By "the author," are you talking about the Nerdist podcast host? It was indeed an interesting exchange, but I think there's more continuity in Tyson's views than you suggest, as I show in my recent article on that very book of his, Starry Messenger:

https://medium.com/grim-tidings/is-science-enough-for-a-cosmic-perspective-795c770e85e?sk=58d64bf92f929ffe439f4d20d156f82d