Tens of thousands of people around the world rallied for rational thought on Saturday, and those who attended the main March for Science, in Washington, D.C., were treated to a lengthy program of distinguished speakers: astronauts, astronomers, neuroscientists, biologists, chemists, and other Americans who—in a truly rational society—would be famous. But only one of them was legitimately famous.

“Our numbers here today show the world that science is for all,” Bill Nye the Science Guy belted to the crowd on the National Mall. “Our lawmakers must know that science serves every one of us. Every citizen of every nation in society. Science must shape policy. Science is universal. Science brings out the best in us. With an informed, optimistic view of the future, together we can—dare I say it—save the world!”



This speech, the Washington Post declared, “was a significant moment—for science, for William Sanford Nye and for the masses who have followed him for decades, from fuzzy TV screens in their middle school classrooms to the grounds of the Washington Monument at Saturday’s March for Science.” But Nye’s inspiring words were also, perhaps, a plug for his new Netflix show: Bill Nye Saves the World.

At least he had the good sense on Saturday to say “we” can save the world, not “I.”

The Science Guy is everywhere these days. He’s on Reddit, answering questions about whether he’ll run for president. He’s winning awards for his social media prowess. And he’s a talking head on your cable news channel of choice. Such ubiquity has become self-perpetuating, as he’s now become, to some observers in mainstream media, the national spokesman for science in an age of “alternative” facts. “He has become more than the zany educator-entertainer who charmed kids with cartoonish sound effects,” the Post glowed. “He is an activist for science, leading those now-grownups into political battle.”