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  • Two men I simultaneously admire and disagree with.

  • A "station break" interrupted Carl Sagan?! That says it all about our society...

  • I wish TV hosts still let their guests talk this much...seems like now they want a 5 second soundbyte-type answer for every question they ask, and anything even resembling an intricate or interesting thought gets interrupted and turned into a dumb joke. Not that 95% of people on TV are in any way interesting, though...

  • @zenpirate1: Yeah, you're right. It's all the phony-emotion on T.V. these days. Jay Leno just has to get his zinger in there every 30 secs or so during an interview.

  • I was just reading something about how Voyager is almost out of our solar system and I start watching this and it was filmed right as voyager launched. It's pretty amazing how after all these years and it still hasn't left our solar system, and that's just our solar system. It's amazing how vast this universe is.

  • I wish i could have a conversation with Carl Sagan

  • I always like carl more in interviews than when hes a presenter. he seems more down and cool.

  • I never paid much attention to John Denver growing up, I remember the guy seemed to always be the punchline to a joke, on The Simpsons, Dumb and Dumber (hey Lloyd I thought the Rocky Mountains would be rockier then this, yeah that John Denver is full of shit man)...I was a teenager when he died in that accident back in the 90s so I was barely around during this interview in 1977. Denver seems like a cool guy, too bad he's always been tagged as a cornball.

  • Carl was always very clear that Io should be pronounced - eeo as he does in this video but more and more I hear the astronomy community pronouncing it eyeo. Even Prof Brian Cox pronounces it wrong in his Wonders documentary.

  • I bought that book when I was a teenager, just a superb read and supremely worthy of it's Pulitzer prize win.

  • two legends

  • In case anyone cares, this are the American songs, that Sagan (more or less) mentions from 1:22, that were included aboard Voyager in 1977:

    - Chuck Berry: v=I8JULmUlGDA

    - Louis Armstrong: v=KRoid2FHFsw

    - Blind Willie Johnson: v=BNj2BXW852g

  • Carl had the most awesome voice ever.

  • Respect for John Denver just went up 1000%, what a cool guy.

  • @megustaface Me too. I remember many details of the day both men died. John Denver wrote some beautiful songs. "Cosmos" is a masterpeice of television. I watch the whole series at least once per year as it truly has everlasting power.

  • were they right about that moon? and how do you spell it so i can check it out

  • @NAEIRNBRUFORU I'm not sure about the science, but the moon is Io.

  • @NAEIRNBRUFORU The ocean hypothesis was interesting, but not correct. They discovered during the Voyager mission that Io is covered with volcanoes. The surface color is due mostly to sulfur.

  • lol Denver was obviously eating some shrooms and checking out Jupiter through the telescope...far out.

  • John's genuine interest in the subject made for a brilliant interview!  Thanks for posting.

  • @cygnusfloyd Thank you for your comment.

  • @cygnusfloyd

    All these years, and people love and remember Carl. It's wonderful.

  • @AlphaMaIe You are just an idiot!

  • Thiese YouTube discoveries make Me other people so HAPPY!!!! Whoa-ho!!! Holy Thundera!!! Carl Sagan.....I was a teenager then in the 80,s and Johnny Denver.....doing an interview!!?!?! when was this filmed???????

    I remember that guy from cosmos program and interesting things to say for someone wasn't into science (too hard to understand) then... Fast forward to 2011 now this..... He made science FUN and intersting and My favorite man Johnny Denver interviewing him talking about space pleants

  • @videokat23 : I think a YouTube user called TomKNJ has every episode of Cosmos posted now; you should check it out. Wonderful stuff.

  • "0 dislikes"

    That makes me happy.

  • Carl Sagan. Legend.

  • do we ever even do things like this anymore? Speak to the great scientists of our time or do we just spend all our money on Jersey Shore? :X Only time I ever see anyone with half a brain on tv is on a documentary of some sort

  • Such a bright guy

  • far out

  • This is classic! Thanks so much for posting.

  • @11spike7 Thank you too.

  • 2 CHILLIN BROS

  • Far out LOL!

  • Just did a quick wiki search on the Bowhead whale and it was nice to read that there is now an estimated 14,400 reported in 2008.

    We do have potentual as a race to evolve our ideas. I just wish it would happen sooner rather than later as later may be too late.

  • Michael, thank you so much for posting this wonderful video. I miss Carl Sagan. John Denver (whom I miss, as well) did a good job with this interview. Thanks again!

  • @philosopher1967 Thank you too. It is also one of my favourites.

  • Boy were they wrong about Io! LOL! Io turned out to be even more amazing!

  • Thanks for uploading this, these guys share a passion with great enthusiasm and it makes for such a great interview.

  • @TakaMaru777 Thank you for your kind comment. You are always welcome.

  • Simply amazing. Thanks for sharing.

  • @PPPCashDotCom My pleasure! Thank you for viewing it.

  • Luna is made of cheese, and Io is made of marmalade.

  • Excellent video. Where do you guys get videos like this? It is crazy! The internet is fantastic!

  • @undisputedgreatest Thank you for your comment.

  • Far out!

  • Great video. Interesting video. Thank you so much for posting this.

  • @TheConsensusreality Thank you for commenting. You are always welcome.

  • great singer host human being with his faults he was a man and all we can sak for in a man

  • Both men just ooooooze class and respect. Good video.

  • Whoever posted this I would like to thank you! Everyone that watches this clip owes you a case of beer.

  • @kansaimagic Thank you too.

  • Happy birthday, Dr. Sagan. The universe is the richer for both J.D. and C.S.'s presence.

  • Thank you for posting this!

  • @tetranoob Thank you for commenting.

  • It is so sad that mankind has to think that the this planet was made for us to do with what we please, when in fact we have been here for a very short period of time and have created nothing less than a "Hell" for most all other living entities that have seen far more than we can even realize.

  • Both good men, both now gone. Sigh.

  • Shame that Sagan is dead. He was one of the most intelligent people period.

  • I have a man crush on Sagan.

  • Carl Sagan was a prolific writer. His search for Intelligent Life in the Universe was pushed forward, as Carl Sagan saw on an academic board to review Project Blue Book of the U.S. Air Force, his committee said the UFO reports, whatever they were, the behavior did not compose a threat to national security. We can see this thought appear in Cosmos, as in a Universe as large as ours, there could be something out there.

  • Two great men.

  • wow i never heard of john denver as a talkshow host

  • Far Out, lol. 

  • I remember JD hosting the Tonight Show sometimes in the 70s when I was in High School. Nice post.

  • @cindyshealed Thank you.

  • Two of the greatest minds and biggest hearts sitting together, I always imagined how they'd interact with one another, and now I get to see it come to fruition. These two people have had a tremendous impact on my life, and it's sad that both of them are gone.

  • One of my favorite scientist and one of my favorite song writers in the same room!

  • DONDE ESTA TRADUCIDO AL ESPAÑAOL?

  • @pegazov

    No seas mamon y compra Ingles sin barreras

  • Thanks for uploading. Two real heroes of my youth who influenced my life forever :)

  • @winterweib My pleasure. Thank you for your comment.

  • Interesting that the show had to go to a commercial break while Sagan mentioned how the U.S. wasn't doing enough to stop the killing of whales. Still a good interview though.

  • that old jay leno?... he sucks

  • What a great interviewer John is!!!!! Intelligent and interesting!!!!!

  • John Denver...MY MAN!! Long time no see...we miss you brother!

  • Wow, I just realized how the modern day "tonight shows" cannot have guests or conversations that are even semi-intelligent. If there happens to be a guest who has depth the host just keeps things light by cracking joke after joke.

    Not to mention the loss of hard news in our news shows.

  • This is a great video. John Denver conducted an excellent interview with Carl Sagan. Denver exhibited an enthusiasm for science that modern interviewers seldom display. Thanks for posting this.

  • @heathdwatts Thank you for your comment.

  • @heathdwatts Leno should learn how to interview like this. I mean 18 years on, he's still an unfunny twit.

  • This is amazing. I'm so glad somebody uploaded this. Dr. Carl Sagan is my own personal hero and it's excellent to see him in his prime.

  • Thanks for uploading this. Great interview!

  • @NappaWesker Thank you.

  • i miss carl :(

  • Wow, didn't expect this. Very cool!

  • Happily, the bowhead population has recovered very well. I'm sure JD and CS would both be glad to know this. There are concerns that as Arctic ice melts, an increase of shipping in their habitat could cause problems.

  • Sagan is, of course, enthralling to watch. But I have to hand it to John Denver. It is neat to see someone who is so excited to sit down with Sagan, just as I suppose the rest of us would be.

    Some interviews of Sagan's are far more restrained, but Denver's unbridled enthusiasm to engage and learn from Sagan, is neat to see. And he actually asks some good questions, instead of so many of the boobs they have interviewing scientists of Sagan's caliber today.

  • I absolutely agree.... he's bubbling... I am just watching him.

  • how dare a piano interrupt Carl Sagan?

  • @44eelz - I completely agree! ...If I were directing the Tonight Show, I would have let Carl finish speaking first, before taking a commercial break!

  • I'm only 18 but I can't even begin to describe the influence this man had on me. From reading his books and watching interviews like these, I've gained a level of respect for him that is, quite frankly, unprecedented.

    This man has made me fall in love with astronomy and space in general, Sagan was a genius and it's unfortunate that there are kids growing up without someone like him to look up to.

    Neil Tyson has some pretty big shoes to fill.

  • I happened to pick-up the "Dragons of Eden" in the college bookstore right around this time. Dr. Sagans insights on a broad cross section of subjects, was stunning. More important, was how he explained relationships interwoven between diverse subjects. He helped me piece together the world/universe. I subsequently read 4 or 5 more of his books. Help other young people by introducing them to Carl.

  • great interview...never would have guessed that Denver could hang with Sagan

  • man he's so classy

  • Sagan listened to some good music :)

  • Sagan is an alien. He representes the galactic democracy in intellectual specie affairs.

  • The truth is, we need more people like him in this world.

  • This is so awesome. John Denver interviewing Carl Sagan. Jeez, I know for sure we wouldn't see anything like this on T.V today. Now and days only quasi MTV "stars" fill the airways.

  • Thank you for your comment.

  • Neil DeGrasse Tyson shows up on The Daily Show from time to time and he is very similar to Carl Sagan in his views. The only thing you cannot mimic is Carl Sagan's aura of paternal love. He was like a loving father to us.

  • @Kingnothing8585 This is great, but Neil Tyson is on the daily show and colbert report often. It happens today.

  • @Kingnothing8585 *airwaves

  • io haha, weird to see people talking about stuff we figured out

  • 2 wonderful men. Both missed very much.

  • the conversation was killed by the break. Was it because of the criticism on the US goverment?

  • NO ONE plays music over the words of Dr. Sagan!

  • How cool that The Tonight Show had newly released NASA photos. I love it when people are both entertained and educated at the same time.

  • Chuck Berry, Louis Armstrong and Blind Willie? I hope that record drifts my way eventually. ;)

    If you want to get him talking about how fantastic astronomy is just ask how 'boring' he finds the discoveries on Mars. lol This is exactly why all I asked for Christmas this year was Carl Sagan books.

  • Amazing human being. I'm sure Mr Carl Sagan is enlightening beings with he's knowledge and the passion he carries where ever he is.

  • Two great men in this video. Both are resting in peace.

  • 2:43 This is before they knew that there were active volcanoes on Io.

  • Amazing man, he has inspired me in so many ways.

    Thank you for posting this.

  • Thank you too!

  • We should have leaders in the world with the same knowledge and passion that this man has.

    It could be a very very different world than the one we live in today.

  • And to correct you glsgareth, Mckenna had a degree of science in ecology from U.C. Berkly, and worked very closely for many years with chaos mathematician Ralph Abraham and biologist Rupert Sheldrake (creator of the theory of "morphogenetic fields") Hardly the type of background that gives you the right to say he had no clue about science. Please do your homework before giving your opinion. It just makes you look like a fool when you don't.

  • At 6:50 you can see the pain on Carl's face when he talks about other animals on our planet. He was such a beautiful man, and he is missed very much. Thank you for posting this. I was moved to say the least.

  • Thank you too!

  • Yes, as everyone knows, all good science comes from inspiration while being high. Terence McKenna was a druggie with no clue about science. Don't use the name Sagan in the same sentence with that faker.

  • You have no idea what you're talking about.

  • Fans of Sagan should look into Terence Mckenna's "Stoned Ape" hypothesis of human evolution. He proposes that psylocibin mushrooms played a major role in the intellectual development of the early primates.

  • ive taken shrooms and I'd believe it.

  • Comment removed

  • LSD is fuckin amazing i just don't like the way it kind of drags on and stays with you for hours. I always feel kinda strung out afterwards.

  • Comment removed

  • Amazing premonition of "space passengers" given that the Russians now offer pay for fare ;)

  • I am OVERJOYED to see these two together! Carl Sagan is amazing, and I've been a fan of John Denver all my life!

  • This was a great interview. Both of these men were treasures.

  • You can feel the excitement and passion these two have for discovery and knowledge! What a great interview!

  • as a 22 year old, I can barely believe the tonight show used to actually have scientists on as guests. where's richard dawkins spot on conan?

  • Richard Dawkins has appeared on a few shows for his book "The Greatest Show On Earth" but I rarely see Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Neil DeGrasse Tyson is probably the closest we can get to a Carl Sagan. Richard Dawkins however, despite how much I enjoy what he does, he certainly isn't a Carl Sagan.

  • Richard Feynman tops my list of great people who make science wonderful. Too bad that he isn't around anymore either...

    Sagan is great too, of course.

  • They both, in their own respective fields, have the absolute gift of making the complex become graspable for all.

  • My two favorites... in the same place? Too cool!

  • Great meeting

  • Carl Sagan is just.... Amazing.

  • Easilt the best one on one since God talked to Moses.  This is a gem!

  • John Denver looks a bit like James Reston Jr. from "Frost/Nixon"

  • Wait...John Denver guest hosted for Johnny Carson?

    This was perhaps one of the coolest dialogue exchanges I have EVER seen!!

    (I wouldn't have seen this originally, I would've been THREE, lol!)

  • JD guest hosted more than once.

  • Really? FAR OUT!! :D

    But seriously, I only remember Joan Rivers, Garry Shandling and Jay Leno...I'm only 35! :)

    Thanks for keeping this clip!

  • John Denver hosted the Tonight Show 23 times from 1974 to 1980!!!

  • Thank you. I didn't know it was that many times!

  • Thank you so much for uploading this! I'd been looking for Carl Sagan's Tonight Show videos for a while now.

    If you could post more of these Carl Sagan interviews that would be wonderful.

    Thanks again!

  • Sad to say, but this is all I have. Thank you for your comment.

  • After reading an older comment I just realized that you don't have any of the other Sagan appearances on The Tonight Show.

    Thanks for uploading this one anyway. One is better than none.

  • In a phrase, FAR OUT! I LOVE this clip! Wow! How many times I must thank you for enriching my life with these wonderful images from John's life! Thank you thank you!!!

  • It is one of my personal favourites too! Two of the most charismatic figures of the 20th century on screen together! Just wonderful!

    I always had great respect for Dr Sagan from the first moment I saw Cosmos.

    Thank you again for your comment.

  • Two greats; I really loved watching it. Can anyone remember the last time a scientist was on the tonight show or even the late show?

  • Wow what a great peice of TV history! Thanks! That really was far out!

  • Glad you liked it.

  • Thanks for posting this. Two great men...sadly...neither of which is no longer with us. :(

  • anyone have video of Sagan's interviews with Johnny?

  • REALLY nice interview

  • Yes it was!

  • Its nice to see that John Denver is using Carl's Cosmos suit jacket.

  • This was 1977! Cosmos was made about four years later!

  • Ya..i know...perhaps Carl had liked that blazer.

  • Perhaps he did.

  • Wow, far out! I was hoping someone would have a clip of Carl on the Tonight Show. Thanks for posting this.

  • My pleasure!

  • Ah, the Internet.

    I love it when I find stuff like this.

  • Dragons of Eden was an amazing book. Sagan was both meticulously factual and imaginative in his writing. Educational and inspiring.

  • Thanks for posting - I hope there will be more in the future. I've read that Carl Sagan was on the Tonight Show many times and I regret that I missed them all.

  • Thank you for commenting.

    Sadly, this is all that I have of Dr Sagan.

  • Thanks. I'm a big Carl fan. He, like myself, loved the 'big questions', especially when smoking Pot. Sagan, was a pot smoker. ;)

  • What a wonderful video...thanks for sharing!

  • Once again another great video! Far Out!!!!

  • Thank you for this.

  • You have done the world a great favor by preserving this. I put the word out to some Saganistas the day you posted this and i think they've flocked to your video.

    Incidentally, i'm a Denver fan too; saw him in concert twice. He's one of those people who sounded as good in person as on the records.

    May i suggest that you add these tags?: Voyager NASA space science Evolution human Intelligence Whales Cosmos

    BTW search YouTube for: Sagan Ithaca

  • Wow! Thank you! I was wondering how there was a massive build-up of hits on the video. Thank you for the help. I suppose it must have been copied many times by now, so its preservation is secure! That idea really does please me. I was also a fan of Dr Sagan. I thought his 'Cosmos' series was simply brilliant TV, so much so that I now have the full set on DVD. I did not see the Tonight Show over here, and I would not have known of Dr Sagan in 1977. He was a great man.

    Tags! Brilliant!

  • I love John Denver!!

    I love Carl Sagan!!

    Thanks!!

  • My pleasure. they were both heroes to me thank you for your kind comment..

  • thanks this is great i have been wanting to c this for some time i am such a big jd fam thanks for posting do u have and more like this?

  • I'm glad you liked it.

  • what a special video! john denver & carl sagan together talking in 1977 about space research , global warming and the need to stop killing whales. Wish they were both still here to keep the dialog going!

  • Absolutely!