Bill Nye, The Science Guy says we can fight natural disasters in new show

By Elizabeth Howell
published

'The End Is Nye' shows The Science Guy coming back from disasters to save the world (again). It is streaming on Peacock now.

Bill Nye, the Science Guy is once again saving the world.

"The End Is Nye" shows the celeb TV host experiencing a comet strike and other natural disasters on camera, courtesy of Peacock.

"I get killed six times. Six times!" he told Space.com. 

In a twist from his usual educational persona, the CEO of the Planetary Society is using "drama, acting, breaking the fourth wall" to show what it is like to experience hurricanes, floods, volcanic explosions and yes, that rude cosmic snowball crash.

But even though Nye "dies" repeatedly like Kenny from South Park, don't worry. He resurrects in the second half of each episode to reassure us that in every case, scientists have a plan to avoid disaster before it's too late.

Related: Why is sci-fi so obsessed with asteroid impact disasters (and how to stop them)?

Bill Nye's new show, "The End Is Nye," looks at how to recover from natural disasters. (Image credit: David Yeh/Peacock)

In space, our newest arsenal against cosmic objects is NASA's DART — the Double Asteroid Redirection Mission, set to slam into a moonlet of asteroid Didymos on Sept. 26. 

DART will try to nudge the moonlet's orbit through kinetic impact, in a first-ever demonstration of planetary defense. (But unlike in Leonardo DiCaprio's "Don't Look Up", rest assured we haven't found any killer asteroids despite decades of ongoing searches).

Nye and the Planetary Society have spent years talking about the value of the DART mission and this show falls in line with the organization's marketing, which is that an asteroid disaster is preventable.

Related: Space rock alert: Should you worry about an asteroid impact?

"Be optimistic ... embrace science," Nye urges viewers to think, as they watch each episode. "With the process of science, identify, realize that we have identified these potential disasters, and then feel empowered to do something about it."

What's the first step right now? With Congressional midterms coming up Nov. 8, get to the ballot box, he said. "The main thing most of us can do about it right now is vote. Vote with the environment in mind."

"The End Is Nye" is available on Peacock right now, and premiered Thursday (Aug. 25).

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Elizabeth Howell
Elizabeth Howell
Staff Writer, Spaceflight

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace