March 12, 2018 9:18 pm

Tuesday, Discover How Cosmic Evolution Connects Us All, with David Grinspoon, Chuck Nice, and Tyler Volk

“We are atoms in the molecules of culture.” So says Dr. FunkySpoon poetically in this week’s episode of StarTalk All-Stars. Join us as we take a look at what unites all the narratives of the universe, with astrobiologist and host David Grinspoon, comic co-host Chuck Nice, and NYU biologist and author Tyler Volk.

Ben Ratner's photo of Tyler Volk, Chuck Nice and David Grinspoon shot at PioneerWorks.

Tyler Volk, Chuck Nice and David Grinspoon recording this episode at PioneerWorks in Brooklyn, NY. Photo Credit: Ben Ratner.

It seems like a big idea, and it is, but David, Chuck, and Tyler do what we do best on StarTalk – bring science down to Earth. You’ll explore Tyler’s new book, Quarks to Culture: How We Came to Be, where he examines the interconnectivity of all things. You’ll hear about “combogenesis” or “creating things by combining things” and how that has played a factor in the creation of everything we know…from quarks to culture.

Our trio discusses the important combining of prokaryotic into eukaryotic cells, otherwise known as symbiogenesis, and its impact on the evolutionary timeline. You’ll also find out what evolutionary steps Tyler thinks are taking place elsewhere in the galaxy, whether life is being formed, and which steps are specific to Earth.

My favorite part of the episode was the discussion on the Gaia hypothesis, which is:

“All organisms and their inorganic surroundings on Earth are closely integrated to form a single and self-regulating complex system, maintaining the conditions for life on the planet.”

Tomorrow night, we also explore possible next steps on the geopolitical scale, including the creation/evolution of one world government and the difference between government and governance. You’ll even hear how thinking like Carl Sagan can help us maintain hope.

Want to know your history? Then please join us tomorrow night for Cosmic Evolution, with David Grinspoon at 7pm ET right here on our website, as well as on our All-Stars 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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