The Daily Show: Ears Edition - From the Archives: Neil deGrasse Tyson - August 28, 2017

Episode Date: July 5, 2018

Neil deGrasse Tyson shares his excitement over an eclipse, the politicization of the climate change debate and his book "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry." Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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The smartest way to hire. Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the th. I the th. th. I am. the th. th. I am. the thiiii. th. th. thi. thoing. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th, th, th, th, th, th, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the th. the the the the the the the the the the the the th. the th. thi. the thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi...., John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show, coming out every Thursday. We're going to be talking about the election, earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. Please welcome, Neil DeGraf Tyson. Welcome to the show. Ooh, I've, you know, I've been around for two years and I've never been on your show.

Well, well, well, well, just I want to be clear. We've like, colliding black holes and eclipse, space probes, and you don't call, you don't write, you don't text. Here's my thing, here's my thing, here's my thing. Here's my thing. Here's my thing. If you understand, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, we the th th th th thi, we thi, we're like, we're like, we're like, we're like, we're like, we're like, we're like, we're like, we're like, we're like, we're like, we're like, we're like, we're like, we're like, we're like, we're like, we're like, we're like, we're like, we the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. We th. We th. We th. We're like, we're like, we're like, we're like, we're like, we're like, well, we're like, we're like, the the the the the the the the the the the the thi, the the thi- thi-a, they thi, we're like, we're like, we're like, no. And, you know, call, you know, right? Here's my thing. You know, text. Here's my thing. If you understand how time works, it may feel like it's been two years, but under Trump, time has collapsed onto itself. And essentially, it's only been a week.

Okay. It's only been a week. Welcome to the show. I'll give you that one. Welcome to the show. First and foremost, can I just say thank you for the eclipse? I believe that was courtesy of you. We totally raised that one? Yeah, America's eclipse. Right. That was brought to you by the scientists in America? America. Yeah, it only hit, the continental United States and no other country. Can I ask you a question, when that's happening, do you walk around with a little bit of extra swag as a scientist? I'm like, oh yeah.

Like, there's like, you know? Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah, you got that eclipse. You got that eclipse. But really, how hard do you geek out for an eclipse? the. Yeah, somewhere not where we can see them though. Like it's where, it's where, it's so you go to it.

Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, you go to it? You go to the eclipse. You go to the eclipse. You go to go to the eclipse. No, I'm I I I I I I I I I I I I I I. If you care about the eclipse, you know how you said it? You said it like you and the eclipse are in a relationship. That's how you said it. Well, if you cared about the eclipse, you would go to the eclipse. That's what you would do.

Yeah, up to stand. This is, but 200 million people lived within one day's drive of the path of totality in the United States. Wow. eclipse ever in the history of the world. Let's talk about your tweet that you that you sent out about the eclipse. You tweeted, odd, no one is in denial of America's August 21st total solar eclipse like climate change methods and tools of science predicted. Yeah. Yeah. I'm gonna ask you this, Neil the grasshison, is an eclipse the time to politicize things? It's not political if one speaks objective triiiiiii. the the the the the the the the the the the of of the the the the of of the of of the the the the of of the the the the time to politicize things? It's not political if one speaks objective truths.

Oh. I'm just saying. That's a fancy talk for yes. No, I just thought, there's everyone organizing their lives around attending and viewing one of nature's great spectacles. And I don't see people protesting it. I don't see people objecting to it. I don't see people's great spectacles. And I don't see people protesting it. I don't see people objecting to it. I don't see people in denial of it.

Yet methods and tools of science predict it. So when methods and tools of science predict other things, right? To have people turn around and say, I deny what you say, there's something wrong in our world. Let me ask you this. How would you? Yeah. How would you convince me? So I come to you and I go, Neil, I do believe in science.

I do believe in climate change, but I do not believe that it is man-made. I believe that it's changing. I don't believe that it's the man who's creating it. How do you try and convince you? I would show you the data that show it, that display it. But those are numbers, it depends on how you read the numbers, Neil. Yeah, so then you have another study that agrees with it, yet another, and another done in a different country, with different people, with competing research groups. And if it all leans in the same direction, even approximately the same result. We are on top of a new emergent scientific truth. And if that's what you want to stand in denial of, fine, in a free country, you have that,

you have the freedom to deny whatever you want. But if you rise to power and base legislation on something that is not objectively true, that is the beginning of the end of an informed democracy. Let me go to, there's a one of one of my favorite chapters in the book is the final chapter and not in a bad way just like that's. No, no, it's because it's different. Reflections on the cosmic perspective. Oh yeah, there's something we all have as astrophysicists. Right, and this is something that I that I really enjoy. You know you speak about the universe the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the th. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th.............................................................................. the. the. the. the. the. the.. the. the... the. the... the.. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the.'s reflections on the cosmic perspective. Oh yeah, there's something we all have as astrophysicists. Right, and this is something that I really enjoy. You know, you speak about the universe here, and I'll jump to the part that really got to me. You speak about the universe

and how it's millions of light years from earthen, and how it's expanding, and the sweatshop worker, certainly not the homeless person rummaging through the trash for food. You need the luxury of time not spent on mere survival. That's a powerful quote to have in your book. That's a powerful idea to have is to almost identify that to a certain extent you have to be in a privileged place to wonder about the universe when you don't have to wonder about your daily life. Yeah, yeah. Searching for food, shelter is something that robs us of the limits of the creativity that the human mind can deliver. Right.

And so I ended the book with that chapter as a plea for people to think differently about our lives. Take that cosmic perspective that you can only glean by looking at Earth from high up from the edge of the universe and beyond.......... th, th, th, th, is th, is th, is th, is th, is th, is th, is th, is th, is th, is th, is something th, is something th, is something th, is something th, is something th, is something th, is something th,ives, take that cosmic perspective that you can only glean by looking at Earth from high up from the edge of the universe and beyond. And so this is an entire, it's handpicked by the way, it's for people in a hurry. This is not, if you are not in a hurry, I've got other books for you. Okay? Thicker, heavier books. This is, if you were in a hurry, this, this is for you. Right. So it's fundamental, but it's real, it's not astrophysics for dummies. First, that title was taken, but second, it's real astrophysics. Don't think you're going to still have to pay attention.

You're not cutting corners. No, no, I'm not cutting corners. Let me ask you this, though. What would you say to you? you, okay, Neil, I agree with what you're saying. There are people out there who do not have the luxury of pondering the universe and its expanse, but you would argue that it is important for people to consider that. I know you answer this in the book, but in your words, just in this interview, why? Why is it important for people to think of the universe as being larger than just what we see on earth? At first it's intellectually enlightening, but apart from that, if you think of Earth as

our only place to be, as your life, as the only thing that matters, as humans, as the only species that you want to care about, this, that doesn't work as a stable solution going forward. But when you look at it from above, culturally, scientifically, philosophically, then you realize that we have a connectivity to one another, to life on earth, to the atoms across the universe. It is literally true, not only figuratively true, that the atoms that come from us are this, they came from the atoms in us came from the same place as the atoms that made the stars. You know where that came from? Other stars, as well as the beginning of the universe itself. It's not just figuratively true, it is literally true that we are stardust.

And this connectivity, that's almost spiritual. And if you come out of this, thinking that differently about life, it can transform how you make decisions about the present and especially the future. So for me, a cosmic perspective is a gift that, and it's, yes, it hacks down to your ego, it's not good for human hubris. You will never find legions of astrophysicist waging war on other countries, leading people into battle. Because we say, hey, hey, dude, that's Saturn up there. Let's take a look, you know, and, and I, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, the, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the countries, leading people into battle. Because we say, hey, dude, that's Saturn up there, let's take a look. You know, and battles become star parties, right?

So, so it changes how you think about and see the world. So it can have real ramifications. It's not just a point of curiosity that you have after you happen to have read the book. Wow, that's powerful. Astrophysics for people in a high-risk is available now. We have the great fashion everybody. The Daily Show with Cover Noa, Ears Edition. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central and the Comedy Central

and the Comedy Central. Watch full episodes and videos at the Daily Show.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and subscribe to the Daily Show on YouTube for exclusive content and more. This has been a Comedy Central podcast. Hey, everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show. It's going to be coming out every Thursday. So exciting. You'll be, you'll be, you'll be, so. You'll be, you'll, you'll, to watch. Watch. Watch. Watch. Watch. Watch. Watch. Watch. Watch. Watch. Watch. Watch. Watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to. to. to. to to. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. to watch. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the to the the the the the the to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show, it's going to be coming out every Thursday. So exciting, you'll be saying to yourself, TGID, thank God it's Thursday.

We're going to be talking about all the things that hopefully obsess you in the same way that they obsess me. The election, economics, earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. And I know that I listed that fourth, but in importance it's probably second. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? I mean, talk about innovative. Listen to the weekly

show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast.