Michael Denton

Senior Fellow, the Center for Science & Culture and the Center on Human Exceptionalism

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Dr. Michael Denton on Evidence of Fine-Tuning in the Universe

Michael Denton
October 7, 2020
On this year 2012 episode of ID the Future from the vault, Australian biochemist Michael Denton discusses various ways the universe is uniquely fit for carbon-based life, and perhaps even human life. Denton argues that when it comes to evidence of fine-tuning in the universe, the more you look, the more you find. Tune in to discover what he has found that has led him to the inference that our world is intelligently designed. Denton is author of the new book The Miracle of the Cell, where he brings his fine-tuning arguments up to date with a fascinating dive into the extraordinary fine tuning of the chemical elements of life.

A Reading from Michael Denton’s New Book, The Miracle of the Cell

Michael Denton
September 30, 2020
On this episode of ID the Future, Andrew McDiarmid reads an excerpt from the new book The Miracle of the Cell by Michael Denton. Denton, a biochemist from Perth, Australia, and senior fellow of Discover Institute’s Center for Science and Culture, introduces the wonders of the cell as “the universal constructor set of life.” The diversity of cells — their variety of form, function, and locomotion — is beyond describing, with some cells almost seeming sentient, even ingenious. As Denton notes, our growing knowledge of the cell’s staggering sophistication has provoked the name “the third infinity.” And this quick flyby of the cell is just an excerpt from the book’s introductory chapter. There Denton lays the groundwork for the book’s deeper dive into the Read More ›

Children of Light Author Michael Denton on the Dazzling Evidence of Fine-Tuning

Michael Denton
October 17, 2018
On this episode of ID the Future, Michael Denton explores a “miraculous convergence of properties” for life. Denton is both a medical doctor and a PhD biochemist, and now the author of the new book Children of Light: The Astonishing Properties of Sunlight That Make Us Possible (ebook available here). He lets his astonishment flow freely in this interview with host Sarah Chaffee, with topics ranging from the light of the sun to key chemicals here on earth. Taken together, it’s “an astonishing coincidence. … Science has discovered the fine-tuning… it’s not in doubt.… I’m blown away by this evidence.” And the common-sense conclusion, he says, is that a designing intelligence has fiddled with things to make life like us Read More ›

Children of Light Author Michael Denton on the Miracle of Air and Sun

Michael Denton
October 3, 2018
Today’s episode of ID the Future shines a light on Australian biochemist Michael Denton’s new book, Children of Light: The Astonishing Properties of Sunlight that Make Us Possible. Denton explores the properties of sun and air, both fine-tuned for creatures like us. The new book shows how they are crucial parts of the larger story of our fine-tuned place in the cosmos. Or as he puts it in his new book, “Whatever the cause and whatever the ultimate explanation, nature appears to be fine-tuned to an astonishing degree for beings of our biology.”

How Water’s Chemistry Helps Make Life on Earth Possible

Michael Denton
November 20, 2017
On this episode of ID The Future, we bring you a clip from the documentary Privileged Species a clip arguing that water possesses many unique properties that appear finely tuned to allow for life on Earth. The excerpt dips a toe into what biologist Michael Denton explores in much greater depth in his latest book, The Wonder of Water.

Michael Denton: Remarkable Coincidences in Photosynthesis

Michael Denton
November 10, 2017
On this episode of ID the Future, we listen in on a few minutes from a lecture given by CSC Senior Fellow Michael Denton. We’ve all heard of the importance of photosynthesis as an oxygen creating process. In this segment, Denton explains the “remarkable set of coincidences” which makes the creation of oxygen through photosynthesis possible. From the specific energy of visible light to the unique properties of water, this degree of improbability screams DESIGN. For more from Denton, this time focusing on H2O itself, take a look at his new book, The Wonder of Water.

Michael Denton Reads From The Wonder of Water, Pt 2

Michael Denton
October 18, 2017
On this episode of ID the Future, listen to Michael Denton read an excerpt of his new volume, The Wonder of Water. In the book, Denton delves into this grand untold story and explores how water is specially equipped to allow life to flourish on our blue planet. This ever-present substance is amazingly fit in a myriad of ways to sustain life on earth, especially human life. Its unique properties allow it to fill many roles throughout the biological world, from forming the matrix of our cells, to regulating the temperature of our planet.

Michael Denton Reads the First Pages of His New Book, The Wonder of Water

Michael Denton
October 11, 2017
In this episode of ID the Future, geneticist and biochemist Michael Denton reads the beautiful introduction to his new book, The Wonder of Water. He begins at Yosemite’s Bridalveil Fall and explores how water is curiously fine-tuned for life. Indeed, thanks to a unique cluster of properties, water is able to fulfill many roles essential to our living planet. It’s thanks to some of those properties that rivers and streams can leech and carry minerals from rock to various places they’re needed in the biosphere. Water’s unusual properties also make it an ideal medium for our circulatory system. There it serves not only to transfer nutrients and oxygen but also expel carbon dioxide, excess body heat, and waste products — Read More ›

Dr. Michael Denton: Q&A at Fire-Maker Premiere, Pt 2

Michael Denton
May 25, 2016
On this episode of ID the Future, listen in on this Q&A session with Dr. Michael Denton as he responds to questions from an enthusiastic audience at the recent Seattle premiere of Fire-Maker: How Humans Were Designed to Harness Fire and Transform Our Planet.

Dr. Michael Denton: Q&A at the Fire-Maker Premiere

Michael Denton
May 23, 2016
On this episode of ID the Future, listen in on this Q&A session with Dr. Michael Denton as he responds to questions from an enthusiastic audience at the recent Seattle premiere of Fire-Maker: How Humans Were Designed to Harness Fire and Transform Our Planet.