StarTalk Radio

What is fundamental in the universe? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice welcome back Hakeem Oluseyi to dive deep into cosmology, plasma physics, the origins of life, and some of the most provocative ideas in modern astrophysics.

Is there a limit to how small life can be? Or how big? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice break down why all craters on the moon are round, the scale to life, and why the length of the day isn’t 24 hours.

What if you could reopen your childhood brain? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, and Gary O’Reilly explore the cutting edge of psychedelic science, critical periods, and what a high octopus can teach us about the human mind with neuroscientist and psychedelics expert Gül Dölen.

Did we discover an exomoon? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice learn about the search for exoplanets with biosignatures, super Earths & mini Neptunes, and whether rogue planets outside of a solar system could harbor life with astrophysicist David Kipping.

Is nuclear power the key to sustainability? With data centers consuming massive amounts of energy, can we keep up? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Gary O’Reilly & Paul Mecurio discuss the physics, safety, and future of nuclear reactors in a world of increasing power demands with nuclear engineer Kathryn Huff. Originally Aired February 21, 2025.

How do you build a telescope to study something you can't see? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Paul Mecurio sit down with Jason Rhodes, senior research scientist at JPL, to explore the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and its search for answers on dark energy and dark matter.

What are the limits of the human mind? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, and Gary O’Reilly explore sensory perception, dreaming, synesthesia, time, and the flexibility of the human brain with neuroscientist David Eagleman. Why does time seem to slow down during an emergency?

How big can bugs get? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Negin Farsad sit down with entomologist, Jessica Ware, to dig into the extraordinary world of bugs, insects the size of navel oranges, how they invented flying and so much more.

What does it look like beneath the surface of the sun? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice discuss the heliosphere, the Parker Solar Probe, and solar storms with heliophysicist Lika Guhathakurta.

Could there be other universes out there? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly answer science questions from celebrities like Steven Spielberg, Josh Scherer, Emily Blunt, and more.

Could there be a hidden planet lurking beyond Pluto and Neptune? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice tackle a wide-ranging grab bag of fan questions covering Planet 9, galaxy shapes, dark matter, the odds of getting hit by a meteorite, and more!

If scientists discovered that we are not alone, what would they do with that information? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice learn about the search for life, habitability around M stars and more with astrophysics professor and author Aomawa Shields. Originally Aired July 11, 2023.

Does time always move at the same rate? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice break down things you thought you knew about time dilation, gravity assists, the north star, and your zodiac sign.

Is there such a thing as objective truth? Are we living in a post-truth world? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly sit down to build a toolkit for finding the truth in an era of motivated reasoning, misinformation, and alternative facts with science historian and professional skeptic, Michael Shermer.

Could spacetime curve in the opposite direction and produce a repulsive field instead of gravity? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice tackle fan questions about photons, heat death, gravitational waves, neutron stars and more with astrophysicist Michelle Thaller.

How do you get entangled particles? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice unpack the experimental side of entanglement, superposition, and the quantum underpinnings of our universe with experimental physicist, Sean Hodgman.

What’s the real difference between dreaming and waking consciousness? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly sit down with sleep expert Matt Walker to answer fan questions about the most mysterious thing humans do every single night: sleeping & dreaming.

Is there no single shared "now" for everyone in the universe? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Paul Mecurio dive into another grab bag of fan questions about superconducting asteroids, what memories are made of, and if you could ever experience pure unwarped spacetime.

Is it time to update the constellations? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Matt Kirshen dive into astrophysics, folklore, and our ancient connection to the stars with astrophysicist Moiya McTier, Ph.D.

What type of planets orbit black holes? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Negin Farsad sit down with Mordecai-Mark Mac Low to crack open the mysteries of galaxy collisions, dark matter, and the massive planetary systems around black holes.

Did evolution never give us the ability to see reality as it actually is? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly sit down with cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman to explore what neuroscience, evolutionary game theory, and consciousness suggest about the nature of reality itself.

What would happen in a world with too much oxygen? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice break down how rocks actually float, warm blankets, and why oxygen isn’t actually flammable.

Have aliens already secretly visited us? Neil deGrasse Tyson sits down with Steven Spielberg and screenwriter David Koepp to discuss their new film Disclosure Day, alien contact, and why Spielberg believes there’s more out there than meets the eye.

Is the fear of heights innate or learned? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, and Gary O'Reilly explore taking risks, the neuroscience of fear, and how to overcome it with freestyle rock climber and subject of the film Free Solo, Alex Honnold, and neuroscientist Heather Berlin.

Did the Milky Way used to be a quasar? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice explore quasars, the high energy universe, and the movie we’re making of the night’s sky with astrophysicist & host of PBS Space Time, Matt O’Dowd.

Why is the past different from the future? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice explore the universe’s deepest questions like why is there anything, how we know we are in the real present, if there could be a unified theory of physics and more with theoretical physicist Sean Carroll.

Are all galaxies redshifting away? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Negin Farsad tackle a grab bag of fan questions covering cosmic infrastructure, redshift, werewolves, gravitational waves, and the nature of time itself.

Can we put the data centers in space? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly map out the future of human habitation, research, and industry in low Earth orbit with Ariel Ekblaw, founder and CEO of the Aurelia Institute.

What would happen to Earth if Jupiter stopped rotating? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice answer a grab bag of fan questions about the challenges with space telescopes, the nature of AI, and whether aliens are funny.

Can we influence the strong nuclear force? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Paul Mecurio answer grab bag questions about sci-fi laser guns, the Roche Limit, how we interact with the fundamental forces, and more!

Is the internet too far gone or can we still fix it? Neil deGrasse Tyson, and co-hosts Negin Farsad and Gary O’Reilly, sit down with Jaron Lanier, Microsoft scientist, and father of virtual reality, to diagnose what went wrong with the web, how it’s changed with AI, and ideas for a new path back.

How bright is the Earth from the moon? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice have fun with the sun’s reflectivity, discuss light pollution, and explore the electromagnetic light spectrum: how does sunscreen work?

What is a starquake? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Matt Kirshen explore asteroseismology, the sun, and what’s happening on the insides of stars with astrophysicist Conny Aerts.

What are the true limits of life, will we even recognize it when we see it? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice explore the beginnings of life on Earth and what they might tell us about life everywhere else with astrobiologist and bacteriologist, Betül Kaçar.

Could you grow your own food on the moon? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly sit down with Kevin Espiritu, the gardening YouTuber behind Epic Gardening, to dig into backyard farming, the future of sustainable food, and what it would actually take to feed yourself on Earth or anywhere else.

What would you actually do if an alien showed up and asked to be taken to your leader? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Paul Mecurio, and astrophysicist Charles Liu explore fan questions about physics of near-light-speed travel, Dark Forest Theory from The Three Body Problem, and whether the universe itself might be conscious.

Are all the galaxies orbiting a superstructure in the middle of the universe? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice are reaching into the grab bag to cover questions from absolute zero to the nature of gravity, and much much more.

Are seed oils really that bad? Are people getting enough protein? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Paul Mecurio, & Gary O’Reilly cut through the noise on health myths, food misinformation, and the forces making it harder than ever to eat well with nutrition scientist, Jessica Knurick, PhD.

Could the ingredients for life have arrived on asteroids? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice unpack what the sample collected from asteroid Bennu is teaching us about the origins of life itself with Harold Connolly, geologist and mission scientist for OSIRIS-REx.

How did the universe get to be this way? On this episode of StarTalk, Neil DeGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice sit down with theoretical cosmologist, Janna Levin, to help us break down the building blocks of the universe and how it started. Originally Aired March 8, 2021.

What if a microscopic alien lifeform was slowly eating our sun? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice sit down with Andy Weir, the bestselling author of Project Hail Mary, for a deep dive into designing aliens, science fiction, and science behind the book (and the movie.)

What happens when scientists are right and nobody wants to hear it? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, and Gary O’Reilly explore the frustrating history of brilliant minds who were ignored, mocked, and punished for telling the truth with science writer Matt Kaplan.

Is our universe an inevitable outcome of the laws of physics? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice sit down with theoretical physicist Brian Greene to discuss the Many-Worlds Interpretation, the structure of the multiverse, levels of infinity, and respond to cosmic queries Neil couldn’t answer.

Where does the wind come from? What is a sonic boom? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice explain things you thought you knew about sonic booms, daily temperatures, and how wind works.

Are we living inside a computer simulation? Is artificial intelligence truly conscious? And what happens to us when we die? Neil deGrasse Tyson and cohost’s Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly tackle more questions from inside the StarTalk team.

What are the main candidates for dark matter? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice sit down with theoretical physicist Katherine Freese to tackle fan questions about dark matter, dark energy, and the dark universe at large.

How can you get away with murder? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice explore forensic pathology, autopsies, and crime scene science with medical examiner and author Jonathan Hayes, featuring an interview with crime writer and author of Autopsy, Patricia Cornwell. Originally aired January 11, 2022.

What if we took Earth… and pushed it somewhere else? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice answer grab bag fan questions about gravitons, hyperspeed, saving the sun, and more!

Does the universe need observers to exist? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly explore questions about entropy, spontaneous symmetry breaking, spectroscopy and more with astrophysicist Charles Liu.

How much energy would it take to make a warp drive? Neil deGrasse Tyson joined by Sasheer Zamata & Pete Holmes explore the science in TV shows from antimatter annihilation to tachyons to warp bubbles with astrophysicist & science advisor for Star Trek, Erin Macdonald, and particle physicist & advisor for The Big Bang Theory and Oppenheimer, David Saltzberg.

Do we need new math to explain dark matter? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Paul Mecurio explore unsolved problems in math, simulation theory, base systems and more with mathematician Terence Tao.

How did we go from digital computers to AI seemingly everywhere? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, & Gary O’Reilly dive into the mechanics of thinking, how AI got its start, and what deep learning really means with cognitive and computer scientist, Nobel Laureate, and one of the architects of AI, Geoffrey Hinton.

What’s more terrifying: finding alien life or finding out we are alone in the universe? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice dive into fan questions about optics, religion, communicating with entanglement, and life on Earth after humans.

Is your consciousness a quantum phenomenon? Is the universe one predetermined block? Neil deGrasse Tyson and cohosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly answer grab bag questions about quantum theory, the cosmological constant, and retrocausality with astrophysicist Charles Liu.

How small is a molecule? What is the color of light? How can quantum physics spoil food? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice visualize a molecule’s actual size, break down the different colors of light, and the physics of what’s going on in your fridge.

What is infinity? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Negin Farsad explore whether we are in a finite universe, the issues with infinity, string theory, and more with theoretical physicist Stephon Alexander.

Is there life in the Venusian Clouds? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice are joined by planetary astrobiologist David Grinspoon to discuss NASA’s return to Venus, our space future, and whether we’ll find life in our solar system.

What do astrophysicists mean when they talk about “information”? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice dive into questions about the black hole information paradox, moon moons, wormholes between black hole universes, and more!

What happens when everyone knows what everyone knows? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice dive into human psychology and how recursive common knowledge is the invisible glue holding civilization together with cognitive scientist and author, Steven Pinker.

What does Hawking radiation look like falling into a black hole? Will we ever find a theory of everything? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice answer questions about invisible fields, many worlds, entropy, the theory of everything, and more with theoretical physicist and philosopher Sean Carroll.

Terraforming mars? How do black holes die? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice answer questions about the moon, periodic table of elements, light photons, black holes and more! Originally Aired August 3, 2021

Is time dilation just the data loading in a cosmic simulation? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice answer grab bag questions about saving the Sun, generation spaceships, bubble universes, and more!

Is time fundamental to the universe or a human construct? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, and Gary O’Reilly explore our brain’s relationship with time, how we remember the past, and project the future with Dean Buonomano, Professor of Neurobiology and Psychology at UCLA.

Can quantum tunneling occur at macroscopic scales? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice sit down with John Martinis, UCSB physicist and 2025 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, to explore superconductivity, quantum tunnelling, and what this means for the future of quantum computing.

What’s the true color of the sun? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice discuss things you thought you knew about the color of the Sun, the sound of weather, and why friction is our friend.

What’s the deal with the strong nuclear force? Neil deGrasse Tyson answers the burning questions Chuck Nice, Gary O’Reilly, and the StarTalk Team have been saving all year about gravity as a force, cosmic rays, free will, emergence, and how physicists decide which equations to apply.

What’s a supervolcano? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Matt Kirshen discover all types of volcanoes in the solar system with cosmochemist and author of Fire and Ice: The Volcanoes of the Solar System, Natalie Starkey. Is there such a thing as an ice volcano? Originally Aired October 5, 2021.

Are we in a simulation? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice take a deep dive into simulation theory, consciousness, and free will with Oxford theorist Nick Bostrom. Is this The Matrix? Originally Aired December 21, 2021.

How did scientists discover evidence for dark energy? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Paul Mecurio explore dark energy, Hubble tension, and the beginning and end of the universe with astrophysicist and Nobel laureate, Adam Riess.

Are our parts replaceable? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, & Gary O’Reilly sit down with bestselling author Mary Roach, who discusses her newest book, Replaceable You, and the quest to grow organs, build parts, and engineer the human body.

What if our universe is the inside of a black hole… inside another black hole? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Paul Mecurio answer a grab bag of fan questions about black hole mergers, the misconception about gravity assists, and if there’s such a thing as laws of physics.

What is truly foundational to the universe? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice welcome particle physicist Brian Cox for a discussion about emergence, particles, consciousness, and the very fabric of spacetime.

Are we making science fiction a reality? Is that a good thing? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, & Gary O’Reilly and guest Adam Becker, science communicator and author of More Everything Forever, discuss sci-fi dreams, tech-bro promises, and the real science shaping our tomorrow.

Can you listen to a picture of the universe? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice welcome back Chandra X-ray Observatory data-sonification expert Kim Arcand of the to explore how translating cosmic data into sound lets us sense the universe in entirely new ways.

Albert Einstein was, well, Albert Einstein. But was he right? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice investigate what it took to prove Einstein right, with theoretical physicist Dr. Jim Gates. Originally Aired October 19, 2020.

Do you feel the need… the need for speed?! Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice break down things you thought you knew about force vs. pressure, heat vs. temperature, and speed vs. acceleration.

Why can’t we run through walls if atoms are mostly empty space? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, Gary O’Reilly, and astrophysicist Charles Liu explore force fields, warp drive, invisibility, and quantum physics behind superhero powers.

What would a four-dimensional being see if it looked at us? In this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice answer fan questions covering higher-dimensional surgery, space elevators, alien intelligence, and colliding galaxies. Could spacetime itself be a cosmic crystal?

How do you know what you know? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice explore issues with quantum mechanics and objectivity, the history of physics, and how scientists ask questions on the edge of our understanding with philosopher of physics Elise Crull.

What does loneliness do to our brains? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, and Gary O’Reilly explore how the loneliness epidemic impacts our minds, bodies, and even our lifespan with neuroscientist Ben Rein, author of Why Brains Need Friends: The Science of Social Connection.

How can we build a new Moon program while slashing science funding? Bill Nye takes the host’s chair alongside Chuck Nice to tackle one of the most urgent issues facing our future in space with Casey Dreier, Chief of Space Policy at The Planetary Society, who’s been tracking and analyzing NASA’s funding for years.

Which Alien movie would be easiest to survive? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice answer Cosmic Queries about aliens in film alongside Jake Roper, host of the YouTube channel Vsauce3 and their series “Could You Survive The Movies?” Originally aired January 13, 2020.

Would Godzilla be structurally sound or too big for its own weight? Neil deGrasse Tyson, with co-host Matt Kirshen and “Geek-in-Chief” Charles Liu, takes a look at the monsters that have terrified us and the scary speculative science behind them.

Is there anything real left on the internet? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly explore deepfakes, scams, and cybercrime with the Director of Threat Research at Bitdefender, Bogdan Botezatu.

What is nothing? Could a dying back hole cause the Big Bang? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice answer fan questions about a black hole’s dying gasp, lunar eclipses, and the meaning of nothing.

What happens when you fall into a black hole? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice give us the step-by-step on spaghettification, explain Schrodinger's cat, and explore quantum tunnelling… Or do they?

Is social media rewiring childhood and fueling a mental health crisis? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, and Gary O’Reilly explore the costs of growing up online and how to take back childhood with social psychologist Jonathan Haidt.

What will the future of space look like? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice explore the engineering challenges and scientific questions shaping the next era of aerospace with aerospace engineer Jeff Thornburg.

Can anything survive a black hole? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice are answering an eclectic set of fan-submitted questions covering topics from all across the spectrum of science. Originally Aired July 19, 2020

Can we resolve the crisis in cosmology? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-host Matt Kirshen take on Hubble Tension, the difference between the estimated ages of the universe, and how to solve it with legendary astronomer Wendy Freedman.

What happens to your brain when you use AI? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, and Gary O’Reilly explore current research into how large language models affect our cognition, memory, and learning with Nataliya Kosmyna, research scientist at the MIT Media Lab. Is AI good for us?

Could LISA detect primordial black holes or gravitational waves from the Big Bang? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-host Chuck Nice explore LISA and the future of gravitational wave astronomy with astrophysicist Kelly Holley-Bockelmann.

Are we closer in size to an atom or the universe? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Paul Mecurio answer grab-bag questions about Hawking Radiation, power on the moon, and whether our universe is inside a black hole.

What would happen if the speed of light were infinite? Neil deGrasse Tyson, joined by co-hosts Chuck Nice, Gary O’Reilly, and astrophysicist Charles Liu, answers questions about quantum entanglement, qubits, higher dimensions, grabby aliens, and more!

What is the origin of life in the universe? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Matt Kirshen explore how life got its start, the Miller-Urey experiment, and synthetic biology with molecular biologist Kerstin Göpfrich. Could the first alien life we find be the one we make?

Why are we here? Who are we? What is the meaning of life? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice answer fan-submitted Cosmic Queries on a range of topics that stem from the deepest thoughts, ideas, and feelings we share about our place in the universe. Originally Aired September 27, 2019.

Why don’t rockets fly straight up? What’s really happening when you make toast? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice break down the science of making toast, boiling water, and the Brachristochrone problem.

What would it take to actually read someone’s mind? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly explore the science and ethics of decoding thoughts with Jean-Rémi King, a neuroscience researcher at Meta’s Paris lab.

Are we alone in the universe? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Matt Kirshen sit down with one of the founders of the SETI Institute, Jill Tarter, to explore the search for intelligent life beyond Earth, technosignatures, The Drake Equation, and more.