Life of Carl Sagan - Full Interview with Ann Druyan

I had the pleasure of a fantastic conversation with Ann Druyan [1] - writer of the award wining TV show Cosmos (all three seasons), winner of Primetime Emmy, Peabody, Richard Dawkins Award (and many more). She was Carl Sagan's partner in marriage and many of his creative works. I am a huge fan of Carl Sagan [2] . His passion for science and science communication touched the core of my heart and inspired me to initiate a science communication platform called Bigganjatra [3] (translated as The Voyage of Science). It was an honor to speak with his long time partner and collaborator Ann Druyan, a dedicated science communicator herself. She worked on the Voyager Golden Record [4] with Carl, co-authored the book Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors with him, and writing-producing Cosmos. In this interview, Ann answers rare questions on Carl Sagan such as - 1] Those little quotes on top of each chapter in every book, did Carl and you use those off the top of your head? 2] He became more of a family person after he met you. How did you do that; turn his gaze to the family? On a related note, his books turned from Cosmos, Cosmic Connection, Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence to the Pale Blue Dot and Demon Haunted World. How much of that was you? 3] How did you, as a couple, resolve a difference in opinion? In the epilogue of Billions and Billions, you wrote that your strategy was may the best argument win. Did you never have a silly argument in which there was no way to win? 4] What was the most important thing you learned from Carl, outside academic topics; in other words, as a partner? What's the most important lesson he got from you? 5] I read that, at age 10, he calculated that he would not go to the moon or Mars because he would be too old by then. Obviously, he loved calculations. Now, he wanted life to be found somewhere else. Was he sad when he calculated and realized that he may not find it in his lifetime? 6] There is a new movie, Voyagers, coming on your relationship with Carl. How involved were you in the script and screenplay? Will 4970 Druyan and 2709 Sagan somehow make it into the movie? [for people who don’t know, these are two asteroids who are perpetually locked in a wedding ring orbit]. 7] Both of you, generally, are optimistic people. How did he handle pessimism? How do you handle pessimism? 8] Do you have any plans to write a biography on Carl Sagan? Or, do you think the ones written by Keay Davidson and William Poundstone are enough? It feels like you could add more details to his last 20 years. Also, it would be lovely to have a full biographical movie on his life. In my imagination, Hugo Weaving plays the role of a mature Sagan. 9] What's next from Ann Druyan? What can we expect in the next few years? At least, is there a possible timeline for the fourth season of Cosmos? You also talked about retroactively writing a book on Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey? Is there any update on that? Other questions: a) It is obvious that he was interested to know where he came from. Did he ever go to Ukraine, in the village of Sasov? b) Do you know the house number on Bay 37th street and on Bay Parkway where he used to live in New York? c) There is a book called the Sagan Conspiracy. Is there any official statement from the Sagan Estate about it? References: [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Druyan [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan [3] https://www.bigganjatra.org [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager...