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.
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.
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.