Physicist Converts From Atheism to Judaism After 9/11 Out of Shame Over Ignorance
"I knew nothing about the religion that I was born into, and I felt ashamed. I couldn't read Hebrew, you know. I didn't— I never read the Bible, you know, the Old Testament. And I was like, why is there this antipathy towards Jews and towards Judeo-Christian society and civilization? Why is there this conflict? I knew nothing about it. And so I realized that I'd stopped all my learning when I was 13 about religion."
About this episode
On this episode of The Sean Ryan Show, host Sean Ryan sat down with Brian Keating, Chancellor's Distinguished Professor of Physics at UC San Diego and principal investigator of the Simons Observatory, for a sprawling conversation spanning UFO disclosure, the Big Bang, moon landing conspiracies, and the intersection of science and faith. Keating opened by attacking the UFO disclosure movement as a psychological operation—'SCIOPs'—fueled by media hype and congressional attention-seeking, arguing that no credible physical evidence has emerged despite decades of claims. He expressed frustration that figures like David Grusch and Representative Anna Paulina Luna offer testimonies without falsifiable data, comparing the phenomenon to astrology. The episode's most newsworthy moment came when Keating admitted his 2014 team falsely announced detection of Big Bang gravitational waves, mistaking meteorite signals for cosmic inflation—a confession that exposes the pressures and pitfalls of Nobel-chasing science. Keating also invoked Eisenhower's warning about a 'scientific-technical elite,' accusing academia of weaponizing credentials to silence public discourse on COVID, aliens, and other contested topics. He sparred with Ryan over the moon landing, defending Apollo against conspiracy theories using Soviet telemetry records, retroreflector data, and psychological arguments. Keating recounted his personal journey from Catholicism to atheism at age 13 after learning Galileo was imprisoned by the Church, then back to devout Judaism at 28 following 9/11, driven by shame over his ignorance of Torah. He offered a mathematical dating algorithm, urged Ryan to observe the Sabbath to combat burnout, and argued that AI and alien disclosure both function as secular God-replacements. The conversation concluded with Keating recommending Eric Weinstein as a future guest and gifting meteorites to 250 viewers with military APO addresses.
Key takeaways
- Keating admitted his 2014 BICEP team falsely claimed detection of Big Bang gravitational waves, having mistaken meteorite dust for inflationary signals in what was positioned as Nobel-worthy discovery.
- He accused UFO disclosure advocates of operating a 'SCIOP' psychological operation, stating no credible physical evidence supports claims of non-human biologics or interdimensional craft despite congressional hearings.
- Keating invoked Eisenhower's warning that the scientific-technical elite poses a greater threat than the military-industrial complex, arguing academia weaponizes credentials to suppress public questioning on COVID and aliens.
- He challenged Avi Loeb's credibility on Oumuamua using a marriage analogy, arguing Loeb's refusal to fund a catch-up mission contradicts his claim the object is alien technology.
- Keating converted from atheism to Judaism at 28 after 9/11 out of shame over ignorance, teaching himself Hebrew and Torah while arguing scientists dismiss religion from a 13-year-old's understanding.
- He defended the Apollo moon landings using Soviet telemetry coordination, lunar retroreflector data, and the argument that adversaries would have exposed a hoax, while dismissing Van Allen belt concerns as scientifically illiterate.
- Keating argued AI and alien disclosure both serve as secular God-replacements filling the void left by declining faith, drawing parallels to the Tower of Babel and humanity's impulse to compete with divinity.