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b'Is Anybody Out There? The Quest For Life In Space\\nIt\\u2019s one of humanity\\u2019s biggest fundamental questions: \\u201cIs there life elsewhere in the universe?\\u201d But despite years of searching, it\\u2019s a query that still has no answer.\\xa0 That conundrum also opens up a whole string of other inquiries, from how to best search for signs of life, to whether we\\u2019ll be able to make sense of what we\\u2019re seeing.\\xa0\\nThe search for life elsewhere can also help us learn about our own existence. How many of what we consider the basic rules of life on earth are really just suggestions, or convenient accidents?\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\nA new book tackles these riddles through the lens of both science and science fiction. Science writer Jaime Green, author of the book, The Possibility of Life: Science, Imagination, and our Quest for Kinship in the Cosmos, joins Ira to talk about the science, history, and philosophy of our search for alien lifeforms, and takes questions from callers.\\xa0\\nThe SciFri Book Club will be reading this book together in May\\u2014you can read along with us next month. Find everything you need to know on\\xa0our May Book Club page.\\n\\n\\xa0\\nFarm Fertilizers Can Contain \\u2018Forever Chemicals\\u2019 From Sewage\\nThe Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant is a pollution success story. Over the last several decades, it transformed Boston Harbor from a nationally embarrassing cesspool into a swimmable bay.\\nThe treatment plant takes everything the people of Greater Boston send down their sinks, toilets, showers and washing machines \\u2014 plus industrial waste \\u2014 and treats it. The treated water is clean enough to let out into the ocean. The remaining sludge gets recycled into fertilizer that\\u2019s used in nearly 20 states.\\nBut now that fertilizer is raising fresh concerns. That\\u2019s because wastewater treatment plants like Deer Island were not built to handle the toxic \\u201cforever chemicals\\u201d known as PFAS.\\nThe treatment process concentrates PFAS chemicals in the sludge, and therefore in the fertilizer, leading environmentalists and public health advocates to call for an immediate end to its use. Others are not sure that a full ban on sludge-based fertilizer, or \\u201cbiosolids,\\u201d is the answer. But there is widespread agreement that we have only begun to grasp the extent of the problem.\\nTo read the full article, visit sciencefriday.com\\n\\n\\xa0\\nWhen AI And Dementia Intersect\\nAs AI becomes more advanced, it\\u2019s also becoming a bigger part of our lives. That\\u2019s especially true of smart speakers, which to some of us, act as another member of a family: answering simple questions, reminding us about appointments, and entertaining children. But what parts of our privacy are we giving up to make our lives slightly more convenient?\\xa0\\nThat\\u2019s the focus of a new play called \\u201cSmart,\\u201d\\xa0which tells the story of four characters: a woman, her aging mother who has dementia, an AI programmer who works for a tech\\xa0 company, and a smart speaker named Jenny.\\xa0\\nIra speaks with the writer of \\u201cSmart,\\u201d Mary Elizabeth Hamilton, about how she wrote the play, how the science behind AI inspired its plot, and the connections between AI hallucinations and dementia-induced hallucinations.\\n\\n\\xa0\\nTranscripts for each segment will be available the week after the show airs on\\xa0sciencefriday.com.'