Neil deGrasse Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson is a celebrated astrophysicist, planetary scientist, author, and science communicator. He’s been the director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City since 1996. He’s the author of 16 books and dozens of essays about the universe and all it contains -- most recently, “Cosmic Queries: StarTalk’s Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We’re Going.” He’s hosted a number of TV shows over the years about the facts and mysteries of the cosmos. And since 2009, he’s also been the host of the radio show and podcast StarTalk, which brings together science, pop culture, and comedy. His mission is truly to educate people, not just by giving out information, but by empowering them to seek out knowledge for themselves. The sheer joy he gets from this work – that alone is awe-inspiring.