Like the New Neil deGrasse Tyson Cosmos? Check out Page 7

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson is getting good reviews for his new Cosmos TV science series, which premieres tonight (March 9) on National Geographic Channel and Fox.

You can get some good background on this show, who's putting it together, what happened three decades ago, and why it all matters — on page 7 of my latest issue of Galaxis: The Worlds of Science and Science Fiction. It's a free digital magazine, and if you like Cosmos, you might well like Galaxis.

Neil deGrasse Tyson Gives Direction to Richard Dawkins

I stumbled across this video this afternoon, and I thought Neil deGrasse Tyson makes his case beautifully. In his friendly rebuke of Richard Dawkin's scorched-earth tactics in arguing with (really at) atheists, Tyson makes the useful distinction between teaching and just putting the information out there.

I've long been impressed with Tyson, and I've heard him speak twice already at The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco in recent years. He fills the auditorium each time he comes here, and I'm sure he does the same when he speaks in other forums. Pertinent to this discussion, he does a great job of teaching, of explaining, of persuading, and even entertaining his audience even as he discusses complicated scientific concepts.

Dawkins' response, nonetheless, is priceless (and gracious).

DoorQ Flips for Neil deGrasse Tyson

The folks over at DoorQ, a web site for gay and lesbian SF/fantasy/horror, have posted a mash note for scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson. They also link to a couple videos of Tyson, so I'll add to the fun by posting to yet another multimedia link, audio from his 2009 visit to San Francisco to discuss the Pluto controversy, disappointing fourth graders, and more.

As always, he was smart, interesting, and funny.

Click here to listen to the free streaming audio.

And, while I'm at it, here's a (admittedly, not great quality) video I made of him answering the accusation that he flip-flopped on the whole Pluto controversy.

Neil deGrasse Tyson: Galactic Flip-Flopper on Pluto?

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson spoke at The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco last night. Following his very entertaining and enlightening discussion of the debate he himself sparked over whether Pluto should be classified as a planet, Tyson was asked by moderator Brian Hackney about a previous book of Tyson's in which he seemed to take the opposite view of Pluto, a view that would have saved him a lot of hate mail from third-graders.
This was a return engagement by Tyson at The Commonwealth Club. As always, he was brilliant, funny, friendly.

Neil deGrasse Tyson on How it'll All End

The great astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson spoke at The Commonwealth Club of California in early 2007, and in part of his talk, he describes the destruction that could be wrought by earth's collision with a comet.