ID the Future Intelligent Design, Evolution, and Science Podcast
Topic

consciousness

frau-im-sonnenlicht-am-wasser-freiheit-leichtigkeit-und-lebe-1989594560-stockpack-adobestock
Frau im Sonnenlicht am Wasser – Freiheit, Leichtigkeit und Lebensfreude im Gegenlicht
Image Credit: christophe papke - Adobe Stock
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Author
Michael Egnor
Date
August 5, 2026
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Neurosurgeon and Engineer Critique a Materialist Theory of Consciousness

Michael Egnor
August 5, 2026
Uncategorized
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Today's episode of ID The Future comes from our sister podcast Mind Matters News. Today, guest host Pat Flynn welcomes Dr. Robert Marks and Dr. Michael Egnor to the show to critique Integrated Information Theory (IIT), a popular mathematical model that attempts to explain consciousness through computational complexity. Read More ›
ai-and-future-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock-251415009-stockpack-adobestock
AI and future concept
Image Credit: Who is Danny - Adobe Stock
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Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
March 20, 2026
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What Separates AI From the Qualities of the Human Mind

Robert J. Marks
March 20, 2026
Uncategorized
2
ID The Future listeners now get to enjoy a new episode each month (as well as a bingecast archive episode) from our sister podcast Mind Matters News, a production of the Discovery Institute’s Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence. The Mind Matters News podcast brings you interviews and insight from computer scientists, engineers, inventors, neurosurgeons, and other experts who bring sanity to the conversation about natural and artificial intelligence, going beyond the hype to explore the undercurrents of these important ideas. And although the Mind Matters News podcast will not often explicitly discuss intelligent design, it regularly explores the nature of intelligence, the origin of information, and the things that make us uniquely human, concepts that are central to the theory of intelligent design. Is consciousness the exclusive domain of human beings? Proponents of a view known as integrative information theory argue that AI will eventually achieve that same level of consciousness as systems build up and integrate more knowledge in the future. On this archive episode, Mind Matters guest host Pat Flynn welcomes Dr. Selmer Bringsjord to discuss some of the flaws in this theory as well as a possible alternative. Read More ›
relaxing-at-sunset-at-top-of-mountain-stockpack-adobe-stock-253946182-stockpack-adobestock
Relaxing at Sunset at Top of Mountain
Image Credit: Ronny Friedrich - Adobe Stock
Type
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Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
February 20, 2026
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No Thinking Without a Thinker: Dr. Mihretu Guta on Consciousness

Robert J. Marks
February 20, 2026
Uncategorized
2
Starting this month, ID The Future listeners will get to enjoy a new episode each month (as well as a bingecast archive episode) from our sister podcast Mind Matters News, a production of the Discovery Institute’s Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence. The Mind Matters News podcast brings you interviews and insight from computer scientists, engineers, inventors, neurosurgeons, and other experts who bring sanity to the conversation about natural and artificial intelligence, going beyond the hype to explore the undercurrents of these important ideas. And although the Mind Matters News podcast will not often explicitly discuss intelligent design, it regularly explores the nature of intelligence, the origin of information, and the things that make us uniquely human, concepts that are central to the theory of intelligent design. On this archive "bingecast" episode, hosts Robert J. Marks and Angus Menuge welcome Dr. Mihretu Guta to discuss his contribution to the book Minding the Brain. Dr. Guta discusses the nature of consciousness and the challenges in understanding it from a philosophical perspective. He argues that consciousness is a unique property that is deeply subjective and personal, making it difficult to study scientifically. Guta contrasts first-order and second-order approaches to understanding consciousness, emphasizing the need to go beyond just the empirical observation of mental phenomena and examine the underlying metaphysical and ontological questions. The discussion covers a number of relevant topics, highlighting the profound and puzzling nature of consciousness and the importance of philosophical inquiry in grappling with this fundamental aspect of human experience. Read More ›
profile-of-a-young-man-with-mental-activity-stockpack-adobe-233476510-stockpack-adobestock
Profile of a young man with mental activity
Image Credit: Ulia Koltyrina - Adobe Stock
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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
June 16, 2025
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Denyse O’Leary: Why Materialism Can’t Explain the Mind

Denyse O'Leary
June 16, 2025
Uncategorized
2
Is the soul a myth? Does your mind really just boil down to brain function? On today's ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid speaks with journalist Denyse O'Leary about surprising findings out of neuroscience that shatter materialist assumptions. O'Leary is co-author with Dr. Michael Egnor of The Immortal Mind: A Neurosurgeon's Case for the Existence of the Soul. In this conversation, O'Leary reports on recent findings about the origin of consciousness, the challenge that near-death experiences present to materialism, and why the only way to move past materialism is to reject it fully as a model. Read More ›
IDTF 1929 Eric Hedin and McDiarmid ID of Sleep Part 2 Post Image (Eva Gonzales Sleep Painting Public Domain)
Image Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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Author
Eric Hedin
Date
July 17, 2024
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Sleeping and Waking: A Designer’s Gift

Eric Hedin
July 17, 2024
Uncategorized
2
Are we to credit an unguided evolutionary process for the gift of sleeping and waking? Or are these intricate systems further evidence of design? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes his conversation with Dr. Eric Hedin on the intelligent design of sleep. In Part 2, the pair dig deeper into the purpose of sleep and why it’s so essential to living organisms. They also look at why it’s unlikely that a gradual Darwinian process can be credited for the origin of sleeping and waking, and why intelligent design is a better explanation. This is Part 2 of a two-part discussion. Read More ›
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Author
Eric Hedin
Date
July 15, 2024
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Eric Hedin on the Intelligent Design of Sleep

Eric Hedin
July 15, 2024
Uncategorized
2
We’re asleep an average of about 26 years of our life! Most people have a sense that sleep is important, but many of us aren't sure exactly why. Why is sleep so crucial to survival? And how did the processes of sleep emerge in living things? Could a gradual Darwinian process be responsible, or are the systems involved another instance of intelligent design? On this episode, host Andrew McDiarmid begins a conversation with Dr. Eric Hedin about the origin and intelligent design of sleep. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Look for Part 2 next! Read More ›
Thomas Doughty - Fanciful Landscape 1834 - NGA 1963.9.2
Thomas Doughty Fanciful Landscape 1834, National Gallery of art, Public Domain
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Author
Stephen C. Meyer
Date
December 29, 2023
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Stephen Meyer: Evidence of Mind in The Natural World

Stephen C. Meyer
December 29, 2023
Uncategorized
3
Can we scientifically detect the activity of a mind behind the universe? On this ID The Future, philosopher of science Dr. Stephen Meyer answers this question and more in the concluding hour of a new two-hour interview on various topics related to his work and books. Dr. Meyer discusses the problems with scientific materialism, the problems with quantum cosmological models, a good theology of nature, and more. This is Part 2 of a two-part interview. Read More ›
Martin Johnson Heade 1871 Painting Cattleya_orchid_and_three_hummingbirds_1982.73.1 (public domain, via National Gallery of Art
Image downloaded from National Gallery of Art, Public Domain
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Author
Stephen C. Meyer
Date
December 27, 2023
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Stephen Meyer: Scientific Arguments for a Theistic Worldview

Stephen C. Meyer
December 27, 2023
Uncategorized
3
Are there strong scientific arguments for theism? Is there such a thing as objective morality? How is a worldview built? On this ID The Future, philosopher of science Dr. Stephen Meyer answers these questions and more in the first hour of a new two-hour interview on various topics related to his work and books. Dr. Meyer answers questions related to worldview, consciousness, arguments for theism, objective morality, materialism, the nature of information, and more. This is Part 1 of a two-part interview. Read More ›
AD Color V15095
Image used with permission from Angel Studios
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Author
Dr. Jeffrey Long
Date
October 25, 2023
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After Death: The Science Behind the Movie

Dr. Jeffrey Long
October 25, 2023
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2
Is there life after death? Can science shed any light on this age-old question? And is the mind simply the workings of the brain, or is it something else? On this episode of ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid chats with Dr. Jeffrey Long, a radiation oncology physician and one of the scientists featured in the new Angel Studios feature film After Death. As founder of the Near-Death Experience Research Foundation, Dr. Long has investigated over 4,000 near-death experiences (NDEs), the largest number of near-death cases ever assembled and studied. The results of his research are published in the New York Times bestselling book Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences. In this interview, Dr. Long explains the hallmarks of a near-death experience and the common themes found in most near-death accounts. He also shares nine lines of evidence that support the scientific case for afterlife consciousness. And he explains why skepticism is a healthy part of science, while ideological rigidity can inhibit the scientific pursuit of truth. Read More ›
pink jellyfish.jpg
3d rendering of pink jellyfish floating in the dark blue ocean background with sunlight.
Image Credit: icestylecg - Adobe Stock
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Date
November 9, 2020
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The Evolution (or not) of Consciousness

November 9, 2020
Uncategorized
1

On this ID the Future neurosurgeon Michael Egnor interviews Bernardo Kastrup, a philosopher with a background in computer engineering, about consciousness, evolution, and intelligent design. Did consciousness evolve? What does the evidence suggest? And how do materialists deal with the seemingly immaterial reality that is consciousness? This is a guest episode borrowed with permission from Mind Matters, a podcast of Discovery Institute’s Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence.

Discovery Institute