logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2025
54m 6s

Cosmic Queries – Alien Worlds and Extrem...

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON
About this episode

What will life be like on other planets? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice explore the origins of life on alien planets and extremophiles right here on Earth with astrobiologist Kennda Lynch. 

(Originally Aired February 22, 2022)

NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: 
https://www.startalkradio.net/show/alien-worlds-and-extremophiles-with-kennda-lynch/

Thanks to our Patrons Alex Chadwick, Eric Gross, Tamara Michael, Gerald Johnson, Jordan Shelley, Brendan Barbieri, David Bell, Costa Cad Creations, Tim Costella, and Adam Baker for supporting us this week.

Photo Credit: Sharanbhurke, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of StarTalk Radio ad-free and a whole week early.
Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

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
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
Nov 2023
73 - Life Beyond Earth (Ft. Avi Loeb and Garrett Graff at the Chicago Humanities Festival)
Dan moderates a lively discussion on extraterrestrial life at the Chicago Humanities Festival.Our new merch is available here: https://www.shalmawegsman.com/why-this-universeFor ask-us-anything segments and other exclusives, join us for just $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon ... Show More
1h 8m
Sep 22
Did we find signs of life on Mars?
NASA found a Martian rock that might have traces of ancient life. It's perhaps the most tantalizing revelation in the century-long search for Martian life. (Updated from 2022) Guests: Katie Stack Morgan, project scientist for the Perseverance rover; Lindsay Hays, astrobiologist a ... Show More
33m 40s
Apr 2025
Stellar Microbes, Titan's Mysteries & the Quest for Life Beyond Earth
This episode of Space Nuts is brought you with the support of Saily. If you love travelling, you need Saily by your side. To find out more and get the special Space Nuts listener discount, visit www.saily.com/spacenuts pace Nuts Episode 513: Microbial Life in Space, Titan's Secre ... Show More
37m 33s
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
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
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
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
Sep 16
Igniting curiosity with Sean The Science Kid
At just 10 years old, Sean The Science Kid is our youngest guest ever. Sean is an internet educator with a voracious appetite for learning and a contagious passion for sharing his knowledge. In this episode, Adam chats with Sean and his mother Eunice about the origins of Sean’s c ... Show More
34m 3s
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