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PODCAST

The Podcast For Inquiry

Centre For Inquiry Canada

A podcast for scientific, skeptical, secular, rational and humanistic inquiry. They"ve got answers? We"ve got questions.

science philosophy

All Episodes

59:06

Gaia Vince identifies the four horsemen of the...

The Podcast For Inquiry ·

2025/01/22

Gaia Vince (@wanderinggaia) is an award-winning science writer and author. She is particularly interested in the interaction between human systems and Earth’s planetary systems. Her research has taken her around the world. Gaia’s latest book is Nomad Century: How Climate Migration Will Reshape Our World. We are already at 1.6 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures, with significantly more to come. The four horsemen of the anthropocene - fire, heat, drought, and flood - will lead human

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01:23:02

Canada has not reconciled with its Indigenous...

The Podcast For Inquiry ·

2025/01/08

Maureen Bulbrook and Christina Ninham are Indigenous lawyers who know from direct experience that Canada has never stopped discriminating against its First Nations people, from the Doctrine of Discovery at the time of contact to current day (with Prime Minister Harper arguing that residential school records should be destroyed even as he apologized for Canada’s treatment of Indigenous peoples and Prime Minister Trudeau failing to deliver on his promise of clean drinking water in all Indigenous

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01:02:15

Paco Calvo considers the possibility of plant...

The Podcast For Inquiry ·

2024/12/18

Paco’s thesis is a provocative one: plants are, in a meaningful sense, intelligent. Paco discusses what intelligence is, and how we might recognize it in other beings. People used to believe that only humans are intelligent. Over time, other mammals were deemed to also think and feel. Today, most people grant that many animals, such as birds and octopi, exhibit intelligent behaviours. Paco extends this to plants by detailing what science has to say - both theoretically and empirically - about the

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01:05:03

Heresy: Jesus Christ and the Other Sons of God, with...

The Podcast For Inquiry ·

2024/12/04

Why do scholars now refer to early Christianities instead of early Christianity? How has the meaning of the word “Heresy” changed from its original definition to taking on its current connotations? Why did Christianity grow from a fringe cult with few followers and disdained by the intelligentsia and people in power to becoming the largest religion in the world today? What did humanity lose with Christianity’s rise? Catherine Nixey answers all these questions and more as she discusses her new book,

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01:31:36

Saving civilization is about more than climate...

The Podcast For Inquiry ·

2024/11/20

All life on earth ultimately depends on energy and how it flows between biological and geochemical systems on the planet. Katherine Richardson and her team identified nine boundaries which need to be respected if our planet is to remain conducive to human thriving. Climate change is just one of them. We are exceeding six boundaries, and in recent years they are all getting worse. Katherine discusses how she and her team identified the nine planetary boundaries and why it is essential to consider how

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01:02:19

Melanie Trecek-King defines and discusses critical ...

The Podcast For Inquiry ·

2024/10/23

Many people - especially those in skeptical organizations like CFIC - talk about the importance of critical thinking. But what is it? How can we use it effectively? How do people navigate complex subject areas without developing deep expertise? Melanie Trecek-King, creator of Thinking is Power, discusses how people internalize beliefs, how they can be a part of one’s identity, why some issues become politicized, what constitutes good evidence, and much, much more. Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by

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01:12:20

Does the Bible endorse slavery and genocide? Dr....

The Podcast For Inquiry ·

2024/10/09

In his first appearance on Podcast for Inquiry, Dr. Josh Bowen compared what we know about history from archaeology and contemporaneous literature with the stories from the Old Testament. In today’s episode, Dr. Bowen reveals what the Bible has to say about slavery and genocide, and goes a bit outside his comfort zone to talk about whether the Old Testament should be considered a guide to a moral and ethical life. Referenced during the conversation: Read Dr. Bowen’s latest book: Did the Old

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01:20:21

Kate Cohen believes atheists should be out and proud

The Podcast For Inquiry ·

2024/09/25

Kate Cohen talks about her journey from privately knowing she was a non-believer to writing We of Little Faith: Why I Stopped Pretending to Believe (And Maybe You Should Too). She discusses how being an atheist and a commitment to honesty informed how she raised her children, and how being forthright about her lack of belief in social interactions has simplified her life. We also talk about some of the challenges associated with being an open atheist. Kate is a Washington Post columnist and some of

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58:16

Greg Oliver asks: Why is religious discrimination...

The Podcast For Inquiry ·

2024/09/11

5Greg Oliver, founder and president of the Canadian Secular Alliance, believes that governments should not favour one faith over another, nor believers over non-believers. That three Canadian provinces continue to this day to fully fund a Separate school system for a single faith - Catholicism - is an egregious violation of secular principles that should guide our public policy. Greg explains why Catholic schools are funded, how two provinces stopped funding sectarian schools, addresses many myths

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01:07:27

Science Denial: Why It Happens and What To Do About...

The Podcast For Inquiry ·

2024/08/21

Everyone is vulnerable to fallacies that can lead to misunderstanding scientific topics. In her book (written with Barbara Hofer), Science Denial: Why It Happens and What To Do About It, Gale investigates many of these, including: Cognitive biases Emotions Motivated reasoning Identities Gale also explains what all of us can do to increase our scientific literacy. Science is better understood as a process, with different disciplines advancing knowledge via different means, employing

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59:34

Anti-natalism with Mark Maharaj

The Podcast For Inquiry ·

2024/08/07

Anti-natalism is the philosophical idea that choosing to have children is an unethical act. Mark explains what anti-natalism is, as well as what it isn’t, and describes how he came to subscribe to anti-natalist thought. Learn more about anti-natalism from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (https://iep.utm.edu/anti-natalism/) and Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/parenthood/#AntiNata) Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by

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01:02:44

Kelly Weinersmith asks: Are we ready to live off-planet?

The Podcast For Inquiry ·

2024/07/24

Dr. Kelly Weinersmith (@FuSchmu) is the co-author (with her husband Zach) of Soonish and A City on Mars. Kelly maintains that while having humans living off Earth would be awesome, we’re simply not ready for it yet. She answers many of Leslie’s questions: Why can’t we go to Mars if we have the will? Why can’t we all just get along? Why should we expand? Why is building a habitable space station harder than settling on Mars or the moon? What laws would apply in any off-Earth settlement? Where should

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01:03:42

The search for truth, with Carolyn Biltoft

The Podcast For Inquiry ·

2024/07/10

Carolyn Biltoft received her PhD in World History from Princeton University in 2010. Her work fuses the tools of world history, intellectual history, cultural studies and critical theory. Carolyn has thought deeply about the nature of truth, and realized that each person necessarily has an incomplete understanding, because we only experience a small aspect of reality first hand. Therefore, we need to trust the reports of others to gain a complete worldview. Misplacing our trust will compromise the

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01:09:11

The Ancient Art of Thinking for Yourself, with Robin...

The Podcast For Inquiry ·

2024/06/26

Robin Reames is the incoming Culbertson Chair of English at Indiana University. She researches and writes about the history of ideas, particularly lost ideas from the ancient Greek rhetorical tradition that can enrich our lives today. Leslie and Robin talk about her book, The Ancient Art of Thinking for Yourself: The Power of Rhetoric in Polarized Times, starting with the question: What is rhetoric? Robin goes on to explain why emotions and values are more compelling persuaders than facts. Leslie

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01:17:38

What’s the point if there’s no god? Ralph Lewis has...

The Podcast For Inquiry ·

2024/06/12

Dr. Ralph Lewis is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, a practicing psychiatrist, and blogs for Psychology Today. Leslie and Dr. Lewis explore the themes in his book, “Finding Purpose in a Godless World: Why We Care Even if the Universe Doesn’t”, including addressing some key questions: Does the universe have a purpose? Why are we humans so prone to believe that the universe is inherently purposeful? If the universe has no purpose, does that mean human lives are meaningless

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01:01:01

The Founding Myth, with Andrew Seidel

The Podcast For Inquiry ·

2024/05/29

Andrew Seidel (@AndrewLSeidel) is the author of The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is un-American, and works for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. He and Leslie discuss the birth of the United States and its founding documents. Andrew reveals that America was not intended to be in any way a Christian nation, yet a significant minority has come to believe that is not the case. Andrew also talks about the very real threat that today’s Christian Nationalists pose to

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01:15:59

The Ten Commitments, with Kristin Wintermute and...

The Podcast For Inquiry ·

2024/05/15

The Ten Commitments come from the American Humanist Association’s Center for Education. They “represent our shared humanistic values and principles that promote a democratic world in which every individual’s worth and dignity is respected, nurtured, and supported, and where human freedom and ethical responsibility are natural aspirations for everyone.” Leslie speaks with Kristin Wintermute, Director of Education, and Emily Newman, Senior Education Coordinator, about each of the Ten Commitments and

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01:03:14

Alternative medicine nearly killed me, says Kat Mac

The Podcast For Inquiry ·

2024/05/01

Kat McLeod is passionate about dispelling misinformation, especially regarding herbal remedies. Taking herbal supplements nearly killed her, so she volunteers at the University of Alberta as a mentor for pharmacy and medical students, arming them with the knowledge that can hopefully prevent the kind of suffering she has endured. Kat and Leslie talk about some of the problems in Canada and elsewhere with standard medical practice, then delve into how herbal supplements are often mislabeled,

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31:45

Behind the Scenes at Podcast for Inquiry

The Podcast For Inquiry ·

2024/04/17

Leslie gave the keynote address at the Centre for Inquiry Canada’s Annual General Meeting in March. That address is today’s special episode of Podcast for Inquiry. Leslie talks about the principles underlying the podcast, the rules and guidelines they led to, and some of the difficult decisions those working on the podcast had to make. Leslie also delves into freedom of expression, applying how different levels of censorship have affected Podcast for Inquiry. Seth Andrews, host of The Thinking

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01:11:14

Misguided: My Jesus Freak Life In A Doomsday Cult...

The Podcast For Inquiry ·

2024/04/03

Perry Bulwer (Facebook) speaks about his part-memoir, part-exposé book, Misguided: My Jesus Freak Life in a Doomsday Cult. Perry describes what first attracted him to the cult, and why he stayed in it for nearly 20 years. Perry recounts the lasting damage from his time in the Children of God, to himself and especially to those born into it. Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon:

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43 results

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