Entertainment

Watch Stephen Hawking's Last Interview With Neil deGrasse Tyson

Hawking revealed why humanity needs to reach for the stars.

by Corey Plante

One of the last interviews Stephen Hawking ever gave was with fellow physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Tyson just made it available for anyone to watch for free in honor of Hawking’s death.

Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking died in the early hours of Wednesday morning at the age of 76. Within hours, Neil deGrasse Tyson announced on Twitter that the season finale of his podcast StarTalk, which included an interview with Hawking, was made available commercial-free on YouTube.

“In memory of his passing, and in celebration of his life,” the video description reads, “we offer that episode for you here.”

StarTalk typically focuses on space, science, and popular culture, and the season finale that was released March 10 featured one of the last interviews Hawking gave in his life. The original interview occurred last fall, less than six months ago, and covers a wide range of topics about black holes and mankind’s place colonizing space.

If you’re watching the lengthy episode looking for the interview with Hawking, it kicks off at about the 3:16 mark. The entire episode focuses on the interview itself, with frequent breaks so Tyson and his fellow scientists can discuss Hawking’s legacy and responses to various questions about everything from favorite food and drink to the nature of black holes.

If you’re curious, you can learn that Hawking loved oysters and Pimm’s, but also what he conceived of the universe as it existed before the Big Bang. The episode also makes mention of Hawking’s many cameos across television and pop culture.

Curiously, the entire episode offers a great summarized look at Hawking’s life and legacy, which definitely explains why Tyson decided that it was something the public ought to have access to today. The content of the episode itself feels oddly prescient considering it aired less than two weeks before Hawking’s death.

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