As a child of the 1950s and 1960s who was constantly terrified that there would be a massive nuclear war at any moment, I remember that even during the horrors of the nuclear arms race that I felt a sense of hope about the future. I don’t have to spell out to you or your readers why that was, because we’re all painfully aware of it.Īlso, it seemed to me that most popular culture is concerned with dystopian visions of the future. Palmer: What would you say are the main differences between this third season of Cosmos and the earlier season that ran in 2014?ĭruyan: I think during season three-during the conceiving of it, the writing of it with Brannon Braga, and then my writing of the companion book-I was moved by a greater sense of urgency. I’m also the author of the companion book Cosmos: Possible Worlds. I was also executive producer, writer, and director of Cosmos: A Space Time Odyssey and Cosmos: Possible Worlds. It was my honor to be the creative director of NASA’s Voyager interstellar message, to collaborate with Carl Sagan on Cosmos : A Personal Voyage, and to co-create Contact with him. For those not very familiar with you, can you tell us about some of the highlights of your career?Īnn Druyan: Hey Rob! Sure. Photographer: Stewart Volland/National Geographic After finishing the two available episodes, I decided to reach out to the creative force behind Cosmos to see what insights I could obtain from her regarding the series-and the state of the world. Nevertheless, it’s a special treat to be able to watch this celebration of science and its prognostication of the wonders that may be in store for us if science wins out over superstition and ignorance. Will there be a global recession rivaling (or even surpassing) the Great Depression and vastly setting back human progress?Ĭosmos offers a hopeful vision of the future based on humanity using science to cure its ills, but at the moment this is in stark contrast to our reality. People (including yours truly) cannot go to work, basic necessities are in limited supply (why does everyone need so much toilet paper?), businesses are shuttering, and I find myself wondering what will become of civilization in the coming weeks, months, and possibly years. So, I’ve just begun to watch them from my shelter-in-place bunker (or what feels like a bunker) as the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps the globe. It’s mid-March now, and the first several episodes are available. It’s our turn.”Īs a huge fan of both the original 1980 Cosmos with Carl Sagan and the 2014 version with Neil deGrasse Tyson, when I discovered that National Geographic would be soon airing a new season of the show, I was thrilled. And the good news is that all of us are descended from generations, countless generations, of humans who had their backs to the wall and who managed to endure and to survive, and even to flourish. “ This is another moment when humanity has to step up.

Ann druyan