Point Of Inquiry

Chris Mooney is an acclaimed writer about subjects at intersection of science and politics. His writing has appeared in Wired, New Scientist, Free Inquiry, Skeptical Inquirer, Slate, Mother Jones, The Washington Post, The LA Times, and The Boston Globe, and he has appeared widely in the media, on programs such as The Daily Show with John Stewart, NPR's Science Friday, and Fresh Air with Terry Gross. His blog, called "The Intersection," was a recipient of Scientific American's 2005 Science and Technology web award, which noted that "science is lucky to have such a staunch ally in acclaimed journalist Chris Mooney." His book, The Republican War on Science is newly out in paperback, completely revised, and was hailed as "a landmark in contemporary political reporting" by Salon.com and a "well-researched, closely argued and amply referenced indictment of the right wing's assault on science and scientists" by Scientific American. In this conversation with D.J. Grothe, Mooney explores how important science is fo

Harry Houdini, the world-famous magician and escape artist, earnestly explored the religion of spiritualism and communication with the dead after his beloved mother's death in 1913. He eventually crusaded vigorously against those whom he believed were fraudulent mediums, debunking and exposing those whom he argued preyed on the mourning of the grieving. He was renowned for his ability to seem to escape from almost any bonds. As such, he made a pact with his wife Bess, that if anyone could escape the bonds of death, he would. In this bonus episode of Point of Inquiry for Halloween night 2006, Joe Nickell, the world's leading paranormal investigator and CSICOP's senior research fellow, and D.J. Grothe (both of whom are former professional magicians) conduct CFI's 10th Annual Houdini Seance. They also explore Houdini's experiences as a "magician among the spirits," recount the ways he challenged the mediums of his day, and discuss his lasting impact on skepticism and society's beliefs about the afterlife. Als

Salman Rushdie is a British-Indian essayist and novelist widely acclaimed for his narrative style that blends myth and fantasy with real life. He has won many awards for his fiction, including the Booker Prize. He is best known for The Satanic Verses which provoked violent reaction from the Muslim community and a fatwa by the Ayatollah Khomeini, and was banned in India and througout the Islamic world. In recent years, Rushdie has been more visible publicly, and speaks out against Islamic extremism, and for secularism and the West. On October 11, 2006, Salman Rushdie addressed an audience at an event sponsored the Center for Inquiry's New York branch, held at the New York Society for Ethical Culture. This special episode of Point of Inquiry features Mr. Rushdie’s remarks, in their entirety, with an introduction by Ibn Warraq. Also in this episode, D.J. Grothe discusses science, the humanities and Islam with noted ex-Muslim Ibn Warraq.

Jill Tarter holds the Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, CA where she also serves as director of the Center for SETI Research. She served as Project Scientist for NASA’s SETI program, and has conducted a number of observational programs at radio observatories worldwide. Since funding for NASA’s SETI program was cut in 1993, she has served in a leadership role to secure private funding to continue the the exploratory science.   Her work has brought her wide recognition in the scientific community, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from Women in Aerospace, two Public Service Medals from NASA, and many other awards. She was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2002 and a California Academy of Sciences Fellow in 2003. In 2004, Time Magazine named her one of the Time 100 most influential people in the world, and in 2005 Tarter was awarded the Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularizat

Richard Dawkins, considered one of the world's most influential scientists, is the first holder of the Charles Simonyi professorship of the public understanding of science at Oxford University and the recipient of a number of awards for his writings and for his science, including the International Cosmos Prize, the Kistler Prize, and the Shakespeare Prize.  He is also a fellow of the Royal Society. In a recent poll in the United Kingdom, he was named Britain's leading public intellectual. He is the author of a number of critically acclaimed books, such as The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, Unweaving the Rainbow,  The Devil's Chaplain, and The Ancestor's Tale. The New York Times Book Review has hailed him as a writer who "understands the issues so clearly that he forces his reader to understand them too." In this discussion with D.J. Grothe, Dawkins talks about his new best-selling book, The God Delusion, addressing challenges to his assertions from his critics. He also addresses the question of whether

Sam Harris is the author of the New York Times best-seller The End of Faith: Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason. He is a graduate in philosophy from Stanford University and has studied both Eastern and Western religious traditions, along with a variety of contemplative disciplines, for twenty years. He's now completing a doctorate in neuroscience. His work has been featured widely in the media, in such newspapers as the New York Times, LA Times, The Economist, The Guardian, The Toronto Star, and many others. He contributes regularly to Free Inquiry, the magazine of the Council for Secular Humanism. In this extensive discussion with D.J. Grothe, Sam Harris discusses his new best-selling book, Letter to a Christian Nation, explaining his motivations for his vigorous attacks against the Christian religion, and also explores the possible war between science and religion, the possible negative effects of religion in society, and strategies for secularists and moderates to meet the challenges that may be p

Robert M. Price is professor of theology and scriptural studies at Coleman Theological Seminary and professor of Biblical Criticism at the Center for Inquiry Institute. He's a fellow of the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion and the Jesus Seminar. Dr. Price is the author of a number of books such as Deconstructing Jesus, Incredible Shrinking Son of Man, and The Da Vinci Fraud. He has appeared widely in the media, and was featured in the movie The God Who Wasn't There. In this discussion with D.J. Grothe, Dr. Price discusses his new book, The Reason Driven Life, which is a rationalist response to Pastor Rick Warren's wildly best-selling book, The Purpose Driven Life. Also in this episode Tim Binga, Directory of CFI Libraries, talks about Banned Books Week.

Michael Shermer is one of the most well-known skeptics in America. He is a contributing editor and monthly columnist for Scientific American, and is the host of the Skeptics Distinguished Lecture Series at Caltech. He is also the co-host and producer of the Fox Family TV show, Exploring the Unknown. He is the author of many books, including Science Friction: Where the Known Meets the Unknown, and Why People Believe Weird Things. Since founding the Skeptics Society in Southern California and Skeptic magazine, he has appeared widely on TV and radio advancing the scientific and skeptical point of view, on shows such as 20/20, Dateline, Charlie Rose, Oprah, Unsolved Mysteries, and many more. In this discussion with D.J. Grothe, Shermer discusses evolution and Intelligent Design theory, Darwin's impact on the world today, the conflict and the compatibility of science and religion, and the meaning of life without God. Also in this episode, Tom Flynn asks Did You Know? about Darwin, sharing facts and trivia abo

Ann Druyan is a renowned author, lecturer, and television and motion picture writer/producer whose work mostly explores the implications of science and technology for our society. She is the widow of the great Carl Sagan with whom she was a co-writer of the Emmy and Peabody Award winning television series Cosmos. She served as Creative Director for the NASA Voyager Interstellar Record Project that included music and images on the Voyager Spacecrafts that serve as a greeting to possible alien civilizations. She co-created and co-produced of the Oscar nominated movie Contact starring Jodie Foster, which is based on the novel of the same name that she co-wrote with Carl Sagan. She is also the author or co-author of several other books, including A Famous Broken Heart, and Comet, which was on the New York Times best seller list for two months. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, also written with Carl Sagan, was another New York Times best seller. Druyan has a new book out in November entitled The Varieties of Scient

Paul Kurtz is founder and chair of the Center for Inquiry and a number of other organizations. A Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, chairman of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), the Council for Secular Humanism, and Prometheus Books. He is editor-in-chief of Free Inquiry. He is the author or editor of over forty five books, including the recent Science and Religion: Are They Compatible. Throughout the last almost 40 years, Paul has been a leading defender of science and reason against the prevailing cults of irrationality in our society. He has been interviewed widely in the media on subjects ranging from alternative medicine and communication with the dead, to the historicity of Jesus. In this discussion with D. J. Grothe, Kurtz talks about the what he calls "creedal fascism," the connection between religion and violence, why it is so vita

Amy-Jill Levine is E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of New Testament Studies at Vanderbilt University Divinity School, where she also holds the position of Director of the Carpenter Program in Religion, Gender, and Sexuality. Her many books, articles, and essays address topics like Christian origins, Jewish-Christian relations, and women in the Bible. She has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Biblical Literature and the Catholic Biblical Quarterly and has held office in the Society of Biblical Literature, the Catholic Biblical Association, and the Association for Jewish Studies. A widely sought-after speaker and favorite at the Chautauqua Institute in upstate New York, she has given hundreds of talks on biblical topics to both academic and nonacademic audiences. She is also a fellow of CSER, the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion, one of the organizations at the Center for Inquiry. Her awards include grants from the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the H

Joe Nickell, Senior Research Fellow for CSICOP, is considered the world's leading paranormal investigator. A former professional stage magician and private investigator, he has used his varied background to investigate myths and mysteries, frauds, forgeries, and hoaxes. He has been called "the modern Sherlock Holmes," "the original ghost buster," and "the real-life Scully" (after the character in The X-Files). A veteran of hundreds of TV and radio appearances, he is the author of over 20 books, including Secrets of the Supernatural, Entities, Psychic Sleuths, Real Life X Files, and The UFO Invasion. In this discussion with DJ Grothe, Joe talks about his recent trip to Peru for CFI's second South American conference, and also about his visit to the world famous Nazca lines, which some people argue is evidence for ancient visits to earth from extra-terrestrials. He recounts his years of investigations into such "geoglyphs," and suggests some alternative scientific theories for their existence. Also in this ep

Neil deGrasse Tyson, one of America's superstars of science, focuses his research on star formation, exploding stars, dwarf galaxies, and the structure of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. In addition to dozens of scholarly publications, Dr. Tyson is one of America's most eloquent and popular science writers. He has a monthly column for Natural History magazine simply titled the "Universe." Among his seven books is his memoir The Sky is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist; and also Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution, co-written with Donald Goldsmith. Origins is the companion book to the PBS-NOVA series of the same title, in which Dr. Tyson serves as the on-camera host. Beginning Fall 2006, he will appear as the on-camera host of PBS-NOVA's program ScienceNow, which will explore the frontiers of all the science that shapes our understanding of our place in the universe. Dr. Tyson is the recipient of seven honorary doctorates and the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal. His

Eugene Straus, M.D., is Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the State University of New York Downstate College of Medicine. He's also served as a senior faculty member at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. In these positions, he directed research, teaching, and clinical activities for thirty-five years. He has published over 150 scientific papers and text book chapters. He has also traveled very widely to observe health care in many parts of the world, and has advised the Health Ministries of India and China. He is a member of many research and clinical societies. In this interview with DJ Grothe,  he discusses his new book, Medical Marvels: The 100 Greatest Advances in Medicine. He also explores some of the problems he sees in current medicine and gives advice to consumers who are inundated with so many suggested alternatives to medical science.  Also in this episode, Lauren Becker examines some of the possible reasons Alt Med attracts so ma

Bill Cooke, former international director for the Center for Inquiry, is a senior lecturer at the School of Visual Arts at University of Auckland at Manukau. He is a fellow of the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion and now serves as CFI's Asia/Pacific coordinator. He is an acknowledged expert on the history of humanism and has written widely on the subject. He is author of the Dictionary Of Atheism, Skepticism, & Humanism, The Gathering of Infidels: A Hundred Years of the Rationalist Press Association and Heathen in Godzone: Seventy Years of Rationalism in New Zealand among other books. In this interview with DJ Grothe, Dr. Cooke discusses the history of humanism, how it is different than religion, and whether or not humanism is anti-religious. Also in this episode, Austin Dacey reports on the state of secularism in Bangladesh.

Derek Araujo was one of the founders and the first student president of the Campus Freethought Alliance in 1996. At the time he was attending Harvard College where he also founded the Harvard Secular Society before graduating magna cum laude in 1999. Mr. Araujo has since received a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School where he was a senior editor of the Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, and is now an attorney based in the New York City. On July 15th 2006 Derek Araujo addressed a crowd of over 70 student leaders and 35 community leaders gathered at the Center for Inquiry headquarters in Amherst NY to mark the 10th anniversary of the Campus Freethought Alliance, what is now known as Center for Inquiry On Campus. This special episode of Point of Inquiry features Mr. Araujo's remarks, in their entirety, with an introduction by Paul Kurtz. Also in this episode, student leaders Eric Toedter from the University of Florida and Adria Updike from Clemson University share their thoughts about the importance

Barry Beyerstein is Professor of Psychology and a member of the Brain Behaviour Laboratory at Simon Fraser University. His research has involved many areas related to his primary scholarly interests: brain mechanisms of perception and consciousness and the effects of drugs on the brain and mind. His work in these areas and his interest in the philosophy and history of science have also led him to be skeptical of many occult and New Age claims. This has prompted him to investigate the scientific status of many questionable products in the areas of medical and psychological treatment, as well as a number of dubious self-improvement techniques. Dr. Beyerstein serves as chair of the Society of B. C. Skeptics and he is a Fellow and a member of the Executive Council of CSICOP and serves on the editorial board of CSICOP's journal, The Skeptical Inquirer.  He was also elected to the Council for Scientific Medicine, another organization headquartered at the Center for Inquiry; it provides critiques of unscientific an

Thomas Kida is a professor in the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the author of many articles on decision-making. For the last 25 years he has been researching and teaching how we form our beliefs and make decisions. His new book, Don't Believe Everything You Think: The 6 Basic Mistakes We Make in Thinking, presents this research. The book is about the ways our beliefs and decision making skills can go wrong. Do we all fall prey to problems in thinking? Why do we make these mistakes? Why do we believe the unbelievable? In the interview with DJ Grothe, Professor Kida highlights a few of the six mistakes of thinking discussed in the book, with real-world examples of how our thinking can go astray and what we can do about it. Also in this episode, Paul Kurtz and DJ discuss details of CFI's Student Leadership Conference celebrating 10 years of CFI's campus outreach. The event has attracted students from nearly 50 North American colleges and universities, in additi

Paul Kurtz, considered the father of the secular humanist movement and a founder of the worldwide skeptic movement, is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo. As chair of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), the Council for Secular Humanism, and Prometheus Books, and as editor-in-chief of Free Inquiry magazine, he has advanced a critical, skeptical inquiry into many of the most cherished beliefs of society for the last forty years. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and has been featured very widely in the media, on topics as diverse as reincarnation, UFO abduction, secular versus religious ethics, communication with the dead, and the historicity of Jesus. In this interview with DJ Grothe, Paul Kurtz discusses the meaning of life from a scientific point of view, and expounds on the secular humanistic, stoical, skeptical perspective on questions regarding life after death and morali

James "The Amazing" Randi is a world-renowned magician, skeptic and investigator of paranormal claims. He has been a central figure in the development of the world-wide skeptical movement. He's perhaps most known for the One Million Dollar Challenge, in which his Foundation will award One Million Dollars to anyone who is able to show evidence of any paranormal, supernatural or occult power or event, under test conditions agreed to by both parties. Randi has appeared very widely in the media, including on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show at least 22 times and he's also a regular on Penn and Teller's Showtime Series, BULLSHIT! He has received numerous awards and recognitions, including a MacArthur Genius Grant, a Fellowship from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. In 1989, the American Physical Society presented him with its Forum Award for Promoting Public Understanding of the Relation of Physics to Society. He is the author of many books, notably The Truth About Uri Geller, in which Randi aimed to