We are thrilled to welcome Dr Scott Sampson to the DtW podcast! Those of you with small children probably know him best as Dr Scott the Paleontologist from Dinosaur Train, but there is so much more to him than time traveling cartoon dinosaurs! In his book, "How to Raise a Wild Child", he explains how he left his dream job in academia and devoted his life to spreading the love of science and nature to the next generation, because unless we become a people who love and understand our world, we're doomed. We get into some of the teaching strategies that he has developed to help all of you parents who suddenly became home-school teachers, as well as practical ways to grow emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. He casts a vision in which humankind rediscovers their love of the natural world, develops technology in tandem with it, and becomes a force for good for the sake of all living things. All that to say, it's no accident that the answers to life, the universe, and everything are contained within episode 42. 

Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast

More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/

produced by Zack Jackson

Scientists in Synagogues application due July 23 - https://sinaiandsynapses.org/scientists-in-synagogues/

App: iNaturalist, use your phone to figure out the world around you and be in community with scientists and other people in nature. Download on your phone app store, or go to the website: https://www.inaturalist.org/

App: Seek, also put on by the iNaturalist group. https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/seek_app 

Books by Dr. Sampson:

Dinosaur Odyssey [2009]

How to raise a wild child [2015]

You can be a paleontologist [for kids, 2017]

Dinosaur Train on PBS: https://pbskids.org/dinosaurtrain/ and for parents: https://www.pbs.org/parents/shows/dinosaur-train 

Parasaurolophus, wiki page

Gaia hypothesis: Wiki page, who is James Lovelock; a plethora of articles on Gaia hypothesis

Thomas Berry, a geologian; his books here

Bron Taylor book, Dark Green Religion; his wiki page

Richard Louv,author “the more high tech our world becomes the more nature we need” found in The Nature Principle; his book list here

If you've been around YouTube long enough, you've probably bumped into the phenomenon that is ASMR. If you are unfamiliar with it, do yourself a favor and watch one of the videos in the description first. Trust us. It will help make sense of everything. 

OK, now that you're back. Let's talk about those weird brain tingles. What causes them? Have we been accidentally triggering this response in religious circles for millennia? Does getting a spiritual feeling from someone going tippity tap on their desk with acrylic nails, threaten the very foundation of our faith!? Since this is such a new subculture, it is not very well studied, but luckily for you, our very own Kendra Holt-Moore is on top of it! So buckle up and get ready for some brain tingles as we whisper our way to new expressions of ancient truths. 

Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast

More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/

produced by Zack Jackson

Scientists in Synagogues application due July 23 - https://sinaiandsynapses.org/scientists-in-synagogues/

Articles

• ASMR, explained: https://www.vox.com/2015/7/15/8965393/asmr-video-youtube-autonomous-sensory-meridian-response

Youtube videos

• https://www.youtube.com/user/GentleWhispering/featured

Books

• When God Talks Back by Tanya Luhrmann 

In part 3 of our miniseries, we are taking a look at the past, present, and future of education. Teachers are being forced online due to the pandemic, but will this fundamentally change how we educate children and adults? Are we educators too focused on our cherished memories of school that we are missing the new possibilities that technology offers us? Why are Zoom meetings so creepy and exhausting? Peeping Toms, prison structures, mispronouncing Descartes, and so much more with our special guest the Rev Dr Ruth Shaver!

Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast

More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/

produced by Zack Jackson

Scientists in Synagogues application due July 23 - https://sinaiandsynapses.org/scientists-in-synagogues/

PATHWAYS Theological Education, Inc - https://www.pathwaystheological.org/

Wiki page for "panopticon" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticon

A comic to help explain Jean Paul Sartre on "The Look" - https://existentialcomics.com/comic/235

In part 2 of our miniseries on our digital presence, we take a deeper dive into the wonderful world of ritual and how we are working that out from our own digital hermitages. What is the point of a ritual? Is it really a religious experience if you don't "feel it"? What does a religious experience look like in a brain scan? What's the big deal with eating cheeseburgers? Can you ever truly practice religious rituals alone? Even on top of a 50ft column? Let's find out! 

Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast

More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/

produced by Zack Jackson

Scientists in Synagogues application due July 23 - https://sinaiandsynapses.org/scientists-in-synagogues/

Chattel or person: women in mishnaic times link

Emotion of disgust

https://www.paulekman.com/universal-emotions/what-is-disgust/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3189359/ [scholarly article]

The Passion of the Christ movie

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Passion_of_the_Christ

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0335345/ 

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/passion-of-the-christ-15-years-mel-gibson-jim-cavieziel-movie-reaction-christianity-a8788381.html [this article points to some of the film’s and the director’s problems, esp as it relates to the Jews]

“Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief”  [link]

Collective effervescence 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_effervescence

A bit about Durkheim : https://www.iep.utm.edu/durkheim/ 

What does the hippocampus do

https://www.news-medical.net/health/Hippocampus-Functions.aspx

Saint Simeon Stylites

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/10/22/pole-sitters/ [with pictures]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeon_Stylites

In part 1 of our new miniseries exploring our digital presence in these "corona-days", we are looking at our religious rituals. Why do some of our rituals seem to transition easily to the internet while others feel flat and uninspiring? Can we create new digital rituals? How do we find hope and spiritual connection when our internet connection keeps cutting out? Can we replace the body and blood of Christ with Oreos and coffee without ruining the whole thing? Can you replace the shankbone of a Seder Plate with a family hug in an attempt to preserve the meaning behind it? What is sacred, what is profane, and who is deciding this stuff? 

Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast

More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/

produced by Zack Jackson

Scientists in Synagogues application due July 23 - https://sinaiandsynapses.org/scientists-in-synagogues/

::coming soon::

In the final episode of our miniseries on science and religion in film, we're taking you to a remote island off the coast of Costa Rica that is teeming with dinosaurs and valuable moral lessons. It's Jurassic Park! Let's talk about dinosaurs, the morality of genetics, what makes humans special, and why you should definitely be scared of chickens. 

Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast

More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/

produced by Zack Jackson

::coming soon::

In part 5 of our miniseries on film, we are literally taking you down the wormhole to visit the 2014 scifi masterpiece, Interstellar. Zack leads the discussion on ancient apocalyptic literature, and why he thinks that the modern end-of-the-world movies are not all that different from the ancient religious texts, and can bring a similar spirit of hope in uncertain times. At least that's the idea. We'll have to wait for the live action version of The Book of Revelation to compare apples to apples. 

That's a joke by the way. Dear lord, I hope that's a joke in the future too....

Revised Miniseries schedule:

3/25 - Contact

Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast

More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/

produced by Zack Jackson

::coming soon::

In part five of our science and religion in film miniseries, Rachael boldly leads us where no podcast has gone before. Well, at least where THIS podcast has gone before. Yeah. We're talking Star Trek. Specifically, Star Trek: Generations. How similar is "the Nexus" to our own popular images of Heaven, and what does that reveal about our deepest desires? What do we actually believe about the afterlife, and how sturdy are those beliefs when put to a few simple tests? On our voyage to the other side, we will also talk about Talmudic orgies, eyeball hooks, who gets your organs in the resurrection, and how to neuter a pigeon. You know you want to hit play... Resistance is futile... 

Revised Miniseries schedule:

3/25 - Contact

Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast

More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/

produced by Zack Jackson

::coming soon::

In part 4 of our science and religion in film miniseries, Ian finally gets to geek out on Star Wars. You can't tell, but he brought his own lightsaber to record this episode. Oh yeah. We're in it to win it! Since we obviously couldn't talk about everything, we focused on "The Last Jedi", and more specifically on the modern tension between religion and spirituality. Do we need the "sacred texts" to become better force users or are we stronger without the ancient traditions? Can a person be both Jedi and Sith? Do those distinctions matter or are they merely power constructs? Most importantly, what color would your lightsaber be and what would be the first thing that you would do with it? 

Revised Miniseries schedule:

3/25 - Contact

Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast

More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/

produced by Zack Jackson

Websites

• https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/12/why-the-last-jedi-is-more-spiritual-than-religious/549146/

When One Religion Isn't Enough: The Lives of Spiritually Fluid People by Duane R. Bidwell

In Part 3 of our miniseries on science and religion in movies, Adam does what Adam does and rejects the premise to get to the point through the back door! the 2006 Guillermo del Toro masterpiece, Pan's Labyrinth (available on Netflix) is not even a little bit scifi. It is a fantasy-realism film that centers on a young girl who is trapped in the crossfire of 1944 Falangist Spain, and is confronted by a mythical creature who tells her that she is so much more than she thinks she is. While this film is not overtly scientific, it is an excellent vehicle for helping us to examine what we believe is real and how we know that. Is science magic? What makes it compelling? Can we become re-enchanted once we have lost the faith of our childhood? How can those of us without mythical spirit guides make sense of the world? 

Miniseries schedule:

3/25 - Contact

Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast

More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/

produced by Zack Jackson

Stephen Hunt -The Chour of the Air

https://www.amazon.com/COURT-AIR-STEPHEN-HUNT/dp/0765380218

Wizard in Harry Potter reading A Brief History of Time

https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Wizard_in_the_Leaky_Cauldron

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” ~  Arthur C. Clarke (NOT Isaac Asamov as Zack says in the episode)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarke%27s_three_laws

“The second naivete” as a concept in spiritual development 

https://www.mpjauthor.com/spiritual-development-concept/Paul-Ricoeur.html

https://c1b9a88f-157e-47ac-91dd-90f00bc73c13.filesusr.com/ugd/18a280_3bcaa8e62ed848ac954aeae897a5a4a7.pdf

Zack’s Uncle Ed Zacharewicz’s art

Albert Camus’s joyful philosophy 

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7699175-the-literal-meaning-of-life-is-whatever-you-re-doing-that