January 4, 2018 8:00 pm

Friday, Ring in the New Year with Science Predictions for 2018

This week on StarTalk Radio we’re trying to predict the future. Well, not you and I, but friends and fans of the StarTalk community. Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice are together in-studio to weigh in on some science predictions for 2018.

Ben Ratner's photo of Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice recording StarTalk Radio predictions 2018 episode.

Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice. Credit: Ben Ratner.

Before we get to the predictions, Neil explains why “The Great American Eclipse” was his most significant science event of the past year. He names a couple different reasons, but one of them was the damage the eclipse did to the “science denialism” movement. This leads Neil and Chuck on a great tangent talking about times Neil had to deal with people who thought they were right but were wrong.

Neil and Chuck also give some of their failed predictions including Neil’s failed prediction about automatic doors and Chuck explains his initial thoughts about Twitter.

We eventually do get to the predictions, and you’ll hear from some of your favorite StarTalk hosts and guests. To start, Andy Weir, author of The Martian and Artemis, gives his predictions on the cost of commercial spaceflight. After that, primatologist Natalia Reagan gives her predictions about changing culture in 2018 and Drew Pulley, executive producer for StarTalk TV on the National Geographic Channel, gives an interesting prediction about Chuck and his endeavors in the upcoming year. Finally, SETI Senior Astronomer Seth Shostak gives his prediction about a planet being added to our solar system – no, it’s not Pluto.

You’ll also hear fan-submitted predictions for 2018 including ones about faster space travel, space mining, the possible discovery of new particles, and science censorship.

Do you have any science predictions for 2018? Leave them in the comments below!

Please join us tomorrow night for Predictions: This Year in Science at 7pm ET right here on our website, as well as on our channels on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and TuneIn. And if you’re an All-Access subscriber, you can watch or listen to this episode ad-free at 7pm, too.

That’s it for now. Keep Looking Up!
–Ian Mullen

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