How the writers of Cosmos bring science to life
Cosmos: Possible Worlds finds hope for humanity’s future in stories from its past. (Cosmos Studios/)Since 1980s, the television show Cosmos has woven together threads from physics, astronomy, neuroscience, ecology, and other fields while teaching and entertaining along the way. It’s a daunting challenge, but one that the show’s writer and executive producer, Ann Druyan, relishes. She’s been deeply involved in the program since its original incarnation, Cosmos: A Personal Voyager, which she co-wrote with her husband, the late physicist Carl Sagan. In the show’s third installment, which will air on March 9 on National Geographic, Druyan expands on the lessons and themes of its forerunners. She hopes that the new season—entitled Cosmos: Possible Worlds—will inspire viewers to work toward an improved future by highlighting scientific progress from the past. Druyan and her co-writer and director Brannon Braga recently sat down with Popular Science to explain how they turn scientific discoveries...