Neil deGrasse Tyson, Nipple Slips, and the Fall of Jeff Flake

Reason's Andrew Heaton steps into Bold TV.

I joined the latest episode of Bold TV as Carrie Sheffield's guest co-host, to pepper Neil de Grasse Tyson with nerd questions, explain why I think Janet Jackson should sneak into the Super Bowl, and also to lambast the Republican Party for swapping Jeff Flake with the deplorable Roy Moore. (Reason recently parodied Tyson's "Cosmos" with "Our Amazing Debt," although the spoof didn't seem to rankle him.)

Neil came to promote his book Astrophysics for People In a Hurry at the half hour mark. We managed to ask him some decent science-related questions before veering to the prospects of life on other planets, the unforeseen celebrity effect of Donald Trump, and why we should all be very skeptical of Deepak Chopra.

At the eighteen minute mark I have an exchange with conservative Ben Weingarten and Salon.com's Jeremy Binckes about Jeff Flake's departure from the Republican Party, and its warm embrace of Roy Moore. During the exchange I suggest that the GOP has lost whatever value it once possessed and we might as well scuttle it and reboot the Whigs.

Carrie and I also spoke with director Jason Hall about his new film, Thank You For Your Service, how vets get PTSD, why hollow phrases don't help them, and Amy Schumer's newfound conversion to dramatic acting.

Comments

[Charles Easterly]

Andrew Heaton,

Thank you for providing us an easily useful link to the program.

[DenverJ]

Very first sentence, sport. Or you can just click the play button on the embedded video.

[Charles Easterly]

I intended my comment as a compliment to Andrew since I I have frequently found that, while many H&R writers provide links to the appropriate websites, the links lead directly to website pages that require us to sign up/sign in or otherwise become involved with the website before we can view the video(s).

The link that I used which Andrew provided was direct and very much appreciated.

[Eidde]

So at what part of the broadcast does Tyson have his nipple slip?

[Longtobefree]

At the point where you clicked on the link, and generated revenue.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

why we should all be very skeptical of Deepak Chopra.

Sometimes I think Deepak Chopra doesn't believe in Deepak Chopra.

[Tom Bombadil]

I didn't watch the video.

Was there any discussion of why we should all be very skeptical of N. D. Tyson?

[BestUsedCarSales]

I don't believe so, more of a fuck fest.

[Rufus The Monocled]

I was going to chime in on that. Any dude who comes up with a sloppy, set of sophistic nonsense like 'Rationalia' should be viewed skeptically.

Tyson should stick to what he knows.

Tyson should stick to what he knows.

A vow of silence is a little harsh.

[DJF]

LOL!

[Set Us Up The Chipper]

Tyson should stick to what he knows.

Ain't that the truth. Take a look at his CV. Just a bunch of committee papers. I couldn't find much of anything where he was the primary author. Makes me wonder how he got his PhD. He is a hack who is doing the most complicated physics he knows how to do, which is explain simple concepts to layman.

[Set Us Up The Chipper]

I'll add that he doesn't really understand science in a fundamental way. He said that Science is Truth. That is simply not true. Religion is Truth. Science is a set of falsifiable statements backed up by data and lots of research into the particular domain. A scientific statement is useful only as long as it stands up to the many tests and secondary predictions that either continue to confirm its usefulness or falsify the statement thereby sending into oblivion or modification.

[loveconstitution1789]

I see a bit of Peanut Butter and Jealous about deGrasse.

I have yet to hear anyone contest that he does not have a Phd and he is published.

He also relays science and astrophysics in a way the populace can understand and likes. Most scientists are... well... nerds, who have a tough time keeping up with the social aspects of life let alone teaching science in an interesting way to non-scientists.

He kind of avoid using science for political agendas, which makes the left not like him so much.

[GILMORE?]

He kind of avoid using science for political agendas

"Kind of avoid"

(sees swirling black hole, with face of Black Science Guy in middle)

[Rufus The Monocled]

'He also relays science and astrophysics in a way the populace can understand and likes.'

Of course, when you don't have an argument play the 'race card' or in this case go with 'jealousy'.

The left adores him just like they love Nye. And they love saying stuff like:

"He also relays science and astrophysics in a way the populace can understand and likes"

My prog friend said the exact same thing about Nye when he couldn't understand why I loathe the guy.

I fucking love science!

[Set Us Up The Chipper]

loveconstiturd: You don't know what you are talking about pleb. Have a gander at his CV for yourself. How do you know I don't have a PhD? Moron.

[Set Us Up The Chipper]

Of course, not one word from that uneducated yokel about the role of falsification in science, or that saying Science is Truth might be kind fucking weird for somebody who supposedly understands science in a fundamental way or even that the CV is indeed weak.

[BestUsedCarSales]

Heaton chooses not to be aggressive it seems. That one guy was coming at him hard about Rand and Moore and Heaton responded in a very chill manner.

[Crusty Juggler]

Carrie Sheffield is an angel-gnome*, and I hope you did your best to keep Tyson's rapey hands off of her. OH WAIT - YOU FAILED, HEATON, YOU FAILED!

*I once met her, and she was like 4 feet tall, but she was also lovely and far too polite.

[lap83]

Could someone explain the appeal of Neil de Grasse Tyson to me?

[Crusty Juggler]

He speaks dynamically about an endlessly fascinating subject, he frequently wears cosmic vests, and he is negro who makes us feel elites feel less guilty about our elitism.

[hive of scum]

Now that's a vested interest!

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

He's like Carl Sagan, but way more woke.

[BestUsedCarSales]

I believe he was Sagan's student. He's okay as a popularizer of science but his philosophy is somewhat inane.

[Set Us Up The Chipper]

...and much less educated with almost no contribution to the subject matter for which he advocates.

[loveconstitution1789]

Set Us Up The Chipper|10.28.17 @ 1:17PM|#
...and much less educated with almost no contribution to the subject matter for which he advocates.

Is that the metric for who is qualified to teach people about science?

All I see and hear about deGrasse Tyson from critics seems to lefty annoyance that he does not use his popularity to further lefty agendas.

Bill Nye the "science guy" is an engineer not a scientist and started his career on PBS. Most of the left loves this guy because he pushes global warming and other lefty agendas.

[Set Us Up The Chipper]

He was being compared to Sagan, idiot.

[Eidde]

I'd say that, while there may be an overlapping Venn diagram between Top Scientists and Effective Scientific Self-Promoters, the overlap is not huge. Tyson is obviously good at self-promotion, but I can't really assess whether he's in the small group of overlapping individuals who also do Awesome Science.

[BestUsedCarSales]

No, he's mostly a popularizer. He did head a very large, very famous Observatory which is a big deal to organize. But his publication history is pretty small. He is actually a real Ph.D though.

[lap83]

It's not working.

[loveconstitution1789]

He doesn't treat people outside the scientific field like morons and not worth informing about science topics.

He looks and acts genuinely excited about science and having other people get excited about it. Most science nerds have visible contempt if you are not a published scientist.

Its why history shows are so popular because most people do not have the time nor inclination to read a bunch of historical references to understand a historical event or period.

[GILMORE?]

He is a super-serious and deep-thinking man, clearly evidenced by this tweet

[lap83]

Turn EPA into EDA ? the Environmental Destruction Agency.

how would anyone tell the difference?

[Crusty Juggler]

Ouch

I was confused for a moment when, flashing randomly in my Twitter feed, George Clooney and Matt Damon appeared to be sitting together to discuss what they did or did not know about Harvey Weinstein, acclaimed super-producer and accused super-predator. After a few seconds, I remembered that the two of them have a movie coming out: the Clooney-directed, Damon-starring Suburbicon.

Upon recollecting that fact I felt a wave of pity?well, no, not pity, not really; more like gleeful schadenfreude?when I imagined how, well, awkward it must be to be on the road promoting a clunky, unfunny, moralizing film about the insidious, dark underbelly of the American suburbs while giant, relentless waves of news about sexual harassment and sexual assault are roiling your hometown and engulfing your colleagues and destroying careers and forcing you to awkwardly mumble about how you had no idea none whatsoever nosiree bob that one of the biggest names in your biz was out there waving his dick at every woman within a twenty-foot radius.

Then again, it may actually be more fun to mumble about Harvey than shill for Suburbicon, a rather dreadful black comedy that never manages to be funny enough to justify its ham-handed social commentary.

[lap83]

The reviews coming in for that are terrible and yet... the Coen bros helped write the script. Were they drunk? Is Clooney just a terrible director?

[Crusty Juggler]

Is Clooney just a terrible director?

Apparently subtlety framing wry satire (or moral preening, if you will, and I will) isn't his forte.

[Libertarian]

According to the H&R review earlier today, the Coens wrote it many years ago and put it on the shelf, until Clooney bought it.

[BestUsedCarSales]

I liked Confessions of a Dangerous Mind which was Clooney. Goodnight and Good Luck was eh. Big journalism wank that Hollywood is fond of, because they imagine themselves truth tellers.

Looks like this movie was written by the Coens over 30 years ago, might just be that it's an older work, and not one of their best if it took this long to make.

[Crusty Juggler]

I liked Confessions of a Dangerous Mind which was Clooney.

All the credit goes to Sam Rockwell.

[BestUsedCarSales]

I do give Sam Rockwell and Michael Fassbender credit for all film and literature though.

[lap83]

I don't think I saw the first one, although I know of it. The second one I forgot about, which says something.

If it's an old script, that makes sense. They touched on the dark underbelly of suburbia theme in later works and improved upon it.

[Crusty Juggler]

Exclusive: First charges filed in Mueller investigation

A federal grand jury in Washington, DC, on Friday approved the first charges in the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller, according to sources briefed on the matter.
The charges are still sealed under orders from a federal judge. Plans were prepared Friday for anyone charged to be taken into custody as soon as Monday, the sources said. It is unclear what the charges are.

Take a back seat, everyone in the media who sexually assaults woman, Mueller has the floor (until Tuesday, when the children of the world will consume edibles and die hilarious deaths).

[Rich]

The charges are still sealed under orders from a federal judge. Plans were prepared Friday for anyone charged to be taken into custody as soon as Monday

Would someone *kindly* explain, if the charges are *sealed*, how plans can be made to take "anyone" into custody?

I just assumed that, for every person in the US, the feds had plans already made to take them into custody. Surprising that they would wait until three days before.

[damikesc]

Can somebody explain why he has not been removed from his position, given his neck-deep ties to Russian collusion in regards to Uranium One and his far-too-close ties to Comey and the FBI itself?

[loveconstitution1789]

Obama is already out of office, so this is no office to remove him from.

[Rich]

Speaking of "nipple slips", check out the latest offering from Nancy Pelosi.

[DenverJ]

Not going to click that. No way, no how, no sir.

We have to click it to find out what's in it.

[Bra Ket]

Fine with not knowing.

[Jimothy]

Damn, she's surprisingly perky for her age! Not bad, Nancy! Not bad at all!

[Mickey Rat]

I presume that is not "perkiness" but the beginning of fossilization.

[BestUsedCarSales]

How much of congress is just reanimated corpses?

[Vernon Depner]

I'm disappointed that I have to post this myself this late: Nipple Slips would be a good name for a girl punk band.

[Jimothy]

Does anyone feel the the two of them are sitting awkwardly close to each other? Maybe Soros or the Koch brothers or Andrew Carnegie (is he still alive?) could pitch in to get them a bigger studio.

[Hop_David]

Tyson's thing is over simplified pop science and history, often wrong.

Mangling high school math and physics is merely annoying. A more serious offense is basing his talking points on invented histories.

That so many have swallowed his questionable claims demonstrates his fans don't truly practice skepticism. Like most humans, they are happy to consume B.S. if it seems to support their personal prejudices. His fans are the flip side of Trump's birthers. Both Trump and Tyson rose to prominence on the same wave: an ignorant populace that values celebrity and entertainment over rigor and accuracy.

Google: Fact checking Neil deGrasse Tyson.

[loveconstitution1789]

He makes science more interesting and he doesn't really use science to further lefty agendas, so I get the left does not like him.

Feel free to challenge what he says as wrong and risk your reputation on it. Saying he has questionable claims without saying why and fully alerting us to who YOU are by risking your reputation just does not cut it.

[Set Us Up The Chipper]

He is an idiot when it comes to Climate Change, a mostly leftish fetish.

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