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.
#2401 - Avi Loeb
Avi Loeb discusses the anomalous interstellar object 3I Atlas, arguing that its unusual trajectory, mass, and composition warrant serious consideration of technological or otherwise non-standard explanations rather than automatic classification as a normal comet. He contrasts the scientific community's resistance and institutional inertia with the high potential stakes of discovering alien technology, and describes his own efforts such as the Galileo Project and an expedition to recover fragments of an interstellar meteor. The conversation also explores AI-driven societal risks, philosophical humility about humanity's place in the cosmos, and concrete proposals for systematically searching for extraterrestrial intelligence and technosignatures.
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.
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.
Neil deGrasse Tyson: The Brutal Truth About Astrology! Our Breath Contains Molecules Jesus Inhaled!
Neil deGrasse Tyson discusses mortality, meaning, and the "cosmic perspective," arguing that humans are literally made of stardust and fundamentally connected to the universe and each other. He explores religion and spirituality, the evolution of belief, simulation theory, artificial intelligence, space travel and why Mars colonies are unlikely soon, as well as black holes, alien life, UFO claims, and why astrology and other untested beliefs can be dangerous when they replace objective truth. Throughout, he emphasizes scientific literacy, humility about what we know, and the importance of creating, rather than searching for, meaning in life.
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.