Seth Shostak (born July 20, 1943 in Arlington County, Virginia, US) is an American astronomer and author, and is currently the senior astronomer for the SETI Institute. Shostak hosts SETI's weekly radio show/podcast Big Picture Science, has played himself numerous times in TV and internet film dramas, and has acted in several science fiction films.
Shostak used radio telescopes in the US and the Netherlands, searching for clues to the ultimate fate of the universe by analyzing galaxy motion. In 1999, he produced twelve 30-minute lectures on audio-tape and video titled "The Search for Intelligent Life in Space" for The Teaching Company. An updated overview about the search for extraterrestrial life was presented in 2019.
Since 2001, he has been the senior astronomer at the SETI Institute, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to "explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe". SETI Institute, located in Mountain View, California, employs over 50 researchers that study all aspects of the search for life, its origins, the environment in which life develops, and its ultimate fate. He was the chair of the International Academy of Astronautics SETI Permanent Committee from 2003-2012.
Shostak is an active participant in the Institute's observation programs and has been hosting SETI's weekly radio show Big Picture Science[9] since 2002. Each week, Shostak interviews guests about the latest scientific research on a variety of topics: cosmology, physics, genetics, paleontology, evolutionary biology and astrobiology. Big Picture Science is distributed on the Public Radio Satellite System and the Public Radio Exchange and is available for download at the SETI Institute's website and through podcasts.
Shostak also hosts the monthly "Skeptic Check" episodes of Big Picture Science, focused on debunking pseudoscience, UFOs and practices such as astrology and dowsing.
He has published four books, nearly 300 popular articles on astronomy, technology, film and television and gives frequent talks to both young and adult audiences.
