E-mail a friendFebruary 13, 2009
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson explains how he generated the media attention around Pluto. The New Yorker's David Denby distinguishes between "snark"—the title of his new book—and public commentary.
Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson
Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson
New York's Hayden Planetarium director explains what astrophysicists are excited about today. (1:40)
Full interview. (13:16)
As a kid in the Bronx, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson was expected to become a star athlete. Instead, he overcame the misperceptions of a young person of color and became an astrophysicist and the youngest-ever director of New York's famous Hayden Planetarium. Tyson also works with the American Museum of Natural History, writes a column for Natural History, and is an award-winning author, with titles that include The Pluto Files. He's involved in several programs that bring science to inner-city schoolchildren.
David Denby
David Denby
Author describes how snark is flourishing in our culture today. (2:19)
Full interview. (12:28)
As a staff writer and film critic at The New Yorker, David Denby has written on a wide range of subjects. He's also a best-selling author, with titles that include Great Books, about his alma mater Columbia University, American Sucker, which details his experience as an amateur investor in the middle of the dot-com boom and bust, and Snark. Denby was previously the film critic for New York magazine and has had articles published in The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Review of Books and The New Republic.