People I (Mostly) Admire

The director of the Hayden Planetarium is one of the best science communicators of our time. He and Steve talk about his role in reclassifying Pluto, bad teachers, and why economics isn’t a science. SOURCE:Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium. RESOURCES:Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization, by Neil deGrasse Tyson (2022).“The Universe and Beyond, with Stephen Hawking,” by Neil deGrasse Tyson (StarTalk, 2018).The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet, by Neil deGrasse Tyson (2009)."Pluto's Not a Planet? Only in New York," by Kenneth Chang (The New York Times, 2001).The Sky Is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist, by Neil deGrasse Tyson (2000).Merlin's Tour of the Universe, by Neil deGrasse Tyson (1989). EXTRAS:"Richard Dawkins on God, Genes, and Murderous Baby Cuckoos," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024).

He’s the chief creative officer of Pixar, and the Academy Award-winning director of Soul, Inside Out, Up, and Monsters, Inc. Pete Docter and Steve talk about Pixar’s scrappy beginnings, why wrong turns are essential, and the movie moment that changed Steve’s life. SOURCE:Pete Docter, chief creative officer of Pixar. RESOURCES:"‘Inside Out 2’ Becomes the Highest-Grossing Animated Film of All Time Globally," (The Walt Disney Company, 2024).Soul, film (2020).The Red Turtle, film (2016).Inside Out, film (2015).Up, film (2009).Monsters, Inc., film (2001).Toy Story, film (1995).Paper Moon, film (1973). EXTRA:"Walt Hickey Wants to Track Your Eyeballs," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024).

David Eagleman is a Stanford neuroscientist, C.E.O., television host, and founder of the Possibilianism movement. He and Steve talk about how wrists can substitute for ears, why we dream, and what Fisher-Price magnets have to do with neuroscience. SOURCE:David Eagleman, professor of cognitive neuroscience at Stanford University and C.E.O. of Neosensory. RESOURCES:Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain, by David Eagleman (2020)."Why Do We Dream? A New Theory on How It Protects Our Brains," by David Eagleman and Don Vaughn (TIME, 2020)."Prevalence of Learned Grapheme-Color Pairings in a Large Online Sample of Synesthetes," by Nathan Witthoft, Jonathan Winawer, and David Eagleman (PLoS One, 2015).Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives, by David Eagleman (2009).The vOICe app.Neosensory. EXTRAS:"What’s Impacting American Workers?" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024)."This Is Your Brain on Podcasts," by Freakonomics Radio (2016).

Boys and men are trending downward in education, employment, and mental health. Richard Reeves, author of the book Of Boys and Men, has some solutions that don’t come at the expense of women and girls. Steve pushes him to go further. SOURCE:Richard Reeves, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, president of the American Institute for Boys and Men, and author. RESOURCES:Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It, by Richard Reeves (2022)."The Crisis of Men and Boys," by David Brooks (The New York Times, 2022).Dream Hoarders: How the American Upper Middle Class Is Leaving Everyone Else in the Dust, Why That Is a Problem, and What to Do About It, by Richard Reeves (2017)."An Empirical Analysis of the Gender Gap in Mathematics," by Roland Fryer and Steven Levitt (American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2010).John Stuart Mill: Victorian Firebrand, by Richard Reeves (2007) EXTRA:"What Is the Future of College — and Does It Have Room for Men? (Update)," by Freakonomics Radio (2024).