% cut. And to me, NASA is like an American treasure. Right? We grow up idolizing the Apollo missions, all the things we've done in space. Hubble Space Telescope, now the James Webb Space Telescope. And I just. I know I'm biased. I'm an astronomer, but I just. I. Even from a national security perspective, I just can't. I just can't imagine it like America without NASA and its science mission.

[Daniel Tosh]

F, Marry, kill. Do you know the game?

[Eddie]

No. Should I know?

[Daniel Tosh]

You should.

[Eddie]

Oh, gosh.

[Daniel Tosh]

I mean, you teach children.

[Eddie]

Oh, no.

[Daniel Tosh]

One you have to f. And you know what that stands for? Sex. Okay.

[Eddie]

Okay.

[Daniel Tosh]

One you have to marry, one you have to kill.

[Eddie]

Oh, okay. Yes. Sorry.

[Daniel Tosh]

Einstein, Feynman and Sagan. Is it Sagan?

[Eddie]

Oh, God.

[Daniel Tosh]

Okay.

[Eddie]

I have to do that. Do you know these people?

[Daniel Tosh]

Well, you have to tell me who Fineman is. That's who. I have no idea.

[Eddie]

Who. Richard Feynman. Oh, man. He was. He wrote a lot of books. Like, surely you're joking. But he loved women, so I guess an app there. I don't know. He was a little player. He's known for it. Okay, but I'd say he was. You know, he came up with ideas about, like, field theory, how to. Particle physics, how to connect particles. Everything has an antiparticle. How things connect between it.

[Daniel Tosh]

Okay.

[Eddie]

Yeah.

[Daniel Tosh]

So you are. You're okay.

[Eddie]

But I, you know, he was. He liked the play of the scene. That's what he was known for. But he's no here no longer. Carl. Did you ever watch him talk do you know how Carl talked? Did you ever watch the Cosmos as a kid?

[Daniel Tosh]

Yes.

[Eddie]

Yeah.

[Daniel Tosh]

So is that your Mary?

[Eddie]

I don't know. Yeah.

[Daniel Tosh]

You're gonna kill Einstein?

[Eddie]

No, I'm gonna. I would marry. Yeah, Einstein. Einstein probably had it all. He was more complete package there.

[Daniel Tosh]

You're gonna marry Einstein?

[Eddie]

Yes. Yeah. I don't know. This is a hard game.

[Daniel Tosh]

Well, and it's not meant to be an easy game. Dr. Wright, thank you for being on our show.

[Eddie]

Thank you for having me.

[Daniel Tosh]

My pleasure. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try it at progressive.com, progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliate. Potential savings will vary.

[Eddie]

Not available in all states.

[Daniel Tosh]

Let's map out this week's amazing destinations and travel tips.

[Eddie]

Honestly, Will, I didn't plan any trips, but I did switch to T Mobile with their new Family Freedom offer.

[Daniel Tosh]

That's not the itinerary we're following.

[Eddie]

Well, I'm departing from ATT and embarking on a new journey with T Mobile. They paid off my family's four phones up to $3200 and gave us four new phones on the house.

[Daniel Tosh]

Bon voyage.

[Dr. Shelly Wright]

Introducing Family Freedom. Our lowest cost will switch our biggest family savings all on America's largest 5G network. Visit your local T Mobile location or learn more@t mobile.com familyfreedom. Up to $800 per line via virtual prepaid card. Typically takes 15 days. Free phones via 24 monthly bill credits with finance agreement. EG Apple iPhone 16128 gigabyte $829.99 Eligible trade in EG iPhone 11 Pro for well qualified credits. End and balance due if you pay off early or cancel contact T Mobile.

[Daniel Tosh]

Paw show. I want to thank Shelly for being on the show. I sure hope there's other life forms out there. He doesn't seem impressed. Carl. Carl does not care at all about anything to do with space. Do you, buddy? It's not your thing. You think there's dogs? Other dog planets? No, not interested. I would be. We got some plugs. The tossshowstore.com we got Eddie and I doing some tours. We're heading up to NorCal this fall. Got some Vegas dates. What else? The free plug. We're still doing this bit. Let's. Let's hit the music. Mm. Is that from the makers of the Tosh show theme song? Okay, this is about a Storm causing damage in a synagogue. Now they're asking for donations to help with the recovery. So today's free plug is for the congregation of Agnes. One more time. Agnes. Agnes. Agnes Agudas akam. Which means they need the funds to help cover the cost of water remediation after major flood damage their holy spaces earlier this year back in May. If you'd like to help them replace their carpet and repair the damage so they can serve our community in the highest possible capacity, consider making a donation. Don't they have insurance? How does that work? All right, either way, Tosh Nation, we're going to help out. I'm told that it is a time honored Jewish tradition to make a donation in honor or in memory of a loved one or to express gratitude for any event. It's like tithing, but it's Jewish. Tithing is always tricky because. Do you guys go gross or you go net? I go net. You go net. Yeah. Huh?

[Eddie]

Five bucks.

[Daniel Tosh]

You can just go five bucks. You just go cash. I haven't been to church in a minute. Do they do Apple pay?

[Eddie]

That's good. I bet. Yeah.

[Daniel Tosh]

Are you telling me the deacons are now walking around with a little scanner? You just passed the. I hope. I hope the deacons are walking around the scanner and. But then they do the thing when they. When you're like gonna press which amount they like do that thing where they don't look right. Yeah, yeah, that would be nice. Oh, man. I tell you what, it's been a while since I've talked to a deacon. We'll have one on the show. We gotta get a deacon on the show. If you're a deacon and you watch this show. Sorry that this is. We shouldn't be talking about deacons while we're plugging. You know what? Forget the deacon conversation. We'll get to that. Let me get back to this synagogue. That's the Congregation Agudas Akim in Austin and their storm recovery fundraiser. All right, see you next week.