David Klinghoffer

David Klinghoffer is a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute and the editor of Evolution News & Science Today, the daily voice of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture, reporting on intelligent design, evolution, and the intersection of science and culture.

Klinghoffer is the author of six books including The Lord Will Gather Me In: My Journey to Jewish Orthodoxy, The Discovery of God: Abraham and the Birth of Monotheism, Why the Jews Rejected Jesus: The Turning Point in Western History, and with Senator Joe Lieberman, The Gift of Rest: Rediscovering the Beauty of the Sabbath. A former senior editor and literary editor at National Review magazine, he has written for the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Seattle Times, Commentary, and other publications. He has been a feature reporter and movie and TV critic for the Washington Times.

David is the editor of several books for Discovery Institute Press including Signature of Controversy: Responses to Critics of Signature in the Cell, Debating Darwin’s Doubt: A Scientific Controversy That Can No Longer Be Denied, and The Unofficial Guide to Cosmos: Fact and Fiction in Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s Landmark Science Series.

Born in Santa Monica, California, he graduated from Brown University in 1987 with an A.B. magna cum laude in comparative literature and religious studies. David lives near Seattle, Washington, with his wife and children.

Archives

Recognizing Providence in the History of Life Is a Hint About Our Own Lives

_{David Klinghoffer
August 5, 2022}

Any of us can point to certain pivotal events in our past that need not have occurred, but did.

Origin of Life without Intelligent Design? Long Story Short Tackles the “Energy Harnessing” Problem

_{David Klinghoffer
July 27, 2022}

“Life’s energy harnessing process is one big paradox. You need it before you can have it, and you can’t make it until you’ve already made it."

Fact Check: Humans Aren’t “Evolving a New Artery”

_{David Klinghoffer
July 26, 2022}

The median artery was not caught in the act of “evolving,” either in the micro- or macro- sense. It has been caught in the act of “persisting.”

A Paleontologist Explains Intelligent Design to You

_{David Klinghoffer
July 20, 2022}

Günter Bechly describes the species pair challenge, the waiting time problem, and much more that Darwinists can't explain.

Count the Stars: Webb Space Telescope and the God Hypothesis

_{David Klinghoffer
July 19, 2022}

I was listening to the Dennis Prager Show and found to my delight that his guest was our friend Brian Keating, the distinguished UC San Diego cosmologist.

“Bizarre Bird” Highlights the Problem of Biogeography

_{David Klinghoffer
July 18, 2022}

While hoatzins are bad at flying, evolutionists have been forced to credit these birds with some impressive rafting — unbelievably impressive.

Stephen Meyer: How Misunderstood Science Drives Religious Disbelief

_{David Klinghoffer
July 14, 2022}

What a shame that the scientific mainstream has done such a poor job of communicating its own discoveries to the public.

Marks, Dembski: AI Hype and the “Illusion of Possibility”

_{David Klinghoffer
July 13, 2022}

The materialist agenda is served by AI hype, while the human mission is damaged. And that is what is at stake.

Rosenhouse Roundup

_{David Klinghoffer
July 8, 2022}

Jason Rosenhouse wrote an anti-ID book for Cambridge U. Press that our colleague, his fellow mathematician William Dembski, reviewed.

Irreducible Complexity in Ant Behavior Triggers a Recognition of Intelligent Design

_{David Klinghoffer
July 6, 2022}

Recent research draws an unapologetic parallel between human engineering and biological systems.

Darwin Is on the Roof — New Book from Michael Behe, Available Now

_{David Klinghoffer
November 19, 2020}

As biochemist Michael Behe explains in the Introduction to his new book, out today — A Mousetrap for Darwin: Michael J. Behe Answers His Critics — the public is being prepared very slowly for the demise of Darwinian evolutionary theory.

Corruption Watch: Biology Journal Blames the Innocent, Turns ID Scientists into Fall Guys

_{David Klinghoffer
October 11, 2020}

For those who are always lecturing us about “Follow the science” and “Believe the scientists,” this episode should be an eye opener.

Intelligent Design: The Canary in the Cancel Culture Coal Mine

_{David Klinghoffer
September 9, 2020}

On this episode of ID the Future, Rob Crowther speaks with David Klinghoffer, editor of Evolution News and Science Today, about contemporary “cancel culture” that’s attempting to push disfavored ideas and people out of the public square, and how the cancel-culture phenomenon struck intelligent design long before cancel culture was a household term. The term — and the movie title — more commonly used in ID circles has been “expelled.” It’s happened to Richard Sternberg, Günter Bechly, Douglas Axe, and other ID-friendly researchers, to the point that many ID-sympathizing scientists have to hide their beliefs to protect research funding and careers. Klinghoffer emphasizes that this isn’t just a debate off in the corner. Rather, ID is a “hard-core truth,” meaning it’s one of those on Read More ›

Something Is Missing from Bronx Zoo’s Apology

_{David Klinghoffer
July 31, 2020}

The truth is that placing a man in the Monkey House was intended as an education for the public in Darwinian evolution.

White Fragility — A Free Pass for Scientists?

_{David Klinghoffer
July 7, 2020}

“White Fragility” is the phrase of the moment. It refers to an unwillingness on the part of white people to admit “complicity” with racism.

Scientific Racism and the Confederate Flag

_{David Klinghoffer
June 15, 2020}

Alexander H. Stephens was Vice President of the Confederacy. In 1861 he delivered an oration justifying slavery and rebellion on scientific grounds.

The Darwin-Fueled Racist Ideas of John Derbyshire and Robert Weissberg

_{David Klinghoffer
June 5, 2020}

On this episode of ID The Future from the vault, Discovery Institute Senior Fellow David Klinghoffer discusses the move by National Review editor Rich Lowry in 2012 to sever ties with two regular contributors, John Derbyshire and Robert Weissberg, after discovering their connections to racialist groups promoting race superiority, eugenics, and other morally repugnant ideas. Klinghoffer explains how Darwinian evolution has informed proponents of these ideas, and how important it is to identify and root out this kind of thinking before it has a chance to pollute respectable institutions and publications. As Klinghoffer makes clear, Darwinian ideas are hardly the only possible source of racist thinking, and of course racism long predates Charles Darwin. But Darwinism has proved fertile soil …

Racism, Evolution, and Human Exceptionalism

_{David Klinghoffer
June 4, 2020}

Certain threads in the events of recent months suggest the hand of a skilled novelist.

Human Zoos — How “Science” Fueled the Racial Fire

_{David Klinghoffer
June 1, 2020}

Ota Benga’s protest — “I am a man! I am a man!” — summarizes the very best message of the Black Lives Matter movement.

From Pfizer, Scientism and Self-Congratulation

_{David Klinghoffer
May 5, 2020}

Amidst a controversial national lockdown, economic ruin, and mounting intelligence evidence pointing to an origin in a Chinese lab, the coronavirus has reminded us of a number of things.

Approved by FDA Against COVID-19, Chloroquine Is Also Prominent in the Case for Intelligent Design

_{David Klinghoffer
March 30, 2020}

Yesterday, as a possible weapon against COVID-19, the Food and Drug Administration rushed out approval for an anti-malarial treatment. What does malaria, a tropical disease caused by a parasite, have to do with the viral infection rampaging across the globe?

A Journalist Misreads Intelligent Design. A Nobel-Prize Winning Scientist Backs It.

_{David Klinghoffer
July 24, 2017}

On this episode of ID: The Future, Evolution News & Science Today editor David Klinghoffer takes issue with the suggestion that conservatives tend to view science as “a kind of fakery,” and that they embrace intelligent design primarily out of religious, anti-science motives. Then Klinghoffer considers the case of physicist and Nobel Laureate Brian Josephson, who came out in support of intelligent design on PBS’s Closer to Truth.

David Klinghoffer Takes a Look at Tom Bethell’s New Book

_{David Klinghoffer
February 3, 2017}

On this episode of ID the Future, David Klinghoffer reviews Tom Bethell’s book Darwin’s House of Cards. This volume’s approach to evolution, Klinghoffer says, should serve as a model for the media. Listen in to hear more about Bethell’s interviews with leading paleontologists Colin Patterson and Gareth Nelson.

In The Kingdom of Speech, Tom Wolfe Tells the Story of Evolution’s Epic Tumble

_{David Klinghoffer
September 21, 2016}

On this episode of ID the Future, David Klinghoffer shares about Tom Wolfe’s new book, which critiques evolutionary explanations for the origin of language.

Anti-Science Label Turns on its Creators

_{David Klinghoffer
July 27, 2016}

On this episode of ID the Future, David Klinghoffer discusses the term antiscience — and how it’s now used by those on both sides of disagreements on scientific issues. Klinghoffer suggests that we discard the label.

Opinions on Academic Freedom: The Gap Between Academia & the American Public

_{David Klinghoffer
July 22, 2016}

On this episode of ID the Future, David Klinghoffer discusses the results of opinion surveys of academic freedom on evolution, which reflect massive public support of academic freedom from all demographics — including atheists and theists, Democrats and Republicans — despite pushback on academic freedom from academia.

Scientists Versus the Public on Airing Scientific Dissent

_{David Klinghoffer
July 18, 2016}

On this episode of ID the Future, listen to David Klinghoffer read his article from Evolution News on widespread support for allowing scientific dissent and the upcoming Royal Society meeting.

David Klinghoffer Reviews Undeniable: How Biology Confirms Our Intuition that Life Is Designed

_{David Klinghoffer
July 15, 2016}

On this episode of ID the Future CSC Senior Fellow David Klinghoffer gives his review of the new book Undeniable: How Biology Confirms Our Intuition that Life Is Designed, by biologist Douglas Axe. Klinghoffer calls the book an “intellectual tool,” and explains how the book engages even the non-scientists on key scientific issues of the day.

Polls Show Huge Support for Academic Freedom on Teaching & Researching Evolution

_{David Klinghoffer
July 13, 2016}

On this episode of ID the Future, listen to an article from Evolution News on a recent survey showing strong nationwide backing for academic freedom. This support spans diverse religious and political affiliations, and differences in gender and age.

Intelligent Design and Human Exceptionalism

_{David Klinghoffer
June 29, 2016}

On this episode of ID the Future, Senior Fellow David Klinghoffer discusses the concept of “human exceptionalism” — the idea than human beings hold a unique place in the world, reflecting a special status not comparable to other creatures. Klinghoffer examines the relation between a belief in intelligent design and a belief in human exceptionalism, arguing that ID helps make the case for human dignity.