Point of Inquiry

In the past century, there have been a number of court cases where religious folks have attempted to inject their beliefs into the public schools. But two cases are more noteworthy than most, and bookend the long battle between science and creationism in the classroom. These two trials, The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes, and Kitzmiller v. The Dover Area School Board are important milestones -- not only in American jurisprudence, but also in American public education. In this episode, Jim speaks with the former Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education, Eugenie Scott. Genie has been on the frontlines for decades trying to keep public school science classes free of religious beliefs being taught in the guise of science.

The Griffith Observatory is the most visited public observatory in the world, and a science icon that overlooks the Los Angeles basin. Since 1935, the facility has hosted astronauts, WWII pilots and celebrities, and continues to promote science and wonder in a world full of misinformation. In this episode, Jim chats with Griffith Observatory Director Dr. Ed Krupp, who has been at the helm of this venerated institution for almost 50 years. They chat about Ed's journey, the evolution of the observatory, and the future of sharing science with the public.

A century and a half ago, one out of every five Americans lived on a farm. Today, it’s closer to one out of every fifty, even though the population has increased more than tenfold. The industrial-scale farm and livestock business that we depend on today feeds hundreds of millions every day, but at what cost? In this episode of Point of Inquiry, Jim speaks with investigative journalist and author Will Potter, whose book Little Red Barns: Hiding the Truth from Farm to Fable uncovers some disturbing truths about the conditions under which our food is produced. Worse yet, the book describes the systematic campaign by food producers to cover up its abuses, a spin a false narrative about how our groceries get to our tables. Will Potter is an award-winning investigative journalist whose work has focused on social justice and environmental movements, and attacks on civil rights post-9/11. His other book is Green Is the New Red: An Insider's Account of a Social Movement Under Siege.

The ancient Greeks had a profound influence not only on their own world, but also on what would become Western culture as a whole. In this episode of Point of Inquiry, Jim chats with Evaggelos Villianatos, a Greek scholar who sheds an interesting light on how his ancestors helped shape the science, arts, language and governments of the modern world.

The art of cold reading has convinced millions of people that gimmicks like crystal balls, palm reading, tarot cards, and other alleged paranormal abilities are real. People walk away from astrologers, mediums, and psychics saying "there's no way he could have known that" or other exclamations of amazement. But are these skills really paranormal, or can they be explained by a series of techniques just about anyone can master with practice? Longtime investigator Jim Underdown teams up with psychologist and author Richard Wiseman to deconstruct what is really happening in a typical psychic reading and sheds some light on why the experience sometimes seems so real.

For most of human history, infectious diseases have wreaked havoc on humans. But beginning in the late 18th century, more and more of us beat back illness by getting immunized with vaccines. Today, vaccines are -- or should be – a part of every thinking person’s health regimen. But exactly what are vaccines and how do they work? How are they tested? Joining Jim in this episode of Point of Inquiry is immunologist David Miles. David teaches at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and is the author of How Vaccines Work: A layman's guide to the history and science of vaccines and vaccination. Learn about both the history and present state of immunology from this fascinating discussion.

When a business owner, ex-marine, and retired peace office is questioned and later arrested for what appear to be bigoted reasons, there should be recourse in our system of justice to right such a wrong. But Steve Hill is having a hell of a time finding help with his well-documented struggles. Should the fact that he is a black man and a member of the Satanic Temple enter into whether he is treated fairly or not – or even represented in court? Not if justice is blind and secular. Jim chats with Steve about his multi-year battle with law enforcement authorities and the courts to achieve satisfaction and find justice.

Almost 30 percent of the U.S. population is religiously unaffiliated, but only a fraction of those so-called "Nones" identify as atheist or agnostic. Fewer still feel comfortable revealing to the people in their lives that they don't believe in God. Kate Cohen was one of those people. Though she had determined that God was a human-made fiction from a young age, the challenges of navigating social pressures and familial expectations led her to "play along" with God and religion well into adulthood. But then she had children of her own, and something changed. She decided to stop pretending to believe. On this episode, Free Inquiry Editor Paul Fidalgo talks to Cohen about her new book, We of Little Faith: Why I Stopped Pretending to Believe (And Maybe You Should Too). It's the story of her evolution from closeted atheist to truth-teller that illustrates the rewards of honesty, as well as a call to action for fellow nonbelievers to embrace the truth, both for their own sake and the country’s. Kate Cohen is a columnist for the Washington Post, and a chapter from her new book is excerpted in the February/March 2024 issue of Free Inquiry magazine.

Members of Gen X and older grew up in an America in which being religious was the default and atheism was, as best, on the fringes. A lot has changed in the last couple of decades, and for many Millennials and members of Gen Z, being nonreligious is really no big deal. Folks in younger generations are accustomed to living among people of various religious and ethnic backgrounds, and as the percentage of Nones (the religiously unaffiliated) has risen, relatively few young Americans feel the need to explicitly identify as a nonbeliever. So what does that mean for atheism and building a secular humanist community? Sarah An Myers is a regular contributor to Free Inquiry magazine, as well as Psychology Today and other publications. She has been giving a lot of thought to these questions, and in this conversation with Free Inquiry editor Paul Fidalgo, she discusses what secular humanism might be able to offer those who don't jibe with traditional religion but are tolerant and curious about other forms of spirituality. Can a community of the rational embrace a little irrationality? You can read Sarah An Myers’ work at Free Inquiry here.

In 2019, Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker Scott Kennedy was working on a film about the years-long anti-vaxxer movement. Filming with top public health officials–including Tony Fauci–as well as rare interviews with anti-vaccine activists who were persuading parents by the millions to refuse vaccines for their children. And then COVID hit, and further fueled immunization fears that would kill countless people. Scott chronicled the subsequent events from day one in his film, Shot in the Arm, released in late 2023. Jim's conversation with Scott about his film, his process, and his other work is testimony to the fact that there are still documentarians out there with integrity, and use their skills to bring out the truth. Visit the documentary's website for more information.

The U.S. Supreme Court -- that over sixty years ago ruled against state-led prayer in public schools -- has swung back the other way with a vengeance. The ultra-conservative majority on the current court has reversed 60 years of progress and put the rights of non-believers in jeopardy. In this episode, Jim Underdown speaks to Nick Little, former Director of CFI's Legal department, and Eddie Tabash, Chair of the CFI Board of Directors. The two lawyers talk about the state of the court, recent decisions, and the problematic future for secular Americans.

The Nones are on the rise! When asked about their religious affiliation, year after year, more and more Americans are choosing “none of the above.” The number of religiously unaffiliated Americans, which includes atheists and agnostics, has been rocketing up over the past couple of decades, and today these Nones make up about one-third of the American population. But they’re not matching their religious counterparts in terms of political organization or cultivating tightly bonded communities, so what’s going on? In this episode of Point of Inquiry, Free Inquiry editor Paul Fidalgo talks to political scientist Dr. Juhem Navarro-Rivera, Political Research director and Managing Partner at Socioanalitica Research and a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Humanist Studies. His article “The Boundaries of Secularism: Who’s in? Who’s Out?” is featured in the October/November 2023 issue of Free Inquiry, and he has some important observations about the rise of the nones and what’s preventing the nonreligious from becoming a social and political force to be reckoned with.

Of the 535 Members of Congress, only one is an out-of-the-closet atheist. His name is Jared Huffman, and he is a U.S. Representative from Northern California. He is also the co-chair (with Rep. Jamie Raskin) of the Congressional Freethought Caucus, a group all secular Americans should know about and support. In this episode, Jim Underdown chats with the congressman about a number of different issues, including the religiosity of his fellow representatives.

What happens when a group of skeptics from across the globe keeps score of over twenty years of psychic predictions? Any guesses? In this episode of Point of Inquiry, host Jim Underdown speaks to Rob Palmer and Richard Saunders of the Great Australian Psychic Prediction Project about this ambitious effort to track the accuracy of those who claim to see the future. How did the prognosticators do? Listen to this week's episode to find out!

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California may be the world's premiere space exploration facility. From the earliest days of rocketry, JPL has been at the vanguard of designing and building rockets and spaceships. But the lab has a colorful history, and some of its founders broke the stereotypes of what a rocket scientist might be. Satanism? Friendships with L. Ron Hubbard? The Red Scare? Those only scratch the surface of this fascinating place. And who better to talk about all this than MGLord, author of AstroTurf: The Private Life of Rocket Science, and host and creator of a podcast called Blood, Sweat, and Rockets. Host Jim Underdown chats with MG as they delve into the weird and wonderful history of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

“Many of us who are happy to live outside religion still suffer from a lack of things religion gives its members,” writes historian and poet Jennifer Michael Hecht. “It seems to me the remedy to this suffering is a shift in the way we think about ritual and the poetry of our lives.” Hecht is our guest on this episode of Point of Inquiry. She’s the author of books such as Doubt: A History, The Happiness Myth, and Stay: A History of Suicide and the Philosophies Against It. Her most recent book is The Wonder Paradox: Embracing the Weirdness of Existence and the Poetry of our Lives. In it, she shows us how encounters with poems can help us get through our toughest moments, enrich our celebrations, and cultivate a sense of awe and meaning—all without appeals to the supernatural. In a conversation with Free Inquiry editor Paul Fidalgo, Hecht discusses how poems offer all of us—secular and religious alike—a way to think and feel more deeply, and provide us with a foundation for ritual to mark the milestones of life. And keep an eye out for the June/July 2023 issue of Free Inquiry magazine, which will feature an excerpt from The Wonder Paradox: “On Choosing a Code to Live By.”