StarTalk Radio

Mark Twain said, 'Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.' Pseudoscience adherents conform to this adage, but are their distortions deliberate, the result of scientific ignorance, or due to a deep desire for extraordinary possibilities? In our quest to understand the universe, how can we be sure our conclusions are correct? Human beings have evolved to find meaningful patterns in nature, but sometimes the patterns we see are just figments of our imagination-or perhaps the result of wishful thinking. Join Neil and guest co-host Leighann Lord as they investigate the weird and wacky world of pseudoscience. Co-host: Leighann Lord, comedian who has appeared on 'HBO's Def Comedy All-Star Jam', Comedy Central's 'Premium Blend', and ABC's 'The View.' She writes a weekly humor column called 'Comic Perspective'. Guests: Michael Shermer, editor-in-Chief of Skeptic magazine and author of 'Why People Believe Weird Things'. Shermer is also the producer and co-host of the 13-hour FoxFamily television series Exploring the Unknown. James 'The Amazing' Randi, magician and founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation. JREF sponsors the annual 'Amazing Meeting' and also offers a prize of one million dollars to anyone who can demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event, under test conditions agreed to by both parties.

Star light, star bright, what will I find over the rainbow? Take a tour of the summer skies of the day and night. Starry starry nights, stormy and sun-filled days. Long summer days of picnics and ballgames are played out under a vast and gorgeous canvas of astronomical and meteorological curiosities. From the stories of the stars told by the ancients, to a recent mammatus cloud over CitiField in New York, learn about the phenomena in the summer skies that keep us looking up. Co-host: Joe Rao, meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York.

Forty years ago, on the dusty plains known as the Sea of Tranquility, Neil Armstrong stepped off a lunar module and into the pages of history. That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. Neil Armstrong spoke these words after placing his foot down onto lunar soil, and throughout the course of the Apollo program, eleven other astronauts also walked on the Moon. In this show, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and many others share their memories of Apollo, and say what they think should be NASA's next step in space. Co-host: Terence T. 'Tom' Henricks, former NASA astronaut. A commander of two Space Shuttle missions and pilot of two others, Henricks became the first person to log over 1,000 hours as a Space Shuttle pilot/commander. His four space shuttle missions were STS-44, STS-55, STS-70 and STS-78.

What's so funny about space and science? Our season finale features the incomparable comedian Joan Rivers. In this episode, she provides color commentary for a Red Carpet parade of previous show topics, including space tourism, the anniversary of Apollo 11, and the search for alien life (both in space and in Hollywood). Guests: Joan Rivers, comedian.

What price do we put on knowledge? How does it profit a man if he learns about the universe, but goes to bed hungry? When the economy takes a downturn, should we still go up into space? NASA missions aren't cheap-sending astronauts into low Earth orbit or to the Moon, sending robotic spacecraft to explore the planets, and launching telescopes into space can cost millions or even billions of dollars. Lou Friedman, director of the Planetary Society, argues that even when the dollar is dear, the quest to explore our universe is priceless. Co-host: Bill Nye The Science Guy. Guests: Lou Friedman, executive director of the Planetary Society.

This year marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo's use of the first telescope. On this week's show, we reflect on how telescopes have changed our perception of our place in the universe, how small we are in size, space and time. Our guests include Dava Sobel, author of The Planets, Vatican Astronomer Father Chris Corbally, and astronaut Paul Richards. We also discuss how they help astronomers discover new and interesting aspects of the universe, from Earth-like planets to supernova, from black holes to the Big Bang. Guests: Dava Sobel, Author of Galileo's Daughter, and, more recently, The Planets. Father Chris Corbally, Vice Director of the Vatican Observatory. Paul W. Richards, NASA Astronaut.

Do you want to believe? Seth Shostak of SETI talks about his hunt for aliens in this show about the search for life beyond Earth. Scientists have been searching for aliens in our solar system and beyond, but have not yet found evidence that life exists beyond Earth. SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, has been scanning the stars for alien radio beacons for 50 years. Radio and TV broadcasts have been leaking from Earth's atmosphere for over a century, and these traveling time capsules could eventually reach a broader audience than ever imagined. Neil and Lynne review the methods used to locate aliens, and discuss what to do if you're ever abducted. Co-host: Lynne Koplitz. Guests: Seth Shostak, Senior Astronomer at the SETI Institute

Richard Branson has formed Virgin Galactic and is now taking reservations aboard the maiden voyage of SpaceShipOne. Would you spend the estimated $200,000 for a 45-minute trip into space? Neil and Lynne also discuss the mechanics of sex in space. Co-host: Lynne Koplitz. Guests: Robert K. Weiss, President and Vice Chairman of the X Prize Foundation, film and television producer. Charles Simonyi, Space tourist and Microsoft co-founder. Bill Nye, Engineer, science educator, and television host.

Technology tuned to the stars, brought down to Earth. Learn about the many products in our lives that were developed because of the space program. Space is now big business. Technology originally developed for the space program sometimes ends up in products for use on Earth, often in surprising ways. The 40,000 certified 'Space Products' range from mattresses to medical devices, and have turned space into a multi-billion-dollar industry. Inspired by our excursions into the Final Frontier, entrepreneurs and inventors are turning stardust into gold. Guests: Elliot Pulham, CEO of The Space Foundation. Lon Levin, founder of XM Satellite Radio.

Attempts by scientists and artists to reveal deep truths about the universe may take different forms, but they often end up agreeing with the poet John Keats that 'truth is beauty.' Geometry, physics, and the other sciences describe the world we live in, and artists often play with these properties in their own imaginative investigations. From the drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci to high tech computer graphics, Neil and Lynne paint a picture of how science has inspired art through the ages. Guests: Peter Max, pop artist best known for his psychedelic Cosmic 60s graphic design

Special guest Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central's 'Colbert Report' talks about the joys of being a science geek. Brilliant scientific discoveries and cutting edge technology have transformed our world, yet many people are turned off by science. Where has the excitement for science gone, and how can we get it back? Stephen Colbert developed an interest in science at a young age, and now he shares that fascination by inviting scientists to appear on his show The Colbert Report. Co-host: Lynne Koplitz. Guests: Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central's Colbert Report

Could you travel to the past and visit Julius Caesar? Could you travel to the year 4000 and see what the future is like? Find out about the possibilities and paradoxes of time travel. Time marches on except in astrophysics. Einstein taught us that time is a coordinate in space, and it's all relative. Learn about the weird physics of our universe that could make time travel possible. Standing in for Lynne Koplitz this week is J. Richard Gott, author of 'Time Travel in Einstein's Universe.' Guests: J. Richard Gott III, Professor of astrophysics at Princeton University, and author of 'Time Travel in Einstein's Universe.'

Star Trek imagines a future for humans in space where we explore alien worlds using advanced technology. As writers tried to include as much realistic science as possible, the stories have been an inspiration for students, scientists, inventors. The Star Trek TV and movie series imagine a bright future for humans in space, one in which we explore alien worlds with the aid of advanced technology. Because the writers tried to include as much realistic science as possible within the fictional framework, the stories have been an inspiration for students, scientists, inventors; and anyone interested in pondering our destiny on Earth and beyond. In this show, Brandon Fibbs reviews the latest Star Trek movie now in theaters, and Lawrence Krauss talks about how Star Trek uses science to explore what is possible in our universe. Guests: Brandon Fibbs, movie reviewer for The Colorado Springs Gazette, Christianity Today Movies, Cinemattraction and DVDFanatic. Lawrence Krauss, foundation Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration and the Physics Department, and Director of the Origins Initiative at Arizona State University. He is the author of several bestselling books, including The Physics of Star Trek.