William Shatner | Club Random with Bill Maher

Summary

Podcast Title: Club Random with Bill Maher
Episode: William Shatner
Release Date: November 17, 2024
Hosts/Participants: Bill Maher, William Shatner, Neil deGrasse Tyson

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Overview

In this engaging episode of Club Random with Bill Maher, longtime actor William Shatner engages in a spirited and wide-ranging conversation with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. Hosted by Bill Maher in the unique setting of Club Random Studios, the discussion veers away from mainstream politics to delve into personal anecdotes, the evolution of the entertainment industry, societal issues, and the complexities of modern life.

Key Sections

1. Introduction and Initial Banter
2. Evolution of Filmmaking and Technology
3. Aging, Health, and Lifestyle Choices
4. Substance Use and Personal Experiences
5. Music Industry and Cultural Shifts
6. Political Climate and Election Insights
7. Israel-Palestine Conflict Discussion
8. Personal Family Narratives
9. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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1. Introduction and Initial Banter

The episode kicks off with light-hearted exchanges between Shatner and Tyson, setting a relaxed tone for the in-depth discussion to follow. Initial remarks touch upon impressions and personal habits, with both guests showcasing their distinct personalities and rapport.

Notable Quote:

• William Shatner [02:03]: "It's becoming a habit, I'm glad to say."

2. Evolution of Filmmaking and Technology

Shatner and Tyson dive into the advancements in filmmaking technology, contrasting classic single-shot techniques with today's fragmented storytelling methods. They discuss the impact of movies like 1917 and classics from directors like Hitchcock and Orson Welles, emphasizing how technological innovations have transformed audience experiences.

Notable Quotes:

• William Shatner [03:12]: "What do you think when you see, like Shatner impressionists who do the... it's like..."
• Neil deGrasse Tyson [32:33]: "It's taking the technology that everybody knows and making it so much more into the story."

3. Aging, Health, and Lifestyle Choices

The conversation shifts to personal reflections on aging, with Shatner expressing his commitment to maintaining health to avoid boredom. Tyson shares his strategies for staying active and the mental adjustments required as one grows older.

Notable Quotes:

• William Shatner [05:15]: "Well, it's good to have you back."
• Neil deGrasse Tyson [06:38]: "We now have to think about how to mitigate some of the worst things."

4. Substance Use and Personal Experiences

A candid discussion emerges around substance use, including marijuana, cocaine, and psychedelics. Shatner advocates for marijuana legalization, sharing his personal use and its benefits, while Tyson recounts his experiences with various substances and their effects on his perception and creativity.

Notable Quotes:

• William Shatner [44:22]: "I am a pothead."
• Neil deGrasse Tyson [55:35]: "I was sure there was a head of a lizard coming out of the wall."

5. Music Industry and Cultural Shifts

Shatner critiques the sexualization within the music industry, contrasting it with other entertainment sectors. He discusses the evolution of rap and pop culture, highlighting the challenges faced by artists in maintaining integrity amidst shifting societal norms.

Notable Quotes:

• William Shatner [64:13]: "Music is sex in the eardrums, but it makes people sexual."
• Neil deGrasse Tyson [71:04]: "And enumerate the music... classical music, love song, rock..."

6. Political Climate and Election Insights

The pair engage in a robust analysis of the recent U.S. election, dissecting voter demographics, the influence of Gen Z, and the polarization between political parties. They debate the reasons behind the Democratic loss and the factors contributing to the Republican victory, offering their perspectives on future political trends.

Notable Quotes:

• William Shatner [07:14]: "Like, I think first off first is congratulations. You not only won, you won big."
• Neil deGrasse Tyson [75:10]: "I think it's a great thing to do... schools that teach them not only ABC but work."

7. Israel-Palestine Conflict Discussion

The dialogue touches upon the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Shatner advocating for a two-state solution and expressing his views on the humanitarian aspects of the region. Tyson contributes by highlighting the complexities of international relations and the psychological impacts of prolonged conflict.

Notable Quotes:

• William Shatner [78:49]: "Remember to treat it as an adventure."
• Neil deGrasse Tyson [79:31]: "Well, it's... there's the madness of religion there."

8. Personal Family Narratives

Shatner shares heartfelt stories about his family history, revealing personal insights into his parents' relationship and his upbringing. This segment adds depth to his public persona, showcasing his vulnerability and connection to his past.

Notable Quotes:

• William Shatner [85:34]: "But up until then, I think he had... that's the one I love."
• Neil deGrasse Tyson [86:43]: "I wish I knew the answer."

9. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

As the episode draws to a close, Shatner and Tyson reflect on their conversation's breadth, touching upon the unpredictability of life and the importance of embracing each day as an adventure. They express mutual respect and optimism for future dialogues.

Notable Quotes:

• William Shatner [101:02]: "It's a really interesting point."
• Neil deGrasse Tyson [102:21]: "We're on an adventure. What's going to happen?"

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Insights and Conclusions

This episode stands out for its blend of humor, intellectual discourse, and personal storytelling. Shatner and Tyson navigate complex subjects with ease, demonstrating how two individuals from vastly different professional backgrounds can find common ground in discussing societal issues and personal philosophies. Their interaction underscores the value of open dialogue in understanding multifaceted topics, from the intricacies of filmmaking to the nuances of global politics.

Key Takeaways:

• Adaptation and Innovation: Emphasized the importance of technological advancements in shaping industries and personal lives.
• Health and Longevity: Highlighted personal strategies for aging gracefully and maintaining mental and physical health.
• Substance Use: Advocated for responsible use and legalization, sharing personal anecdotes to illustrate broader societal impacts.
• Cultural Critique: Offered critical perspectives on the music industry's evolution and its intersection with societal values.
• Political Analysis: Provided thoughtful insights into election dynamics, voter behavior, and the influence of younger generations.
• Humanitarian Concerns: Addressed the complexities of international conflicts and the human cost of prolonged disputes.
• Personal Growth: Showcased the importance of reflecting on one's past to inform present and future decisions.

Conclusion

Club Random with Bill Maher successfully delivers a rich and engaging conversation that transcends conventional podcast topics. Through the dynamic interplay between William Shatner and Neil deGrasse Tyson, listeners gain a multifaceted understanding of various issues, enriched by personal experiences and informed perspectives. This episode not only entertains but also provokes thoughtful consideration of the evolving landscapes in entertainment, politics, and personal well-being.

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Note: This summary intentionally omits the advertisement segments interspersed throughout the episode, focusing solely on the substantive content of the conversation between William Shatner and Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Transcript

[Bill Maher]

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[William Shatner]

Just visit simplisafe.com/ that's simply I S I M P L isafe.com/ there's no safe like Simplisafe. I've worked with mostly great people. Mostly I think the other ones know who they are. And a few of those where I was like the guy who hired you should be fired. That's why every employer is under huge pressure to hire the right people. And right now you can try ziprecruiter for free at ziprecruiter.com random see for yourself. Just go to ziprecruiter.com/random right now to try it for free again. That's ziprecruiter.com random ziprecruiter. The smartest way to hire. I have to tell you about this game changing product. It's called pre alcohol. It's time to make a choice. Either have a great night or a great next day. That was until this awesome discovery of pre alcohol Zbiotics. Pre alcohol probiotic drink is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic. Remember to head to zbiotics.com random and use code random at checkout for 15% off.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

It just wrote it the way it thinks I talk. And I don't talk that way.

[William Shatner]

No, not at all.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Size of Texas out there.

[William Shatner]

Confluence it was. It's got bigger now. It's the size of Alaska.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

So is Texas.

[William Shatner]

Bill, you in your normal seat over there?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Hello, Billy.

[William Shatner]

It's becoming a habit, I'm glad to say.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I'm so glad to see you.

[William Shatner]

We're like co hosts.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I've been watching your show as much as I can.

[William Shatner]

As much as you can. What's preventing you? What happens in the week when you.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Get like making a living?

[William Shatner]

Oh right. You travel with you haven't.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I travel so much.

[William Shatner]

Right. You have your Netflix show.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I have the unexplained.

[William Shatner]

You know what it reminds me of? I mean, you're perfect for that and many things. But remember Peter Graves?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yeah.

[William Shatner]

Had that show where he kind of.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Did a. Yeah, everybody's done one over the years.

[William Shatner]

Well, it takes a certain gravitas to do a show, to be the host of a show like that.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

And you have to be. I've discovered the way of narrating it because they give me do a cold read. Really. I don't want to see it until it's time to record it. And then I'll do a cold read and enjoy the story like you would enjoy. Hopefully you would enjoy seeing it. So I'll do it twice. But the first one is the one I bank on.

[William Shatner]

What do you think when you see, like Shatner impressionists who do the. You know, I mean, it's like.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I gotta tell you the funniest thing about that that I've ever. I've ever had. I mean, yeah, I'd say to my. Is that me? So Chat Box. Okay, so you could tell Chat Box, write me a story in the way of Edgar Allan Poe and the. Whatever it is.

[William Shatner]

Sure.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

And it says, on a dank morning cloud overhanging.

[William Shatner]

Right.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

And it gives you. So I said to it, write me the story of having an interview with Bill Maher. Write me the story in a Shatner way. And this story comes out on the day Moni Arnifat. It didn't write it like the way I write it, just wrote it the way it thinks I talk. And I don't talk that way.

[William Shatner]

No, not at all. But you know why that is? You know what happens with famous people like you and impressionists is that somebody does like the first guy who does an impression. Like, do you remember Will Jordan's Ed Sullivan?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Did everybody. He did everybody.

[William Shatner]

Yeah, but he did Ed Sullivan first and then everybody did Will Jordan's Ed Sullivan.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Oh, right.

[William Shatner]

So, like, it becomes the way.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

It becomes an impression of an impression of an impression. Right. I never thought of that.

[William Shatner]

Yeah, but at home you don't actually, like, during sex. You don't be like, honey, I'm coming now. I mean, that's not.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

No.

[William Shatner]

That wouldn't sound like you during sex, would it?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, if I was excited, I don't remember.

[William Shatner]

Scratch my balls. You know, that's not really.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I should have said that.

[William Shatner]

It's good to have you back.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, it's a delight to be here. And this night, of all nights, the day after a post election.

[William Shatner]

Yeah. You know, I feel like it's. For some people, it's very reminiscent of 2016. I certainly was much more apoplectic then. Perhaps I should be again.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Did you see it coming?

[William Shatner]

No, I picked her. I stuck with my prediction right to the end. I thought she was gonna win. I thought America generally moves forward and that they had enough of Trump. You know, just drama and. I mean, I won't go into. First of all, Bill, it's depressing to me mostly because I don't wanna do it again because I'm bored. The worst thing you can do to me is bore me. I've done all the jokes. I did all them first. I did trump the con man editorial. I did trump the Mafia boss. I did it all before anybody. I'm the one who said he wasn't gonna concede when nobody was on that page. I've been there, done that. I don't want this series. I've seen this series. I want a new show with new characters. So that bugs me the most is that there's nothing left to say. You know, I've said it all. You can't get me to think more than I already do. That Trump shouldn't be press well, but.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

We now have to think about is how to mitigate some of the. What. What some of us think are the worst things.

[William Shatner]

Like, I think first off first is congratulations. You not only won, you won big.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

He won big.

[William Shatner]

That's. Everybody should get props just for success, despite the, you know, the vulgarities and the, you know, maybe because of vulgarities, maybe because. But also my mantra, losers look in the mirror.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, I think, I think that's what everybody has to do. The thing that worries me the most is global warming. You can, you know, the wrong financial advice and get rid of whatever government agencies you want to get rid of. You can always put them back in four years later. But you can't lose four years of global warming. I mean, we're seeing these storms hit now, and once in a thousand years, storms are now hitting every other year, every year. And it's not like you could say, well, it's going to get better. It's not.

[William Shatner]

It's very funny that you mentioned that because, you know, the hardest thing to write on the week of an election, because I have to start it on Monday for the show on Friday and the election is Tuesday. I can't write Monday night who won the election. And so I said this week what I want to do and what I'm going to do Friday night is a piece about global warming, about the oceans. Because the only time the floating garbage patch in the middle of the ocean was raised, oh, as well, was by the insult comic when he made the joke about it and said it was like Puerto Rico. And everybody flipped out about that. And my thing is, yeah, ha, ha. But it's really a sad commentary that neither party mentions this giant problem size.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Of Texas out there in the confluence of.

[William Shatner]

It was. It's got bigger now. It's the size of Alaska.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

So is Texas.

[William Shatner]

Yeah. And every in it.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

And everyone's people moving there.

[William Shatner]

Everyone in it.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yeah.

[William Shatner]

But you love all the states. You're beloved everywhere. Right. I mean, you're beyond politics.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Am I?

[William Shatner]

Don't you think?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, I hope so. I'll take your word for it.

[William Shatner]

I don't think people see you as a political person. Yeah. Well, as someone who they may imagine, okay, he lives and works in Hollywood and Canadian and probably a liberal. But I don't feel like most people in this country hate. Especially the conservatives, quite frankly, are much more tolerant of people they don't like. It's the liberals who are purists, especially the ones in this town. They're the ones who like, if you don't agree with me 1 million percent, I don't even want to know you. That's one of the reasons they lost. They have a bad attitude.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I can't. I don't know why the Democrats lost. I don't understand why the Democrats lost. Eye.

[William Shatner]

Well, people will be writing books about it for years. Many reasons. Part of it was, you know, just Biden should not have stayed on so long.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

That I understand. But inflation prices have come down, the economy is good. I mean, I don't know why they voted against her.

[William Shatner]

Well, against the party as. Oh, well, I certainly could go on and on about that. But basically, you know, people, she was not a great candidate. Let's be honest. When she said, when they asked why.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Isn'T she a great candidate? She combined several trends of thought here. Black woman, that's not.

[William Shatner]

That's not a candidate. Those are, you know, that's identity politics. That's one of the Democrats.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Those are elements.

[William Shatner]

Those are. But nobody elects. I mean, yeah, people are tribal. There are some people who vote just for the person who looks like them or is like them. But obviously I think this proves you gotta go a lot further than that. You can't just be woman. Black person. I mean, Trump got a quarter of black men. That's 25%. You know, he didn't do much better in generally because the women are very much against him. But he killed it with Latinos. If there's any great irony in this election is that the guy who came down the escalator 10 years ago talking about the rapists, they keep giving him more of their votes. And again, I understand this.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Why Democrat? Tell me what you understand.

[William Shatner]

I will. Democrats don't understand their own constituencies. If you're a Mexican American, who do you fear taking your job? The guy who Just came in through the border. Of course, they like the guy who says, I'm gonna keep everybody out.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

But he didn't say, I'm keeping everybody out. I'm gonna send everybody out.

[William Shatner]

Okay. But he. But the Democrats could have won this election in a walk. I think not a walk, but I think they could have won it if Biden got out earlier. They had a true primary season to find the best candidate, not just one. Whose turn was it? Who, by the way, before they anointed her, nobody was sort of on the page that she was very good at being a candidate or she failed the first time. Okay. So they had done that. And then the pointless reversing of Trump's border policy, which was remain in Mexico and not everything counts as asylum. The Democrats fatal flaw is they always have to look like the good people. So they reversed that and let in too many people. Not that we shouldn't be a nation of immigrants, but it just was a lawless shit show for years. And it was. And people noticed. And then they started to send them, you know, they. So many. The Democrats hypocrisy was called out because the people in the northern cities who were like, we welcome everybody. And then the governors on the border states were like, okay, well, here they are. Enjoy this fuss life.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

What hasn't been talked about to the extent it will be is the unrest, given global warming of millions of people wanting to get somewhere else. And somewhere else is like the United States. There are millions of people that will in the near future want to leave their country because they can't live in it.

[William Shatner]

Yes. And look, I mean, it's going to happen here, too. We could lose Florida.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, we will.

[William Shatner]

And if anybody knows about losing Florida, it's Democrats. By the way, Florida, which used to be a swing state, is now just bright red. And you know why?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

It is him?

[William Shatner]

No. The influx of Latinos. So again, the irony of the Democrat, the Republicans accusing the Democrats. I don't think the Democrats are doing this, of purposely letting in all these Latin people to vote for Democrats. And then, you know, in Florida, it worked out the other way. They voted for the Republican.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, the best laid plans everywhere, anytime, anywhere. What did he say? You have a plan to get hit in the face.

[William Shatner]

And that's Mike Tyson. Yeah. Oh, yeah. He's fighting Jake Paul. Let's go. I bet you.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I bet you want to go.

[William Shatner]

Yeah. Where is it? Is it like Vegas?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I believe it's Vegas.

[William Shatner]

You want to go to that fight? It's like, oh, but we have to Go. I can't. It's the night before my last show of the season. No, no, not the last show. It's night before a show. It's the 15th of this month and I got something. Oh, it is on the 16th. Yeah.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

You know where you should go with me? I'm going to the Antarctic Christmas week.

[William Shatner]

Oh, yeah. Let me start packing now, Bill. Yeah, that will happen. Never.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

You're never going to go to the Antarctic and see what you can't see anywhere else.

[William Shatner]

I don't go east of La Brea.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yes, you do.

[William Shatner]

You fly all over the country. I'm kidding. But no, no, I definitely don't go to rough places. Like, the fact that you do is just astounding. And you look the same as when you were here before. You. You don't seem to age that much.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, it's happening. It's all internal.

[William Shatner]

Well, yeah. Oh, man. Did you watch that movie the Substance?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

No.

[William Shatner]

Have you ever heard of it? With Demi Moore and I heard about.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Her in it, yeah.

[William Shatner]

I mean, it's that kind of performance where the critics. Which, first of all, she is fantastic, but they're all, you know, they do love it in Hollywood and love to call you brave when you're known as a beautiful woman, which she is. And then you get ugly on camera or have the balls to show yourself as you really are without makeup. And the movie is about this woman who is in her early 60s and she's got an exercise show and they're replacing her because, come on, you're 61 now. We need someone younger we can get to. Why. That's kind of hypocritical in ways, but. So she hears about this substance that you can take and you inject yourself. And what happens is another you, like, your back opens up and another you comes out. Who's her, like, at 22?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Who plays that?

[William Shatner]

Margaret Qualley.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Oh, I see. It is an actual actress.

[William Shatner]

Yes. And then in the movie, you get like, one week. You're not two different people. You're the same person. You're sharing this substance that you shoot each other up with. But the.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

What's happened to the original body?

[William Shatner]

It lies dormant for a week while the other one goes out in the world. And then they switch and it has to. You have to do it this way. And, of course, what happens is that it breaks down and they do see each other as rivals and they do start hurting each other in different ways. And she's using up all. And she's doing that.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

And so let me tell you, your enunciation of that story. And now I'm in the position of a producer, I've got money, I'm going to make a film. And you tell me that story and I say to you, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. It would never go. It's just impossible to do. And I don't think it'll go. And I'm not touching that given the milieu of what's happening in Hollywood now where things are like very trepidation, nobody's spending money, nobody's buying anything. Very few people are making content because they had bought so much prior that there's a real dearth of work going on here. That story told to me in this day and age, I would have said, if they said to me, me, Shatner, I would say that's crazy. You'll never sell that story.

[William Shatner]

Why? I think it's kind of. I think it's. First of all, it's supposed to be a commentary on youth.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

On the striving for youth.

[William Shatner]

Well, yes, exactly. On how much we worship youth. Which I don't think is exactly blowing the COVID off a big secret that people like good looking young people, certainly for that dimension. What I find a little hypocritical is you can't kind of have it both ways. Like the young people are always saying about my generation, the boomers move over, you guys are hanging on too long. We want to, you know, you're blocking the way for us. And then this movie is about. Well, they're doing that. They're moving out the 61 year old. No. Boo. That's bad. How dare you throw her out. So you can't have it both ways. You know, they're brewing. Precisely. What they ask is, here's the young hot one now. But I mean, the director obviously wanted this movie to be tough to watch. I mean there's just a lot of like close ups of decaying flesh and stuff like that. There's. It obviously was intentional. Having confidence that I am safe at home is one of my biggest priorities. Well, we'll file that under duh. Do you feel unease when you go to sleep at night or leave your home? I do, yeah. I do know in la, which is why Simplisafe is a great new way to protect your home that stops intruders before they break in. With fast protect monitoring and live guard protection, Simplisafe agents can act within five seconds of receiving your alarm. Can even see and speak to intruders to stop them in their tracks. Well, that's it? I'm firing my dogs.

[Bill Maher]

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[William Shatner]

Just visit simplisafe.com random that's simply with an offer I s I m p l isafe.com random there is no safe like Simplisafe. The marketing gurus from Radioactive Media are back and bringing you another episode of Club Random. It? S the end of the year and as a business owner, why not power into the new year stronger than ever? With Radioactive Media, you too could tap into the power of podcast and radio. Our friends at Radioactive Media know the recipe to launch, Optimize and scale performance by building compelling audio campaigns that work for advertisers who want to reach the right audience. Text them just text random to 511-511-Start planning for 2025 now. Go to RadioactiveMedia.com or text the word random to 51151 1. Discover how audio marketing can surpass your current strategies with new and innovative ways that sound better. Go to RadioactiveMedia.com or text random to 511-511-text random to 511511 today. Message and Data rates may apply. I have worked a lot of places over the years, from comedy clubs to TV networks and this podcast you're watching right now. I've worked with mostly great people. Mostly I think the other ones know who they are. And a few of those where I was like the guy who hired you should be fired. That's why every employer is under huge pressure to hire the right people. Oh, I get it now. This is for ZipRecruiter. Very clever. That's where ZipRecruiter can help. ZipRecruiter has figured out how to solve this very problem. Where were they were in 1995? I could have used them that year. In fact, four out of five employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. And right now you can try ZipRecruiter for free at ZipRecruiter.com/random see for yourself. Just go to ZipRecruiter.comrandom right now to try it for free. That's the same price as a genuine smile from stranger, a picture perfect sunset or a cute dog running up to lick. Running up to you and licking your hand. Gross.

[Bill Maher]

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[William Shatner]

ZipRecruiter.com/ Again, that's ZipRecruiter.com/ ZipRecruiter. The smartest way to hire. It's, it's, it's interesting. It's, it's, it's, it's good. I think that they, you know, to do a movie about something anymore, even if I don't agree with everything. But it's an attempt that's much more 70s type thinking, movie making than what usually goes on. Today.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I flipped through the. Through the television movie channels. Movie. Well, I'm looking at what do I feel like looking at tonight.

[William Shatner]

Right.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

What do you feel like looking at tonight? And the days, especially this whole last several months with all that was on television was politics and dire things are happening.

[William Shatner]

Well, no, if you flip to the movie channels, you'd see 50 movies.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

No, so what my point is, what do you feel like seeing to get away from all the things that are. Because you got to stay abreast of the news. You're part of the life. So you have to watch what's happening in the life.

[William Shatner]

Well, I certainly do for my living.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, of course, and I do for.

[William Shatner]

You're a citizen.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Exactly. Well, yes.

[William Shatner]

Not in this country.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

But in looking for something to escape that, the last thing I want to see is that ugliness. So I find myself looking at these stupid five heroes saving the world.

[William Shatner]

But there's a million things in between. Yes.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Cooking. Cooking shows.

[William Shatner]

You don't have to go all the way to cooking shows to get away from the news. Just watch. I mean any movie that's ever been made. Any television show that's ever been made. I mean this is just like everything that's ever been made can be seen. So why do you have to watch a cooking show?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, because some of those cook. I wondered that myself because it soothes you, it's soothing. But also. Well, you're a foodie, but it's of interest. What's going into. How is it being made? What is it being done or redoing a house?

[William Shatner]

Remember at dinner you were mad at me because I ordered the same thing as you and you were like, what are you doing? We need variety, you know, like I think you wanted to eat off my plate so you could have another type of food and sample. I was like, you idiot.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, you know, multiple sensations. It's important.

[William Shatner]

Well, but not at the same time. I mean, you don't want to mix food and sex. That's always a big mistake, don't you think?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I've never understood that. Have you?

[William Shatner]

No, it's stupid.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Have you ever.

[William Shatner]

We all do everything when.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

No, no, no. Not everybody puts syrup on their genitals.

[William Shatner]

No, not.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Or cake.

[William Shatner]

Well, you know, if it's on your genitals, you're not the one licking it off, so, you know, it's not. It doesn't bother me that much, but I don't. I don't remember ever having syrup on my genitals, but I.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Do you ever have flu?

[William Shatner]

I do remember the song by Vic Damone. Syrup on my genitals. What a. What a cruel.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

It was a syrup.

[William Shatner]

And I think Mel Torme also did it in later years in the Velvet Fog. Yes, he was Syrup on my balls.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Are we the only ones who would remember Mel Tormeo And Vic Damone?

[William Shatner]

And Vic Damone and elections. Do you know that, like, one of the most popular, maybe the most. I think yesterday Google searches was, who is running in the United States election. Like, tons of people didn't know Biden had dropped out. Yeah, that's the country you're living in.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I hate to think of it that way.

[William Shatner]

But, Bill, you can just search. No search. Just like pick A. Like if you go to any of the streaming services that have movies and you go to search, just put in like, any letter random, like B and then B A. And then all the movies will start coming up that begin with that and you'll go, oh, balls, for the holidays. I remember that one. And I mean, it's just so easy to find something that's a little more satisfying than just the black and whites.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

You know, the whodunits, they were good, but I just. I need a movie tailored to my mood and that's difficult to do.

[William Shatner]

Right. Yeah. I also like movies with pretty people in them. I'm not going to lie if I'm going to stare at the screen, you know, because not all the TV I consume am I looking directly at the screen. I have a TV in the kitchen and I'm making food and I love that.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

There's no way to see a movie.

[William Shatner]

Well, it depends on the movie. It's on how much I want to see it.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, there you are.

[William Shatner]

Or if I've seen it before, like, I Got the Revenant on in the kitchen. Now, do you look at a movie.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

With a technical attitude as well? That's a good shot. That was. I wonder how they got that sometimes.

[William Shatner]

I mean, I made my living as an actor mostly in the 80s, and certainly did enough television and movies to understand it and remember it and glad I'm not still doing it, but I don't want to. I did have a long discussion with Quentin Tarantino here once about the movie 19.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I was here with anyone when he was here.

[William Shatner]

Yeah, the movie 1917, the World War I movie.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I loved that movie.

[William Shatner]

I did, too. And to the.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

How did they do that movie?

[William Shatner]

That's. See, this is. See, this was my point to Quentin, and he felt I was overly impressed with it, and maybe I was because he's a cinematic genius. So to him it was no big trick. To us it was.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

It's a big trick.

[William Shatner]

I think so, too.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Of course.

[William Shatner]

No, I think he allowed that, but he just thought I was a little overly impressed with the one shot thing. And I understood. I got where they changed the magazine when he goes in and it turns to black. I get it. Hitchcock did the same thing with rope.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Absolutely. Hitchcock did it all the time.

[William Shatner]

Not all the time. He did it in rope.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

And I'll tell you, rope in rope, that's the most. You go into a trunk.

[William Shatner]

Yes. Behind Jimmy Stewart's back.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Right. And pull back.

[William Shatner]

I mean, but that's the technology. The magazine doesn't last more than like 40 minutes.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

So you've got 11 minutes on a magazine. But now that doesn't. That. That isn't a problem.

[William Shatner]

No electrical. But just the. I mean, to give the audience that point of view where there's never a cut. It just brings you so much more into the story. Like, wow, I'm really here because it's continuous as our life is not.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Orson Welles did a lot of it, too.

[William Shatner]

One shot where he.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yeah.

[William Shatner]

What? Not Citizen Kane.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Not Citizen Kane. But what was the other one that he.

[William Shatner]

Magnificent Amberson.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Magnificent Amberson.

[William Shatner]

His one shot.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

And also the. Some of the gangster movies. Our friend, director, gangster.

[William Shatner]

Clint Eastwood.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Gangster. Gangster.

[William Shatner]

Ice Cube. Edward G. Robinson. Well, Jimmy Cagney. What?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

No, no, the director of.

[William Shatner]

Martin Scorsese.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Martin Scorsese did a long. A long shot.

[William Shatner]

I feel like we're a married couple that just lost the Newlywed Game. But I mean, it's just an amazing movie. And some of the shots. Remember the one where he sees a plane, they're on the ground and you see it having a dog fight. In the distance. And without. Again, without cutting. The plane has a dog fight up in the sky and then crashes right where these actors were looking at it, pointing at it in the sky. And then it continues as they drag the guy out of the plane and then he kills.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

How did they. Well, they must have superimposed. They did it.

[William Shatner]

And this is. This. Don't get me started on award shows, but this is, you know, just, to me, evidence number 392. Well, that they're full of shit. Because a movie like that and the Revenant, which I've always thought should have won Best Picture because they took the art of filmmaking to another level. That has to be better than just. It's the kind of movie that made us feel good about ourselves. And I absolutely agree with you.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

But especially there are awards for that. It's taking the technology that everybody knows. I mean, it's advanced, but superimposition on special effects. But taking it to such a. Like that scene of a dog fight going on while the characters. It's like, that's not important. What's important is down here. No, that's not important. That's. Oh, my God. It's important. It's so. It's so.

[William Shatner]

Right.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

An intelligent use of existing technology.

[William Shatner]

Well, I could think of. Emphasat. Was the very first movie that won the Academy Award was Wings.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Right.

[William Shatner]

Howard Hughes.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Right.

[William Shatner]

Scorsese made the movie about Howard Hughes. And that's the whole first act is.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

No, I've forgotten that a long time.

[William Shatner]

Yes. The Aviator.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yeah.

[William Shatner]

DiCaprio. And he's playing Howard Hughes. And Howard Hughes is making a movie and spending more money than anyone has ever made on a movie. The year is like 1928. And they shoot it. It cost like a million dollars, which was like a trillion dollars back then. And then it's bad. He doesn't like it and he reshoots it. Because they needed clouds to give a sense of movement of the planes. Otherwise, it didn't look like it was real. Like, you have to see perspective. So they reshot it with clouds. But, like, to think that that was the first movie about a World War I plane in a dogfight. And then we move over to 1917. It's like, wow, the progress that, you know, we do not acknowledge progress in this country. Well, in any way.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I'm a living.

[William Shatner]

Yes, that's it. You're living. That's not getting green.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I worked with cameras that were the size of bears with heat coming out of them from tubes and fans inside the cameras to dissipate the heat. So when a camera came in for a close up, it was like a breathing monster. People wilted when a television camera came in for a close up. Now they're tiny cameras with long lenses and you don't know they're there. And marks you had to hit. Now you don't have to. It's lit in such a way. I mean, it's just the difference between the technology of 20, 30, 40 years is the technology of.

[William Shatner]

I did not know that about the Behr camera. Oh my Lord.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

They were gigantic.

[William Shatner]

They were as big as the chair and they emitted heat.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

They had tubes that had. Remember radios?

[William Shatner]

So this is like when you did. What's the one with the Twilight Zone?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

No, that was long before Twilight Zone.

[William Shatner]

Before Twilight Zone.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Oh, I was. I was active in Canada when, when, when television came in, we didn't know what it was.

[William Shatner]

Canada has television.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

They won. Canada won all the awards for radio in those early, in the 50s, in the early years. And then one day about a year or two after it came into the States, Canada said we must have televisions. They kind of rearranged a radio studio to have some lights and a camera in it. And I was a part of it and I wrote for it as well. I met my first wife on a show that I wrote that I cast her as the actress. Lousy show. Not a great marriage.

[William Shatner]

Cast her. Married her. That sounds a little Puff Daddy ish, doesn't it?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yeah, but the technology, which I'm a witness to is mind boggling.

[William Shatner]

It is in every dimension of life.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Cancer?

[William Shatner]

Yes. Well, not as. Yeah, I mean, progress, but not. You would have thought back in 1970 when Richard Nixon declared a war on cancer. You would have thought 54 years later, probably a little bit, you know, I mean, I don't think any of us will be satisfied until we can walk into a doctor's office and have him say, oh, you have cancer. But we know what caused it and we know exactly what to do.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

They're close.

[William Shatner]

You think?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yeah.

[William Shatner]

Wow.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

With chemicals. And I'm going to start drinking again.

[William Shatner]

At these prices. I can't afford. I can't afford not to get cancer.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Have you had cancer?

[William Shatner]

What a question. If I had, I wouldn't tell you.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Really?

[William Shatner]

Yeah.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Why?

[William Shatner]

I'm very private about that kind of stuff. I have never missed a show except the two they made me miss because I had wink wink Covid. I mean it was their choice. But I've never missed a show in 31 years. Never missed a standup performance except when the plane couldn't get in. Never. Because of sickness. I believe the show must go on. And I believe you don't talk about your personal problems. I've never burdened the audience. Some people do, and it's fine. I'm not knocking it, but it's not a burden.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

For example, and I.

[William Shatner]

Well, that's how I see it.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I've never missed a performance. I've never missed.

[William Shatner]

Is that right?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I've never. I've never missed a performance.

[William Shatner]

Some people wish you did. Right.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

And I don't miss those people either.

[William Shatner]

But enough about Mr. Spock. Who's the one you're feuding with? The driver?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I don't feud with any Sulu.

[William Shatner]

Don't you feud with him still? He does.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

But there are sick people in this world that if you fight with them, it's a losing battle. I mean, the illness has taken over.

[William Shatner]

He seems like such a nice guy, but I just always want to say, come on, you just drove. That was somebody's bit about Star Trek. He drove. What was the big deal? Okay, today we are talking about the fashion brand Rhone. Whenever, not. Look, have you ever tried to figure out what to wear and just wish there was a simple solution? I know I have. Well, true. I actually have done that. Did it Today, men's closets are due for a radical reinvention. Oh, they are. And Rhone has stepped up to the challenge. Rhone's commuter collection is the most comfortable, breathable, and truly versatile set of products known to man. They have products for every occasion. We're talking about the world's most comfortable pants, dress shirts, quarter zips, polos and blazers. They look great as individual pieces and work seamlessly together. The pants are so comfortable. Your favorite late night host, I guess that's me, can deliver a monologue, joke in them, and then go right out and shoot hoops. I mean, I wouldn't do that, but I could. I take the point. The clothes are like the best point guard. They have balance, versatility, and mobility. Head to roan.comrandom and use promo code random to save 20% off your entire order. That's 20% off your entire order when you head to r h o n e.comrandom and use code random. It's time to find your corner office comfort.

[Bill Maher]

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[William Shatner]

I have to tell you about this game changing product. It's called Pre Alcohol. Let's face it, I don't bounce back the next day from drinking like I used to. Which is why my only few drinks a week are on this show. It's time to make a choice. Either have a great night or a great next day. That was until this awesome discovery of Pre alcohol Zbiotics. Pre Alcohol probiotic drink is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic. It was invented by PhD scientists, the best kind to tackle rough mornings after drinking. And who parties like those guys? Nobody. Maybe archaeologists. Maybe. But just remember to make ZBiotics your first drink of the night. Drink. Drink responsibly and you'll feel your best the next day. I keep hearing about, I kept hearing about Pre Alcohol and wondered what it was actually like. Now I get why everyone's talking about it. Go to ZBiotics.com random to learn more and get 15% off your first order. When you use code random at checkout, ZBiotics is backed with a 100% money back guarantees. So if you're unsatisfied for any reason, I mean with this product, not in general with your life or your sex life, that could be taken the wrong way. They'll refund your money, no questions asked.

[Bill Maher]

We here at Club Random Studios love Zbiotics. We all use it before a post recording session, night out and we all showed up at work the next day clear minded and ready to edit this week's episode. Here's how it works. When you drink, alcohol gets converted into a toxic byproduct in the gut. It's this byproduct, not dehydration, that's to blame for your rough next day. Pre Alcohol produces an enzyme to break this byproduct down. And now that we've tried it, we get why everyone is talking about it. With their GMO technology, Zbiotics has continued to invent Probiotics that will help with everyday challenges of modern living.

[William Shatner]

Remember to head to zbiotics.com random and use code random at checkout for 15% off.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Have you been ill and gone on?

[William Shatner]

Of course.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

What kind of illness?

[William Shatner]

You know, back in the day.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

What's that mean? Whose fucking day is it that you're talking about?

[William Shatner]

It's, it's generically, it can mean anything. And people also say that was a minute. You know, I haven't seen you in a minute.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Right.

[William Shatner]

You know, these are just, you know.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

No, but what does back in the day mean?

[William Shatner]

Back in the day? Well, you know, it could. It's. Kids are not exactly what you call up on history. So it's good for them because they can say back in the day and it just means generally before now, which is all I know about history. They don't know, you know, whether the Middle Ages came before the Renaissance or the other way around. So back in the day is just generic and suits them very well. I think that's where it came from.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Where does your. Back in the day.

[William Shatner]

Okay, but I'm. When I say back in the day and that instance, it would mean like when I was younger, like when I was in my 20s, 30s, 40s, I got way sicker than I do now. I got flu, cold a few times a year because I lived so much less healthy because I learned how to live healthier. And of course, I have to, because when you're older, you're on a short leash, you know, you seem to be able to do whatever you want. I don't have that luxury. I have to live.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

No, I eat very.

[William Shatner]

You know, this is like I allow myself a drink or two only on Wednesday night.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Is that right?

[William Shatner]

Yeah, this is it.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Because you, you play with the reputation of being a pothead.

[William Shatner]

Oh, I am a pothead.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yeah. But that's bad for your lungs.

[William Shatner]

I wouldn't say it's good ever to put smoke in your lungs.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

That's just a negative way of putting it. It's bad for your lungs. I wouldn't say it's good. What you mean is it's bad for your lungs.

[William Shatner]

Yes, yes. Count.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

You've. Counselor, you've evaded that reality.

[William Shatner]

I have not evaded it. I'm aware of it. And it's a trade off that I discuss with myself many times.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Who wins the argument?

[William Shatner]

Well, obviously the pot.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Obviously I do.

[William Shatner]

Yeah. I mean, I'm not sure. Of course, there are people who smoke from the minute they wake up to the end of the day. I am so far from that. Not. Yeah, well.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, they're living in another reality.

[William Shatner]

You can certainly name a number of celebrities who have done that.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Who smoked from morning till night.

[William Shatner]

Snoop Dogg.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Who?

[William Shatner]

Snoop Dogg. Willie Nelson. Snoop Dogg does Snoop Dogg? Yes.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Still.

[William Shatner]

Well, he does. He did back in the.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Very alert now.

[William Shatner]

He did back in the day. No.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Isn't yours?

[William Shatner]

No, I think he probably. I don't know if he still does. But he certainly did a lot of those rappers. And I'm talking about.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Doug is an interesting character.

[William Shatner]

Oh, he's great. I love him.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

But I've always thought of him as being, like, exotic. But on this show he's on, he's so there. He's so. What do you mean, funny?

[William Shatner]

Exotic?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, I mean, removed from my reality.

[William Shatner]

Right. No, he's just a dude from Long beach who's got a quick mind, of course. I mean, look at the way he parlayed a career that started out, you know, way in the, you know, serious gangster rap phase, where if you quoted some of the lyrics today, I mean, you would not win the now man of the Year award. You know, I mean, rap in that day was very misogynistic, and it's just how it was, you know? And some of these guys, LL Cool J also, you know, they started from there, and now it's a brilliant thing to do. They mainstreamed it. That's what you have to do. That's what singing stars do, you know, I mean, Lady Gaga started out very counterculture and was wearing meat dresses and stuff, and. But now she's. Whatever she is, 40 or 38 or something. And so she's much more of just like, oh, now I'm a movie star and I can sing with Tony Bennett. And that's true. You gotta do. You gotta grow with your audience as they age.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

A metamorphosis. I mean, it's from the dreadlocks or whatever it was, the long pigtails and the rap and almost.

[William Shatner]

I used to have him on my. Unpolitically incorrect. In the 90s. He's the same guy.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Is he?

[William Shatner]

Yeah. I mean, he's. You know, they would come and, you know, the hallway would just be filled with the smell of smoke. I mean, there'd be. And I would just so admire that.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Let me ask you the balls to.

[William Shatner]

Just say, fuck it. You know what? Arrest me for this stupid crime.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

A question about smoking a pot when I did, and I haven't done it in a while for, I don't know, the night.

[William Shatner]

He's young.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, I'm afraid of losing control of my bladder, of my imagination. I've had some bad trips and.

[William Shatner]

Really? Yeah, but, you know, you don't really trip on.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, you can. Well, it depends on the individual. You trip.

[William Shatner]

Yeah.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I mean, you lose reality.

[William Shatner]

Well, I sure don't. I mean, I'd love to.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

What do you mean?

[William Shatner]

I've been smoking for 50 years, Bill. I mean, I do not lose reality. It'd be awesome. But I don't.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

But the reality changes. It has to. Why else would you smoke?

[William Shatner]

Oh, please. That's not the reality. That's just your mood. That's just your mood. And it turns.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

But your mood conditions your reality, man.

[William Shatner]

To a degree. But we're talking about.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

You feel bad, you're looking around. I'm going to commit suicide. You feel good, let's go party.

[William Shatner]

Right? And those are the extremes which I'm telling you, this doesn't bring me to. In either way.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Really.

[William Shatner]

Of course not. I mean, come on, what world are you living in? There are drugs that do that to you. I mean, there are tragic stories sometimes where somebody young dies. It just happened with a pop star.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

You don't find your driving affected?

[William Shatner]

Well, I don't drive. I don't drive it.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

You don't drive when you're.

[William Shatner]

No.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Why not? Because it affects your reality?

[William Shatner]

No, because if I get caught, they'll punish me for it. That's why I can drive perfectly well stoned. I wouldn't do it anymore, but. But back in the day, I remember one time in band camp. No, one time I was driving. I must be in my early 30s. And I was, you know, didn't care back then, apparently. And I remember driving to this place and having zero memory of driving there, because your brain, you have the two halves of your brain and the half of my brain that did things like saw red lights and stopped, and that was working fine. And the other half of my brain was thinking about a thousand other things and had no recollection of the actual road.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

But you could do that without smoking. You could drive a distance there. How the hell did I get here? But you're talking about altering the reality to one degree or another, and you're. And if you're in it, do you know the degree with which you've altered reality?

[William Shatner]

You just said it. One degree. If you alter something one degree, it's not that much. And you probably are always altered by 1 to 10 degrees in any given day based on how much sleep you got.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yeah, but that's such a rationale for smoking as much as you do. It's not good for your lungs.

[William Shatner]

I don't smoke that much.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Oh, really?

[William Shatner]

No, that's what I'm telling you. There are people like Snoop and Woody. I think for years, Paul McCartney was that person who just. They, you know, they. When they traveled with pot, they traveled with bags of it. You know, they go through, like, a bag a day, I go through a bag a year.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

You know, the Way you talk, it sounds like you're. You smoke it all the time, then you don't.

[William Shatner]

You're hearing that just in your mouth. No, no, what you hear is I do pot jokes. It's a funny thing. People like to have things about them. And of course, I wouldn't do it if it wasn't true. I am a longtime tribune for the cause of marijuana legalization. And I think it's a great drug. If it is for you, it's not for everybody. And that's true with any drug. It really depends on how it agrees with your body chemistry. But certainly, I hope you're libertarian enough to say if it agrees with mine.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Then I'm glad it's.

[William Shatner]

Yeah. And that's all it is, it's legal.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Because it's a natural thing. And it's like those leaves that are popular in Africa where they got. Yeah.

[William Shatner]

Khat. KH K H A T. Yeah.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Katya. Yes. They're doing the same thing, aren't they?

[William Shatner]

That's like cocaine. I mean, it is cocaine. We know that cocaine here in America is not cocaine. It said the best you'd ever get was about 50% cocaine. When they chew it, as they have for millennia in the jungle, it's not the same. It's not that speedy high that we get from cocaine. That's probably what the fuck they mix it with. And some of the cocaine. But the natives who. I've been told this by people who would know, like when they just chew it, it's like it's a much mellower hide.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yeah. No, it's reasonable given the conditions in Africa that they sometimes live under, especially if they're living in the bush. It's tough.

[William Shatner]

Did you ever do coke?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yeah. But what I found was it didn't froze my nose. And then things would drip and you weren't aware that you had a lot of moisture coming up. And it was not leading man like, excuse me, you got snot. Excuse me. Is that caught? No, snot.

[William Shatner]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you certainly were, you know, riding high. Primo, you know, on the. I think in the. Back in the day. Back in the day when coke was much more acceptable. I mean, it was much more acceptable in the 60s, 70s.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

You mean it's not acceptable now?

[William Shatner]

It is not acceptable now.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Really?

[William Shatner]

People literally would offer it in business meetings. I don't think you'd find that today, even in Hollywood. I don't.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, because they probably didn't know about it.

[William Shatner]

Yes. And then people started to die. There was a famous basketball Player who was going to be a great Celtic and he died young.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I got invited to a party with some frequency. An actor friend would every Saturday night have a party and have coke and marijuana. And I'd go to the parties and, you know, sniff and snort and Jane. And they'd say, you know, I read in the news about some Thai fishermen way out at sea and a wave came and swamped the boat and they fell out of the boat in the middle of the ocean. They're in the middle of the ocean and they're trying to swim and suddenly they feel solid. Something under their feet.

[William Shatner]

A submarine, huh? Submarine?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

No, porpoises.

[William Shatner]

Oh, porpoises.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

And the porpoises took them to the land and we started to laugh. What would it be like to be, you know, you're striving and suddenly in the middle of the ocean, you're riding a porpoise like it's crazy. And we'd laugh and laugh and laugh and then go home. And the next week somebody would say, you know, I heard about these Thai fishermen and they tell the same story. And week after week after week, it seemed like a new story. We would laugh about having heard it for the first time. Except didn't. We did this last week. And there would be that laughter about that.

[William Shatner]

I mean, drugs can make you laugh. Like, I mean, mushrooms are the ultimate laughter.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I dip mushrooms.

[William Shatner]

I don't know, people have different experiences, like I say, with different drugs. To me, it's the only drug that didn't make me horny. That made me like think sex. What the fuck? Why would I put my something of mine in you? That's ridiculous. But the laughter, I mean, I remember the second time I did it out here, maybe third time, but we were also drinking beer. Not a lot, but. And of course this drug just makes you laugh hysterically for no reason. For a great times on end and you're on the floor, you just want to get low. And every time we would like laugh like hysterically for two minutes, I would say, man, this Budweiser is fantastic. Which was funny the first time, but on mushrooms it was funny a hundred times. I mean, you can't. You can't buy.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I went to Amsterdam with my wife just for the purposes of seeing what the drug situation was like. We were in London.

[William Shatner]

What year are we talking about?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

10 years ago.

[William Shatner]

10 years ago.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

And we flew to Amsterdam, it was in the winter and so they're selling it on the street. So we smoked a little and we got some mushrooms that we took back to the Room. And we, and we, and we ate them and drank. And then I was sure there was a head of a lizard coming out of the wall.

[William Shatner]

Okay, there's no way to talk about your wife.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

She got up off the wall. That's funny. That's the funniest thing you've ever said. And I'm not stoned. So she speculated on world peace. And I was transfixed by these monsters coming out of the wall. So that was like. Scared me to death. I never want to do it again.

[William Shatner]

Yeah, I mean, funny. I wanted that experience on mushrooms and never got it. It never made me hallucinate. I did acid or whatever. Acid, you know, there hasn't been acid since the 60s. They make something and they sell it as acid because it's unregulated, but it's not acid. But something. I did once and I did hallucinate a little. I did see somebody was playing a guitar and suddenly their fingers were like comically elongated.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Oh, in your, in your sight.

[William Shatner]

That's what I. Yeah, right. And I was like, oh, here it is. And I thought, you know, I was waiting for Yellow Submarine to come on. Full length movie. But it was just long and that was it.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yeah.

[William Shatner]

Because my mind, that makes sense to me. They can't hypnotize me. Although I would love to have that happen. Some minds just are locked in some places, for better or worse.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Bill, I was hypnotized.

[William Shatner]

Thank you.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

No, I'm going to hypnotize you now. Right now.

[William Shatner]

Oh, come on.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Okay. No, no.

[William Shatner]

Oh, if I'm up here walking around.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

No, no, I can check in. No, no. It's going to be the most pleasant experience you've ever had. And I'll do it the way they did it to me. Okay? All right, now really, seriously, close your eyes. Stop laughing. Stop laughing. Stop laughing. Stop laughing.

[William Shatner]

I'm taking it very seriously.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Okay. Take it very serious. Close your eyes.

[William Shatner]

Okay.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I want you to count backwards from three. Stop laughing.

[William Shatner]

It's a short journey, my. Okay. Three. Two. One.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

No, slowly. Dwell on each number. Dwell. Dwell on each number.

[William Shatner]

Three is for the number of tits a Martian chick has.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Relax your brain. Relax.

[William Shatner]

2.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Good.

[William Shatner]

One.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Okay, open your eyes. Open your eyes. Kill Shatner. No, no kill Shatner.

[William Shatner]

No kill.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

You were hypnotized.

[William Shatner]

I must kill hypnotized Shatner.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Do you understand? You were out for about five minutes. You were out for about five minutes. Yeah, and that's what they did to me. And I thought. Was I. Yeah, and they brought witnesses and.

[William Shatner]

No, you were out okay.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

That's what they did.

[William Shatner]

Is this your party trick? Is this what you play on everybody?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Right. What's my party? Right. Oh, it's so much fun. Everybody laughs.

[William Shatner]

But I would love to get. I would pay a.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

To be hypnotized.

[William Shatner]

No. A year's salary to just have a video of that party that you talked about walking into.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

That's probably not enough money.

[William Shatner]

I know, but just. If I could see that. I could hear the 60s or 70s, Dana, Dan and all these.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

That's the party I went to.

[William Shatner]

I know. I want him being there.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

He would order this giant cake the size of this table, and people would, you know, grab the cake as they smoked. They would grab a piece of cake and eat the cake, and it became like a. A frenzy of eating something sweet and. And tasting it going down. It was. It was novel and new and interesting.

[William Shatner]

It was like a ditty party, but with cake instead of. And they invited all the fat people in Hollywood.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Did you ever go to one of those?

[William Shatner]

I'm flattered that you think I. That the question is even exactly who.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Why wouldn't you invite you, Bill?

[William Shatner]

I love you for that. No, I was. You know, it's funny, I.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

But you'd have gone right, that.

[William Shatner]

It's so funny. I used to run into Puffy, you know, here and there, events. I remember he was at the Oscars. I remember talking to him a lot the night Chris Rock slapped. Got slapped by Will Smith. And, you know, he's one of those guys. Maybe it's Trump.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, how does that relate with Puffy?

[William Shatner]

I'm talking about Puffy. Talking about Puffy.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I thought maybe you were wandering over.

[William Shatner]

No, no, I would run into him now and then at events and stuff. Puffy.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Okay. I thought we were talking about Chris Rock.

[William Shatner]

No, I said I saw Puffy that night at the Oscar party. The night that Chris Rock.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

You actually didn't mention that, but go ahead.

[William Shatner]

Yeah, because I was out for five minutes again. Okay. So I would see him, and he's one of those guys who, like, you could see why he's so successful. I mean, he had smart instincts in the business, but also just, like, could give you that two minutes of undivided attention that made you feel like you're the most important person in the world. There are people who just have that skill. Trump was that guy. They said, yeah, I remember meeting Donald Trump well before he was president. And, yeah, he kind of had that thing like, he would just, you know, envelop you, envelope, engage you for a couple of minutes. And Puffy would always be like, you know, you want to. You know, here, my number. I really wanted you to call me. And you'd call it and it was. Never would return the call. I didn't even. I knew he wouldn't do that, so I didn't even want it. I was like, oh, but if I don't call, then am I the asshole?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Right?

[William Shatner]

Okay, so. But that's just who he was. He was just a personable guy. But I don't think I was on the list for the Freak Offs. No, that's. And would you have gone? Would I have got. Yes, in that era? I mean, we're talking about the early part of the century, that era and that area. I was out at places that were like that. All the people there would have loved to have been at the Freak off party, but we weren't. So we were at Club Shitty.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Right, but that's been no different. You have to take your clothes off and screw as much as you can to have.

[William Shatner]

Obviously, Bill, what went on in those parties was just way beyond what even.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

What do they say went on. Okay, well, imagine. Tell me.

[William Shatner]

I think you should save this one for your Netflix series. But. Okay, we'll talk about it.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Let me introduce you.

[William Shatner]

You might want to do a deep dive. Cause everyone at that party lines go, right? No, I mean, first of all, you have to understand, like, music culture already very different. And from him. You know this from singing Rocketman?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

No, I got an album that I'm working on.

[William Shatner]

The music world is so sexual to begin with.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

It is?

[William Shatner]

Yeah. Are you kidding? Are you fucking with me?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

No, the music.

[William Shatner]

I'm not the music industry. Music, it's just more sexualized than even, like acting is to a degree. You know, you're doing love scenes and stuff, and people are attractive when they're on the set and you're away from home. It's conducive. Music industry beyond conducive. Wow. Because first of all, music is sex. It's sex in the eardrums, but it makes people sexual. I mean, a lot of the songs are about love and sex. People fuck to it. They go to a club, they take drugs, they dance. You're rubbing and you're dancing. You know, it's just sexual. And women get pussy boners for music. And people who make music more than any other, you know, profession by far.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I had no idea.

[William Shatner]

Yes, you did. Rock stars don't get laid. Is a revelation.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

No, but a rock star with all the nymphs yelling and screaming and wanting to touch them. That I can understand. But the music industry is an industry, okay?

[William Shatner]

Rap culture. Now we're taking it to an even further level. I mean, I don't think I'm telling tales out of school that rap videos, like where they would shoot the video. Yeah, especially I'm talking about back in the day.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Those were beautiful women back in the day.

[William Shatner]

Yeah, I'm sure they still are.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yeah.

[William Shatner]

But now, man of the year. Okay, so I know he will be, but like the rat, you shoot the video, right? You're shooting and the videos are very sexual. They were back in the ass in the face and ass in my face.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Right. So now what could happen?

[William Shatner]

Right? So then there's an after party. I mean, was it directly rape? It's rape adjacent. It's very like the after party turns into a. The video turns into an after party, turns into kind of an orgy. I mean, can you get out of there? Probably, but you kind of know you won't be invited back and you're just not a good sport. And it's just like. It's a sexualized industry. I'm telling you. Whatever. Me too. Uncovered so far they seem sometime somehow the angel of Death mostly flew over the House of Music, but that's where most of the bodies are buried. It's like crazy how much all that kind of shit.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Did you ever go to one of those music videos?

[William Shatner]

No.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Why not?

[William Shatner]

Because I was at a freak off party at Buffy's house. I didn't have time for crack sakes. This was back in the day. No, no, but I know people who have done them. I know people. I know women who have been in the music industry.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Really.

[William Shatner]

And their tales are. I mean, I guess it'll all come. This is sort of the beginning of breaking that seal, I think. But you know, Russell Simmons, I think, went into exile. That's another mogul who, you know, multiple accusations and you know, and there's Marilyn Manson. I mean, there's just a lot of people who you know, again, because it's so sexualized to begin with. We're talking about women who throw themselves at guys in the most overt way. And when I say overt, I mean grab your dick, which is like whenever.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

That happens, I'm certain intention there. Where am I when all this is?

[William Shatner]

Hey, you know, if they grab your dick, it's. What does that mean?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Grab your dick?

[William Shatner]

Yeah. I mean, are they trying to send you a signal? I'm bad at picking up cues. Okay. You know, like, I know when a girl does this with her hair, it kind of means she wants to fuck, but, like the dick. So, you know, that's the world that we're starting with. And then when you get to the parties. So what went on to answer that question? I don't know specifically, but a lot of stuff that women probably did not want to do, but felt they had to do because if they didn't, they were not a good sport. Who wouldn't. Wasn't playing with the people who have power and connections.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I'm going to tell you something you may not believe, and that is I've been an actor since I was six years old, okay. And all over the world.

[William Shatner]

That explains that camera.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

And I've never seen that behavior. I've never again.

[William Shatner]

This is the music industry.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, I've made several albums and I've got one going now, for example, with Brad Paisley that.

[William Shatner]

Love him.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Love him.

[William Shatner]

He's great. He was here and he's such a great guy to talk to. Oh, he's great. And, you know, I'd always had a bit of a thing about country music, and I admit it was a prejudice. I even emailed this and I said, you know, I feel silly because your music is so good. And I probably didn't listen to it just because I kind of, like, had that thought of. And this is kind of a micro.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I and my partner Robert Cherno, who's a lyricist, have written another album, lyrics, and Brad is going to do the music.

[William Shatner]

Oh, wow.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

And we've got a great album. And the concept of the album is love, but love of different kinds. I love music. I love my body. I love my health. I love art. I love and. But I love my health because it allows me to love you more. Is like the gist of the song. So we're going to do that. We've put the date somewhere in January to record, but I sent him a scratch track of my. My what I think is going on the other day. It's really good. That's. That's where I'm at. That's the music industry I'm in. I don't see what you're talking about. I've never seen what you've talked. I've never seen people take drugs. I just. I. I'm wandering around in an innocent cloud.

[William Shatner]

Yeah, you.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I mean, I'm blind. You are.

[William Shatner]

I. This is coming back to me from the first time you were here that you.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Did I say that?

[William Shatner]

No. But it's triggering a memory of me thinking, wow, this guy kind of like lives in his Own world, do my.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Work, go home and learn my words, Come back and do my work.

[William Shatner]

Right. Well, I mean, I hate to be the one to burst the bubble, but yeah, the music industry. Music industry is full of pimps.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Oh, my God.

[William Shatner]

But you know, they. And the kind of devotion and I don't know what to call it, but it's beyond. It's a preter. Human level of adoration that goes on with music stars. I mean, Taylor Swift, I mean, the Beatles, Sinatra, Elvis, I mean, anybody, Kanye, you know, people just. It just goes, like I always say, comedy. If you want to, you know, score with comedy with women, it's got to go through the brain. Music, it doesn't have to. You can have no brain at all.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

It goes for the beat.

[William Shatner]

Probably goes right to the P U.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

S S. Yeah, yeah.

[William Shatner]

And you know, and guys, I mean, I love. I couldn't live without music.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

One of the numbers I wrote is I love music.

[William Shatner]

Yeah.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

And enumerate the. The music. Classical music, love song, rock, you know, all the way music affects you, you can love it.

[William Shatner]

So inspirational. I gotta say, the way you. What are you now, 94?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

93?

[William Shatner]

3. Oh, man, that's the worst thing you can do to a 93 year old.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Is to say you're 94.

[William Shatner]

Well, step on his oxygen nose.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

But after 92 would have been really nice.

[William Shatner]

But to see that, first of all, you look fine. And also that, like, it's always about tomorrow with you. And that's the secret. It's always about tomorrow. Tomorrow I'm doing something with Brad Paisley. You know, it's like you got shit on your calendar coming up. You have some time to get sick or die.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

That's exactly right.

[William Shatner]

You got shit to do. I feel the same way.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I'm taking a plane at 10:30 Friday night, flying to New York overnight, doing a performance in the morning, entertaining in the morning, and getting on the plane in the afternoon, coming back. Wow. I don't want to be away from home any more than I have to, really.

[William Shatner]

Why? What's at home? Just that dragon.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

A fence.

[William Shatner]

A fence.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I got a nice sized property. A fence. My dogs, my wife, the house, my bed. The bed, the bed.

[William Shatner]

Sweetheart, I'm getting off the road next year. I mean, I've been on as a stand.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

So you know what I mean when you say yes, the bed. The bed's uncovered. The pillows, the sheets, the noise. I was in a hotel this last weekend for three days where they didn't have any heat. And it was saint.

[William Shatner]

Okay, thank you, Jesus. I Was just saying to a number of people asking me about, are you sure you get off the road, you'd be okay, you're off the road, I will miss it. But I said, they are making it so easy for me to not miss it. And one of the main reasons is I don't know what happened. Hotels have been going down slowly and in the last, I would say, year or two, a precipitous plunge.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

They turn off the heat at night.

[William Shatner]

Heat. I've had TVs that didn't work in multiple hotels. You can't get the TV to work. I was a couple of weeks ago someplace and I got to the room after the show and I like it cold at night. And it was cold. I guess they had turned it to that. I was like, okay, this is cool, great. Sometimes I have to get it cold. Woke up in the morning, it's cold. Okay, now I'll put the heat on. No, no, didn't go. No heat. And they said, okay, so I'll just turn it off. No, wouldn't turn off either. So I just had to live with. And to people who were like, oh, look at these two rich assholes complaining about, fuck you, first of all, we earned it. We're old, we paid our dues, and we're not asking for the world. TVs that work and heat I've also had.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

And the arena I worked in was a hockey rink, so they had boards over the ice.

[William Shatner]

And you know, I hate to be the one piling on to the younger generations, but a lot of it is. I'm sorry, apropos of the cliche, Gen Z has shitty fucking work ethics. They don't care. They're either stoned or disaffected or both or whatever.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

A lot of them have no work ethic.

[William Shatner]

No work ethic, like shit just doesn't get done. Simple stuff. They just have this attitude like, oh, gosh, I'm in a job that I'm too good for, so why should I do it? But, you know, it's just nothing gets.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

No, I'm really. That's really. That and global warming are two things to worry about. That's what needs to be corrected. We need schools that teach them not only abc, but work. Work is important.

[William Shatner]

Well, not to make everything about the Trump election, but the general feeling among people, and we know people, they don't follow the issues exactly closely. As you and I said myself on the end of our show last week, the economy is actually good. If that really is your big complaint. You just don't know the facts? No, it's more of a feeling they have about the left and a lot of it is like it's kind of Gen Z dominated that the left people.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

What's Gen Z? What era is that?

[William Shatner]

Gen Z, I think the oldest of them are like 25 now. They came along about 2015. They were the successors to the millennials. And Jonathan Haidt, the great author who follows this stuff closer than anybody, he marks that era when Gen Z came of age as a generation around 2015 to be the beginning of wokeness out of control. And I think he's right and that's a lot of what this was the determinative in this election, the a lot of the country, certainly enough of it will elect crazy Donald Trump because they think in a crazy race he's the less crazy really. The Democrats lost a crazy race to a crazy man, a truly crazy man beat them and it lose crazier.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I heard an Israeli politician say the people who attacked us are crazy. What they didn't realize is that we're crazier than they are and they will learn it. I heard that before the whole thing blew up totally. And there's truth to that.

[William Shatner]

The Israelis are not crazy at all. They just would love to live in peace. They didn't want the whole thing. They were willing to take half a loaf. They gave Gaza back.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

You know, I give you all that. But when it came to war, there was no. What they meant was there's no stopping us if we should decide to do this.

[William Shatner]

There is. Wars are either, you know, the policy of this country is let's get a, you know, a peace, a truce. That's not my policy or Israel's, which is. And by the way, when we're in a war, that's our policy. It's only when you're looking from the outside. The best time to ever call for a truce is the day after Israel gets attacked. They got attacked. Truce. It's like, I'm sorry, but if you attack me, I'm going to attack you back. And you made a bad tactical error because I actually am stronger than you and I will get it done and.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I'm crazier than you.

[William Shatner]

Israelis are not crazy at all.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, definition of crazy. But what I mean is they know the situation. They know that if they don't finish what they need to finish, it'll happen again in a very short period of time. Because the truth of the matter is they've made more. These 10 year olds and 5 year olds in the next 1020 years will remember and they've made.

[William Shatner]

But yeah, there's only the least bad answer in any geopolitical decision. But we are talking about people who also have strapped suicide vests on 10 year olds.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yeah, no, no, we know that.

[William Shatner]

To me, the ultimate sign of whether you're hypocritical on this or not is okay, you're all for the Palestinians and I certainly am for Palestinian civilians and people to be able to live peacefully and healthfully again. It's not like I don't see the misery and feel for it. But if you're taking sides in this now, my view, you're not seeing who the real bad guy is. Where would you live? Would you live in Tel Aviv or would you rather live in Gaza? Not Gaza under the attack of Israel, just Gaza under Hamas as it was before October 7th.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

That's why the two state thing is the only reasonable explanation.

[William Shatner]

So get real. You would not live in that society. These are not your values. That women are second class citizens and should be covered and don't really have rights, and gay people, that may be a death penalty thing. And these are not close to your rights. No elections, no freedom of religion. Certainly no you'd want to live in Tel Aviv, which looks like where you live now. That looks like where you live now. People do what they want. The women wear a sundress when it's nice outside. And we don't have to be Jews. A lot of Jews are very non Jewy. I mean they're culturally, but they don't. It's not a religious thing. And then there's others who are cuckoo religious. But where would you live?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

So exactly.

[William Shatner]

That is where the rubber meets the road for me.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, it's. There's the madness of religion there. And there's always been, why would you kill somebody over the fact that they don't believe the way you believe?

[William Shatner]

Because if you believe something as important as who created the universe and all that he did, then it's kind of important that.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yeah, but if I hold an alternative point of view, I'm not infringing on your belief.

[William Shatner]

Yes, it is. It's too existential to think that. You have to convince yourself. First of all, since there's no actual evidence that there's this supernatural being and you're part of his cult, you have to believe that there's no other possibility. That's where that comes in.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, that I don't understand because it's.

[William Shatner]

Like, no, it's stupid.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

It's like, I don't eat Whatever. I don't eat meat. I do. But somebody who's a vegetarian, why would they want to kill me? Because I want a steak. Go eat your vegetables, I'll eat my steak, and I'll see you at the movies.

[William Shatner]

I mean, some of that is my PETA friends, you know, and God love them, we're close. And I said this before, but, you know, I'm not a vegetarian. They accept that in me. So I don't think those people are that dictatorial about it. But I know what you're saying. Some people would say, you know, like what people say about abortion, it's murder. If you think. If you think we shouldn't kill animals, then it's like, hey, you know, that.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Abortion thing, it's a convenience to think that it isn't murder. It's a convenience.

[William Shatner]

I agree. I say the same thing. I say it is murder. I'm just okay with it. Which is my position. That's my actual position. It's like I. Until a person is out. I mean, especially at the early stages, yes, it's undeniably becoming a life. I'm squishy on it. Some liberals think I'm too squishy on it. So am I, because I was not supposed to be born.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

What do you mean?

[William Shatner]

My mother had my sister four years, three and a half years before me, and it was very difficult. And she had subsequently a number of what in those days, this is the early 1950s, they called exploratory operations. You know, they just opened you up because they're like, what the fuck? We don't know what. I mean. That's. She was in, you know, had a lot of. And they said, you should not have another child. And so I understand what it could have been to be on the cutting room floor.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

So. Wait a minute. Well. So your mother conceived again deliberately.

[William Shatner]

Deliberately. I, you know, don't ask those questions or I didn't. I wish I did.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Ah.

[William Shatner]

Oh. I have to tell you, you're kind of a Jew, right?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I'm a kind of a Jew.

[William Shatner]

Okay. You'll love this story. So I'm recently going through. I had occasion to go through old papers, old family papers that I just threw in a file and never lost. I said someday, and then someday never came. I had reason to do it. And my father saved letters. These are from, like, the late 40s.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

What's his first name?

[William Shatner]

Bill. Like us. He saved letters from three friends from right after World War II. Two of them were people he was in the war with all the way through like the early 60s, you know, I mean, a long distance phone call cost like 25 cents. You couldn't. The stamp was three. So I'm going through all these letters. It's fascinating, you know, and again, I only have half the story because I don't have his letters to them. They're gone. And probably those people are dead. But I have the letters they sent back to him. My father, who married my mother in 1951, up until about three months before they got married, was engaged to another woman.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Holy cats.

[William Shatner]

Yeah. Now, my father and mother met in World War II, like overseas. Very romantic. That's 1940.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

The other woman?

[William Shatner]

No, my mother. My mother and my father.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Overseas?

[William Shatner]

Yes.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

What country?

[William Shatner]

Probably France in 44. Or Germany.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Was she French?

[William Shatner]

She's a nurse.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

What?

[William Shatner]

She was an army nurse.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Oh.

[William Shatner]

And he was in Patton's army.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Right.

[William Shatner]

So he knew her from 1944 to 1951. I don't know. During that time, were they seeing other people? Was he cheating? I have no idea. But I do know from the letters he was about to marry this other woman. I'm talking about months before he married my mother. And then breaks it off. And, I mean, he could have used the same hall that he rented. It was only like three months later.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Oh, my Lord.

[William Shatner]

And I think what happened was Catholic Bill Maher, Irish Catholic Catholic boys just did not marry Jewish girls in 1951. And I think at the last minute, he was like, fuck it. You know what? That's the one I love.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Wow.

[William Shatner]

And I'm going to marry her.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Wow.

[William Shatner]

But up until then, I think he had. He was going to marry this other girl. Now, that's not exactly in the letters.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Right? That's the story. You got it.

[William Shatner]

Makes sense.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yeah.

[William Shatner]

I mean, so, Bill, a Jewish Catholic union was way more outrageous than black white is today.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I know. So your mother gets pregnant, but you don't know whether it was deliberate or not.

[William Shatner]

No. What am I going to say?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Hey, she wanted to have a baby with your father.

[William Shatner]

I wish I knew that, you know. I mean, I wish I knew the answer.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

You've pondered that question?

[William Shatner]

No, actually, I never did.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Wow.

[William Shatner]

Never did.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

So she has you. She has you with you with great difficulty.

[William Shatner]

No, my sister with difficulty. And then they told her, don't have another one.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

And then you come along.

[William Shatner]

I was fine.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

You were fine.

[William Shatner]

Yeah. Yeah. And. And back then, she smoked during pregnancy, as women did. She, you know, was in World War II. She was.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

So did French doctors, by the way. We were in France. And a doctor comes in With.

[William Shatner]

She also like had her scotch at 5:00.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Okay.

[William Shatner]

No, really. I mean, you know, we make too much of. Look.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

What? Too much of what?

[William Shatner]

Well, I have seen people in a restaurant berate a stranger, a woman who's pregnant, because they were drinking a glass of wine.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Wait a minute. They didn't want her to be pregnant.

[William Shatner]

She was there.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

What?

[William Shatner]

They're saying they were shaming the bar. Shaming her for drinking while she was pregnant.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, there's a certain amount of truth to that.

[William Shatner]

I know, but a woman, a pregnant woman can have one fucking drink without the kid coming out to be Tom Sizemore. Well, you don't know. That might have been his problem.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

That's why his name is Sizemore. Oh my.

[William Shatner]

How's everything else? Good.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Everything is good.

[William Shatner]

Yeah?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yeah.

[William Shatner]

You look good.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Working hard. You know, I. I really want to go back for a moment to this strange Antarctic trip aboard a. A liner luxury thing that's going to do 10 days with Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Oh, part of it.

[William Shatner]

He's on our show in two weeks.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Talk to him about it because I will. We're both going to be on.

[William Shatner]

So take me through it though, step by step. You leave here and you fly to where? I was going to say Buenos Aires.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Then the charter plane to Barnazares, to the very tip of South America.

[William Shatner]

Patagonia.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, I believe it's Patagonia, but I think is the name of the town.

[William Shatner]

But I. You know, then you board the ship and you get.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

The ship goes through.

[William Shatner]

Okay. So the tip, if you can picture and I can because I love geography. The very tip of South America is the town. It's like a little rat tail, right? The islands get curl back there. Well, as the islands get smaller and smaller, yes. So you're at the very tip.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

So now you fly from one is 600 miles of the. Of the most active ocean you got. A 600 miles takes a day and a half.

[William Shatner]

I went once, went to Catalina. I threw up three times. I'm not kidding.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, Catalina on a windy day.

[William Shatner]

Oh my God.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

What kind of a boat did you have? This is a big liners.

[William Shatner]

It was a nice boat.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, what do you mean a nice boat? It's a little cabin cruise.

[William Shatner]

We bought a boat.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Oh, you had a boat?

[William Shatner]

Yeah, I have a boat. I've been on it once. I don't like boats.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Why did you buy it?

[William Shatner]

My friend and I who lives here, you know, and takes care of important matters. He thinks it'd be a good idea if the earthquake hits to have a boat and go, it's gonna be a tsunami. Get out of Dodge, you're gonna be swamped. Well, we're not gonna leave a tsunami. Well, it's a tsunami if the earthquake happens in the ocean. That's not where the fault line is. The fault line is in California.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, so you think it's gonna. No, no, we're not gonna shake over there. We're gonna shake over here. You know, shake is a shake.

[William Shatner]

Yeah, but at some point the shake is over and then the people are refugees.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Oh. So, well, getting out of Dodge. But now you gotta get from here to.

[William Shatner]

But everybody would be going the other way.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, yes or no, Some people would be jumping aboard your boat.

[William Shatner]

That could happen.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yeah. You mean that could happen.

[William Shatner]

That's possible. You're right. But they don't have the keys. They can't make it start.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

No, but they can get out and paddle. They get out onto the water, you.

[William Shatner]

Know, there's a seal. There's a seal who sleeps on it.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

A seal?

[William Shatner]

A seal, yes.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Right. Does it have a seal of approval?

[William Shatner]

No, not a Navy. An actual SEAL that shits on the boat.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

So there's a SEAL that's made.

[William Shatner]

I'm hoping the seal will drive other people away as a gratitude to us for letting him sleep. And on the boat over.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Is he on the boat?

[William Shatner]

Yes.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

So you got seal, seal.

[William Shatner]

He could sleep there. I'd be happy with the sleeping if it wasn't for the. But it's so hard to talk to a seal. They pretend they don't speak English. But. So, you know. Anyway, what was the point?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

The point was shake and going the other way.

[William Shatner]

And we were talking about the space between us all. That's a song. You know what song that is?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

The space between the song.

[William Shatner]

No. Well, the. Within youn. Without you. The song on sergeant Pepper. George Harrison.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yes.

[William Shatner]

You know sergeant Pepper?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yes, of course.

[William Shatner]

Well, side two starts with. Within you. Without you. Which doesn't really fit, not only on that album, but on any Western album. Because George got into Indian music.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Right.

[William Shatner]

It's a fusion song and there is Western influence.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

They did. They got involved in the whole Eastern thing.

[William Shatner]

It was very. I mean, they.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

All of them.

[William Shatner]

Well, they all went for vacation there in February of 1968. Ringo left very soon. He didn't like the food. He didn't take to it. And I would be the same way Paul and John stayed. How do you know all this? The same way I know basic things about. I don't know.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

No, that's very esoteric. Knowledge.

[William Shatner]

It's not. Who else. Lots of people know.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Lots of people know about that.

[William Shatner]

Lots of people my age know about the Beatles because.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yeah, but not such intimate, intricate.

[William Shatner]

Yes. This is not. This is not arcane knowledge that they went to India. The Maharishi.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I know they went to India.

[William Shatner]

There you go.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

All right. But to know that he wrote the song and they were influenced. They had a lot of Indian influence in their music.

[William Shatner]

Not a lot, but they did. Not a lot. But they did use the sitar to great effect in Norwegian Wood. It's great on there. It's perfect because it's, like, new and it's guitar, like. But it was a totally different sound. Yes, they did that first. Like, everything in music was. They did first.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Is there a coincidence that it has a guitar sound and is known as a sitar?

[William Shatner]

That's a great question. I don't know the answer to that. Right. Guitar, sitar. Of course, if Elvis sang sitar man, it would not have really.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I think sitar man would not work.

[William Shatner]

I don't think so.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

That's what they sing in India.

[William Shatner]

But sitar man. Yeah, he. He was sincere about the Indian thing. And some of the Indian music was. You know, he Westerned it up a little. There's another one called the Inner Light. I mean, the. The lyrics are heavily influenced.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

If I'm surprised you don't like the food.

[William Shatner]

Indian food, I love it.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Oh, I thought just. You didn't like it?

[William Shatner]

No, no, the food's great.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

It's great food.

[William Shatner]

No, it's. It's the gods. I can't stand gods. Well, I mean, you know, they have their religious. No, it's.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

No, it's.

[William Shatner]

Look, it's a Like Eastern religions, which the people who follow them very often like to downplay as religions. I mean, Buddhists get a little insulted when you say it's a religion because it's like, oh, religion. That's for the fucking.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I didn't know that. I think it's a beautiful thing.

[William Shatner]

That it is a religion.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, that it is. You know, your definition of religion is precepts you live by. And they certainly live by Buddhist precepts.

[William Shatner]

I think there are deeper things about religion than that. It's not just.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

But that's when you call it off the top of my head, that's when you call it a religion. If you're saying, no, that's not.

[William Shatner]

I mean, the precepts you live by is part of religions, for sure. But the basic part of it, I think, is giving people an answer. To the questions that they can't answer. Where you need to make up a story about it. Where did I come from? What happens when I die? Those questions make people nervous. Religion's main function is to ease your mind about those questions. Then they overlay. Sometimes they.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I have a great fear of dying. The leaving. Leaving my home and all. The leaving you. By that, I mean.

[William Shatner]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

By friends and.

[William Shatner]

Yeah.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

And people you. You want to be with.

[William Shatner]

Yeah. I want to see the playoffs.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Right? The playoffs, exactly.

[William Shatner]

Yeah. How am I gonna. I'm gonna know who wins if I'm dead?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

I'm able, in times of some intelligence. Excuse me. To rationalize the adventure. I'm thinking of life as an adventure each day. This experience with talking with you and jumping from subject to subject and listening to your laugh and me cough all day. But I'm thinking of it as an adventure. My life has become an adventure. And so the most mundane things, taking my dog's head and saying, I love you.

[William Shatner]

I love you.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Just that moment is the adventure. Children, the political thing. It's all part of our adventure in life. We're writing our book as we go.

[William Shatner]

I mean, younger people will not understand this at all, but as you get older and the years get more precious, you even prize mundane things.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Absolutely.

[William Shatner]

I remember about. I don't know, five years ago, I was cutting my toenails, and for some reason, this thought popped into my head.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

This is hysterical.

[William Shatner]

I'm just telling you what happened. This thought popped into my head that, oh, you know, I. I cut my toenails only about, like, once every maybe three months. My fingernails, I cut, like, weekly. But toenails, maybe you don't notice, but I think they don't grow as fast. So.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

They don't grow as fast.

[William Shatner]

Okay, so they grow thicker. Yeah. So, but like, every. You know, so like every three. So four times a year, and it just popped into my head. Wow. There's like a finite number of times that I will be cutting. Be cutting my toe. I mean, do you read the ads.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

For the nail clippers for old people?

[William Shatner]

But I mean, if it's four times a year and I live it, even if I live to 100, there'd be another 30 years. That's only like 120 nail clippings. So now every time I'm cutting my toenails, 119.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

It's too bad you don't count the lovemaking times that you have left.

[William Shatner]

Who cares about that? But the toenails just rocks my world.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

They have ads for toenail Clippers for older people.

[William Shatner]

What is different about a clipper for older people?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Because your nails thicken. And a nail. A fingernail clipper doesn't work really well on your toe nails.

[William Shatner]

You need a weed whacker.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Exactly. Jesus Christ. And then you cut your socks. And they make those too, by the way. It's a file. It's a little round thing. That is a file. And it goes. And you gotta. It's true. Your toenails.

[William Shatner]

I could do that all night.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

At least you can bend over. I can't get over that far anymore.

[William Shatner]

Look what I found on the floor. What is it? My appearances. I hope that's not a sign.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

What is it?

[William Shatner]

No, I'm at the Beacon Theater. Oh, my gosh. The Beacon in November 16th. Coming right up. The theater.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Are you advertising?

[William Shatner]

Yeah, the theater. Going to be the theater.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Aren't you sold out all the time.

[William Shatner]

The theater. I guess. Aren't you? I don't know. It's a great question. The theater at M, I assume. Not if we're the theater at MGM Grand. Las Vegas. No, I'm not in Las Vegas. November 17th. Las Vegas. Whoever wrote this is a.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

What?

[William Shatner]

I'm talking about Gen z is fired November 17th. I happen to know I'm in Washington, D.C. what is a whole. Actually, it's in Maryland, but it's the Washington area. I just can't remember the name of.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

It's cold and damp.

[William Shatner]

Oh, my God. And then things I don't even want plugged. And here's my shopping list for next week.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Thick socks.

[William Shatner]

Well, I hope we can.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

There's a certain finality in. Well, I.

[William Shatner]

With what?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

There's a certain finality, too. Well, I like to call this to a close.

[William Shatner]

I'll have another drink if you're up for it.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

No, no, I'm good. I'm done.

[William Shatner]

You're done?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, I mean, if you're done, I've got to be done. It's a mutual. It's a fuck off, you freak off. It's our kind of freak off.

[William Shatner]

Yeah. I got to go back to work. I have so much work this week. Because again, election week, it's not like any other.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

What are you going to do?

[William Shatner]

Well, we're going to have, you know, I mean, look, everybody in America will be basically having the same conversation for the next quite a long time on news shows, which is, you know, what happened to the Democrats? What do they do to fix it? That's all the topic.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Or we won and the Zlousi Democrats. And.

[William Shatner]

Yes.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

What did we do that. Made it great.

[William Shatner]

You're right. Right.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yeah.

[William Shatner]

Well, I mean, they be more of.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Those shows than the others. They.

[William Shatner]

They get a chance to, you know, like when you. It's one thing to win, it's another thing to win big. I mean, he won big.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

What's your opinion of Van? Given. Given the possibility since two attempts have been made. What do you think of Vance?

[William Shatner]

Oh, J.D. vance. Well, you know, he looks like. Did you see the debate with walls? I mean, it was like a debate that you'd see in Canada.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

He was so polite.

[William Shatner]

So polite.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Yeah, yeah, I saw that.

[William Shatner]

You know, I'm hoping that guy comes out, but he's obviously shown himself to be a guy who obviously will turn on a dime. He said Trump was. Could be America's Hitler, and then he's his vice president. So, you know, how much hope can I have for integrity?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

But that's what bothers me.

[William Shatner]

Yeah. No, it's a worrisome time, but I will say it again. The thing I most dread is boredom.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, here's what I think we should do, Billy. Treat it as an adventure. We're off on a new. On January 6th.

[William Shatner]

You're so right.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

We're on 20th. 20th. We're on an adventure. What's going to happen? How do we modulate it? How do we live with it? How do we agree with it? How do we take this new element in our lives and receive it and work with it?

[William Shatner]

If I may, speaking of January 6th, as long as you did say that date, let's not forget about this election we just had. Okay, it's over. But the only reason it's over is he won. If he had lost, we would be in all sorts of shit right now because he would never say I lost. So. So let's not have any more of this bullshit.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

That's a really interesting point.

[William Shatner]

Let's not have any more of this bullshit about. Here's a video of Democrats saying the president's illegitimate. Yes. Democrats grumble about Republican presidents and how they got there. That's a whole different kettle of fish than, okay, you won, which is what they do and the Republicans don't.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Well, this has been.

[William Shatner]

Among other pressing topics. I thought I'd end with, what a great. And AI is going to kill us all. I love getting to be better friends with you every time.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

It's a great Bill.

[William Shatner]

And we'll do it next year. Yeah, we'll make it an annual, since you were our first.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson]

Until I die.

[William Shatner]

Well, that's not gonna happen, Bill. That's what? That's the good side of AI.