About This Episode

In the conclusion of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s interview with Peter Diamandis, we explore how the X-Prize Foundation inspires out-of-the-box solutions to the world’s greatest problems. Peter tells Neil what makes a good X-Prize, like incentivizing the mapping of the ocean floor or advances in battery technology and energy storage. You’ll learn which X-Prizes have already been won, leading to vastly superior methods for cleaning up oil spills, 100 mpg cars and more. Find out about the competition for the $30 million Google Lunar X-Prize, to be matched by $30 million in NASA contracts. And of course, you’ll hear about the 230 teams in 30 countries competing for the $10 million Qualcomm Tricorder X-Prize to create a consumer-friendly medical diagnostic tool inspired by Star Trek’s famous handheld scanner. Plus, in studio, comic co-host Chuck Nice tells us what he wishes there was an X-Prize for.

NOTE: All-Access subscribers can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: X-Prize – Beyond Space (Part 2).