New Novel Invites Teens to Ponder Our Privileged Planet

Astrobiologist Guillermo Gonzalez and author Jonathan Witt sit down with host Andrew McDiarmid to discuss their new young adult novel The Farm at the Center of the Universe, now available from Discovery Institute Press.

Isaac is a young teen reeling from the untimely death of his father. His cousin Charlie is a science teacher and committed materialist, always eager to promote a Darwinian view of the world to those in his charge. Then there’s Isaac’s abuelos, his grandfather and grandmother. The story centers on a weekend visit to his grandparents’ farm, where Isaac will be caught in a battle of wits between two men, facing a choice that he alone can make.

Gonzalez and Witt discuss the experience of bringing the book to life and how it relates to Gonzalez’s popular 2004 book The Privileged Planet. And though the book is geared toward teens, adults will also be enriched by the story. Gonzalez hopes the book will inspire readers to “be open to evidences of design that may be right under their noses that they haven’t really noticed before.”

Order the book for yourself, your teen, or a friend at discovery.press.