Reader TTS

YOUR NEW TV SHOW, _STARTALK_, STARTED AIRING THIS SPRING. It's the first science-based talk show on television. Ever. We noticed from our radio show, StarTalk Radio on Sirius XM, that

the audience is particularly responsive to receiving science if it is blended with pop culture and comedy. Of our 50 radio shows a year, 10 are filmed and are going to appear as a talk show

on the National Geographic Channel one night a week. WHOM DO YOU HOPE TO REACH WITH THE SHOW? Our goal was to get science to people who don't know they like science. Or better yet, to

people who know that they don't like science. YOU'RE THE DIRECTOR OF NEW YORK'S HAYDEN PLANETARIUM, WHICH YOU'VE SAID HAD A HUGE INFLUENCE ON YOU AS A CHILD. At age 9,

watching the stars come out in the dome of the Hayden Planetarium was magical. Planetariums count as the first virtual reality experience. I grew up in the city, and so I had no concept of

the night sky until I visited the planetarium. I'm to the point where I'm pretty sure the universe chose me. I've been hooked ever since. IS THAT WHEN YOU DECIDED TO BECOME A

SCIENTIST? It would take about two years. At 9, I'm not thinking career. I'm thinking, this is fun. At 11, I'm thinking I need a Ph.D. in astrophysics, so that's what

I'm going to aim for. So I had an answer to that annoying question that adults always ask kids: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN

ASTROPHYSICS, ASTRONOMY AND COSMOLOGY? Basically, astrophysics is the modern word for astronomy. Cosmology is a branch of astrophysics that studies the origin and fate of the universe.

LEONARD NIMOY, WHO PLAYED MR. SPOCK ON _STAR TREK_ , DIED RECENTLY. WHY DO YOU THINK HE WAS SO POPULAR? People think of Spock as a Vulcan, but to me, he was a scientist. How many placements

of scientists are there in such an important role in any storytelling over the decades? Hardly any. The character has been endearing and enduring. AND WHAT ABOUT THE SHOW ITSELF? It's

got science, and it's got space. It's got morality as major themes on which it centers. It's the first spaceship in the history of storytelling where it was not built to go

from Earth to another place. It was built to just explore. ARE YOU AFRAID OF GETTING OLDER? No. I used to dance, but I've had my time as an athlete. This is a different chapter of my

life that would have been impossible in my physical prime, but my mental prime is still being developed. I look forward to all that I can contribute to this world because of my age and life

experience in a way that would have been impossible at half my age. I'm cool with that.