logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2024
1h 34m

A Cosmic Conversation with J. Richard Go...

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON
About this episode

Why haven’t we found evidence of alien civilizations? Neil deGrasse Tyson sits down with astrophysicist J. Richard Gott III to talk chess, tachyons, and what the Fermi Paradox and Copernican Principle say about humanity’s place in the cosmos. Plus, they rank super-genius movies. 

NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: 
https://startalkmedia.com/show/a-cosmic-conversation-with-j-richard-gott-iii/

Thanks to our Patrons George Jeffers, Kate Jarocki, Paloma, Molina, Colby Lapresi, Duane Day, Elena, Gordon Vu, Dale, Boris Jegorovic, Dennis Wish, Kristine Tolman, David Geiger, Shawn Kellner, Tisha Bernal, Marek, Peter Morrow, Edward Badger, Micheal Buckelew, Patrick, Jennifer Bills, and Keni Jane Johnson for supporting us this week.

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to new episodes ad-free and a whole week early.

Up next
Oct 7
Things You Thought You Knew – Quantum Cat
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? NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: h ... Show More
46m 35s
Oct 3
The Anxious Generation with Jonathan Haidt
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 and author of The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt.NOTE: Star ... Show More
1h 7m
Sep 30
The New Space Race with Jeff Thornburg
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.NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode ... Show More
1h 7m
Recommended Episodes
May 2017
100. Neil deGrasse Tyson (Astrophysicist) – The Only "-ist" I Am
Since 2008, Big Think has been sharing big ideas from creative and curious minds. Since 2015, the Think Again podcast has been taking us out of our comfort zone, surprising our guests and Jason Gots, your host, with unexpected conversation starters from Big Think’s interview arch ... Show More
47m 31s
Sep 2024
AaS! 231: What Made the Local Bubble?
Where do we live within the galaxy? What shapes the local bubble? How long will we be inside it? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/spaceman and get on your way to bein ... Show More
30m 43s
Dec 2024
StarTalk with Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson
We take you to Planetary Society headquarters, where Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and host of StarTalk, interviews Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye about the organization's 45-year history of empowering the world's citizens to advance space science and exploration. Then, we ... Show More
58m 24s
Feb 2025
Sample Return Missions - What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
This time Dr Becky Smethurst and Izzie Clarke discover why it’s touch and go when it comes to returning asteroid samples to Earth and hear how we’ve been exchanging spit with Mars since the dawn of the Solar System. The team is joined by Dr Sara Russell, a meteorite researcher at ... Show More
46m 40s
Feb 2025
Saying Farewell to the Spacecraft That Mapped the Milky Way
The Gaia spacecraft stopped collecting data this January after about 11 years and more than three trillion observations. Senior space and physics editor Lee Billings joins host Rachel Feltman to review Gaia’s Milky Way–mapping mission and the tidal streams, black holes and astero ... Show More
17m 20s
Jan 2025
Titans of Science: David Baker
Dr Chris Smith and the Naked Scientists look at the year ahead, and asking leading experts from the world of science what we can expect to hear about in 2025.Plus, a conversation with the 2024 chemistry Nobel laureate David Baker, about his pioneering working on proteins. 
51m 17s
Sep 2013
Can We Touch the Stars? Lou Friedman at the 100-Year Starship Symposium
Only days after Voyager 1 reached interstellar space, forward thinkers met in Houston, Texas to consider how humans can become a starfaring species. Planetary Society Emeritus Executive Director Lou Friedman reports from the meeting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph ... Show More
30m 32s
Sep 5
Screaming Into the Void
In August we performed a live taping of the show from a theater perched on the edge of Manhattan, overlooking the Hudson River, overshadowed by the wide open night sky. Three stories about voids. One about a fish that screams into the night – and the mystery of its counterpart th ... Show More
57m 16s
Oct 6
Enceladus’s Alien Ocean, Ancient Fungi and the Flavor of Influenza
Saturn’s moon Enceladus reveals complex organic molecules that could hint at extraterrestrial life. Researchers also uncover fungi’s ancient reign over Earth and warn that second COVID infections may pose greater risks to young people. Plus, ants ferment yogurt, and flu detection ... Show More
9m 47s
Sep 15
Kissing Bugs, Koalas and Clues to Life on Mars
A paper published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention argues that Chagas disease is now endemic in the U.S. Koalas may finally be spared from a deadly epidemic. Meanwhile NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has uncovered tantalizing clues about potential ancient microbia ... Show More
9m 37s