After Things Podcast

The episode opens with a recap of a friendly wager about when SpaceX Starship will be reused and safely land after a second launch. The hosts discuss Starship progress, the FAA's finding of no significant impact, remaining regulatory items, Elon Musk's July launch remark, and SpaceX's rapid production ambitions, including talk of building one Starship per day and using Starbase to build the fleet for Mars. A large portion of the episode is devoted to the Wow signal and broader SETI-style speculation. The hosts describe the signal as a strong, unresolved candidate for alien contact, discuss why repeatability is difficult in astronomy, and then widen the conversation to beacons, Dyson spheres, interstellar messaging, and the possibility of advanced civilizations communicating across the galaxy. The episode also covers Voyager 1 and 2 powering down after decades in space, with reflection on their extraordinary longevity and legacy. Key topics FAA approval and remaining Starship hurdles: The FAA's finding of no s