David Coppedge

David Coppedge is a freelance science reporter in Southern California. He has been a board member of Illustra Media since its founding and serves as their science consultant. He worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for 14 years, on the Cassini mission to Saturn, until he was ousted in 2011 for sharing material on intelligent design, a discriminatory action that led to a nationally publicized court trial in 2012. Discovery Institute supported his case, but a lone judge ruled against him without explanation. A nature photographer, outdoorsman, and musician, David holds B.S. degrees in science education and in physics and gives presentations on ID and other scientific subjects.

Archives

Is Geomimetics an Intelligent Design Science? Well, Yes and No

_{David Coppedge
August 19, 2025}

Biomimetics, the imitation of nature’s designs, clearly qualifies as an ID science. What about “geomimetics” — the imitation of geophysics?

With Foresight, Cells Prepare for Emergency

_{David Coppedge
August 4, 2025}

Fire departments and rescue operations don’t just appear from nowhere. They require foresight to save entities from trouble. Cells know that.

Inhibit the Mind? Scopes Revisionism Can End

_{David Coppedge
July 15, 2025}

The centennial of the Scopes Trial is a good time to set the record straight. Here’s a way to turn the tables on the stereotype.

Homeostasis Is More than Treading Water

_{David Coppedge
July 2, 2025}

From bacterium to brontosaur, stability in a dynamic environment requires an astonishing array of systems for sensing, signaling, and responding to change.

Earth’s Phosphorus Supply Chains Revealed

_{David Coppedge
June 16, 2025}

Without phosphorus, life as we know it could not exist. How does this limiting resource get to the oceans and land?

How the “Scientific Community” Undermines Its Own Trustworthiness

_{David Coppedge
May 29, 2025}

The “file drawer problem” leads invariably to biased reporting. It refers to scientists deciding not to report negative results.

Fossils as Magical Darwin Relics

_{David Coppedge
May 25, 2025}

Fossils can be handled in the present, but how they are used by evolutionists in stories of history resembles the practices of overeager medieval churchmen.

Physics Envy Is Not Helping Evolutionary Biology

_{David Coppedge
April 30, 2025}

Biology is very different from physics. But if living things are entirely describable by atoms and forces, shouldn’t laws of physics apply to them, too?

A Cell Makes “Decisions” — But if It’s Following a Material Blueprint, How Does It Do That?

_{David Coppedge
April 15, 2025}

Watching cells under a microscope, we sense familiarity with their challenges when they face puzzles. How is this possible if their nature is strictly physical?

The Convoluted Concept of Evolving Evolvability

_{David Coppedge
March 27, 2025}

Try to wrap your mind around the notion that evolvability evolves by natural selection. On second thought, don’t. It’s not conducive to mental health.

Missiles & Jackhammers: How Plants Spread Themselves Far and Wide

_{David Coppedge
March 26, 2025}

Host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes science reporter David Coppedge to the show to explore some fascinating examples of intelligent design in the plant world. They look so helpless tied to the soil, but plants and fungi have perfected technologies for spreading themselves far and wide. Coppedge and McDiarmid unpack the ingenious methods plants and fungi use to disperse their spores. The conversation also touches on the engineering principles behind plant root systems, and how studying these natural designs can inspire advancements in human technology through biomimetics.

Life as a Habitability Requirement

_{David Coppedge
March 13, 2025}

Astrobiologists often speak of a planet’s requirements for life, but can we turn that around? Is life a requirement for a planet’s habitability?

Hope for Mars Life Is Dashed Again

_{David Coppedge
March 4, 2025}

Subsequent landers discovered a high concentration of perchlorates in the soil. Perchlorates are chlorinated salts, often used in fireworks.

As Science Observes, Talk of Evolution Fades

_{David Coppedge
March 3, 2025}

Another point worthy of note: the more sophistication that is found in biological engineering, the more scientists want to imitate it.

Using AI to Discover Intelligent Design

_{David Coppedge
February 26, 2025}

Can we train AI models to help us detect evidence of intelligent design? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes science reporter and former NASA engineer David Coppedge to the podcast to talk about scientists who are doing just that: using artificial intelligence to make design inferences. Here, Coppedge tells us about a group of scientists who are training an AI model to search through imaging data to identify possible instances of human-made geoglyphs in the Nazca Plain in Peru. It's another intriguing example of intelligent design in action in the everyday world around us.