About This Episode

If Superman followed the laws of physics, how could he fly? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice answer this and other questions from our fans about super powers, from the scientifically sound, to the supremely silly. Geek out as we take a realistic look at flight, super sight, super speed, telekinetics, telepathy, invulnerability, energy absorption, mastery of magnetism and more through the eyes of your own personal astrophysicist. Find out what super power you’d need to successfully traverse the multiverse, and whether there’s anything remotely feasible about the way Doctor Who’s TARDIS travels through time. You’ll also learn why using more than 10% of our brain wouldn’t give us super powers like in the movie Lucy. Neil answers questions about Thor’s Hammer, Batman vs. Iron Man, Lois Lane’s prenatal concerns, which super power he’d want, and which super heroes he thinks are most and least believable according to physics. Plus, Neil and Chuck come up with a new super power for the Man of Steel that will leave you gasping for breath.

NOTE: All-Access subscribers can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: Cosmic Queries: Super Powers.