Time Lords: The Science of Keeping Time

About This Episode

The Nerdist Chris Hardwick and his trusty sidekick Matt Mira provide Dr. Who references and some timely humor for our show about clocks, calendars, and leaps in time. Anthony Aveni, professor of astronomy and anthropology at Colgate University, reveals whether the Mayan calendar predicts the end of the world in 2012, and provides insight into how early clocks and calendars were based not only on the Moon and Sun, but on Earth’s biology. Frank Reed, instructor of celestial navigation at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut, and Robert Seaman, computer programmer for the National Optical Astronomy Observatories, talk about why leap seconds are added to our fast-paced modern lives, and contemplate the future of time synchronization. From keeping Universal Time, to neutrinos that may travel faster than light, to geo-engineering the Earth into a global clock, take some time to consider how science sets the tempo of our past, present and future.

NOTE: All-Access subscribers can listen to the entire episode ad-free here: Time Lords: The Science of Keeping Time.

In This Episode

• Host

  

  Neil deGrasse Tyson
  Astrophysicist

• Co-Host

  

  Chris Hardwick
  Host, The Nerdist

• Co-Host

  

  Matthew Mira
  Co-host, The Nerdist

• Guest

  

  Anthony Aveni
  The Russell Colgate Professor of Astronomy and Anthropology at Colgate University in New York

• Guest

  

  Frank Reed
  Instructor of celestial navigation at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut

• Guest

  

  Robert Seaman
  Computer programmer for the National Optical Astronomy Observatories

• Guest

  

  Bill Nye
  The Science Guy

Episode Topics