Ep. #731: Neil deGrasse Tyson, Kevin McCarthy, Katy Tur

Bill Maher opens with a scathing monologue on the absurdity of modern politics, where Trump’s approval rating has hit a record low of 34% while he simultaneously sues the U.S. government and plans to pay January 6th rioters through a newly created 'anti-weaponization fund.' The episode pivots to a profound conversation with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who argues that alien life is nearly certain in the galaxy—but that any actual alien encounter would likely be anticlimactic, especially if they look humanoid. Tyson warns that our self-proclaimed intelligence may be a delusion, comparing humans to chimps in the eyes of a truly advanced species. He also draws a chilling parallel between AI and alien intelligence: if AI is the pinnacle of human intellect, it would seem laughably primitive to beings far beyond us. The panel then tackles Texas politics, where Republican primary voters overwhelmingly backed Ken Paxton—a far-right attorney general with a history of corruption—over the more moderate John Cornyn, signaling Trump’s enduring power within the party. Kevin McCarthy defends the need for legal recourse against political overreach, citing his own experience with a warrant for his cell phone records. The episode closes with a dire warning about AI’s existential threat, echoing Pope Francis and AI pioneer Jeffrey Hinton: the technology could trigger an extinction event, yet policymakers remain unprepared.