Cosmic Queries: Gravity, the Movie!

To answer your questions about the movie Gravity, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice get a little help from 2-time Space Shuttle astronaut Mike Massimino. They explore the scientific inaccuracies in the movie – and how much Gravity got right. Mike gives it 2 thumbs up for the look and feel of being in space, from the spacesuits to the tools he actually used. He discusses how actual NASA astronauts train for emergencies, the time he tore his glove fixing the Hubble telescope, and the real rescue plans for his flights. @Astro_Mike (he was the first human to Tweet from space!) also describes impact of weightlessness on your inner ear and sense of balance, and how your brain adapts after a few days of zero-g. Neil explains why you’re weightless in space in the first place – it’s free fall, not lack of gravity – and describes an experiment you can do at home to prove it and amaze your friends and family.

StarTalk Radio: The Science of Sex

StarTalk Radio trades the cosmic for the orgasmic in “The Science of Sex (Part 1).” Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Kristen Schaal, author of The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex, tread not so lightly into taboo territory with guests Mary Roach, author of Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, famed sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer, and astrophysicist Charles Liu. 

But it’s still StarTalk, so the focus is on the science, not the lasciviousness, of sex. You’ll learn that females can have nocturnal clitoral erections just like the male equivalent, what the other erectile tissue in the human body is (it’s not the nipples!), and why pharmaceutical research has moved beyond Viagra™ to developing pills for post-menopausal women with flagging sex drives. Dr. Ruth explains how Fifty Shades of Grey changed perceptions of female sexuality, while on a more humorous note, Kristen discusses sex in labs and “the worst STD of all.”

Update: StarTalk Radio "The Science of Sex (Part 2)" is now released as well.