Today’s political climate can be destructive, hateful and even violent, and there’s little room for civil discourse when people don’t agree on cold, hard facts. Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) has spent his career studying the stars, space and our place in the universe — the big picture that we often lose sight of.

In his new book, he turns his perspective to the rifts in our own world, arguing that scientific inquiry can open wider understanding and enlightenment. He joins us to discuss the importance of rational thought, the pursuit of knowledge, and ways to test our own opinions as we debate and decide on important issues like race, gender, politics and religion.

Tyson’s new book is Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization.

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The New York Times Magazine degrasse-tyson-interview.html">Neil deGrasse Tyson Thinks Science Can Reign Supreme Again “The fact that scientists are human like everybody means that there is a susceptibility to bias. The difference is the scientist is supposed to have good self-awareness of that bias so that they can check for it. You ask yourself, Do I have an urge for this experiment to come out one way or another?”

Kimmel Campus Presents Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson: An Astrophysicist Goes to the Movies – II. You can get tickets here.