“Although I'm not actually embarrassed by this, I tend not to read books that have awesome movies made from them, regardless of how well or badly the movie represented the actual written story.”

American astrophysicist and science communicator of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, he bridges complex cosmic concepts for broad audiences. His work on the Cosmos television series and public lectures makes astronomy accessible, while his writings and media appearances champion evidence-based reasoning and critical thinking.