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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.