A truly odd couple: Anthony Bourdain and famed astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson

We regard Anthony Bourdain in many ways as the Kim Kardashian of the food world – way over publicized. Admittedly, unlike Kim, he actually has talent – both for cooking and for writing (we do admire his books) – but lately he seems to be all over the airways and opining on just about everything. However, we’ve decided to violate our minimal Bourdain pledge because of the sheer out-of-this-world nature of this interview.

You can find the interview on The Braiser, who introduces it with “How did this happen? How did  Anthony Bourdain get in the same room asNeil DeGrasse Tyson, America’s favorite astrophysicist, for an episode of Nerdist’s Star Talk? How did the director of the Hayden Planetarium end up conducting one of the most fascinating interviews of Bourdain in the public record? (Aside from ours, of course.) Did it all have to do with the fact that they talked about nutritional science and the intricacies of diets around the world and astronaut food?”

And besides the obvious pun, why did we call it “out-of-this-world?” Largely because Bourdain, who often lately seems to be almost a caricature of himself and tries to be as outrageous as possible, takes the interview seriously, and actually makes some thoughtful comments. In particular, he is respectful of other cultures and foods, noting that texture is often our problem with other foods. His description of the kitchen as a military hierarchy, how he learned food science on the job, and the impact on him from slaughtering his first pig were also insightful. The show  presents clips of the interview and has a nutrition professor also make comments, which adds to the interest. For any food student, this is an interesting session.