StarTalk

Science, pop culture, and comedy collide on StarTalk! Astrophysicist and Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, celebrity guests, and scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up! Click here for more information.

Jul 9, 2024 – Season 15 Episode 39

Uncovering Dark Matter Mysteries with Katherine Freese

Did JWST discover dark stars? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice explore the dark universe and how learning about dark matter could help uncover the mystery of JWST’s primordial objects with theoretical physicist Katherine Freese.

This image, taken by astronomers using the US Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, captures the star-forming nebula NGC 6357, which is located 8000 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Scorpius. This image reveals bright, young stars surrounded by billowing clouds of dust and gas inside NGC 6357, which is also known as the Lobster Nebula.

Jul 2, 2024 – Season 15 Episode 38

Distant Aliens & Space Dinosaurs with Lisa Kaltenegger

Has JWST found potential alien worlds? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Matt Kirshen learn about exoplanet discovery on the frontier, how higher oxygen gave us dinosaurs, and what type of life could be out there with astrophysicist and astrobiologist Lisa Kaltenegger.

This artist's concept shows what the exoplanet WASP-17 b could look like. WASP-17 b, also called Ditsö̀, is a hot gas giant that orbits its star at a distance of just 0.051 AU (about 4.75 million miles, or one-eighth the distance between Mercury and the Sun), completing one full circuit in about 3.7 Earth-days.

Jun 25, 2024 – Season 15 Episode 37

Just Another Really Good Episode with Brian Greene

How do particles get mass? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice discover squarks, sneutrinos, the Higgs boson, and whether dark matter has a particle with theoretical physicist Brian Greene.

An example of simulated data modeled for the CMS particle detector on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. Here, following a collision of two protons, a Higgs boson is produced which decays into two jets of hadrons and two electrons. The lines represent the possible paths of particles produced by the proton-proton collision in the detector while the energy these particles deposit is shown in blue. More CMS events at CMS Media

Jun 18, 2024 – Season 15 Episode 35

Cosmic Queries – Space Traveler’s Delight

Is there anything in the universe that is not moving? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice answer fan questions about stillness, humans on Mars, and what songs they would add to the Voyager Golden Record.

The Whirlpool Galaxy (Spiral Galaxy M51, NGC 5194) is a classic spiral galaxy located in the Canes Venatici constellation.

Jun 11, 2024 – Season 15 Episode 34

Darwin’s Daring Idea with Richard Dawkins

Neil deGrasse Tyson sits down with evolutionary biologist and author of The Genetic Book of the Dead Richard Dawkins to talk about evolution, whether we were “designed,” how we are living reflections of our ancestors and much much more.

Statue of Charles Darwin in the Natural History Museum, London. The statue was created by Sir Joseph Boehm and was unveiled on 9 June 1885.

Jun 4, 2024 – Season 15 Episode 32

Sun Explosions with Lika Guhathakurta

Could a coronal mass ejection wipe out all electronics? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Matt Kirshen learn about The Carrington Event, eclipses, and how the Parker Solar Probe doesn’t melt with heliophysicist Lika Guhathakurta.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this image of an X5.8 solar flare peaking at 9:23 p.m. EDT on May 10, 2024. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares.

May 24, 2024 – Season 15 Episode 31

Guide to Alternative Medicines with Helene Langevin

What does science say about alternative medicines and health fads? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly learn about the science behind alternative medicine with director of National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, Helene Langevin, M.D.