“I got interested in astronomy at the age of 8 because I was looking at an atlas of the planets in my parents' apartment in Arlington, where I grew up. I got a telescope at age 10, which is pretty normal, and by the time I was in eighth grade, I had already seen a lot of cheesy sci-fi films.”

A SETI astronomer and senior astronomer at the SETI Institute, Shostak explores the search for extraterrestrial intelligence with both scientific rigor and accessible clarity. His work bridges the gap between cutting-edge research and public understanding, offering perspectives on the cosmos, human curiosity, and the future of life beyond Earth.