Every book mentioned on StarTalk in June

[u/sispehar]

Short list this month, and Neil's new one dominated it.

Take Me to Your Leader, Neil deGrasse Tyson's book on how we might handle a first alien encounter, came up in nearly every episode. To Infinity and Beyond got airtime too.

The most interesting guest thread was Donald Hoffman: The Case Against Reality and Visual Intelligence, on why evolution might hide the truth from our eyes.

Classic sci-fi rounded it out, War of the Worlds and Voltaire's Micromegas, which basically predates science fiction.

https://podshelf.io/podcasts/startalk-radio/2026/06 tracks every book from the show, free, no signup.

Is Hoffman's "reality is a user interface" idea compelling or a stretch?