NASA Fanboy

Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide took this self-portrait outside the ISS.
Photo Credit: NASA

In Part 2 of Space Chronicles, Neil and Prof. John Logsdon discuss NASA’s transition from the Cold War to the present day, and the impact of politics, economics, competition and fear on the space program. They disagree about the impact of China’s space ambitions on President Bush’s 2004 Vision for Space, and grapple with issues like the commercialization of space and NASA’s budget. Find out why we invited the Russians to the International Space Station in the first place, how the ISS is divided between the US, Russia, the EU and Japan, whether zero-g experiments justify its $3 billion per year price tag, and what the future holds. Plus, what Neil really thinks of President Obama’s “Sputnik Moment” speech, and Chuck Nice’s explanation of the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

Guests:
Prof. John Logsdon, Ph.D., Founder and Former Director, Space Policy Institute, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University

Co-Host:
Chuck Nice, comedian

Music:
“Satellite Baby” – Roosevelt Sykes
“Stars” – Grace Potter & the Nocturnals
“Satellite” – Rise Against
“Sputnik (Watching Over You)” – Shades Apart
“My Star” – Ian Brown
“We’ve Got a Little World of Our Own” – Westlife
“Drop in the Ocean” – Javier Colon
“Written in the Stars” – Tinie Tempah featuring Eric Turner
“Taking Chances” – Vedera
“Island in the Sun” – Shawyze & Cisco

Astronaut Harrison ‘Jack’ Schmitt, American Flag, and Earth (Apollo 17 EVA-1)
Photo Credit: NASA

You know the names: Sputnik, Apollo, JFK, LBJ, Gagarin, Laika, von Braun. You know the speeches: “…We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, …” But do you know the reality? Find out when astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson interviews Prof. John Logsdon, an expert in the history of space exploration. You’ll learn Eisenhower’s secret reason for starting NASA, why JFK offered to explore space jointly with the Russians, and how “Operation Paperclip” helped us win the Space Race… and the Arms Race. Find out why the Apollo program ended early and why NASA retired the Space Shuttle but the Soyuz is still going strong. Plus Neil’s favorite moment in the US space program and a history lesson “through the lens of Chuck Nice.” And this is just Part 1.

Guests:
Prof. John Logsdon, Ph.D., Founder and Former Director, Space Policy Institute, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University

Co-Host:
Chuck Nice, comedian

Music:
“Satellite Baby” – Roosevelt Sykes
“Sputnik Dance” – The Equadors
“President Kennedy’s 1962 speech” at Rice University
“Beechwood 4-5789” – The Marvelettes
“Beep Beep” – Louis Prima
“Judgment of the Moon and the Stars” – Joni Mitchell
“Sputnik And Mutniks” – Ray Anderson & The Home Folks
“Sputnik (Satellite Girl)” – Jerry Engler
“Theme song” – Terminator

Artist’s concept illustrating a dead star, or “white dwarf,” surrounded by the bits and pieces of a disintegrating asteroid. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

“Why are some asteroids mineral rich and some just big rocks?” “Is the asteroid belt actually the debris from a failed planet?” “What’s the difference between comets, asteroids, meteoroids, meteors, meteorites, planets, dwarf planets and more?” “Are there interstellar asteroids?” “Do we have the ability to track meteors the size of the one that exploded recently over Russia?” In this week’s podcast, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice answer fan questions about asteroids. You’ll find out why the Moon doesn’t have an iron core, what science fiction movies get wrong about the asteroid belt, and what happened to the other planets in our early solar system. You’ll also learn about Abe Lincoln and the Leonid Meteor Storm of 1833, the practicality of deflecting asteroids to use as weapons, and whether Neil would rather be a pirate or a ninja. (And that’s not even the weirdest question this episode!)

Co-Host:
Chuck Nice, comedian

Music:

“Shooting Star” – Owl City
“Asteroid” – Edgewater
“Iron and Stone” – The Foo Fighters
“Fire Inside” – Gemini (featuring Greta Svabo Bech)
“Into Orbit” – Monk and Neagle
“Cosmic Love (Falling Star)” – Florence + The Machine
“Slipping” – Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
“Daylight” – Maroon 5
“Kosmos” – t.A.T.u

Planetary Resources exploring near-earth asteroids with Arkyd-100 and Arkyd-200 spacecraft.
Credit: © Copyright 2013 Planetary Resources

“Everything we fight wars over on Earth – metals, minerals, energy, real estate – those things are in near infinite quantities in space. The Earth is a crumb in a supermarket filled with resources.” And that’s just a taste of astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson’s interview with the visionary Peter Diamandis, co-founder of Planetary Resources and founder of the X-Prize Foundation. They’ll discuss asteroid mining, space exploration with PR’s Arkyd-100 and 200 spacecraft, the role of greed in advancing our society and the economic and industrial impact of rare elements becoming abundant. You’ll learn about the different types of asteroids Planetary Resources is searching for, from carbonaceous chondrites that can be used as fuel depots for missions to the Moon and Mars, to PGM-rich asteroids worth billions. Plus, you’ll find out why comic co-host Chuck Nice calls Peter “a real-life James Bond villain.”

Guest:
Peter Diamandis, co-founder of Planetary Resources and the X-Prize

Co-Host:
Chuck Nice, comedian

Music:
“Titanium” – David Guetta featuring Ska
“Chiron Beta Prime” – Jonathan Coulton
“Eureka” – Something for Kate
“Skyfall” – Adele
“Own It” – Black Eyed Peas
“Ho Hey” – The Lumineers
“Pour It Up” – Rihanna
“Gold Digger” – Kanye West (Featuring Jamie Foxx)
“Make the World Move” – Christina Aguilera (featuring Cee-Lo Green)

What better time to talk about the Sun than during the summer? Once worshipped as a God, we now know the Sun is one of many similar stars in a relatively quiet region of the galaxy. Neil and his co-host comedian Chuck Nice are joined by Judith Lean, solar scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory, and Steve Keil, director of the National Solar Observatory, for an illuminating discussion of the ball of plasma around which our whole world revolves. From solar storms to calendars to climate change, learn about the many ways the Sun is the light of our lives.

Anthony Bourdain

Part 2 of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s interview with celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain is all about cooking and eating, from the experimental techniques of molecular cooking to the “Nose to Tail” movement that incorporates respect for the animal into the culinary process. Anthony explains how to avoid getting food-sick in exotic locales and why he’ll never again drink cobra blood out of a snake’s still-beating heart. NYU Professor of Nutrition Marion Nestle tells us how to avoid food-borne illnesses here at home, while co-host Eugene Mirman shares his advice for curing viruses and the common cold. You’ll learn why we can’t eat wood, why eggs get fluffy when we cook them, what altitude does to the human palate and what type of food the astronauts on the International Space Station desire most.

Guests:
Anthony Bourdain, World Traveler, Author and Chef
Marion Nestle, Paulette Goddard Professor, Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health and Professor of Sociology at New York University

Co-Host:
Eugene Mirman, comedian

Music:
“Secrets” – One Republic
“Burning” (French version) – Mia Martina
“Sugar” – Flo Rida
“Fergalicious” – Fergi
“A Little Respect” (Wayne G and Gurdy Club Remix) – Erasure
“Hot Cookin’” – G Love
“Safety Net” – Joel Piper
“Poison” – Beyonce
“Spice Up Your Life” – The Spice Girls

Photo Credit: Leslie Mullen

What’s on the StarTalk Radio menu? Part 1 of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s interview with celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain. The bestselling author describes some of the most disgusting things he’s ever eaten on his adventures, from African bush meat to rotten, fermented shark, and how a bowl of noodles changed his life. He and Neil discuss the business of food, including a vivid description of “pink slime.” Anthony also gets personal about his self-destructive early years and what saved him. Between courses, comic co-host Eugene Mirman and Marion Nestle, Professor of Nutrition at NYU, dish out a heaping helping of dietary science, evolution, cultural relativism and physiology. This Sunday’s podcast is just the appetizer and entree. You’ll have to wait until Part 2 for dessert.

Guests:
Anthony Bourdain, World Traveler, Author and Chef
Marion Nestle, Paulette Goddard Professor, Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health and Professor of Sociology at New York University

Co-Host:
Eugene Mirman, comedian

Music:

“No Reservations” – Theme Song
“32 Flavors” – Ani DiFranco
“Candyman” – Christina Aguilera
“The Fast Food Song” – The Fast Food Rockers
“Aha!” – Pentatonix (Imogen Heap cover)
“Red Beans & Rice” – Spearhead
“Fish in the Sea” – Frootful (featuring Angeline Morrison)
“Eat Your Heart Out” – Lydia
“Doin Dishes” – R. Kelly

Copy of the original “Wow!” computer printout, taken several years after the arrival of the strong narrowband radio signal detected by Jerry R. Ehman on August 15, 1977 while working on a SETI project.
Credit: Photo Credit: Ohio State University Radio Observatory; North American AstroPhysical Observatory (NAAPO).

Could the “Wow!” radio signal recorded by a SETI researcher have been alien in origin? What laws of physics might limit the forms alien life could take? How near would alien civilizations have to be to detect life on Earth? What senses might an alien life form have beyond the ones humans possess? These are just a few of your questions that astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Leighann Lord answer in this Cosmic Queries episode. You’ll find out what Dr. Tyson, the director of the Hayden Planetarium, would ask an extraterrestrial if he met one – and if he thinks we could even understand them. It’s an out-of-this-world episode filled with science, chemistry, exobiology, physics and informed speculation – whether you believe in the possibility of alien life or not.

Co-Host:
Leighann Lord, comedian

Music:
“Sight of the Sun” – Fun
“Annie’s Song” – John Denver
“Larger than Life” – The Backstreet Boys
“Solid Air” – Nero, featuring Alana
“WOW” – Kylie Minogue
“Repeat” – David Guetta, featuring Jesse J.
“Circle Of Life” – Disney’s “Lion King”
“Aliens and Rainbows” – Ferras
“Requiem” – Alien Vs. Predator – Bryan Tyler

Severus Snape
Photo Credit: Warner Brothers

In the conclusion of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s interview with Alan Rickman, the actor who brought Professor Severus Snape to life explains the importance of good storytelling to the craft of acting, and what he sees as his responsibility to his audience. It’s a rare inside look at what Alan describes as “the mysterious mechanism of acting and theatre and storytelling.” In return, Neil explains the physics of roller coasters (Alan is a big fan) and what we’re really seeing when a flock of birds moves in perfect synchronization. They chat about the impact of special effects on the making of movies, and comic co-host Chuck Nice and guest astrophysicist Charles Liu add their own perspectives on the science of the magic in the Harry Potter movies.

Guests:
Alan Rickman
Charles Liu, Astrophysicist

Co-Host:
Comedian Chuck Nice. His YouTube page and Twitter page.

Music:
“Love Rollercoaster” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
“Snowmobiles” – Michael Kamen, Die Hard 2: Die Harder Soundtrack
“Truly, Madly, Deeply” – Savage Garden
“She Moved Through the Fair” – Sinead O’Connor, “Michael Collins” Soundtrack
“The Harry Potter Theme Song” – Performed By Richard Clayderman and Orchestra
“Wizard Love” – Meekakitty featuring heyhihello
“Alien” – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack End Title
“Clubbed to Death” – The Matrix Soundtrack
Alan Rickman as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter Movie series