NASA/NOAA graphic showing Global temperature anomalies in 2016, with red representing areas that were 2 degrees Celsius warmer than the 20th century mean, and blue 2 degrees below the mean.
NASA/NOAA graphic showing Global temperature anomalies in 2016, with red representing areas that were 2 degrees Celsius warmer than the 20th century mean, and blue 2 degrees below the mean.

Climate Change Mashup

Global temperature anomalies in 2016, with red representing areas that were 2 degrees Celsius warmer than the 20th century mean, and blue 2 degrees below the mean. Credit: NASA/NOAA.
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About This Episode

Climate Change has been one of the hottest topics of the year – pun intended. This week on StarTalk All-Stars we bring you a mashup of the best discussions, conversations, and debates on climate change. To start, Bill Nye and Chuck Nice talk with climate scientist Radley Horton about renewable energy, the limitations of computer modeling, the changing statistics of extreme weather events, and the disinformation campaign of climate change deniers. Next, astrobiologist David Grinspoon, Chuck Nice, and science journalist Andrew Revkin discuss whether we’ve hit the point of no return, finding the right balance between optimism and pessimism when thinking about climate change, cooperating on a global scale, and applying a cosmic perspective to the issue. After that, primatologist Natalia Reagan, Tim Alexander, biological anthropologist Todd Disotell, and paleoanthropologist Ian Tattersall explore the changing climate during the time of early humans, the emerging diseases due to warmer climate, and the underpinnings of having life dependent on stable geography. Lastly, Seth Shostak, Eugene Mirman, and climate scientist Ken Caldeira examine the impact of climate change on the biodiversity of coral reefs, the good and bad of carbon capture and storage, the acidification of the oceans, and how the development of “awesome batteries” would greatly diminish our energy problem.

NOTE: All-Access subscribers can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: Climate Change Mashup.

In This Episode

  • Host

    Bill Nye the Science Guy

    Bill Nye
    The Science Guy
  • Host

    David Grinspoon

    David Grinspoon
    All-Stars Host, Astrobiologist; Senior Scientist, Planetary Science Institute
  • Host

    Natalia Reagan

    Natalia Reagan
    All-Stars Host, Primatologist, Comedian, Boas Network CCO
  • Host

    Seth Shostak

    Seth Shostak
    All-Stars Host, Senior Astronomer at the SETI Institute
  • Co-Host

    Chuck Nice

    Chuck Nice
    Comedian
  • Co-Host

    Tim Alexander

    Tim Alexander
    Comedian
  • Co-Host

    Eugene Mirman

    Eugene Mirman
    Comedian
  • Guest

    Radley Horton

    Radley Horton
    Climate Scientist at Columbia University
  • Guest

    Andrew Revkin

    Andrew Revkin
    Science Journalist, Former New York Times Dot Earth Environmental Blogger
  • Guest

    Todd Disotell

    Todd Disotell
    Biological Anthropologist, Professor of Anthropology at NYU
  • Guest

    Dr. Ian Tattersall

    Ian Tattersall
    Paleoanthroplogist
  • Guest

    Ken Caldeira

    Ken Caldeira
    Climate Scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science, Department of Global Ecology at Stanford University

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