StarTalk Radio

AGI, Immortality, & Visions of the Future with Adam Becker

Neil deGrasse Tyson, Gary O'Reilly, and Chuck Nice talk with physicist and author Adam Becker about how tech billionaires envision the future through ideas like AGI, space colonization, transhumanism, and digital immortality. Becker explains why many of these visions are scientifically dubious or incoherent, how they misread science fiction as literal blueprints rather than cautionary tales, and how extreme wealth concentrates power over humanity's technological trajectory. The episode closes with a reflection on the need for wisdom and ethical guardrails alongside scientific and technological ingenuity.

Nov 28, 2025

Sounds of the Cosmos with Kim Arcand

Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice host a Cosmic Queries episode with visualization scientist Kim Arcand, who works on the Chandra X-ray Observatory, to explore how data sonification, 3D modeling, and other multimodal techniques reveal the high‑energy universe. They discuss Chandra's role among NASA's "great observatories", how X-ray data are converted into images and sounds, accessibility for blind and low‑vision communities, and specific phenomena such as black holes, pulsars, galaxy clusters, and Eta Carinae. Listener questions prompt conversations about color mapping, engineering tradeoffs in X‑ray telescope design, VR for astronaut training, deep fields, and Kim's book "Why Space Will Freak You Out."

Nov 25, 2025

Cosmic Queries - Proving Einstein Right

Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-host Chuck Nice speak with theoretical physicist Jim Gates about Albert Einstein's special and general relativity, why general relativity required experimental verification, and the 20th‑century efforts to test it via starlight deflection during a solar eclipse. They then field listener questions on topics including the incompatibility between general relativity and quantum mechanics, gravitons and quantum gravity, string theory signatures in the cosmic microwave background, gravitational lensing, and the possibility of a cosmic gravitational-wave background. Throughout, Gates also reflects on the "magic" of mathematics in describing reality and the collaborative, human side of doing physics.

Nov 21, 2025

Things You Thought You Knew - Force, Heat, & Speed

Neil deGrasse Tyson, joined by comedian co-host Chuck, explores three commonly confused physics pairs: force versus pressure, heat versus temperature, and speed versus acceleration. Using everyday examples like gym spotting, walking on ice, kitchen knives, tornado damage, ocean warming, air conditioners, and sports cars, he shows how precise definitions change how we understand real-world phenomena. The conversation emphasizes how these distinctions explain everything from why houses explode in tornadoes to why Teslas feel so fast and why the ocean can store vast amounts of heat.

Nov 18, 2025

Superhero Science: StarTalk Live! With Charles Liu

In this live Special Edition of StarTalk recorded at Guild Hall in East Hampton, Neil deGrasse Tyson, comedian Chuck Nice, former soccer pro Gary O'Reilly, and astrophysicist Charles Liu explore the real physics behind superhero powers. They discuss Superman's physiology, X-ray vision, wormholes and warp drive, invisibility, quantum effects like tunneling, entanglement, and many-worlds, and how these ideas appear in comics and films. The conversation ends with reflections on quantum physics, the limits of human intuition, and why embracing unanswered questions is central to science and culture.

Nov 14, 2025

The Limits of Knowing with Elise Crull

Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-host Chuck Nice talk with philosopher of physics Elise Crull about the historical and contemporary relationship between physics and philosophy. They trace how natural philosophy split into specialized disciplines, how foundational concepts like space, time, and objectivity shaped classical and modern physics, and why questions raised by quantum mechanics-such as entanglement and non-locality-force a reevaluation of those concepts. The conversation also explores academic specialization, the role of philosophy in guiding cutting-edge physics, and Neil's nuanced critique of modern academic philosophy.

Nov 4, 2025

What Loneliness Does To Your Brain with Ben Rein

Neil deGrasse Tyson, Gary O'Reilly, and Chuck interview neuroscientist Ben Rein about what loneliness and social isolation do to the brain and body. They distinguish between objective isolation and the subjective feeling of loneliness, explain the stress and inflammatory pathways involved, and discuss how personality, aging, technology, and drugs like alcohol, painkillers, and MDMA affect social behavior and health. Rein also shares research on empathy, dogs and oxytocin, and practical ideas for rebuilding social connection in an increasingly automated world.

Oct 31, 2025

Bill Nye Takeover

Bill Nye guest hosts StarTalk with Chuck Nice to interview space policy expert Casey Dreyer about severe proposed cuts to NASA's budget, especially its science programs. They explain what NASA science includes, why Earth observation and planetary exploration matter, how Mars Sample Return could answer the question of life beyond Earth, and how politics, international competition, and commercial space intersect with long-term scientific goals. The episode closes with concrete ways listeners can advocate for NASA science through the Planetary Society.

Oct 28, 2025

Cosmic Queries - ALIENS! with Jake Roper

Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-host Chuck interview YouTube science communicator Jake Roper in a Cosmic Queries episode focused on aliens in movies and TV. They discuss the plausibility of alien diseases, energy weapons, and iconic movie aliens, as well as how humanity might react to first contact, whether governments would hide evidence of intelligent life, and why self-replicating machines are a likely form of extraterrestrial visitors. Throughout, they compare cinematic depictions with basic physics, biology, and astrobiology concepts to assess what could and could not work in reality.

Oct 24, 2025

The Science of Godzilla, Zombies & Other Monsters, with Charles Liu

Neil deGrasse Tyson, co-host Matt Kirshen, and astrophysicist Charles Liu explore the science and cultural meaning of monsters, from Godzilla, dragons, King Kong, and Frankenstein to zombies and black holes. They discuss how physics, biology, and scaling laws constrain what monsters could exist, and how stories about monsters reflect human fears, technological change, and environmental anxieties. Throughout, they argue that the real "monsters" are often human hubris and ignorance, and that science can both demystify and reframe these fears.

Oct 21, 2025

Deepfakes and the War on Truth with Bogdan Botezatu

The episode explores how scams and cybercrime are being transformed by AI, deepfakes, and global connectivity, with cybersecurity expert Bogdan Botezatu explaining the scale of financial losses and the sophisticated business structures behind modern scams. The conversation covers deepfake-driven fraud, psychological manipulation tactics like pig butchering romance scams, technical tools such as honeypots, and vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure like solar inverters. The guests also discuss the challenges of detecting deepfakes, the role of law enforcement partnerships, and why reporting scams is crucial despite the stigma victims often feel.

Oct 17, 2025

Cosmic Queries - Death of a Black Hole

Neil deGrasse Tyson hosts a Cosmic Queries Grab Bag edition, answering listener questions on topics ranging from why eclipses do not happen every month to the evaporation and final moments of black holes. He discusses dark energy and why external gravitational tugs are unlikely to explain it, defends the term "black hole," explores time travel paradoxes and Hawking's chronology protection idea, and explains Jupiter's shielding role in the solar system. The episode also covers entropy and why life on Earth does not violate the second law of thermodynamics, relativistic addition of velocities, the distinction between space and time dimensions, the value of scientific literacy, and what "vacuum" and "nothing" really mean in physics.

Oct 14, 2025

Things You Thought You Knew - Quantum Cat

Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-host Chuck Nice explore three classic concepts from astrophysics and quantum physics: death by black hole, Schrödinger's cat and the observer effect, and quantum tunneling. They explain tidal forces and spaghettification near black holes, clarify what the quantum observer effect really means, unpack the idea of superposition in Schrödinger's cat and qubits in quantum computing, and show how quantum tunneling enables nuclear fusion inside stars at temperatures lower than classical physics would predict.

Oct 7, 2025

The Anxious Generation with Jonathan Haidt

Neil deGrasse Tyson, Gary O'Reilly, and Chuck Nice interview social psychologist Jonathan Haidt about his book "The Anxious Generation" and the mental health crisis among Gen Z. Haidt argues that a combination of overprotected, low-risk real-world childhoods and underprotected exposure to smartphones and social media has driven sharp rises in anxiety, depression, self-harm, and loneliness, especially among girls. He outlines evidence for the crisis, explains developmental brain mechanisms, details platform-specific harms, and proposes four social norms and policy changes to roll back the "phone-based childhood," while warning about emerging AI chatbot toys aimed at children.

Oct 3, 2025

The New Space Race with Jeff Thornburg

Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice interview aerospace engineer and Portal Space Systems CEO Jeff Thornburg about the emerging space industry, agile spacecraft propulsion, and the interplay between government and commercial space. Thornburg discusses his work on advanced rocket engines at the Air Force Research Lab and SpaceX, why rapid maneuverability in orbit is now strategically critical, and how his company is pursuing solar-thermal propulsion and modular spacecraft. They also examine the value of failure in engineering, the consequences of cutting U.S. R&D and NASA science budgets, the geopolitical competition in space-especially with China-and speculative future technologies like quantum-enabled warp-like drives.

Sep 30, 2025

Cosmic Queries - Get Some Space

Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-host Chuck Nice field a grab bag of listener questions on topics ranging from black holes and Hawking radiation to dark matter, exoplanet life, and the structure of the observable universe. They also discuss the feasibility of colonizing other planets, the impact of military versus science funding, how solitude enabled figures like Isaac Newton to make breakthroughs, and the role of science literacy in preventing societal self-destruction.

Sep 26, 2025

Solving the Crisis in Cosmology with Wendy Freedman

Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-host Matt Kirshen interview astronomer Wendy Freedman about measurements of the Hubble constant and the so‑called "crisis" in cosmology. Freedman explains the history of debates over the expansion rate of the universe, the current discrepancy between local distance-ladder measurements and values inferred from the cosmic microwave background, and why she does not yet consider it a true crisis. She describes her team's James Webb Space Telescope program using multiple stellar distance indicators, discusses systematic errors and the distinction between precision and accuracy, and answers audience questions on dark energy, the future evolution of the universe, and whether the universe is finite or infinite.

Sep 23, 2025

Your Brain on ChatGPT with Nataliya Kosmyna

The hosts speak with MIT Media Lab research scientist Natalia Kozmina about her study "Your brain on ChatGPT," which investigated how using large language models (LLMs) for essay writing affects brain activity, memory, and sense of ownership compared with using a search engine or no tools. They discuss her findings on reduced functional connectivity when using ChatGPT, more homogeneous writing, weaker recall, and diminished ownership, and explore broader implications for cognitive load, education, professional skills (such as medicine), mental health, AI companions, and the need for ethical guardrails and human‑focused research around AI and future brain‑computer interfaces.

Sep 19, 2025