Photo of Neil deGrasse Tyson with Star Trek The Next Generation actors Brent Spiner and LeVar Burton
Photo of Neil deGrasse Tyson with Star Trek The Next Generation actors Brent Spiner and LeVar Burton

The Best of Both Worlds

StarTalk meets Star Trek: Neil deGrasse Tyson, flanked by Brent Spiner and LeVar Burton, taken at San Diego Comic-Con 2012. Photo credit: Froggy's photos
  • Free Audio
  • Ad-Free Audio

About This Episode

Get the best of both worlds when Neil deGrasse Tyson interviews Star Trek: The Next Generation stars LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge) and Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data) at San Diego Comic-Con 2012. It’s a geek feast filled with favorite episodes and burning questions like “Who would win at chess, Spock or Data?” and “Why did Geordi need a visor in the 24th century?” They explain how their characters’ unique relationship sprang from an obscure audition scene. And Neil takes us where no fan has gone before, journeying into the philosophical (Gene Roddenberry’s idea of “Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations”), the intersection of science fiction and science (the X-Prize to create a functional tricorder), the best uses for a magnifying glass (bugs, beware!), and life before and after Star Trek.

NOTE: All-Access subscribers can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: The Best of Both Worlds.

 

In This Episode

Get the most out of StarTalk!

Ad-Free Audio Downloads
Ad-Free Video Episodes
Stickers & Mugs
Live Streams with Neil
Priority Cosmic Queries
Early-Access Videos
Learn the Meaning of Life
...and much more

Episode Topics