Can viewing life as designed enhance scientific research? Today, host Andrew McDiarmid speaks with physicist Dr. Brian Miller about the fruitful research that can result when engineering principles are applied to the study of biological systems. Dr. Miller is part of a group that brings together engineers, scientists, and scholars to demonstrate how engineering principles, patterns, and tools can deepen the understanding of biology. The group hosts an annual Conference on Engineering in Living Systems, hosted by Discovery Institute, that highlights new insights and research projects in this bold new approach to the study of life. Here Dr. Miller gives the lowdown on current research as well as this year's conference. Read More ›
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 ›
Before the positive case for intelligent design can be received effectively, the case against the Darwinian evolutionary mechanism must be clearly laid out. One man who was instrumental in this initial "ground clearing operation" was biologist Dr. Jonathan Wells, our friend and colleague who passed away in 2024. On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes Dr. Jay Richards back to the podcast to share his memories of Dr. Wells and discuss the significance of Wells's life and work. Read More ›
For decades, we’ve thought the control center of life lies in DNA. But a new scientific framework is emerging that challenges that idea, and suggests that vast portions of the genome are immaterial and lie outside the physical world. Today, physicist Dr. Brian Miller shares his perspective on the cutting-edge, potentially revolutionary research of mathematical biologist Dr. Richard Sternberg on the immaterial aspects of the genome. In this exchange, Dr. Miller shares several examples of the immaterial nature of life. These ideas point towards the earliest stages of the next great scientific revolution and have significant implications for the intelligent design debate. Read More ›
On this ID The Future, we're sharing a conversation that first aired on Mind Matters News, another podcast from Discovery Institute that focuses on the intersection of artificial and natural intelligence. In this episode, guest host Pat Flynn welcomes engineer Dr. Eric Holloway and professor Robert J. Marks to discuss the information cost of creativity. The conversation is based on a chapter in the recent volume Minding the Brain, authored by Dr. Holloway and Marks.
This conversation originally aired on the Mind Matters News podcast. Visit mindmatters.ai/podcast for more. Read More ›
We usually think of life as the most natural thing there is – blooming plants, flowing water, the cycles of nature. But what if that perspective is fundamentally challenged by the very laws of physics that govern our universe? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes physicist Dr. Eric Hedin to the podcast to discuss the compelling idea that life is the most "unnatural" thing in the universe. Dr. Hedin contends that the complex, organized nature of life defies the natural tendency of matter and energy towards disorder and equilibrium, suggesting that life requires something only an intelligent designer could provide. Read More ›
When scientists originally studied the chimp genome, they used the human genome as a template. This scaffolding technique gave birth to the popular claim that chimp and human genomes are only 1% different. But new research has now blown the 1% myth out of the water. On today's ID The Future, geologist Dr. Casey Luskin speaks with host Dr. Emily Reeves about this explosive new finding and what it means for the debate over evolution. Read More ›
On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes Kristin Marais and Summer Lile, two passionate instructors from Discovery Institute Academy, to discuss their high school biology and chemistry courses, uniquely taught from the perspective that nature reflects intelligent design. These courses offer a complete, sequenced curriculum and include readings, handouts, videos, pre-recorded instructor lectures, and hands-on wet labs designed to be done at home. Live classes and one-on-one teacher drop-in sessions are also available. In this exchange, both teachers discuss what students will learn in their class and how intelligent design concepts are integrated throughout course content. Learn more and register at discoveryinstitute.academy. Read More ›
Is your mind more than just your brain? Does the soul actually exist? These questions have been pondered for millennia. What does the latest scientific research suggest? On this ID The Future, renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Egnor begins a conversation with host Andrew McDiarmid about his new book The Immortal Mind: A Neurosurgeon's Case for the Existence of the Soul. Egnor makes a powerful case that our capacity for thought, reason, and free will points to something beyond mere brain function. After defining important terms, Egnor begins exploring the compelling evidence he has gathered across four decades of practice in neurosurgery. Along the way, Dr. Egnor also boldly challenges the Darwinian view of the mind's evolution, arguing that abstract thought and free will are immaterial and could not have arisen through natural selection. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Read More ›
On this ID The Future, enjoy the concluding half of a remarkable and candid discussion on the limits of Darwinian evolution and the arguments for intelligent design. The conversation, recorded in 2019, is hosted by Peter Robinson for his program Uncommon Knowledge, and features philosopher of science Dr. Stephen Meyer, mathematician and author Dr. David Berlinski, and Yale Professor of Computer Science Dr. David Gelernter. In Part 2, Stephen Meyer argues there's a "powerful signal of design" in nature. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. Read More ›
