Let's Make America Smart Again with Cory Booker | StarTalk Live! with Neil deGrasse Tyson

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Episode Title: Let's Make America Smart Again with Cory Booker | StarTalk Live! with Neil deGrasse Tyson
Produced by: StarTalk
Description: StarTalk Radio is continuing its mission to Make America Smart Again! What better platform to do it than at the Count Basie Theatre, in Red Bank, New Jersey? On 4/17/17, Neil deGrasse Tyson and his comic co-host Eugene Mirman were joined by New Jersey’s own, U.S. Senator Cory Booker, along with John Holdren, Science Advisor to President Obama, Jo Handelsman, former Associate Director for Science at the White House Office of Science and Technology, and comedians Ophira Eisenberg of NPR’s Ask Me Another and Baratunde Thurston of The Daily Show. You’ll hear discussion on social and political activism, using data to protest, and why science is the best investment for your tax dollars. Discover more about biomedical advances, microbiology, the microbiome, precision medicine, and gene-editing tools. You’ll also hear about rebalancing NASA’s budget to put the “science” back in rocket science. Senator Booker discusses President Trump’s proposed national budget, and the dangers it poses to science and technology in America. Neil talks about testifying in front of Congress, and John and Jo talk about working under the most science savvy President in modern times, President Barak Obama. All that, plus you’ll find out why Carl Sagan was never a fan of superheroes. Dive into the unseen world of the human microbiome (a collection of microorganisms in the human body) and its ability to control behavior and combat disease. Explore gene-editing tools like CRISPR, how we might genetically modify people to live on Mars, and the ethical grey areas that come with human gene modification. Find out why the government ends up conducting most basic research, while private companies tend to shy away from this critical activity. John also explains why not knowing the outcome is a major part in the process of discovery. You’ll learn about DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and ARPA-E, the Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy, which focuses on investments in alternative energy. Discover the possibility that a naturally occurring electromagnetic pulse could knock out the electrical grid of the United States. Investigate the dangers of Superfund sites and how data is reshaping the way we approach solving problems. You’ll also learn about connecting human biology to the internet, government investments in artificial intelligence, and why John thinks the dangers of AI are being overstated. All that, plus, each member of our panel gives parting thoughts on what it takes to Make America Smart Again. #NeildeGrasseTyson #CoryBooker #StarTalk Host: Neil Tyson Astrophysicist Co-Host: Eugene Mirman Comedian Guests: Cory Booker United States Senator https://www.booker.senate.gov/ John Holdren Former Science Advisor to President Obama, Former Head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Professor of Environmental Policy and Professor of Environmental Science and Policy at Harvard University https://www.hks.harvard.edu/about/faculty-staff-directory/john-holdren Jo Handelsman Former Associate Director for Science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Director of the Wisconsin Institute of Discovery https://wid.wisc.edu/profile/jo-handelsman/ Ophira Eisenberg Comedian http://ophiraeisenberg.com/


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