Season 4 is all about making contact with Aliens and how to do so effectively. This week I chat with Dr Douglas Vakoch, president of Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI) a nonprofit research and educational organization dedicated to transmitting intentional signals to nearby stars and hopefully Aliens. There are so many things to consider, wether or not we will be dealing with AI extraterrestrials, how to send messages that express the better traits of humans, how to respond to signals without starting a war.  "There may be more 'wise' civilizations out there, I would bet on humanity being the civilization with the most exquisite balance of joy and sorry of any species in the milky way." - Dr Douglas Vakoch   See more from Dr Douglas Vakoch Facebook: https://facebook.com/METIintl Twitter: https://twitter.com/METIintl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/19190208/admin/   Further Reading and Resources: This episode is based on The War of The Worlds by H.G Wells and can be purchased here.   Message sent from northern Norway, to a star 12 light-years from Earth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hYAz68lJzo The need to take a long terms perspective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryLWL-24GMo Dr Vakoch discussing the messages people would want to send and an analysis of  the words to use in those messages: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx9i-KRMCCc   Follow Widdershins and please Rate and Review us in your favourite Podcast app so others can easily find Widdershins! Visit our website: www.widdershinspodcast.com/ for member-only access and merchandise Facebook: www.facebook.com/WiddershinsPodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/WiddershinsP Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/widdershins_podcast/ Email us: connect@widdershinspodcast.com   Widdershins proudly uses the services of Letitia Stafford – The Ultimate Podcasting Virtual Assistant