Fusion, Lasers, & More with NIF Laser Scientist

Could we find life around low-mass stars? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice find out why life might be more likely around low-mass stars, what makes brown dwarfs, galactic archeology, and more with astronomer Emily Rice.NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: https://startalkmedia.com/show/low-mass-mania-with-emily-rice/Thanks to our Patrons Anthony Garcia, Matthew Carlson, mike kelly, Brett DiFrischia, Mary Clare V., Peter Ilvento, A dinosaur in dental school, Cedric Rashade Collins, 1874 Homestead, and Bob for supporting us this week.

How certain are we about aliens? Neil deGrasse Tyson and cohosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly answer science questions from celebrities like Kevin Hart, Jack White, Nikki Glaser, and more!NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: https://startalkmedia.com/show/stars-talk-to-neil-alien-love/Thanks to our Patrons Larry Houghton, Marc-ids Foppen, Rob Love, Dominic Hemken, Brian Begnoche, josh lemasters, Mike Yin, Petchu Daniel, Jalal Dallo, and Jesse De La Rosa for supporting us this week.

Will Neil take back what he said about Pluto? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice explore planets, dwarf planets, and the Kuiper belt with planetary scientist and principal investigator for the New Horizons Mission, Alan Stern. NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: https://startalkmedia.com/show/debating-plutos-planethood-with-alan-stern/Thanks to our Patrons laura, Mihajlo Jovanovic, Heather Smith, Juan Ignacio Galán, Artsaveslife, Frank Wagner, Adam Brown, Greg Albrecht, Mickey Fuson, and Jeremy Green for supporting us this week.

How is new tech helping protect the rainforest? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice learn how space technology is helping uncover illegal gold mines and protecting the Amazon, with illegal mining expert Larissa Rodrigues and Earth researcher Jennifer Holm. Thanks to SkyFi for sponsoring today's episode. Bringing nearly instant access to high-quality satellite and aerial imagery along with expert-created analytics, get a bird’s eye view of anywhere on the planet with SkyFi’s easy-to-use web browser or mobile app and create a free account today at http://StarTalk.SkyFi.com.NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here:https://startalkmedia.com/show/eyes-in-the-sky-with-larissa-rodrigues-jennifer-hull/Thanks to our Patrons James Aurouze, Andrea Ramirez, Amy Tan, Joede870, Cris, Gina Martin, Glenn Fishkin, Mihael Mirt, Lion King, and Gábriel Németh for supporting us this week.

Are black holes places or objects? Neil deGrasse Tyson and cohosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly answer grab-bag questions about distorting spacetime, Olbers’ Paradox, singularities, the shape of the universe, and more with astrophysicist Charles Liu. NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: https://startalkmedia.com/show/cosmic-queries-black-hole-time-cloak-with-charles-liu/Thanks to our Patrons Logan Kent, James in 3d, Renee Skrip, Maarten Spruijt, Alan Domonoske, Liam Predergast, sparkman, Cecil J Taylor, abhinav yadav, and Markus Gustafsson for supporting us this week.

What is the Sun’s ecliptic? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice break down the things you thought you knew about spheres in the universe, navigating the sky, and taking spacecraft out of orbit. NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here:https://startalkmedia.com/show/things-you-thought-you-knew-the-geometric-universe/Thanks to our Patrons Will Farmer, David Robertson, Andrii Snihyr, Michael de Boeve, Patricia A Elvin, Dade Bloomfield, Ahmed Dawod, Oenomaus Williamson, Marek Król, and Elizabeth Terveer  for supporting us this week.

What can we learn from eclipses? Janna Levin joined by comedian Matt Kirshen and professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Columbia University, Joe Patterson, discuss the 2017 eclipse, binary star systems, super novae and more. What is an eclipse on Jupiter like?NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here:https://startalkmedia.com/show/eclipses-cosmic-cataclysms-janna-levin/

Is space infinitely stretchable? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice explore fan grab bag questions about supermassive black holes, Planck lengths, and the gravitational wave background with extragalactic astrophysicist and host of PBS Space Time, Matt O’Dowd.NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: https://startalkmedia.com/show/cosmic-queries-planck-lengths-to-supermassive-black-holes-with-matt-odowd/Thanks to our Patrons Nick Francis, nick lopez, John deLeo, Jeff Otis, Deano F, Ekam Khaira, and Jeffrey Tallcott for supporting us this week.

What is the value of curiosity? Neil deGrasse Tyson sits down with William Shatner to explore the nature of spacetime, Star Trek, human curiosity, loneliness, and more. How would warp drive work? NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: https://startalkmedia.com/show/staying-curious-with-william-shatner/Thanks to our Patrons Thor Juhasz, Kevin Thompson, Ben Walters, Fredrick Murphy, Lynne Fowler, Jonathan Ramirez, and Aaron for supporting us this week.

Is aging a disease that can be cured? Neil deGrasse Tyson and cohosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly discover the field of epigenetics, the Information Theory of Aging, and curing blindness for mice with Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, David Sinclair.NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: https://startalkmedia.com/show/is-aging-a-disease-epigenetics-with-david-sinclair/Thanks to our Patrons Jason L, Daniel Holzmann, Anne P Vance, Unknown, Myles G Blanton, Paul A. Straus, and Gregory Dees for supporting us this week.