About This Episode

Join Neil deGrasse Tyson as he talks with comedian Bill Maher about aliens, religion, political correctness, and much more. Joined in the Hall of the Universe at the American Museum of Natural History by comic co-host Maeve Higgins and political scientist Alison Dagnes, we discuss the power of satire and the impact of comedy on society. Bill explains how he got started in comedy and how humor allows people to put their guard down. You’ll hear a clip from Real Time with Bill Maher where Neil discusses the power of seeing the universe. You’ll also hear Alison discuss the dangers of re-affirming your beliefs by surrounding yourself with like-minded people, and our panel discusses how to infuse science into debate dialogue. Neil and Bill talk about political correctness, how liberals should defend the First Amendment, and how society might be becoming too sensitive. Then, Greg Lukianoff, author, attorney, and president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Education, joins our panel to investigate how college campuses are becoming too sensitive and threatening the “marketplace of ideas” concept. John Hibbing, political scientist and author of Predisposed: Liberals, Conservatives, and the Biology of Political Differences, joins the conversation to discuss if political affiliation can be biological and what monitoring electrodermal activity can tell us about the brain patterns of people on opposite sides of the aisle. Discover how certain generations are more susceptible to conspiracy theories, whether Bill believes in aliens, and how religion has impacted his comedy. All that, plus, we answer fan-submitted Cosmic Queries and Neil helps us look at truth from a cosmic perspective.

NOTE: All-Access subscribers can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: The Power of Political Satire, with Bill Maher, as well as Neil’s extended interview with Bill Maher here.