Entertainment
William Shatner and Neil deGrasse Tyson: When stars collide
Not long ago in Seattle, an astronomical event of sorts happened: Two superstars collided. William Shatner, of “Star Trek” fame, and Neil deGrasse Tyson, America’s favorite astrophysicist, took to the stage to explore the nature of exploration. Think of it as sort of Martin & Lewis, but with more quantum mechanics.
“It’s a bromance,” said Tyson. “I think what Bill Shatner and I have together should be the textbook definition of the bromance.”
“If we have a bromance,” said Shatner, “I’d be very privileged.”
The two grew close last year on an upscale cruise to Antarctica, where they ended up being the after-dinner entertainment. “The organizer said, ‘Why don’t we put the two of you on this mini-stage that they have on the ship, and we just chew the fat?'” said Tyson. “And then the organizer said, ‘Why don’t you guys take this on the road?'”
Their first port of call? Seattle, where they debuted a wide-ranging, sometimes meandering, but always intriguing stage show they’re calling “The Universe Is Absurd!”
CBS News
When Shatner asked his partner for a sound bite, deGrasse Tyson solicited a suggestion from the audience: “Pick anything out of the universe. Go. Anything. Doesn’t matter.”
“Pluto!” yelled one enthusiastic audience member.
DeGrasse Tyson obliged: “More than half of Pluto is made of ice, so that, if it were where Earth is right now, heat from the Sun would evaporate that ice and it would grow a tail. And that is no kind of behavior for a planet!” Mic drop. “That’s a sound bite!”
For deGrasse Tyson, director of New York City’s Hayden Planetarium, and an authority on just about everything we know about the universe, it’s a chance to get inside the insatiably curious mind of the 94-year-old Shatner. “What kind of magic potion is he drinking?” deGrasse Tyson laughed. “By the way, you can do the math, he’s been alive for three billion seconds, okay? I did the math, you don’t have to. So when Bill Shatner speaks, it’s coming from a place way deeper than any of the rest of us can possibly match.”
And for Shatner, who never formally studied astrophysics, it’s a chance to make up for what he sees as lost time. “I feel bad about it, because that knowledge of what constitutes the construction of nature, we know so little, but the little we know is so awesome, it’s so spellbinding,” he said. “The fact that I wasn’t conscious of how spellbinding it is as a youth, I could have been much more educated about it.”
CBS News 
Four years ago, Shatner became the oldest person ever to go into space, and he’s been globetrotting ever since.
Shatner asked deGrasse Tyson, “Do you still scratch your head in awe?”
“Every night I look up,” he replied.
So, is this the dynamic between the two – Shatner with questions, deGrasse Tyson with answers? “Unfortunately, that’s the way it is,” Shatner replied.
“No, but he’s got wisdom and life experience that I value, and I respect,” deGrasse Tyson added. “So, I’m here to grab some of that.”
As for Shatner’s take on deGrasse Tyson, “He has access, both because of his mentality, and the books and the studies, so he’s into modern-day mysticism, which is the study of the stars and how it works and what goes on.”
“You call that modern-day mysticism?” deGrasse Tyson asked.
“Because you don’t know for sure that what you’re saying is absolutely truth until more experimentation.”
“That’s the frontier. We’re scratching our heads.”
“Exactly,” said Shatner. “So, he is an explorer. He is an explorer. He is on that verge. He teaches that. And it is mystical in every sense of the word.”
I asked, “This is where I think you are politely and respectfully in disagreement, because Dr. deGrasse Tyson will say something like, ‘We know what the speed of light is and what the fastest things can move is.’ And you say, ‘Well, we’ll see about that!'”
“Yeah, we’ve had that argument,” said Shatner.
DeGrasse Tyson seems just fine not knowing everything – for example, what was going on before the Big Bang, and the profound idea of somethingness coming from nothingness. “We don’t know. Next question!” he said. “No, as a scientist, you need to be comfortable in the presence of a question that does not yet have an answer.”
Of course, the ultimate question, the one we really don’t know definitively, is where we go when we die, something that Shatner, as he loses friends and colleagues, finds himself considering more often. “You know, I vary between the fear of death, my fear,” he said. But, “I have so much love around me. I have a wife, and children, and grandchildren. I even have two great-grandchildren. And I have two great dogs. I’ve had dogs all my life, all my adult life. And so, all my life is fertile, is vibrant. And I don’t want to leave it. And that’s the sadness. I don’t want to go.”
“Are you curious, though, about what you will find out?” I asked.
“Not enough to die!” he laughed.
“Even your curiosity has a limit?”
“Right. It stops right there!”
So, William Shatner’s famous curiosity bumps up against the edge of his universe. And as the show wrapped up in Seattle, Shatner closed things out with one of his unique spoken-word songs, accompanied by trumpeter Keyon Harrold.
Do not grow old
no matter how long you live.
Do not forget pain
but somehow learn to forgive.
The universe, it turns out, might be a bit absurd, but what an interesting ride!
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Watch an extended interview with William Shatner and Neil deGrasse Tyson (Video)
For more info:
Story produced by Anthony Laudato. Editor: Karen Brenner.
Friends gave fans plenty of unforgettable New Year’s moments, but for Courteney Cox, one episode still stands above the rest.
To ring in the new year, the actress revisited one of the sitcom’s most iconic scenes. On New Year’s Eve 2026, Cox, who played Monica Geller on the beloved ’90s series, shared a clip from The One with the Routine on Instagram.
The episode, which aired on December 16, 1999, featured Monica and her older brother Ross, played by David Schwimmer, attempting to dance during Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. After repeatedly failing to get the camera’s attention, the siblings fall back on a dance routine they created as kids. Confident it will be a hit, they perform it with full enthusiasm. Instead, the awkward moves land them in the show’s blooper reel.
“Happy New Years everyone!” Cox, 61, captioned the post.
Fans immediately flooded the comments with praise. “Dare i say: one of the most iconic scenes of the series?” one person wrote. Another agreed, calling it “Without fail one of the greatest scenes EVER.” One fan also noted their disappointment over Friends recently being removed from Netflix.
Meanwhile, Cox’s longtime friend and Friends co-star Jennifer Aniston marked the occasion in her own way. The Emmy-winning actress — who won hearts as Monica’s best friend Rachel Green — shared a video montage of her 2025 highlights on Instagram.
The recap featured familiar faces, including Cox herself, Aniston’s dogs, her new boyfriend Jim Curtis, and even fellow Friends alum Reese Witherspoon.
Pakistan’s superstar Mahira Khan, after showing a stunning display of her talent on the big screen, is finally returning to television, but is “a little scared” of her return.
In an interview with CNN, the ‘Neelofer’ star revealed her gains and losses in her 15-year journey in the showbiz industry, which resulted in a lot of love, respect, and adoration.
“It’s going to be 15 years in this industry next year for me,” Mahira said, which she described as a bit scary for her.
“I’m going back to TV. I’m a little scared about it, but I think that’s what’s exciting. That something is scaring me, you know.”
Talking about her and ‘Neelofar’ co-star Fawad Khan’s chemistry, which always shared different vibes to their viewers, the actress believes, “It’s a blessing that we have been given so much love and respect and adoration together.
“I think what we have in common is that we both are very respectful of each other’s space and our crafts,” she said, adding: “I’m a spontaneous actor, he is […] he has another kind of method, and we both understand each other’s beats.”
Mahira also recalled her student life when she was in the US state of California, saying: “I always credit America for all these years that I lived and worked in America, there’s a huge part of me and that time for me as a girl from Pakistan.”
The actress said she takes her son to America every summer and tells him about the memories she spent there. She believes those were her “very important years of life.”
Amsterdam’s historic Vondelkerk (church) was destroyed by a fire likely triggered by fireworks on New Year’s Eve.
According to Euronews, the fire broke out at the church just after midnight, indicating that the likely cause was fireworks. The fire quickly spread through the church’s wooden tower, causing the building to collapse.
Firefighters responded to the scene and tried their best to contain the blaze. Traffic in the surrounding area was halted and residents were asked to leave amid worries that the fire might spread.
Emergency responders were unable to save the landmark, which later collapsed. Video footage of the aftermath shows the scorched bricks of the historic structure.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported. However, locals were shocked and saddened at losing one of the city’s iconic structures.
One resident wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “You can feel the strong heat everywhere. People are in shock. It’s such a beautiful church. Gone.”
The official cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Vondelkerk was built in 1880 and the building has been out of service since 1997. The former Catholic church was a cultural and events venue after closing for worship in the 1970s.
‘If System Was Unfair…’: Deepinder Goyal Defends Gig Economy After Workers’ Strike
2025 proved to be ‘year of failures and setbacks’ for India: report
Blackburn 0-2 Wrexham (Jan 1, 2026) Game Analysis – ESPN
-
Sports6 days agoBrooks Koepka should face penalty if he rejoins PGA Tour, golf pundit says
-
Business6 days agoGovt registers 144olive startups | The Express Tribune
-
Politics5 days agoThailand, Cambodia agree to ‘immediate’ ceasefire: joint statement
-
Politics6 days agoHeavy rains, flash floods leave Southern California homes caked in mud
-
Entertainment6 days agoSecond actor accuses Tyler Perry of sexual assault in new lawsuit
-
Fashion5 days agoClimate change may hit RMG export earnings of 4 nations by 2030: Study
-
Entertainment6 days agoInside royal families most private Christmas moments
-
Entertainment1 week agoVirat Kohli surpasses Sachin Tendulkar, setting new List A cricket record