Seth Shostak is the Senior Astronomer at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute, which focuses on listening for narrow-band radio signals in microwave frequencies from nearby star systems. At the time of this interview, SETI used a 140ft antenna in West Virginia, but Shostak said he would soon gain access to the 1000ft Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico, a significant upgrade he described as having "36 times the area" of their present one.

A SETI offshoot, the High Resolution Microwave Survey (HRMS) began as a NASA program but was canceled in 1993. Later, it was resurrected through private funding, and renamed "Project Phoenix" because it was "rising from the ashes of the old NASA program," he recalled. Funding was a challenge, limiting telescope time to about a quarter of what was available.

SETI, managed by a two-antenna discrimination system, faces significant interference from Earth-orbiting satellites. While there were "signals that have looked interesting," all had been human-made so far, Shostak said. He remained optimistic, believing in a "fairly healthy percentage chance" of an answer in his lifetime.