Improbability, Contingency, and Life Elsewhere

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Sixty-six million years ago, a single asteroid ended the reign of the dinosaurs—and Govert Schilling says the next one could be headed for us. In this episode, we uncover the science of cosmic threats, extinction risks, and whether humanity stands a chance when the sky turns deadly.

Key Takeaways:

• 00:00 Intro 
• 00:33 Is Earth particularly sensitive to impacts?
• 03:24 The role of cosmic impacts in human existence 
• 07:59 The closest Earth has come to total destruction 
• 10:23 Asteroids vs. comets 
• 18:28 Recent near misses
• 21:12 Could we stop an asteroid? 
• 24:42 Panspermia 
• 28:44 Was the extinction of dinosaurs inevitable?
• 35:18 How to protect the Earth from impacts 
• 38:09 Existential risks and human responsibility 
• 44:46 What Govert wishes for when he sees a shooting star 
• 46:16 Outro

Additional resources: 

📚 Target Earth by Govert Schilling: https://a.co/5uCEmZi 

➡️ My new book:

📖 Into the Impossible Volume 2: Focus Like a Nobel Prize Winner: Lessons from Laureates to Concentrate Your Creativity and Ignite Your Career: ⁠⁠⁠https://a.co/d/hi50U9U⁠⁠⁠ 

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Into the Impossible with Brian Keating is a podcast dedicated to all those who want to explore the universe within and beyond the known.

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