The Joy of Techno Science, with Rayvon Fouché

About This Episode

How is technology changing sports? On this episode of StarTalk Sports Edition, we wrap up our “Game Changers” mini-series as we look at the science that has transformed the sporting world. Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Gary O’Reilly and Chuck Nice talk with Rayvon Fouché, author of Game Changer: The Technoscientific Revolution in Sports, to explore game-changing technology.

Sports are no stranger to technology, but can certain advancements ruin the spirit of the game? We explore the past, present, and future of innovative sports equipment. Will these innovations be at odds with athletic federations and even the players themselves? What about technology used by non-players? You will learn about the impact camera technology has had on sports viewing as well as sports statistics. 

You’ll hear about the use of computing in athletics and whether or not we can – or should – have robot umpires in baseball and allow artificial intelligence to make calls. Would we want to eliminate humans as judges? Do we secretly like subjectivity in sports? Find out why competitors in a race, even with precise timing mechanisms down to the millionth of a second, can still tie. 

To finish things off, we explore the grey area between what we consider sports medicine and what we consider cheating. With such innovations in medicine, are sports going to be dominated by older athletes like Tom Brady and LeBron James? Not only that, but we investigate how advancements in sports technology have helped not just athletes’ bodies but also their minds. Does that raise any ethical questions? All that and more on another episode of StarTalk Sports Edition!

Thanks to our Patrons Ceasar Perez, dniel, Coleman, Raphael Zadey, Jordan Schoepke, Munnie, NAOS NARUTO, Nika Chkhartishvili, Alea Montgomery, and Gregory for supporting us this week.

NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free.