The Poetry of Reality with Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins
The Poetry of Reality is hosted by world renowned truth-teller, evolutionary biologist and best-selling author, Professor Richard Dawkins. He has been celebrated globally for his honest critique of religion and tradition and his push for critical thinking. His books include The Ancestor’s Tale, The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, Climbing Mount Improbable, Unweaving the Rainbow, A Devil’s Chaplain, The God Delusion, The Greatest Show on Earth, The Magic of Reality, his two-part autobiography An Appetite for Wonder and A Brief Candle in the Dark, and Outgrowing God: A Beginner’s Guide. Dawkins has long been known for his uncompromising passion for science, calling out for the pressing need in modern societies for scientific literacy and rational thinking, especially in the education of young minds. His relentless pursuit of truth, and his recognition of the beauty of life on earth, will feature in this podcast, as he charts his way through scientific and existential inquiries like ‘What are we doing here?’ and ‘When did life begin?’
Episodes
Mentioned books
7 snips
Jan 15, 2024 • 55min
An Atheist Scientist & A Religious Scientist Discuss Evolution
Father George Coyne, a devout Catholic and lover of science, discusses traditions of faith, dangers of religious literalism, and how he views evolution as part of God's work. They explore Catholic Church's stance on evolution, influence of personal history on religious beliefs, flaws of intelligent design, and the intersection of science and God.
Jan 15, 2024 • 1h 6min
Faith, Reason, and Theology: Richard Dawkins and Alex O'Connor in Conversation
Join me in a new conversation with Alex O'Connor as we discuss a range of topics, including Jordan Peterson, Ayaan Hirsi Ali's journey into Christianity, my bafflement at how Alex could stand three years of studying the non-subject of theology, the fear of death, and other things.
Jan 6, 2024 • 19min
Q&A: Ask Dawkins Anything
Why won’t ChatGPT dispute the existence of God? What is the evolutionary purpose of wonder and awe in the face of nature? Can a community exist independent of religion? And can we expand the human lifespan? Find out the answers to these and more, as I take on all your questions.
Jan 3, 2024 • 46min
Christmas Lecture 05: Virtual Reality: Can You Believe What You See?
The human eye and the human brain help us process reality. How accurate is our shared perception of reality? Scientific knowledge helps us clear the rubble from the path and see things for what they are. In the last part of Growing Up In The Universe, I take you through virtual reality models in the human mind and in computers. Through them we examine the questions: How do imagination, language and technology help us discern what is real from what is not? And what does the future of the human mind and perception look like?
Dec 27, 2023 • 45min
Christmas Lecture 4 : The Ultraviolet Garden
Explore how animals, birds, and insects experience the universe. Learn about the intricate relationship between flowers and pollinators, with a focus on bees. Discover the similarities between computer viruses and DNA viruses. Discuss the possibility of life on other planets through panspermia. Dive into the behavior and structure of insect colonies, and gain a new perspective on bees' wings as 'plant wings'.
Dec 21, 2023 • 45min
Christmas Lecture 3: Climbing Mount Improbable
Climbing Mount Improbable is a 1996 popular science book by Richard Dawkins. The book is about probability and how it applies to the theory of evolution. It is designed to debunk claims by creationists about the probability of naturalistic mechanisms like natural selection
Dec 19, 2023 • 1h 34min
A good-humored conversation between Michael Shermer and Richard Dawkins
Michael Shermer, science writer and executive director of The Skeptics Society, discusses religious loyalty, defining a true religion, and polygamy. They also explore excommunication, belief in God, patterns in pi, and the correlation between periodical cicadas and prime numbers. The podcast touches on ayahuasca, induced spiritual experiences, shifting moral values, the fear of eternity, evolution without interspecies reproduction, tribalism, global culture, and the concept of illusion in consciousness.
Dec 12, 2023 • 44min
Christmas Lectures: Is The Universe Designed? Part 02
Exploring the concept of design in the universe, examples of designoid objects, well-designed structures in nature, convergent evolution and designoid objects, the argument from design and its implications, and the Darwinian component in engineering design and art are all discussed in this podcast.
Dec 5, 2023 • 46min
Christmas Lectures: Waking Up in the Universe Part 01
This episode is the first of a series released in 1991 that pays homage to the scientist Michael Faraday who started the Christmas Lectures, making the wonders of science and the universe accessible to young people.
The universe as we know it is 140 million centuries old, and our present century is a tiny spotlight in the ruler of time. We are lucky to be alive. I introduced an auditorium full of inquisitive young minds to this realization and more, on evolution, the purpose of human existence, and the breathtakingly magnificent creatures found in our world. With anecdotes, simple demonstrations, humor and role-play, we awakened our shared wonder about the natural world.
Nov 30, 2023 • 9min
Are We Free to Say No to the Falsehoods of Trans Ideology?
The podcast discusses the redefining of language, labeling satirical tweets as hate incidents, and exploring freedom of speech in the context of trans ideology.
