Podcasts

Podcasts

Discovery Institute Podcast

Stephen Meyer on Isaac Newton and the Scientific Revolution

Stephen C. Meyer
May 1, 2024
On this ID The Future, we're pleased to bring you a longer-form conversation between philosopher of science Dr. Stephen Meyer and Rice University chemist and professor Dr. James Tour about Sir Isaac Newton and his influence on modern science. Dr. Meyer explains why the scientific revolution occurred when and where it did. He also describes Newton's singular contributions to science and his lasting legacy. This interview originally aired on The Science and Faith Podcast. We are grateful to Dr. Tour for permission to share it.

A Reading From The Big Bang Revolutionaries

Jean-Pierre Luminet
April 29, 2024
While the West reeled from America's stock market crash of 1929, another crisis was brewing in the field of cosmology. One of the most ambitious scientific theories in history--that the universe had a beginning--was beginning to take shape, ushering in a new cosmological paradigm. But the real heroes of the Big Bang revolution have been largely forgotten. A new book from Discovery Institute Press amends the record and tells the remarkable story. On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid reads an excerpt from The Big Bang Revolutionaries, by distinguished astrophysicist Jean-Pierre Luminet.

How Finely Tuned Is Our Universe?

Ola Hössjer
April 26, 2024
On this ID the Future from the archive, Baylor University computer engineering professor Robert J. Marks hosts Ola Hössjer of Stockholm University and Daniel Díaz of the University of Miami to discuss a recent research paper the three contributed to the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, “Is Cosmological Tuning Fine or Coarse?" Although it's no easy question to answer rigorously, the paper sheds new light on just how finely tuned our universe--and our existence--actually is. In this conversation, Marks, Hössjer, and Díaz unpack the long answer.

Mind Matters

Talk More, Tech Less: Digital Wellness Tips From Dawn Wible

288
Robert J. Marks
April 25, 2024
On this episode, host Robert J. Marks welcomes Dawn Wible, founder of the digital wellness organization Talk More. Tech Less., to discuss the impact of digital media on mental health and well-being. Wible emphasizes the need to be intentional about technology use and offers strategies for mitigating the negative effects of excessive screen time. Wible highlights five areas of life that are deeply affected by screens: physical health, mental health, time, relationships, and ethics. She suggests incorporating healthy habits such as taking breaks, setting boundaries, and being mindful of one’s digital footprint. Wible also recommends using tools like blue light filters and apps that block distracting websites. Ultimately, Wible encourages listeners to make healthier choices regarding …

The Non-Physical Nature of Being: More with Dr. Selmer Bringsjord

287
Pat Flynn
April 18, 2024
On this episode, host Pat Flynn continues his conversation with Dr. Selmer Bringsjord about his chapter in the recent volume Minding the Brain, titled “Mathematical Objects Are Non-Physical, so We Are Too.” The discussion focuses on the first part of the argument, which asserts that mathematical objects are non-physical. Bringsjord explains that formal thinking, such as understanding algorithms, cannot be fully determined by physical processes. He uses the example of the sorting algorithm QuickSort to illustrate how different physical embodiments of the algorithm do not capture its true nature. Bringsjord argues that there must be a non-physical relationship between the user and the concept of the algorithm in order to truly understand it. Flynn emphasizes the significance …

Exploring the Immaterial: A Conversation with Dr. Selmer Bringsjord

286
Pat Flynn
April 11, 2024
On this episode, host Pat Flynn is joined by Dr. Selmer Bringsjord, author of a fascinating and provocative chapter in the recent volume Minding the Brain. Dr. Bringsjord argues for the immateriality of mathematical objects as well as the immateriality of the human person. The argument challenges physicalism and raises questions about the nature of consciousness and the human person. The discussion also touches on the nature of mathematical objects and their non-physical existence. Dr. Bringsjord presents his argument in a simple way, using examples like the number four and triangularity, to illustrate the immateriality of these concepts. The episode concludes with discussion of the significance of this argument and its implications for physicalism. This is Part 1 of a two-part …

ID the Future

Stephen Meyer on Isaac Newton and the Scientific Revolution

1896
Stephen C. Meyer
May 1, 2024
On this ID The Future, we're pleased to bring you a longer-form conversation between philosopher of science Dr. Stephen Meyer and Rice University chemist and professor Dr. James Tour about Sir Isaac Newton and his influence on modern science. Dr. Meyer explains why the scientific revolution occurred when and where it did. He also describes Newton's singular contributions to science and his lasting legacy. This interview originally aired on The Science and Faith Podcast. We are grateful to Dr. Tour for permission to share it.

A Reading From The Big Bang Revolutionaries

1895
Jean-Pierre Luminet
April 29, 2024
While the West reeled from America's stock market crash of 1929, another crisis was brewing in the field of cosmology. One of the most ambitious scientific theories in history--that the universe had a beginning--was beginning to take shape, ushering in a new cosmological paradigm. But the real heroes of the Big Bang revolution have been largely forgotten. A new book from Discovery Institute Press amends the record and tells the remarkable story. On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid reads an excerpt from The Big Bang Revolutionaries, by distinguished astrophysicist Jean-Pierre Luminet.

How Finely Tuned Is Our Universe?

1894
Daniel Andrés Díaz-Pachón
April 26, 2024
On this ID the Future from the archive, Baylor University computer engineering professor Robert J. Marks hosts Ola Hössjer of Stockholm University and Daniel Díaz of the University of Miami to discuss a recent research paper the three contributed to the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, “Is Cosmological Tuning Fine or Coarse?" Although it's no easy question to answer rigorously, the paper sheds new light on just how finely tuned our universe--and our existence--actually is. In this conversation, Marks, Hössjer, and Díaz unpack the long answer.

Humanize

Thomas Linzey on the Nature Rights Movement

13
Wesley J. Smith
April 22, 2024
Most people support responsible environmental policies but may be unaware of how radical the leading edge of the movement has become as an increasing number of activists support granting personhood rights to nature. Is nature rights a subversive threat to human exceptionalism and our thriving or is it the next necessary step in society’s moral growth and key to preventing a catastrophic environmental collapse as its adherents claim? Let’s find out. Wesley’s guest is one of the primary founders of the nature rights approach. Thomas Alan Linzey, serves as Senior Legal Counsel for the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights, an organization committed to globally advancing the legal rights of nature and environmental rights. He is the co-founder of the Community …

Mark Davis Pickup on Living with Intense Suffering and Experiencing a Miraculous Healing

12
Wesley J. Smith
April 8, 2024
We live in a time in which eliminating suffering is considered by many to be society’s ultimate purpose. Too often, this leads to policies that eliminate suffering by eliminating the sufferer. Still, for those not experiencing intense pain or anguish, arguing for improved care instead of increased access to assisted suicide or euthanasia can seem like a blithe platitude. “If you were really suffering,” I have heard repeatedly in my more than thirty years involved with these issues, “you would sing a different tune.” Perhaps. But many people who suffer intensely sing from the same songbook. One, is my good friend and guest for this episode of Humanize, Mark Pickup. Pickup has experienced the intense terror and anguish caused by disabling and progressive multiple sclerosis …

Dr. Charles Camosy on Current Trends in Bioethics

11
Wesley J. Smith
March 11, 2024
To say the least, bioethics is controversial. Many in the mainstream movement reject the sanctity and equal dignity of human life around issues such as abortion, assisted suicide, and biotechnology. But there is a robust pushback against such approaches—a human dignity bioethics, if you will—that promotes medical ethics and public health policies that align with the “do no harm” ethic of the Hippocratic Oath. The differences in these approaches impact our very understanding about the meaning and importance of human life. How do these distinctions play are among the most important and contentious controversies of the day. To get a handle on the current bioethics landscape, Wesley interviewed one of the most impressive and energetic defenders of human exceptionalism in …