Point of Inquiry

Host: Robert Price How did his studies at Catholic Georgetown University set CFI President and CEO Ronald A. Lindsay on the primrose path to atheism? Does he now count himself a lawyer or a philosopher, neither, or both? Point of Inquiry asks Ron about the basis for ethics for atheists and secularists. Are atheists nihilists, as is often said? Would that necessarily be bad? Host Robert Price and Lindsay carry on a brisk, illuminating discussion of Aquinas, Kant, and Hume, applying their insights to ethics and public policy. One often hears secularists complaining that religious believers are voting the theological party line of their church, e.g., in the case of abortion. But does it matter where their moral convictions come from? Is it the genetic fallacy for us to say they are trying to "impose their theology on the rest of us"? Ron also comments on the problem with posting the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. Finally, he provides his privileged perspective on the direction and approach of CFI since the departure of founder Paul Kurtz.

Host: Chris Mooney It’s a longstanding debate in the philosophy of science: Is "demarcation" possible? Can we really draw firm lines between science and pseudoscience? Massimo Pigliucci thinks so. In his new book Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk, Pigliucci attempts to rescue the notion that there are claims we can rule out, and claims we can rule in—a real means of determining what’s science and what isn’t. Along the way, Pigliucci touches on howlers like creationism and astrology, and borderland areas of research like SETI—and weighs whether science can ever hope to test claims about the supernatural. Massimo Pigliucci is chair of the philosophy department at CUNY-Lehman College. He was formerly a professor of ecology and evolution at Stony Brook. He’s a prolific blogger and commentator on issues concerning science and skepticism and a prominent battler of creationists and other nonsense peddlers. You can find him online at rationallyspeaking.blogspot.com.

Host: Karen Stollznow Warren Bonett is a skeptic, author and an independent bookseller. Warren wanted to become actively involved in critical thinking without joining an organization or becoming an –ism, so he opened "Embiggen Books". This is a unique store specializing in skeptical and science titles... right in the middle of a New Age township. He has been told that his store has "great feng shui." In this interview with Karen Stollznow, Warren recommends books for those who are new to skepticism, and suggests titles to introduce children to science and critical thinking. Warren is also a bookseller who has edited a book. He is editor and contributor to The Australian Book of Atheism. This project includes 32 essays about religion and secularism written by pre-eminent Australian atheist, rationalist, humanist, and skeptic thinkers, including Russell Blackford, Tim Minchin, Graham Oppy, Robyn Williams, and Martin Bridgstock. Its blurb states that the book "showcases the unique character of Australian atheism." Warren tells us exactly what is unique about atheism in Australia, and discusses the issues that are specific to Australian society.

Host: Chris Mooney On the show this week, Point of Inquiry features one of our most distinguished science writers—Carl Zimmer. He's the author of many acclaimed books, including Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea, and now he’s taken on an experiment: Publishing his next book, Brain Cuttings, as an e-book, digital only. The book collects Carl’s many writings about the brain—including essays about why we zone out, whether Google is making us stupid, and perhaps most memorable of all, the Singularity folks who think our brains will soon be downloadable. Needless to say, Zimmer isn’t quite so sure. In a wide ranging conversation, Zimmer also discussed why science’s biggest undiscovered continent is inside our heads—and what our growing understanding of the brain means for the future of religion. Carl Zimmer has been called "as fine a science essayist as we have" by the New York Times Book Review. He contributes regularly the New York Times science section, as well as numerous other publications, and blogs for Discover magazine’s Discover Blogs site. In addition, he’s the author of seven books, including Microcosm: E. Coli and the New Science of Life, and teaches science and environmental writing at Yale University.

Host: Robert Price Our guest is philosopher and author John Shook, discussing his experiences debating religious believers and whether such debates are a good idea. Some say no, that such spectacles merely serve believers by making it look like atheists take them more seriously than they deserve. Others say yes, because debates provide a precious opportunity to introduce believers to atheistic arguments they might otherwise never hear. Price and Shook compare notes about debating superstar apologist William Lane Craig, discuss interesting insights on Presuppositionalism and Postmodernism, and talk about Dr. Shook's new book, The God Debates: A 21st Century Guide for Atheists and Believers (and Everyone in Between), an introduction to major issues in the philosophy of religion, as well as debate topics old and new.

Recently at the 30th anniversary conference of the Council for Secular Humanism in Los Angeles, leading science blogger PZ Myers and Point of Inquiry host Chris Mooney appeared together on a panel to discuss the questions, "How should secular humanists respond to science and religion? If we champion science, must we oppose faith? How best to approach flashpoints like evolution education?" It's a subject about which they are known to... er, differ. The moderator was Jennifer Michael Hecht, the author of Doubt: A History. The next day, the three reprised their public debate for a special episode of Point of Inquiry, with Hecht sitting in as a guest host in Mooney's stead. This is the unedited cut of their three way conversation. PZ Myers is a biologist at the University of Minnesota-Morris who, in addition to his duties as a teacher of biology and especially of development and evolution, likes to spend his spare time poking at the follies of creationists, Christians, crystal-gazers, Muslims, right-wing politicians, apologists for religion, and anyone who doesn't appreciate how much the beauty of reality exceeds that of ignorant myth. Jennifer Michael Hecht is the author of award-winning books of philosophy, history, and poetry, including: Doubt: A History (HarperCollins, 2003); The End of the Soul: Scientific Modernity, Atheism and Anthropology (Columbia University Press, 2003); and The Happiness Myth, (HarperCollins in 2007). Her work appears in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, and The New Yorker. Hecht earned her Ph.D. in History from Columbia University in 1995 and now teaches in the graduate writing program of The New School University.

Host: Karen Stollznow Steve Spangler is a science educator, inventor, and an Emmy Award winning TV personality. He is the author of Fizz Factor: 50 Amazing Experiments With Soda Pop, Secret Science: 25 Science Experiments Your Teacher Doesn't Know About and his latest title Naked Eggs And Flying Potatoes. Steve’s inquiry-based learning approaches to science education are highly successful. With his innovative "hands-on" approach to teaching he is the "fun science guy" who shoots potatoes, makes toilet paper fly and mixes batches of slime; but he is best known for his erupting soda geyser experiment. Behind all of this fun is a very serious mission: to improve science literacy for both children, and adults. In this episode with Karen Stollznow, Steve tackles the "science is boring" stereotype, and explains how science education can be exciting, accessible and fun. Steve talks about using the Internet for effective science education, citing his famous viral video, the “Mentos and Diet Coke geyser experiment” that has had millions of views and inspired thousands of imitations. Steve not only teaches students, but he also teaches teachers. He talks about becoming a great science teacher by creating unforgettable learning experiences. With Steve’s interactive methods, science has suddenly gone from "Don’t try this at home!" to "Try this for yourself and see how it works!" In closing, Steve discusses the state of science literacy today, and tells us what we can do to nurture scientific curiosity, build critical thinking skills and instill healthy skepticism.

Host: Chris Mooney Ever wonder about the mathematical basis for battling a zombie infestation? Jennifer Ouellette has. In her new book The Calculus Diaries, the English major turned science journalist goes on an odyssey to relearn the branch of math that so intimidated her in high school. Along the way, she finds calculus in activities ranging from surfing, to catching fly balls, to playing craps in Vegas. Naturally, calculus can also tell us how to stop the marauding zombies before they take over the human population for good. At a time when the U.S. lags in science and math education, a book like Ouellette's—making math intriguing and accessible—is more than a good read. It’s an educational necessity. Jennifer Ouellette is the author of three books: Black Bodies and Quantum Cats: Tales from the Annals of Physics, The Physics of the Buffyverse, and most recently, The Calculus Diaries. She has also written widely, blogs at "Cocktail Party Physics," and until recently was director of the Science and Entertainment Exchange, a National Academy of Sciences project to bridge the gap between the research community and Hollywood.

Host: Robert Price In this episode of Point of Inquiry, Robert Price interviews Jen Roth, co-founder of All Our Lives, a secular organization committed to advocating for women's right to exercise freedom of conscience in making voluntary, nonviolent, sexual and reproductive decisions. Jen is an atheist who seeks no grounds for human rights in God or religion, but also one who happens to oppose abortion. Not an advocate for outlawing abortion, though, she believes there is much to be done by way of clarifying and defending the sexual autonomy of women. Jen Roth has written for the Secular Web and the online political magazine Shared Sacrifice. She was formerly on the board of Consistent Life, an organization which opposes war, abortion, and the death penalty. In spring 2010, she co-founded All Our Lives.

Host: Chris Mooney At a recent conference in Lake Tahoe, demographer S. Jay Olshansky presented a roomful of technologists with an exciting prospect. Through a concerted scientific attack on the problem of aging, he suggested, we might be able to extend human life by as much as 7 years on average. Olshansky's strategy is not simply to keep battling individual diseases, like cancer, in isolation. Rather, it’s to go after the underlying process that brings on those diseases to begin with. The field of aging has long been beset by questionable claims—by hucksters try to sell us the fountain of youth. By contrast, Olshansky suggests there may be a modest, but scientifically attainable, version of human life extension that would benefit us all. On this episode of Point of Inquiry, he discusses how it might be possible, and what a world in which we all live significantly longer would look like. S. Jay Olshansky is a Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His work focuses on estimating the upper limits to human longevity and pursuing the scientific means to slow aging in people. Dr. Olshansky is the author, with Bruce Carnes, of The Quest for Immortality: Science at the Frontiers of Aging.