Point of Inquiry

Keith Stanovich holds the Canada Research Chair of Applied Cognitive Science at the Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology, University of Toronto. His research areas include the psychology of reasoning and rationality and the psychology of reading, which explores what happens in the brain and to the brain through the process of reading. Recently, he was named one of the 25 most productive educational psychologists. His many books include How to Think Straight about Psychology, Who Is Rational?: Studies of Individual Differences in Reasoning, The Robot's Rebellion: Finding Meaning in the Age of Darwin. In this discussion with D.J. Grothe, Stanovich talks about his book The Robot's Rebellion: Finding Meaning in an Age of Darwin, which is about "Universal Darwinism" and its implications for widely and deeply held beliefs such as God, free-will, and the concept of the self. He explores the gene's eye view of life and also memes as self-replicating units of cuture, and how these selfish replicators use humans as vehicles for their own purposes, even as they might not be in the best interest of humans. He shows some ways that we may overcome, or rebel, against these forces to construct meaning from our existence.

Professor Richard Wiseman, a psychologist, started his working life as a professional magician. He currently holds Britain’s only Professorship in the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. He frequently appears in the media, and has written over 60 academic articles and several books, including the best-selling The Luck Factor. His newest book is Quirkology: How We Discover the Big Truths in Small Things. In this conversation with D.J. Grothe, Richard Wiseman discusses "Quirkology," areas of psychology where many scientists fear to tread. He explores some practical applications of social psychology, detailing how we can more effectively detect liars, the use of critical thinking in detecting patterns in our lives, and how to be more informed about the psychology behind supernatural or paranormal experiences. He mentions the youtube successes that he has had in bringing social psychology to a wider public. He also discusses the importance of magic and legerdemain in exploring social psychology, and the relationship of Quirkology to other fringe areas of study such as research into psychic phenomena and parapsychology.

Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of America's leading spokespersons for science. The research areas he focuses on are star formation, exploding stars, dwarf galaxies, and the structure of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. In addition to many scholarly publications, Dr Tyson is one of America’s most respected science writers, and he writes a monthly column for Natural History magazine simply titled the “Universe.? Among his eight 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. His most recent book is Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries. He is also the on-camera host of PBS-NOVA’s program ScienceNow, which explore the frontiers of all the science that shapes our understanding of our place in the universe. He is the first occupant of the Frederick P. Rose Directorship of the Hayden Planetarium in Manhattan, where he also teaches. In this conversation with D.J. Grothe, Neil deGrasse Tyson examines various approaches to informal science education, his experiences teaching science through pop-culture media outlets, and controversies regarding science popularization. He explains his views on the implications of science for religious belief, questioning the strategy of science educators who seem to equate science and atheism. He also recounts the direct influence of Carl Sagan on his professional development.

Michael J. Behe, a central figure in the Intelligent Design movement, is professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture. He is the author of Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution and most recently The Edge of Evolution: Searching for the Limits of Darwinism. In this conversation with D.J. Grothe, Behe discusses his prominent role in the ID movement, and how he first got involved. He explores the differences between creationism and Intelligent Design theory, and details some of his experiences as a key witness for the defense in the Dover, Pennsylvania Intelligent Design trial. He also explains the thesis of his new book, and talks about what he considers the biases of mainstream science.

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, even as he later crusaded against those whom he believed were fraudulent mediums. In this episode, recorded on Halloween, Joe Nickell, the world’s leading paranormal investigator and CSI's senior research fellow, and D.J. Grothe (both of whom are former professional magicians) conduct CFI’s 11th Annual Houdini Seance. They also recount episodes in the history of Spiritualism, including details from the lives of the Fox Sisters and the Davenport Brothers, and Houdini's involvement investigating the religion of Spiritualism and his relationship to the Davenports. They discuss Lilydale, the Spiritualist community in Western New York, and talk about some of the secret methods Houdini exposed when challenging the mediums of his day. They conclude by exploring what might be the best balance between skepticism and compassion when investigating paranormal and spiritualistic claims.

Steven Pinker, a renowned cognitive neuroscientist, a research psychologist, and is Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. His research on cognition and language won the Troland Award from the National Academy of Sciences and two prizes from the American Psychological Association. He has also received several honorary doctorates and many awards for graduate and undergraduate teaching, general achievement, and his critically acclaimed books, including The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, and The Blank Slate. He is also a Humanist Laureate of CFI’s International Academy of Humanism. His newest book is The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature. In this discussion with D.J. Grothe, Pinker explores what our use of language can tell us about human nature. He discusses our use of metaphors, and what concepts may be innate, how the "language of thought" may be hard-wired in our brains. He also explains how to avoid the pitfalls of such hard-wiring, using the methods of science as the model.

Edward Tabash is a constitutional and civil rights lawyer in Beverly Hills, California. Graduating magna cum laude from UCLA in 1973, he graduated from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles three years later and was admitted to the California Bar that same year. He has chaired the National Legal Committee of Americans United for Separation of Church and State since 1995. He has been the most publicly-active man in the abortion rights movement in California since 1981. He has argued and won before the California Supreme Court and sits as a part-time judge for the Los Angeles County Superior Court system. Since 1990, he has been a member of the First Amendment Committee of the ACLU of Southern California. In this conversation with D.J Grothe, Eddie Tabash explains why he argues there really is no God. He discusses various scientific and philosophical arguments against god-belief, including arguments from divine hiddenness, the physical mind, the problem of evil, and morality. Tabash also addresses questions of meaning in a godless universe, and what atheists should do with their atheism.

Barbara Oakley, PhD, has been dubbed a female Indiana Jones — her writing combines worldwide adventure with solid research expertise. Among other adventures, she has worked as a Russian translator on Soviet trawlers in the Bering Sea, served as radio operator at the South Pole Station in Antarctica, and risen from private to regular army captain in the U.S. Army. Currently an associate professor of engineering at Oakland University in Michigan, Oakley is a recent vice president of the world's largest bioengineering society and holds a doctorate in the integrative discipline of systems engineering. In this discussion with D.J. Grothe, Oakley explores human evil from a scientific perspective. She recounts experiences that led her to research the topic, including episodes from her sister's life, and from her travels. She details recent advances in brain imaging and genetics that have implications for traditional views of evil, and discusses why a scientific understanding of evil is important.

Alan Dershowitz, the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, is one of the country's foremost appellate lawyers and a distinguished defender of civil liberties. More than a million people have heard him lecture around the world. His books include the New York Times bestsellers The Case for Israel and Chutzpah as well as Rights From Wrongs: A Secular Theory of the Origins of Rights, The Vanishing American Jew, Why Terrorism Works, and America on Trial. He has been profiled and interviewed widely in the media and has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, Free Inquiry, and many other newspapers and periodicals. His latest book is Blasphemy: How the Religious Right is Hijacking the Declaration of Independence.In this discussion with D.J. Grothe, Dershowitz explores the question of whether America is a Christian nation, the use of the mention of God in the Declaration of Independence by the religious right to advance their aims, whether marriage and gay rights is a church-state separation issue, and separation of religion and state issues in the nation of Israel. He also discusses the secular roots of America's founding, and the secular roots of Zionism, addresses his long-time support of Israel as a secularist, and discusses the current political condition of the religious right in the United States and elsewhere in the world.Also in this episode, Justin Trottier, executive director of CFI Ontario, discusses church-state separation issues in Ontario's public school system.

The world's leading paranormal investigator, Joe Nickell is a regular contributor to Skeptical Inquirer science magazine. He is the author or editor of more than twenty books, including Looking for a Miracle, Inquest on the Shroud of Turin, and most recently The Relics of the Christ.In this conversation with D.J. Grothe, Joe Nickell explores what he calls the "new idolatry," the term he uses to refer to weeping religious icons and statues that stream tears of blood, become animated, and weep human tears, among other supernatual claims. He recounts his investigation of a number of such cases, and defends his investigative approach. He also talks about why such investigation is important, even in a society where everyone is entitled to believe as he or she chooses.