Podcast Summary: ReThinking—Searching for Life on Other Planets with Astrophysicist Sara Seager

Podcast: WorkLife with Adam Grant
Host: Adam Grant (in partnership with TED)
Guest: Prof. Sara Seager, Astrophysicist and Planetary Scientist at MIT
Date: February 17, 2026
Episode Focus: Exploring the search for exoplanets, the possibility of extraterrestrial life, the impact of cosmic perspective, and the value of curiosity-driven science.

Overview: Main Theme & Purpose

In this episode, Adam Grant welcomes acclaimed astrophysicist Sara Seager to delve into humanity's search for life beyond Earth. The conversation journeys from scientific methods for detecting planets around distant stars to profound reflections on the significance of discovering—or not discovering—alien life. Throughout, Seager shares her personal and professional motivations, challenges conventional assumptions, and provides perspective on why looking up at the stars remains crucial, even with pressing problems here on Earth.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Sara Seager’s Origin Story & Motivation

• Personal Background: Sara shares how a tumultuous childhood sparked both a distrust of authority and an openness to unconventional ideas, traits that have served her well in science.
  • "Because of my stepfather, like, a distrust of authority and because of my dad, openness to crazy ideas … What a winning combination for science." (03:38–04:42, Sara Seager)
• Choosing Astrophysics: Realized early that “life is short,” so pursued astronomy despite advice that the field was a major risk for a graduate student at the time.
• First Exoplanet Discoveries: Started her PhD just as exoplanet detection began, working on projects considered highly risky but ultimately foundational.

2. What Are Exoplanets and How Do We Find Them?

• Definition: Planets orbiting stars beyond our solar system.
  • "An exoplanet is a planet that orbits a star other than the sun." (05:30, Sara Seager)
• Detection Methods:
  • Most commonly: Observing periodic dips in starlight as planets “transit” across their stars from our perspective.
  • Necessity of monitoring millions of stars due to rare, ideal orbital alignments.
  • AI helps streamline detection but hasn’t yet found fundamentally new techniques.
  • "For exoplanets, [AI's] really done more of that first category—just done things that we can do better, faster or more thoroughly." (07:49, Sara Seager)

3. How Many Exoplanets Are Out There—and Is Life Likely?

• Staggering Numbers:
  • Trillions of exoplanets in the Milky Way.
  • Every star likely hosts planetary systems.
  • "In our galaxy alone, there are hundreds of billions of stars. So… that's more than hundreds of billions [of planets]." (08:29, Sara Seager)
• Possibility of Life:
  • Statistical likelihood overwhelmingly suggests life beyond Earth.
  • Biologists resist certainty due to uncertainty about how life originated on Earth.
  • "If it formed twice independently, the chance then is just so believable that it's happening elsewhere." (10:20, Sara Seager)
• Limits of Current Searches: Realistically, our current capabilities restrict search to nearby stars (hundreds to a few thousand), making detection of intelligent life soon improbable.
  • "I might even put it at zero for now." [Probability of finding intelligent life in our lifetime] (11:24, Sara Seager)

4. What Would Finding Life Mean for Us?

• Perspective Shift: Would alter humanity’s view of its place in the universe, continuing a centuries-long unraveling of anthropocentrism.
  • "It changes our view of our place in the cosmos… So it kind of carries us forward in this cosmic story." (12:20–13:03, Sara Seager)
• Search for Simple Life:
  • Hope to find evidence (even tentative) of microbial or basic life, perhaps in our own solar system (subsurface Mars, Venus’s clouds, icy moons).
  • For exoplanets: search for indirect signs like atmospheric gases that “don’t belong,” e.g., oxygen.
  • "We’re looking for gases that don't belong… that's where we're at." (13:10–14:35, Sara Seager)
• Fermi Paradox:
  • Adam: Paradox questions why we haven’t seen signs of intelligent life despite high probability.
  • Sara: Likely answers—technology is too primitive, distances are vast, or civilizations choose not to contact.
  • "We're the ants to the super intelligent beings out there… why would they come here and talk to us?" (15:57–16:46, Sara Seager)

5. Should We Try to Make Contact? Existential Risks & Debates

• Ongoing Debate: Active discussion in astronomy about whether to intentionally send signals.
  • "That debate is actually an active one." (18:04, Sara Seager)
  • Sara’s take: It likely doesn’t matter—if someone is advanced enough, they'd find us regardless.
• Perspective on Discovery: If we find evidence first, she supports making contact, but suspects reciprocal discovery is almost inevitable given technological advances.

6. The Value of Astronomical Research and Science for Society

• Why Study Space When Earth Has Problems?
  • Attracts and trains future scientists; inspires curiosity and technological advances applicable elsewhere (GPS, medical imaging, etc.).
  • Pure science (“blind variation and selective retention”) is unpredictable but essential for breakthroughs; only some research leads to practical advances, but the pipeline is necessary.
  • "To solve practical problems on Earth, we need a lot of people trained in technological sciences… one of the big things we do in astronomy is we communicate to the public the wonders of science." (25:00, Sara Seager)

7. Lightning Round & Personal Reflections

• Worst Career Advice: “Don’t go into astrophysics. You’ll never make it.” (30:41–30:45)
• Best Advice to Others: Hone your inner voice—listen to hunches and positives in intuition. (30:53–31:23)
• Controversial Opinion: There could be microbial life in Venus’s clouds—an environment hostile to Earth life. (31:32–31:46)
• Favorite Space Films: Arrival (for non-anthropomorphic aliens), Interstellar, time travel movies. (31:55–32:45)
• Dream Dinner Guests: Dead family members over famous scientists; prefers memories over risking disappointing reality. (32:53–33:33)
• Adam on Motivation: “A desire to help other people and...a love of learning... discovering and communicating knowledge about what makes humans tick.” (34:21–35:22)

8. On Humility and Cosmic Perspective

• Against Arrogance:
  • "It's just self centered really. Like thinking that we're the only thing that could be out there." (35:48, Sara Seager)
• Embracing Humility:
  • Looking at the night sky, understanding earth is a “less than a speck of dust,” helps put personal and human struggles in perspective.
  • "Confronting our own tragedies against the vastness of the universe... brings comfort." (35:54–36:34, Sara Seager)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the odds of finding intelligent life soon:

  "I might even put it at zero for now."
  —Sara Seager (11:24)

• On the immensity of the universe:

  "In our galaxy alone, there are hundreds of billions of stars. So, wow. I mean, if every star has multiple planets, that's more than hundreds of billions."
  —Sara Seager (08:29)

• On why scientific exploration matters:

  "You have to do so much extra science, you know, just to get to a discovery, you can’t preplan what it is you want to do."
  —Sara Seager (26:30)

• On feeling insignificant (and comforted) by the cosmos:

  "When you look at that night sky and just realize our earth is just a speck, we’re like less than a speck of dust."
  —Sara Seager (35:54)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Sara’s childhood and influences: 03:38–04:42
• First exoplanets, risk-taking in research: 04:48–05:51
• What is an exoplanet? 05:28–05:47
• Detection techniques and biases: 06:43–07:43
• AI's role in the hunt: 07:43–08:26
• How many exoplanets exist? 08:29–09:17
• Probability of life elsewhere: 09:22–10:20
• Why biologists object to probabilistic life estimates: 09:42–10:04
• Likelihood of finding intelligent life soon: 11:14–11:32
• Perspective shift: Cosmic humility: 12:20–13:03, 35:54–36:34
• Fermi paradox and the "ant" analogy: 15:04–16:46
• Contact debate and making the first move: 18:04–19:24
• Value of astronomy for society: 25:00–27:47
• Lightning Round: 30:31–33:56
• On humility, arrogance, and the night sky: 35:45–36:37

Tone and Style

Throughout, Sara speaks with candor, insight, and a blend of scientific rigor and poetic awe. Adam’s tone is inquisitive, playful, and at times genuinely awestruck. The conversation moves seamlessly between technical explanation and big-picture philosophical reflection.

Conclusion

This thought-provoking episode explores not just the search for extraterrestrial life, but what it means for humanity to search—and to stay humble in the face of cosmic scale. Sara Seager argues compellingly for curiosity-driven science, while Adam Grant brings psychological insights and personal wonder to bear on some of the largest questions there are. Whether or not contact with alien life ever happens, the journey itself, they suggest, holds enormous value for us all.