Point of Inquiry, the official podcast of the Center for Inquiry (CFI), today announced that cognitive neuroscientist and former Miracle Detectives host Indre Viskontas will join the show as cohost with science writer Chris Mooney. Beginning in February, Mooney will host three times a month; Viskontas will anchor the last Monday of every month. The show will continue to be released every Monday on the Point of Inquiry website and on iTunes.

Point of Inquiry critically examines topics in science, religion, philosophy, and politics. Each episode takes on a specific issue and features lively discussion with leading researchers and writers, putting a special focus on science and public policy matters. Past shows have featured Brian Greene on string theory, Paul Offit on vaccine denialism, Eugenie C. Scott on the necessity of climate change education, and Daniel Dennett on the scientific study of religion.

“We are thrilled to have Indre Viskontas join the Point of Inquiry team. Her background in both cognitive neuroscience and entertainment makes her a natural fit,” said Adam Isaak, producer of Point of Inquiry. “Her ability to successfully present science and critical thinking to a general audience makes her an invaluable addition to the show.”

As cohost of the Oprah Winfrey Network hit show Miracle Detectives, Viskontas drew on her scientific background to investigate alleged miracles and provide a rational, skeptical perspective to counteract the temptations of magical thinking and pseudoscience.

Isaak added that he is very pleased that Chris Mooney will be expanding his role as a host from two shows to three shows per month. “Chris’s background as a science journalist and his skills as an interviewer have contributed immensely to the quality of our programming.”

CFI has also announced that later this month it will be launching a new podcast, focusing on critical examination of the Bible, hosted by biblical scholar Robert M. Price.

Indre Viskontas, a writer, neuroscientist, and opera singer, holds a doctorate in cognitive neuroscience and a master of music in vocal performance. Her scientific research explores the neural basis of memory and creativity; she has published more than thirty original peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Viskontas is affiliated with the Memory and Aging Center at UC–San Francisco and is the associate editor of the journal Neurocase. She cohosted Miracle Detectives, a six-episode docuseries on the Oprah Winfrey Network, in which she explored the scientific explanations of paranormal experiences. She also blogs regularly at http://www.indreviskontas.com.

Chris Mooney is a science and political journalist, blogger, podcaster, and experienced trainer of scientists in the art of communication. He is the author of four books, including the New York Times best-selling The Republican War on Science and the forthcoming The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science and Reality (April 2012). He blogs for Science Progress, a website of the Center for American Progress and Center for American Progress Action Fund.

To learn more, visit pointofinquiry.org.

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http://www.pointofinquiry.org

Host: Chris Mooney

We had Lawrence Krauss on Point of Inquiry less than a year ago, to discuss his recent book on the scientific works of Richard Feynman.

But Krauss is kind of a machine, and in order to keep up with him, we had to have him on again. Already.

You see, Krauss has a new book out that’s causing quite a stir right now—A Universe from Nothing: Why There is Something Rather than Nothing.

Here’s a hint as to why: Krauss’s answer to this age-old question isn’t God. In fact, as discussed on the program, Krauss has arguably written the book that “kicks God out of physics.”

And along the way, he also manages to explain a heck of a lot of science.

Lawrence Krauss is an the internationally known theoretical physicist and popular author. He has published hundreds of scientific papers, as well as acclaimed books like the bestselling The Physics of Star Trek and Fear of Physics. He’s director of the Origins Project at Arizona State University.

http://www.pointofinquiry.org/lawrence_krauss_a_universe_from_nothing/

Guest Host: John Shook

Recently, the Center for Inquiry held a conference titled “Daniel Dennett and the Scientific Study of Religion: A Celebration of the Fifth Anniversary of Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon”. During that conference, John Shook, CFI’s Director of Education, sat down with Dennett for this interview.

Shook and Dennett have a broad conversation ranging from Dennett’s past and current work to his definition of free will. Dennett explains what caused him to write Breaking the Spell in 1996 and the impact it had on him personally.

They talk about how the public views the scientific study of religion and how it has changed in the recent past. Dennett comments on the continued mutation of religions, and how their rate of change seems to be increasing; about how to come out as a non-believer; and much more!

Daniel Dennett, PhD, is Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University and Co-Director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts. Among his many books relating to science and religion are Science and Religion: Are They Compatible? (with Alvin Plantinga, 2011); Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon (2006); Freedom Evolves (2003); and Darwin’s Dangerous Idea (1995).

http://www.pointofinquiry.org/daniel_dennett_the_scientific_study_of_religion/

I take a skeptical view on all things and climate should be no different.  I generally assume that the my media sources are correct (of course), so I assume the arguments for climate change are correct.  In my family I have a member who is a climate “denier” as you say (although I find that term pejorative and political), and is very well informed on the evidence supporting his claim.  I would love to have a greater command of the evidence.  I would also like the book to scientifically evaluate the evidence and discuss the uncertainties.  Any ideas?

Thanks,
Neil Stafford MD

Host: Chris Mooney

Earlier this month, Point of Inquiry host Chris Mooney attended Science Online, the premiere science blogging conference, in the research triangle area.

There were many science aficionados, communicators, and wonks present, but Chris found himself hanging out a lot with Brian Malow—aka, the Science Comedian.

And get this—Malow lived up to his name. He was pretty funny. Chris decided he had to get him on air.

Now, obviously, we couldn’t have Malow do stand up for this program. Instead, Chris had to try to… draw humor out of him. And in the process, however inadvertently, he may have even told a joke himself.

Brian Malow describes himself as Earth’s Premier Science Comedian. He makes science videos for Time Magazine’s website and contributes to Neil deGrasse Tyson’s radio show—and performs widely. He’s been featured on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and in Nature, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Washington Post, and the New York Times.

http://www.pointofinquiry.org/brian_malow_the_science_comedian/

Host:Chris Mooney

Eugenie Scott is no stranger to Point of Inquiry, or to the secular community. Her endless travails to defend the teaching of evolution have won her immense respect.

And that’s why, when Scott and her National Center for Science Education take on a new initiative, everybody listens. So for this Point of Inquiry episode, we invited Eugenie to break some news about why she is venturing into a very new and very challenging area—defending the teaching of accurate climate change science in schools from a mounting ideological assault—and how you can help her out.

http://www.pointofinquiry.org/eugenie_scott_defending_climate_education/

Host: Chris Mooney

How do you successfully debunk misinformation?

The question is a deceptively simple one—which is precisely the problem.

Debunking is easy—just refute false claims, and provide corrective information.

Debunking successfully is something else again-you have to change minds, and make the corrective information stick. And how does that work?

Well, as it turns out, we actually don’t know very much about the process. But what we do know was recently compiled into a brilliant short document, the Debunking Handbook, available free for download from the website Skeptical Science.

Point of Inquiry recently caught up with one of its authors, John Cook, in San Francisco at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union.

John Cook is the Climate Communication Fellow for the Global Change Institute at the University of Queensland in Australia. He studied physics, and maintains the popular global warming website “Skeptical Science,” which refutes misinformation by explaining, in user friendly fashion, the findings of the peer reviewed literature.

http://www.pointofinquiry.org/john_cook_the_debunking_handbook/

I’m a major fan of Richard Carrier, and have read a number of his writtings on infidels.org, to which he’s a major contributor.  He seems, at least in my mind, to be one of the strongest atheist philosophers of modern times, and his style never ceases to amaze me.

I can only hope that they choose to bring him on someday.

Host: Karen Stollznow

Dr. Stuart Robbins is a postdoctoral researcher in astronomy at the University of Colorado, Boulder. His work focuses on planetary geophysics, and he’s currently researching craters on Mars, and on the moon. Stuart received his PhD in Astrophysics through the Geophysics program from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Stuart has a special interest in astronomy education, especially correcting myths and misconceptions about astronomy. To that end, he has a blog entitled Exposing PseudoAstronomy, and a podcast by the same name. Since 2012 is supposed to be our last year on earth, again, Stuart dispels some claims about the Mayan Prophecy.

In this interview with Karen Stollznow, Stuart provides a rundown on the Mayan Long Calendar, and discusses the different calculations and end dates. He talks about the link, or lack thereof, between the calendar and the end of the world. Stuart talks about the many ways in which the world is supposed to end in 2012, via planetary lineups, galactic alignments, pole shifts, crustal displacement, solar flares, or the mysterious Planet X.

Stuart delves into metaphysical claims that 2012 isn’t the catastrophic end of the world, but represents some kind of beginning, or new age of transformation. Finally he tells us, when December 21, 2012 has come and gone, when is the next Armageddon?

http://www.pointofinquiry.org/stuart_robbins_the_end_of_the_world_as_we_know_it/

It’s the beginning of a new year here at Point of Inquiry, and we’ve got a pretty good guest to kick it off.

He needs no introduction. He’s Brian Greene—celebrity physicist, bestselling author, television star and all around science communication maestro.

Officially: Greene is co-founder and director of Columbia University’s Institute for Strings, Cosmology, and Astroparticle Physics, author of the bestselling books The Elegant Universe and The Fabric of the Cosmos, and co-founder of the World Science Festival.

We caught up with Greene to discuss the recently aired four part NOVA special based on The Fabric of the Cosmos, as well as, well, sciency things in general.

http://www.pointofinquiry.org/brian_greene_the_fabric_of_the_cosmos/