ID the Future

ID the Future _{Intelligent Design, Evolution, and Science Podcast}

Humility and Humor: Richard Sternberg Remembers Jonathan Wells

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Richard Sternberg
March 19, 2025}

On this episode of ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid continues a series of interviews celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Jonathan Wells, our close colleague and friend who passed away in 2024 at the age of 82 years old. Dr. Wells was one of the first fellows of Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture and made significant contributions to science and to the arguments for intelligent design. Today, evolutionary biologist Dr. Richard Sternberg shares personal anecdotes and insights into Dr. Wells's character, his contributions to biology and epigenetics, and the profound impact he had on those around him.

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How Jonathan Wells Dismantled the Icons of Evolution

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Casey Luskin
March 17, 2025}

On this episode of ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid invites Dr. Casey Luskin to share some of his memories of our longtime colleague Dr. Jonathan Wells, who recently passed away at 82 years old. Dr. Wells was one of the first fellows at Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. In a career spanning three decades, Wells made significant contributions to our understanding of the limits of evolutionary processes and the evidence for intelligent design. In this interview, Dr. Luskin describes the powerful impact Jonathan's work had on him and how it led to meaningful reform in textbooks and classrooms. He also identifies the character traits he most admired in Dr. Wells.

Guillermo Gonzalez on Growing Evidence of Earth’s Privilege

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Guillermo Gonzalez
March 14, 2025}

On today’s ID the Future out of the archive, astrobiologist Guillermo Gonzalez, co-author of The Privileged Planet, begins a two-part conversation with host Casey Luskin by providing a rapid survey of some of the growing evidence that Earth is finely tuned in numerous ways to allow for life. He draws a helpful distinction between local fine tuning and universal fine tuning. And he tells us about the many extra-solar planets astronomers have discovered in recent years and how all that new data continues to undermine the misguided assumption (encouraged by the misnamed “Copernican Principle”) that Earth is just a humdrum planet. Far from it, Gonzalez argues. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation.

“The Ultimate Gentleman”: Tom Woodward Remembers Jonathan Wells

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Tom Woodward
March 12, 2025}

On this ID The Future, Dr. Tom Woodward shares more memories of our longtime colleague Dr. Jonathan Wells, who recently passed away at 82 years old. Dr. Wells was one of the first fellows at Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture, and his contributions over the last quarter century to the intelligent design movement have been formidable. In Part 2, Dr. Woodward kicks off by describing Dr. Wells's skills as a communicator. He also discusses Dr. Wells's mind-boggling insights on the design beyond DNA in every nook and cranny of the cell, layers of information that Wells knew only strengthen the case for intelligent design at the heart of biological life. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation.

Tom Woodward on the Impact of Icons of Evolution

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Tom Woodward
March 10, 2025}

On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes Dr. Tom Woodward to the podcast to share some of his memories of our longtime colleague Dr. Jonathan Wells, who recently passed away at 82 years old. In Part 1, Dr. Woodward tells the story of Jonathan’s efforts to fight the battle over textbook misinformation with his 2000 book Icons of Evolution. When the book first came out, National Center for Science Education director Eugenie Scott said that Icons of Evolution would be a “royal pain in the fanny” for the evolutionist community. She was not wrong! Woodward talks about the reverberations caused by the book's release and the waves of textbook reform it has brought about. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation.

Richard Sternberg on the Information Beyond the Genome

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Richard Sternberg
March 7, 2025}

Dr. Richard Sternberg speaks on his mathematical/logical work showing the difficulty of identifying genes purely with material phenomena.

Gutsy and Loyal: The Qualities of My Friend Jonathan Wells

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Paul Nelson
March 5, 2025}

On this episode of ID The Future, philosopher of biology Paul Nelson continues to share his remembrances of our longtime colleague Dr. Jonathan Wells, who passed away in 2024 at 82 years old. Dr. Wells was one of the first fellows at Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture, and his contributions to the intelligent design movement over the last quarter century have been monumental. In Part 2 of the conversation, Dr. Nelson shares another adventure he had with Jonathan, this time at the University of Chicago in the early 2000s. He also discusses the qualities that made Wells such a remarkable man, including his bravery and loyalty. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation.

Paul Nelson: My Adventures with Jonathan Wells

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Paul Nelson
March 3, 2025}

On this episode of ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes philosopher of biology Paul Nelson to share some of his remembrances of our longtime colleague Dr. Jonathan Wells, who passed away in 2024 at 82 years old. Dr. Wells was one of the first fellows at Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture, and his contributions to the intelligent design movement over the last quarter century have been monumental. In the first half of the conversation, Dr. Nelson takes listeners back to a famous meeting in the history of the modern intelligent design movement. He also shares some humorous stories of his adventures with Jonathan Wells at events in the United States and China. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation.

Chimp and Human Genomes: An Evolution Myth Unravels

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Casey Luskin
February 28, 2025}

On today’s ID the Future from the vault, Casey Luskin continues his conversation with host Eric Anderson about the myths surrounding human origins. Luskin rebuts the popular claim that the human and chimp genomes are 98-99% similar and therefore surely resulted from Darwinian common descent. He also throws shade in the argument that humans and chimps share junk DNA similarities. The problem? So-called "pseudogenes" are turning out to have functions. Listen in as Luskin unravels this popular myth, one thread of evidence at a time.

Using AI to Discover Intelligent Design

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David Coppedge
February 26, 2025}

Can we train AI models to help us detect evidence of intelligent design? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes science reporter and former NASA engineer David Coppedge to the podcast to talk about scientists who are doing just that: using artificial intelligence to make design inferences. Here, Coppedge tells us about a group of scientists who are training an AI model to search through imaging data to identify possible instances of human-made geoglyphs in the Nazca Plain in Peru. It's another intriguing example of intelligent design in action in the everyday world around us.

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