[ APPLAUSE ] >>> OUR NEXT GUEST IS AN ACTOR,
PRODUCER, BEST-SELLING AUTHOR
AND AN ASTROPHYSICIST.
OF COURSE, WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
THE ONE, THE ONLY NEIL deGRASSE
TYSON.
TYSON. IN HIS NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SHOW,
HE CHATS UP CELEBRITIES ABOUT
SCIENCE.
SCIENCE. >> ONE OF HIS GUESTS WAS THE
LATE ANTHONY BOURDAIN.
HE TOLD NEIL WHAT ASTRONAUTS
CRAVE MOST.
CRAVE MOST. >> WHAT MR. YEAGER TOLD ME IS
THEY CRAVE HOT SAUCE.
LIKE TOBASCO, ANYTHING SPICES.
UP THERE, ANYTHING TASTES BLAND.
>> THE BULKY AREAS OF THE SPACE
SUITS, THEY’RE SMUGGLING BOTTLES
OF HOT SAUCE ON THE WAY UP.
>> NEIL deGRASSE TYSON, GOOD TO
HAVE YOU THIS MORNING.
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
>> WHAT IS IT LOOK GOING BACK
AND WATCHING THAT EPISODE?
>> IT’S A LITTLE SPOOKY,
ACTUALLY, BECAUSE IT WASN’T THAT
MUCH BEFORE RELEARNWE LEARNED OF
DEATH.
DEATH. YOU FEEL PRIVILEGED THAT YOU GET
TO SAVE SOME PART OF HIM IN A
CONTEXT THAT MAYBE PEOPLE DIDN’T
OTHERWISE KNOW, THAT HE’S GOT
SOME GEEK IN HIM.
THESE CONVERSATIONS, WITH
CELEBRITIES, IT’S -- STAR TALK’S
MISSION, IS TO IMPLORE ALL THE
WAYS THAT SCIENCE MAY HAVE
TOUCHED YOUR LIFE, NO MATTER
WHAT YOUR PROFESSION IS.
I HAPPEN TO KNOW IN ADVANCE THAT
SCIENCE IS EVERYWHERE.
SO, I GOT THIS.
I KNOW WE’RE GOING TO FIND IT.
ALSO, IN THERE, YOU GET TO
REVEAL WHETHER PEOPLE HAVE SOME
KIND OF INNER GEEK, WHERE
THERE’S NOT ANOTHER OCCASION FOR
THAT TO BE MANIFESTED.
YOU CAN EXPRESS THAT ON "STAR
TALK."
TALK." >> THAT’S WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT
THIS SHOW.
THIS SHOW. "STAR TALK" REALLY DOES MAKE
LIGHT OF SCIENCE, WITH
CELEBRITIES.
CELEBRITIES. AND EVERY ONE, YOU GET INTO THIS
DEEP CONVERSATION, AREAS YOU
DON’T THINK SCIENCE EXISTS.
>> AND THEY LOVE IT.
TO GRAB A CELEBRITY, OUT OF THE
VERY BUSY SCHEDULE, YOU KNOW,
AND IT’S ANOTHER INTERVIEW, THEY
DO THAT ALL THE TIME.
AND FOR SO MANY OF THEM, THEY
WOULD TELL ME AFTER, THAT WAS MY
FAVORITE INTERVIEW EVER.
I’M GLAD BECAUSE PEOPLE NEED TO
KNOW THAT SCIENCE IS EVERYWHERE.
OTHERWISE, YOU’RE THINKING, I
DON’T NEED TO KNOW SCIENCE.
I’M THINKING INGING SOMETHING EL
SCIENCE INFORMS POLICY.
SCIENCE IS THE FOUNDATION OF OUR
HEALTH, OUR WEALTH, OUR
SECURITY, GOING INTO THE NEXT
CENTURY.
CENTURY. WITHOUT IT, WE SHOULD JUST MOVE
BACK INTO THE CAVE.
>> YOU’VE HAD SOME SERIOUS
CELEBRITIES ON THIS SHOW.
EVERYONE FROM STEPHEN HAWKING,
TO WHOOPIE GOLDBERG, BILL
CLINTON, JEFF GOLDBLUM, AL GORE.
IS THERE A DREAM GUEST, SOMEONE
YOU HAVEN’T HAD ON, THAT MIGHT
BE WATCHING OR LISTENING, YOU
WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THEM ON?
>> OBAMA, PLEASE.
I WANTED HIM AS SITTING
PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENT. BUT I’LL TAKE HIM AS
EX-PRESIDENT.
EX-PRESIDENT. THAT’S FINE.
THAT’S FINE. [ LAUGHTER ]
I WANTED -- I’D LIKE -- I DON’T
THINK WE CAN PULL THIS OFF
RELIABLY.
RELIABLY. BUT EVERY YEAR, I WANTED SOME
SITTING HEAD OF STATE FROM
SOMEWHERE IN THE WORLD.
AT SOME POINT, SCIENCE PLUGS
BACK INTO IMPORTANT DECISIONS
THAT A HEAD OF STATE NEEDS TO
MAKE, ABOUT THE HEALTH, WEALTH
AND FUTURE OF THEIR COUNTRY.
AND JUST TO COMPARE NOTES, WHAT
ARE YOU DOING IN THAT PART OF
THE WORLD, IF NOT IN THIS PART
OF THE WORLD.
THAT WASN’T REALISTIC TO REQUIRE
THAT OF A GUEST’S SCHEDULE.
BUT I’M VERY HAPPY WITH THE
LIST.
LIST. THE MIXTURE -- NOT JUST ACTOR
CELEBRITIES.
CELEBRITIES. IT’S POLITICIANS.
IT’S POLITICIANS. IT’S PERFORMERS.
IT’S PERFORMERS. AND OCCASIONALLY, PEOPLE WHO DO
THINGS THAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW WERE
SO IMPORTANT.
SO IMPORTANT. A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO,
INTERVIEWED ONE OF THE FOUNDERS
OF TWITTER.
OF TWITTER. AND I DIDN’T KNOW AT THAT TIME,
HE’S NOT A HOUSEHOLD NAME.
TWITTER FANS NIGHT SS MIGHT KNOW
BUT HE SAID TWITTER ENABLES
HUMANS TO FLOCK.
I SAID, WHAT DO YOU MEAN?
BIRDS ARE INDIVIDUAL?
THEN SOMETHING HAPPENS AND THEY
ALL DO THIS.
AND THEN, WHEN THEY FIGURE OUT
THEY’RE DONE, THEY COME BACK AND
THEY’RE INDIVIDUALS AGAIN.
TWITTER CAN GARNER PEOPLE’S
BEHAVIOR, THOUGHTS, INTO ONE
COHERENT ACTION.
COHERENT ACTION. AND THEN, YOU RELEASE IT AND
YOU’RE BACK BEING YOUR
INDIVIDUAL SELF.
INDIVIDUAL SELF. LITTLE THINGS LIKE THAT ARE
INSIGHTS INTO OUR LIVES, OUR
CULTURE AND THE WAY SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY HAS TOUCHED US.
>> CAN I ASK YOU ONE QUICK PERM
QUESTION -- SPEAKING OF MARS,
ONE DAY WE’LL GET TO MARS, WHY
IS IT WHEN WE’RE TRYING TO FIND
OTHER LIFE FORMS, DO WE ALWAYS
HAVE TO FIND WATER?
HOW DO WE KNOW THERE’S A LIFE
FORM THAT DOESN’T EXIST THAT
DOESN’T NEED WATER OR OXYGEN?
>> WATER IS MADE OF HYDROGEN AND
OXYGEN.
OXYGEN. THESE ARE TWO OF SOME OF THE
MOST COMMON INGREDIENTS IN THE
UNIVERSE.
UNIVERSE. I SAW A COMIC WHERE THERE’S THIS
ALIEN.
ALIEN. THERE’S A CRASHED SAUCER IN THE
DESERT AND THE ALIEN IS
CRAWLING, AND SAYS, AMMONIA,
AMMONIA.
AMMONIA. IT WANT AMMONIA.
>> I LIKE THAT JOKE.
I CAN’T WAIT TO TELL THAT JOKE.
>> IT’S A GOOD ONE.
IT’S OKAY.
IT’S OKAY. AT LEAST SOME OF THE UNIVERSE
SITS ABOVE ALL OUR HEADS.
>> THAT’S A GOOD POINT.
AND FOR ME, MILLIONS OF PEOPLE.
>> YOU SEE WHAT I DID THERE?
>> WE’RE OUT OF TIME.