Neil deGrasse Tyson (Extended Interview)

Dr Neil deGrasse Tyson is the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History. But, most know him as the host of the documentary series Cosmos and podcast StarTalk. Neil gained infamy as the killer of Pluto. For almost a decade, he has been the face behind Pluto’s demise from planet to dwarf planet. So, he gets a lot of hate mail from pissed off kids. Here, Neil talks to science journalist Wendy Zukerman about why he fell in love with space, representing minorities in science, the anti-science movement, religion and, yes, being Pluto's murderer.

NB: Wendy accidentally read out Neil's tweet about religion to say that he jokingly tweeted he was Greek Orthodox, when it should have been "Geek Orthodox". She's very frustrated both that she got it wrong, and didn't share an amazing pun. Sorry. It's been amended.

More information

Mr Universe (The Saturday Paper) https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/2015/08/01/mr-universe-neil-degrasse-tyson/14383512002184

Neil deGrasse Tyson Australian Tour http://thinkinc.org.au/events/an-evening-with-dr-neil-degrasse-tyson/

Neil deGrasse Tyson on Race https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQLtPWPqsjA

Pluto's not a planet? Only in New York (New York Times) http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/media/pdf/Pluto's_Not_a_Planet.pdf