Advertised on its cover as “A StarTalk book,” To Infinity and Beyond elaborates on many of the subjects discussed on Neil deGrasse Tyson’s podcast and subsequent television show for National Geographic. The TV show aired until 2019, and the podcast broadcast its last episode in 2022. Tyson has long been an advocate for greater public education regarding science, particularly in his field of astrophysics. He is also well-known for his congenial if sometimes argumentative debunking of Hollywood’s spectacles of pseudoscience.

The StarTalk podcast, first cohosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Lynne Koplitz, offered an entertaining take on various scientific issues. Tyson was also joined by other cohosts like comedians Chuck Nice and Leighann Lord. Guests ranged from other scientists to celebrities like Wil Wheaton and Bill Maher. The audience could submit cosmic queries, which were answered during a special segment of the broadcast. The television show was structured like other late-night talk shows, with Tyson interviewing celebrities and other well-known figures from popular culture. Both shows were efforts to popularize science and explicate complicated concepts.

There is a relatively long history of attempting to bring scientific ideas—even quite sophisticated ones—to the public. Perhaps the original and most revered science communicator was Carl Sagan.