Neil deGrasse Tyson is a multi-award-winning astrophysicist, science communicator, author, presenter and actor, and his brilliance is known around the world. So, it goes without saying, given his stature in the scientific community and in pop culture, when he offers interesting intellectual insight, people listen. That being said, on the October 14 episode of Hot Ones Game Night, host Joe Santagato asked Tyson about the possibility of time travel. While most people (myself included) believe that time travel is in the fictional realm of books and Hollywood, Tyson confirmed that it is theoretically possible in real life. Prepare to be blown away. Neil deGrasse Tyson: “We can time travel to the future, but not to the past.” NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 23: Neil deGrasse Tyson attends Star Talk Live! With Neil deGrasse Tyson: Lost In Space on 92NY on September 23, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Dominik Bindl/Getty Images)Dominik Bindl/Getty ImagesDuring Tyson’s appearance on Hot Ones Game Night, Santagato guides Tyson in a Hot Ones board game where there are different challenges to play and questions to answer. During a moment in the one-on-one competition, Santagato poses the question to Tyson: “Will humans be able to travel back in time one day?” At first, Tyson responds very quickly: “No. Next one.” When Santagato gauges Tyson’s absolute character in this regard, that’s when things take an interesting turn. The scientist clarifies: “We can time travel to the future, but not to the past.” To further explain the reasoning, he adds: “If I accelerate you through space for a while and you age, say 10 minutes, and I bring you back to Earth, depending on the speed at which I sent you, we could have aged an hour, a day, a year. You went to the future. Not your own future. You went into everyone else’s future.” It’s a form of time travel, but there’s no way you can go to your own future. No. You are a prisoner of the present in your timeline, constantly transitioning between your inaccessible past and your unknowable future.” All that said, while Tyson confirmed that time travel to the future is possible, he stopped short of adding validity to the time travel plots of movies like the Marvel Avengers movies. Neil deGrasse Tyson Ranks the “Smart Famous People” Another interesting moment in the episode Hot Ones Game Night occurs when Santagato asks Tyson to “Rate these people.” famous for being intelligent from most intelligent to least intelligent.” In the lineup, there are Bill Nye, Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan and Tyson. The astrophysicist responds: “Definitely Stephen Hawking, top shelf, okay? The undisputed champion. Well, after Einstein, yes. And next I would say that Carl Sagan was a smart guy. Yeah, I’ll put him ahead of me there.” Now, when it comes to third and fourth place in this ranking, Tyson points out that he and Nye are not only friends, but they appear to be very similar in intellect. So instead of assigning a fourth place spot, Tyson claims that he and Nye are tied for third place. You can watch Tyson’s full conversation with Santagato below. Related: Christopher Meloni Leads New Cleveland Browns Show on Hulu: Is It Based on a True Story? This Story was Originally Published by Men’s Journal on October 15, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section Add Men’s Journal as a preferred source by clicking here.
