I REMEMBER...Neil deGrasse Tyson
Reader's Digest UK|February 2023
Neil deGrasse Tyson (64) is one of the world's most eminent astrophysicists. As he publishes his latest book, he looks back at growing up in the Bronx, witnessing the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and interviewing Katy Perry.
Simon Button
I REMEMBER...Neil deGrasse Tyson

MY EARLIEST CHILDHOOD THE MEMORY IS WATCHING MICKEY MOUSE CLUB on the lower level of a bunk bed with my brother and mother. I would have been nearly four at the time and I vividly recall it was a Sunday evening and Mum was pregnant with my sister. At first we lived in the Castle Hill middle-income housing project in the Bronx and it felt like a real community, with playgrounds and playing fields amid all the buildings.

WHEN MY FATHER'S INCOME INCREASED WE MOVED TO RIVERDALE, which was a more plush part of the Bronx and, prophetically perhaps, our building was called Skyview. One day I came home and there were people protesting against Black families moving in. That was in 1964, when I was six years old, and that seemed so odd to me. I thought, Why do people feel this way? because when you're a kid you can't process complex issues, you just observe things.

MY FATHER WORKED FOR THE NEW YORK CITY MAYOR'S OFFICE under Mayor Lindsay and he became a commissioner for the manpower and career development agency, which was very much plugged into the Civil Rights Movement. Keeping New York a liveable and safe place that was free from unrest was a heroic effort at a very difficult time. There were severe riots related to equal rights and the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Malcom X. Although New York had a few dustups, my dad helped keep the city calm in the face of disturbances of the peace.

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Denne historien er fra February 2023-utgaven av Reader's Digest UK.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA READER'S DIGEST UKSe alt
EVERY SECOND COUNTS: TIPS TO WIN THE RACE AGAINST TIME
Reader's Digest UK

EVERY SECOND COUNTS: TIPS TO WIN THE RACE AGAINST TIME

Do you want to save 1.5 seconds every day of your life? According to the dishwasher expert at the consumer organisation Choice, there’s no need to insert the dishwashing tablet into the compartment inside the door.

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3 mins  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
May Fiction
Reader's Digest UK

May Fiction

An escaped slave's perspective renews Huckleberry Finn and the seconds tick down to nuclear Armageddon in Miriam Sallon’s top literary picks this month

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1 min  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Wine Not
Reader's Digest UK

Wine Not

In a time of warning studies about alcohol consumption, Paola Westbeek looks at non-alcoholic wines, how they taste and if they pair with food

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3 mins  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Train Booking Hacks
Reader's Digest UK

Train Booking Hacks

With the cost of train travel seemingly always rising, Andy Webb gives some tips to save on ticket prices

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4 mins  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
JOURNEY TO SALTEN, NORWAY, UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN
Reader's Digest UK

JOURNEY TO SALTEN, NORWAY, UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN

Here, far from the crowds, in opal clarity, from May to September, the sun knows no rest. As soon as it’s about to set, it rises again

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8 mins  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
My Britain: Cheltenham
Reader's Digest UK

My Britain: Cheltenham

A YEAR IN CHELTENHAM sees a jazz festival, a science festival, a classical music festival and a literature festival. Few towns with 120,000 residents can boast such a huge cultural output!

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6 mins  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
GET A GREEN(ER) THUMB
Reader's Digest UK

GET A GREEN(ER) THUMB

Whether you love digging in the dirt, planting seeds and reaping the bounty that bursts forth, or find the whole idea of gardening intimidating, this spring offers the promise of a fresh start.

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6 mins  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Under The GRANDFLUENCE Suzi Grant
Reader's Digest UK

Under The GRANDFLUENCE Suzi Grant

After working in TV and radio as an author and nutritionist, Suzi Grant started a blog alternativeageing.net) and an Instagram account alternativeageing). She talks to Ian Chaddock about positive ageing”

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3 mins  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Sam Quek: If I Ruled The World
Reader's Digest UK

Sam Quek: If I Ruled The World

Sam Quek MBE is an Olympic gold medalwinning hockey player, team captain on A Question of Sport and host of podcast series Amazing Starts Here

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3 mins  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Stand Tall, Ladies
Reader's Digest UK

Stand Tall, Ladies

Shorter men may be having their moment, but where are the tall women?

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3 mins  |
Reader's Digest May 2024