# StarTalk (American talk show)

StarTalk is an American television talk show hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson that aired weekly on National Geographic. StarTalk is a spin-off of the podcast of the same name, in which Tyson discusses scientific topics through one-on-one interviews and panel discussions. Space.com called it the "first-ever science-themed late-night talk show." The series premiered on April 20, 2015.

## Format

The format of the show broadly follows the format of the podcast. This consists of a pre-taped discussion between Tyson and the guest of the week, which is shown in segments interspersed with the segments filmed in front of the live audience. Those segments consist of a discussion between Tyson, a specialist related to the guest's area of expertise, and a comedian (most commonly Chuck Nice or Eugene Mirman or Maeve Higgins). Near the end of the episode, a short taped segment of Bill Nye, giving his view of the episode's topic, is often aired.

## Episodes
### Season 1 (2015)

| No. | Guest(s) | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 1 | George Takei | April 20, 2015 (2015-04-20) | N/A |
| 2 | Christopher Nolan | April 27, 2015 (2015-04-27) | 0.138 |
| 3 | Dan Savage | May 4, 2015 (2015-05-04) | N/A |
| 4 | Arianna Huffington | May 11, 2015 (2015-05-11) | 0.151 |
| 5 | Richard Dawkins | May 18, 2015 (2015-05-18) | N/A |
| 6 | Jimmy Carter | May 25, 2015 (2015-05-25) | N/A |
| 7 | Chris Hadfield | June 1, 2015 (2015-06-01) | N/A |
| 8 | Biz Stone | June 8, 2015 (2015-06-08) | N/A |
| 9 | Charles Bolden | June 15, 2015 (2015-06-15) | N/A |
| 10 | Norman Lear | June 22, 2015 (2015-06-22) | N/A |

### Season 2 (2015–16)

| No. | Guests | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 11 | Bill Clinton | October 25, 2015 (2015-10-25) | 0.219 |
| 12 | Larry Wilmore | November 1, 2015 (2015-11-01) | N/A |
| 13 | Seth MacFarlane | November 8, 2015 (2015-11-08) | N/A |
| 14 | Penn & Teller | November 15, 2015 (2015-11-15) | N/A |
| 15 | Susan Sarandon | November 29, 2015 (2015-11-29) | N/A |
| 16 | David Byrne | December 6, 2015 (2015-12-06) | N/A |
| 17 | Bas Lansdorp (Mars One) | December 13, 2015 (2015-12-13) | 0.167 |
| 18 | David Crosby | December 20, 2015 (2015-12-20) | 0.138 |
| 19 | Brian Cox | December 27, 2015 (2015-12-27) | 0.180 |
| 20 | Gina McCarthy | January 3, 2016 (2016-01-03) | 0.156 |

### Season 3 (2016–17)

| No. | Guests | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 21 | Whoopi Goldberg | September 19, 2016 (2016-09-19) | N/A |
| 22 | Mayim Bialik | September 26, 2016 (2016-09-26) | N/A |
| 23 | Philippe Petit | October 3, 2016 (2016-10-03) | N/A |
| 24 | Christopher Lloyd and Michelle Gomez | October 10, 2016 (2016-10-10) | N/A |
| 25 | Brian Greene | October 17, 2016 (2016-10-17) | 0.117 |
| 26 | Robert Kirkman | October 24, 2016 (2016-10-24) | N/A |
| 27 | Jeremy Irons | November 7, 2016 (2016-11-07) | N/A |
| 28 | Andy Weir | November 14, 2016 (2016-11-14) | 0.241 |
| 29 | Ben Stiller | November 21, 2016 (2016-11-21) | N/A |
| 30 | Buzz Aldrin | November 28, 2016 (2016-11-28) | N/A |
| 31 | Terry Crews | December 5, 2016 (2016-12-05) | N/A |
| 32 | Jay Leno | December 12, 2016 (2016-12-12) | N/A |
| 33 | William Shatner | December 19, 2016 (2016-12-19) | 0.186 |
| 34 | Ash Carter | December 26, 2016 (2016-12-26) | 0.209 |
| 35 | Hope Solo | January 2, 2017 (2017-01-02) | N/A |
| 36 | Jill Tarter | January 9, 2017 (2017-01-09) | N/A |
| 37 | Kathryn D. Sullivan | January 16, 2017 (2017-01-16) | N/A |
| 38 | Isaac Hempstead Wright | January 23, 2017 (2017-01-23) | N/A |
| 39 | Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter | January 30, 2017 (2017-01-30) | N/A |
| 40 | Bill Maher | February 6, 2017 (2017-02-06) | N/A |

### Season 4 (2017–18)

| No. | Guests | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 41 | Lance Armstrong | October 1, 2017 (2017-10-01) | N/A |
| 42 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | October 8, 2017 (2017-10-08) | N/A |
| 43 | Jane Goodall | October 15, 2017 (2017-10-15) | N/A |
| 44 | Katie Couric | October 22, 2017 (2017-10-22) | N/A |
| 45 | Kevin Smith | October 29, 2017 (2017-10-29) | N/A |
| 46 | Arati Prabhakar | November 5, 2017 (2017-11-05) | N/A |
| 47 | Katy Perry | November 12, 2017 (2017-11-12) | N/A |
| 48 | Sylvia Earle, Fabien Cousteau and Adrian Grenier | November 19, 2017 (2017-11-19) | N/A |
| 49 | James Cameron | November 26, 2017 (2017-11-26) | N/A |
| 50 | Nainoa Thompson | December 3, 2017 (2017-12-03) | N/A |
| 51 | Salman Rushdie | December 10, 2017 (2017-12-10) | N/A |
| 52 | Mae Jemison | December 17, 2017 (2017-12-17) | N/A |
| 53 | Alan Alda | January 7, 2018 (2018-01-07) | N/A |
| 54 | Stephen Colbert | January 14, 2018 (2018-01-14) | N/A |
| 55 | Margot Lee Shetterly and Janelle Monáe | January 21, 2018 (2018-01-21) | N/A |
| 56 | Sam Harris | January 28, 2018 (2018-01-28) | N/A |
| 57 | Frank Oz | February 4, 2018 (2018-02-04) | N/A |
| 58 | Kelly Slater | February 18, 2018 (2018-02-18) | N/A |
| 59 | Scott Kelly | February 25, 2018 (2018-02-25) | N/A |
| 60 | Stephen Hawking | March 4, 2018 (2018-03-04) | N/A |

### Season 5 (2018–19)

| No. | Guests | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 61 | Anthony Bourdain | November 12, 2018 (2018-11-12) | N/A |
| 62 | Joe Rogan | November 19, 2018 (2018-11-19) | N/A |
| 63 | Simon Helberg and Bill Prady | November 26, 2018 (2018-11-26) | N/A |
| 64 | United States Space Command | April 4, 2019 (2019-04-04) | N/A |
| 65 | Al Gore | April 4, 2019 (2019-04-04) | N/A |
| 66 | Jack Black | April 11, 2019 (2019-04-11) | N/A |
| 67 | Dan Rather | April 11, 2019 (2019-04-11) | N/A |
| 68 | George R.R. Martin | April 18, 2019 (2019-04-18) | N/A |
| 69 | Anna Deavere Smith | April 18, 2019 (2019-04-18) | N/A |
| 70 | Jeff Goldblum | April 25, 2019 (2019-04-25) | N/A |
| 71 | James Marsden | April 26, 2019 (2019-04-26) | N/A |
| 72 | Weird Al Yankovic | May 2, 2019 (2019-05-02) | N/A |
| 73 | Patricia Cornwall | May 3, 2019 (2019-05-03) | N/A |
| 74 | Darren Aronofsky | May 9, 2019 (2019-05-09) | N/A |
| 75 | Bill Nye | May 10, 2019 (2019-05-10) | N/A |
| 76 | Christiane Amanpour | May 16, 2019 (2019-05-16) | N/A |

## Broadcast

In Australia, the series premiered on National Geographic Channel on April 27, 2015.
From November 2018 to March 2019, season 5 was put on hiatus because of ongoing investigations involving the host. At the conclusion of the investigations, the networks began airing new episodes in April 2019.

## In popular culture

On August 27, 2015, 20th Century Fox released a viral video advertisement for the movie The Martian, taking the form of a special episode of StarTalk, with Tyson discussing the fictional Ares 3 mission from the film.