Cosmic Queries: Potpourri Vol. 2

“I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.” – replicant Roy Batty’s immortal last words in Blade Runner. Image courtesy of Warner Bros.
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About This Episode

Neil deGrasse Tyson welcomes first-time comic co-host Eddie Brill to help answer another potpourri of fan-submitted Cosmic Queries. You’ll hear Neil discuss what we should ask intelligent extra-terrestrials upon first contact, what aliens might eat, and if we should be reaching out to alien life. Explore innovative science in movies: the science of the replicants in Blade Runner, the science behind the water planet in Interstellar, and what professionals he would have brought to meet with the aliens in Arrival. Discover more about gravity assist and what other factors are needed for it to succeed. You’ll learn about combating junk science, becoming an independent thinker, and the similarities between science and comedy when searching for the truth. Neil and Eddie also address the “magic” of electromagnetism and physics, and why science works as a vaccine against charlatans. All that, plus, Neil and Eddie talk about Neil’s annoyance with superheroes and whether an immortal superhero could survive the death of the universe.

NOTE: All-Access subscribers can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: Cosmic Queries: Potpourri Vol. 2.

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