Point Of Inquiry

Susan Jacoby is the author of Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism, now in its tenth hardcover printing and recently published in paperback. Freethinkers was hailed in the New York Times as an "ardent and insightful work that seeks to rescue a proud tradition from the indifference of posterity." Named a notable nonfiction book of 2004 by The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times, Freethinkers was cited in England as one of the outstanding international books of 2004 by the Times Literary Supplement and The Guardian. In this interview with DJ Grothe, she discusses America's freethought heritage, and talks about Robert Green Ingersoll, and the role of freethinkers in various social justice movements. Also in this episode, Tom Flynn asks Did You Know?, detailing facts about Robert Green Ingersoll and new data about nonbelievers from University of Akron, and Lauren Becker shares some thoughts on Darwin and Olver Sacks and what these scientists teach us about ourselves.

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 explores the history of skepticism, defines various types of skepticism, and highlights what he calls "skepticism of the third kind".

Daniel Dennett, the author of such groundbreaking and influential books as Consciousness Explained and Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life (which was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize), is famous for being a philosophical gadfly, challenging unexamined orthodoxies in our society. He has made considerable contributions to the study of consciousness, the understanding of the development of the child's mind, artificial intelligence and evolutionary theory. He is University Professor, professor of philosophy, and co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University. In this interview with DJ Grothe, he discusses his new book, Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon. Also in this episode, Tom Flynn asks Did You Know?, detailing facts about world religions and their scientific study, Point of Inquiry contributor Benjamin Radford explores beauty and self-esteem, and in the second of a two-part series, DJ Grothe talks with CSICOP's Joe

Dr. Wallace Sampson serves as editor of The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine and is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Council Against Health Fraud. He has served as Chief of Medical Oncology at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, and is clinical Professor Emeritus of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Sampson is an expert on unscientific medical systems and alternative medicine claims, and teaches the critical analysis of Complementary and Alternative Medicine at Stanford University. He is co-editor of the book Science Meets Alternative Medicine. In this discussion with DJ Grothe, Dr. Sampson explores current trends in alternative medicine and offers the scientific alternative. Also in this episode, Tom Flynn asks Did You Know?, listing facts about the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Point of Inquiry contributor Benjamin Radford explores the use and abuse of labyrinths, and in the first of a two-part series, DJ Grothe talks with C

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 interview with DJ Grothe, he discusses aliens and alien abduction accounts and explores their significance for society today. Also in this episode, Tom Flynn asks Did You Know?, detailing facts and figures about UFOs, alien abductions and the new "Roses of Mohammed," Point of Inquiry contributor Sarah Jordan examines the meaning of science education, and DJ Grothe talks with Benjamin Radford about psyc

Richard Dawkins is professor of the public understanding of science at Oxford University. The recipient of a number of awards for his writing on science, including the Royal Society of Literature Award and the LA Times Literary Prize, he has also been awarded the Royal Society Michael Faraday Award for the furtherance of the public understanding of science. 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. In this interview with DJ Grothe, he discusses his newest work, a two-part documentary series for British television entitled The Root of All Evil?, in which he challenges what he calls "the process of non-thinking called faith." Also in this episode, noted ex-muslim and best-selling Islamic scholar Ibn Warraq explores the recent worldwide riots over the Danish cartoons depicting Mohamm

Marci Hamilton is a distinguished constitutional law professor at Cordozo School of Law and is the author of the critically acclaimed book God vs. The Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law. She has appeared widely in the media, on shows such as The O'Reilly Factor and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. In this interview, she explores the harms that are done to society by religion and how these harms are enabled by the courts and law enforcement because of an inaccurate understanding and application of the First Amendment. She challenges the widespread notion that all religious conduct deserves constitutional protection. Also in this episode, Tom Flynn presents Did You Know? detailing information about tax-payer funding of religious organizations, President Bush's fear of human-animal hybrids, and priestly child-abuse. Also, Benjamin Radford shares his segment Media Mythmakers, and in the second of a two part series entitled Investigating Ghosts and Hauntings, Joe Nickell, CSICOP's senior research fellow and reno

Chris Mooney, a Washington correspondent for Seed magazine, a senior correspondent for the American Prospect, and a columnist for Skeptical Inquirer magazine, focuses on issues at the intersection of science and politics in his reporting. He has contributed to a number of other publications over the last few years including Wired, New Scientist, Slate, Mother Jones, The Washington Post, The LA Times, and The Boston Globe, in addition to appearing widely in the media, on shows such as The Daily Show with John Stewart, NPR's Science Friday, and Fresh Air with Terry Gross. His blog, called "The Intersection," was 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." In this interview, he discusses his first book, The Republican War on Science, hailed as "a landmark in contemporary political reporting" by Salon.com and a "well-researched, closely argued and amply referenced indictment of the

Eugenie Scott, a physical anthropologist, has been the director of the National Center for Science Education for nearly 20 years. A former president of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, and a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, she is one of the nation's leading defenders of the theory of evolution, and a vocal critic of creationism and Intelligent Design theory. She is the author of the widely used and comprehensive textbook Evolution Vs. Creationism. In this interview, she recounts events in the recent Dover, PA Intelligent Design case, and discusses why ID fails as a scientific theory. Also in this episode, Tom Flynn presents Did You Know? sharing facts and figures on church-state separation, and the Discovery Institute, a leading think-tank responsible for the promotion of Intelligent Design theory. Benjamin Radford, in his regular segment, Media Mythmakers, comments on social myths regarding disaster relief, and in the third of a three part series Can

The great movie director Orson Welles wrote that Max Maven has "the most creative mind in magic." The New York Times observed that his "category-defying mind-reading veers into conceptual art." The Los Angeles Times stated that his "improvisational skill is enhanced by a charismatic animal magnetism." He has hosted eight TV specials in Japan (performing in Japanese) and starred in TV series in Taiwan, Sweden, Norway, Finland, England, the United States and Canada. Behind the scenes, Max Maven has been a consultant to the California ScienCenter, numerous universities, and to the magicians David Copperfield, Doug Henning, and Penn & Teller. He has published more than 2,000 articles. In addition, Maven is also the author of The Book of Fortunetelling, and is a contributor to a new traveling exhibition, "Magic: The Science of Illusion," which is touring science museums across North America through 2007. In this interview, Max Maven begins an exploration of the relationship between magic and skepticism, and

Ibn Warraq is the author of a number of books, including Why I Am Not A Muslim, considered among the most important critical looks at the negative aspects of Islam today. He is an outspoken critic of Islam who has written extensively on what he views as the oppressive nature of Islam and religion in general. Since the publication of Why I Am Not A Muslim, Ibn Warraq has appeared often in the media, including C-SPAN, National Public Radio, Canadian radio, the Washington Post, and the New York Times, in addition to consulting with Washington, D.C. think tanks, speech-writers for President Bush, international NGOs and the Center for Inquiry. In this interview, he discusses his problems with Islam, and why he argues Islam is incompatible with the democratic values of the West. Also in this episode, Tom Flynn presents Did You Know? breezing facts and figures about Islam, Mormonism, secular humanism, and paranormal belief in America and Benjamin Radford, in his regular segment, Media Mythmakers, casts a critical

Susan Jacoby is the author of Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism, now in its tenth hardcover printing and recently published in paperback. Freethinkers was hailed in the New York Times as an "ardent and insightful work" that "seeks to rescue a proud tradition from the indifference of posterity." Named a notable nonfiction book of 2004 by The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times, Freethinkers was cited in England as one of the outstanding international books of 2004 by the Times Literary Supplement and The Guardian. Since the publication of Freethinkers, Susan Jacoby has been interviewed on NOW with Bill Moyers, The O'Reilly Factor, and the Dennis Miller Show. She has been a guest on numerous National Public Radio programs, including the Diane Rehm and Tavis Smiley shows, as well as regional NPR programs broadcast from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, Philadelphia, and Madison, WIS. In this passionate and insightful interview, she discusses America's freethought

Andrew Skolnick, Executive Director of the Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health, is a nationally renowned science journalist who has won numerous national awards and honors for his reporting in biology, medicine, and human rights. Among those honors are Amnesty International USA's Spotlight on Media Award; World Hunger Year's Harry Chapin Award for Impact on Hunger and Poverty; the John P. McGovern Medal from the American Medical Writers Association; and a Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism. For nearly a decade, he served as an associate news editor for the Journal of the American Medical Association. He has been published in Smithsonian, Natural History, Ranger Rick Nature Magazine, National Geographic World, The New York Times, Encyclopaedia Britannica, and many other publications. In this interview, he discusses the dangers of alternative medicine, including unregulated dietary supplements, homeopathy, and more. Also, in the second of a two part interview entitled The

Joe Nickell, Senior Research Fellow for CSICOP, is considered the world's leading paranormal investigator. A former professional stage magician and private investigator, he taught at the University of Kentucky before joining CSICOP, the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. Using his varied background, Nickell has become widely known as an investigator of 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" ). He has investigated scores of haunted-house cases, including the Amityville Horror and the Mackenzie House in Toronto, Canada. A veteran of hundreds of TV and radio appearances, he is the author of over 20 books, including Inquest of the Shroud of Turin, Secrets of the Supernatural, Looking for a Miracle, Entities, Psychic Sleuths, Real Life X Files, The UFO Invasion and the new title Secrets of the Sideshows. In this interview

Paul Kurtz, considered the father of the modern secular humanist 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, humanistic 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 controversial interview, Paul discusses his views on the war between religion against science, why he says science and religion are not compatible.