The point of the show is to bring science to common people. Many of the startalk episodes he brings on pop culture icons or sports commentators. They dumb down the content substantially, but my mom and my grandma really liked those types of episodes so it must work.
Because there are a lot of people who like that idiot, and as an educational science show, their goal is to educate that idiot and people who like that idiot so they can all be a little less idiotic.
