About This Episode

What is consciousness? What is self-awareness? You’ll find out when host Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-host Eugene Mirman welcome actress and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik of The Big Bang Theory, neuroscientist and StarTalk Live! veteran Dr. Heather Berlin, comedian Michael Ian Black and actor Paul Rudd to the stage at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The freewheeling discussion covers veganism and the colonization of Mars, home schooling, behavior modification and genetic predisposition, Autism Spectrum disorders and waterboarding. Mayim also talks about the socially unconventional characters on The Big Bang Theory, how she landed the role of Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler on the show, and what it’s like to not only be a neuroscientist, but also to play one on TV. And that’s just what happened before surprise guest Bill Nye the Science Guy jumped on stage. (You’ll get more of Bill in Parts 2 and 3 over the next two weeks.)

NOTE: All-Access subscribers can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: StarTalk Live! Big Brains at BAM (Part 1).