StarTalk Radio – "Cosmic Queries: The Deep"

Host: Neil deGrasse Tyson
Co-host: Chuck Nice
Date: August 29, 2025

Overview

On this "Cosmic Queries" episode of StarTalk, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice tackle fans’ deepest scientific and philosophical questions about the universe and our place in it. The conversation dives into the frontiers of human understanding, our limitations, and the search for meaning, while blending scientific rigor with their signature humor and wit. Listeners are treated to mind-bending thought experiments, musings on intelligence and the cosmos, and honest reflection on humanity's brightest potentials and darkest impulses.

Key Topics & Insights

I. What Boggles the Mind: Endless Time or Space?

[03:27–11:17]

• Listener Question: What boggles your mind more: endless time or endless space?
• Neil’s Response: Both ideas are baffling, but most mind-boggling is whether the human brain can ever fully comprehend itself.
  • “Can the human brain figure out the human mind, if it is the brain that creates the mind?” – Neil deGrasse Tyson [04:14]
• Reference to Carl Sagan:
  • “Humans are the universe’s way to understand itself.” [04:47]
  • Neil questions this human-centric view of intelligence.
• Comparative Intelligence: Neil compares the 1% DNA difference between humans and chimps, raising the idea that a small biological distinction could yield a vast difference in cognitive ability.
  • “Maybe the smartest chimps are to us as our toddlers are to us. So what if there’s a species 1% beyond us in intelligence?” – Neil deGrasse Tyson [08:18]
• Limits of Human Cognition:
  • Neil wonders if certain cosmic truths might be forever inaccessible to our neural capabilities:
    • “The universe may have complexities out of reach of the neurosynapses of the human brain.” [09:34]

Notable Quote:

"We think therefore you are." — Chuck Nice, riffing on Descartes [05:34]

Memorable Exchange:

• Humorous speculation that reality may be a simulation run by an alien kid:
  • "We are all a simulation in an alien kid's basement." – Neil deGrasse Tyson [10:33]
  • "Where the Minecraft of some other Minecraft." – Chuck Nice [10:40]

II. Science vs. the Limits of Understanding

[12:51–18:57]

• Listener Question: If the universe is under no obligation to make sense to us, why do science at all?
• Neil’s View: Science is a tool for probing beyond the limits of our natural senses; science enables us to discover truths that our basic biology cannot grasp.
  • “Your senses give you a restricted understanding of what’s actually going on in the universe.” [16:39]
  • The “God works in mysterious ways” view ends inquiry, while science opens it.
• Five Senses Limitation:
  • Difficulty for humans in comprehending concepts like 5-dimensional cubes, or time scales of billions of years.
• Advances of Scientific Tools:
  • Instruments can expand our perception far beyond our basic capabilities.

Notable Quote:

“The methods and tools of science give you a way to understand what is true without it being hinged on whether your senses think it’s true.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson [18:22]

III. Human Survival and the "Monkey Brain"

[21:32–29:10]

• Listener Question: How long do you think the human race will survive?
• Neil: Species longevity for mammals averages about 2 million years; humans have been around for a few hundred thousand.
• Self-Destructive Intelligence:
  • “This presumes the species is not smart enough to kill itself.” [22:08]
  • Humans, unlike other animals, have invented multiple methods of self-destruction.
• Cultural Evolution and Violence:
  • Referencing Steven Pinker’s work, Neil charts humanity’s decrease in percentage of deaths due to violence over time.
  • Despite social media turbulence and tribalism, the arc may be toward less violence.
• Social Division and Hope:
  • Skepticism about human nature overcoming arbitrary prejudice and self-destruction.

Notable Quote:

“If white people divide themselves up…two Christian communities killing each other… and they’re both white and Christian, it’s over for everybody else.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson [28:53]

IV. The Meaning of Life, According to Neil deGrasse Tyson

[30:49–35:17]

• Listener Question: Based on your experiences, what do you think is the meaning of our human existence?
• Neil’s Answer: Meaning isn’t something to be found; it’s something to be forged.
  • “You have the power to manufacture meaning. Create it within yourself.” [32:33]
  • Neil draws meaning from lessening the suffering of others and learning something new every day.
  • “If after your day is over, the world is worse off, you have subtracted.” [33:03]
  • Emphasis on being a perpetual student and a force for good, rejecting passive search for external meaning.

Notable Quote:

“Lessen the sufferings of others in some way. I also try to learn something every day.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson [33:02]

V. The Vacuum of Space and Nothingness

[36:38–43:03]

• Listener Question: How exactly is space a vacuum?
• Neil’s Explanation: A vacuum is not the total absence of matter, but a region with very few particles.
  • It is hard to create a perfect vacuum due to gases embedded in surfaces.
  • Contrary to the proverb, “Nature abhors a vacuum,” in reality, “most of the universe is a vacuum.” [38:35]
  • Intergalactic space contains only a tiny number of particles per cubic meter—practically approaching “nothing nothing.”
• Levels of Vacuum:
  • Air: 10 septillion atoms/m³
  • Best lab vacuums: 10 billion atoms/m³
  • Interstellar: ~500,000 atoms/m³
  • Intergalactic: a few atoms per 10 m³

Notable Quote:

“If you feel obliged to call intergalactic space nothing, then you must invent a word to refer to the region outside of the universe—in this location…there can be no nothing.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson [40:24]

VI. The Deep-Lightning Round (Rapid Q&A)

[43:03–51:32]

• Space Exploration Priorities: Neil advocates a modular, “do it all” approach—search for life, threats, and exploration together, letting creativity flourish.
  • “You don’t build a road just from New York to LA…you build roads everywhere.” [44:09]
• Impact of the Moon on Astronomy: Without the moon (which brightens the sky on many nights), astronomy would be more advanced—the “star blocker” reduces observing time for faint objects.
  • “The Moon wreaks havoc on our ability to see the rest of the universe.” [46:07]
• Shape of Space: In the presence of mass or energy, space curves; the observable universe is a sphere centered on any observer.
• Looking Far = Looking Back: Observing distant objects means seeing earlier epochs in the universe’s history, not something “enveloping” us.
  • “You are looking at a younger and younger and younger universe—that’s the whole point of cosmology.” [48:48]
• Higher Dimensions and Dark Matter: Speculation that dark matter/gravity effects could be explained by higher-dimensional matter is plausible; our 3D perceptions might blind us to 4D realities.
  • “All the mysteries in our three dimensions plus time are completely solved by looking at this stuff from a higher [dimension].” [50:55]

Memorable Timing:

• [51:20] Neil and Chuck echo their enthusiasm for cosmic queries, promising more “deep” editions in the future.

Notable Quotes

• "We think therefore you are." – Chuck Nice [05:34]
• "The universe may have complexities out of reach of the neurosynapses of the human brain." – Neil deGrasse Tyson [09:34]
• "Your senses give you a restricted understanding of what's actually going on in the universe." – Neil deGrasse Tyson [16:39]
• "We are all a simulation in an alien kid's basement." – Neil deGrasse Tyson [10:33]
• "You have the power to manufacture meaning. Create it within yourself." – Neil deGrasse Tyson [32:33]

Tone and Style

The conversation is equal parts profound, playful, and philosophical, with Chuck's comedic timing interplaying with Neil’s scientific clarity. StarTalk maintains its approachable, intellectually curious vibe—never shying from big questions, but always bringing them back to human experience and humility in the face of the cosmos.

Useful Timestamps

• 03:27: Limitations of human intelligence
• 05:34: “We think therefore you are.”
• 09:34: The universe may be beyond our comprehension
• 16:39: Senses as limiting factors in understanding reality
• 22:08: Human capacity for self-destruction
• 33:02: Creating meaning through altruism and learning
• 38:35: The vacuum of space explained
• 44:09: Priorities in space exploration
• 46:07: The moon as a blocker for astronomy
• 50:55: Higher dimensions as possible solution to cosmic mysteries

This episode is a feast for anyone fascinated by the limits (and possibilities) of knowledge, existence, and curiosity, with a dose of cosmic humility and plenty of laughs.