October 26, 2017 8:00 pm

Friday, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Maher Explore Satire and Society

I’ve always believed that it’s better to have a strong opinion, right or wrong, then to have none at all. This week on StarTalk Radio, we welcome someone who isn’t afraid to share their opinion, no matter how controversial.

Neil deGrasse Tyson sits down with the host of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher to chat about everything from aliens and the big bang to political correctness and religion. Some of my favorite StarTalk episodes are when the guest comes from the comedy world, like Bill Maher does.

Joined in the Hall of the Universe at the American Museum of Natural History by comic co-host Maeve Higgins, and Alison Dagnes, political scientist and professor at Shippensburg University, Neil and the gang discuss satire, comedy, and their impact on society.

You’ll hear about Bill’s beginnings as a comedian, his opinion on how the world might be getting too sensitive, and how he thinks liberals should be more focused on protecting the First Amendment. You’ll also hear Bill’s thoughts about aliens and religion, and he gets to ask Neil a question about the early beginnings of the universe.

Later in the show, Greg Lukianoff joins the panel to discuss colleges becoming too sensitive about who they invite to speak on campus, which is a conversation I found particularly interesting. When I was in school, one of the ideas being taught in my journalism classes that I zeroed in on was the marketplace of ideas, “which holds that the truth will emerge from the competition of ideas in free, transparent public discourse.”

Greg thinks that this idea is under threat if the over-sensitization of society continues. I think the debate comes down to one’s belief in society: If you believe society is willing and able to trust in a marketplace of ideas, then the good ideas will emerge no matter what. However, if you believe society to be too susceptible to hateful and dangerous ideas, then maybe the steps taken by campuses are necessary. Personally, I still have faith in society – maybe too much, we’ll have to see.

You’ll also hear from John Hibbing, political scientist and author of Predisposed: Liberals, Conservatives, and the Biology of Political Differences, as he joins our panel to discuss whether political affiliation might be biological. All that, plus, we answer some fan-submitted Cosmic Queries, and Neil helps us look at the truth from a cosmic perspective.

Please join us tomorrow night for The Power of Political Satire, with Bill Maher at 7pm ET right here on our website, as well as on our channels on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and TuneIn. If you’re an All-Access subscriber, you can listen to this episode ad-free at 7pm, too, along with Neil’s full extended interview with Bill. And remember that you can also catch next week’s StarTalk Radio episode one week early on TuneIn, at tunein.com/startalk.

That’s it for now. Keep Looking Up!
–Ian Mullen