Intelligent Design the Future

Most people know about the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945. But Robert Oppenheimer’s Manhattan Project had on hand another nuclear core. After claiming the lives of two scientists in separate accidents, it was dubbed the Demon Core and melted down. Some demons, however, are not so easily destroyed. Today, guest host Jonathan Witt concludes his conversation with medical doctor, disaster prep expert, and novelist Geoffrey Simmons about his new thriller novel Oppenheimer's Demon, now available from Discovery Institute Press. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation.

Have you ever read a book wherein both the origin and end of man hang in the balance? That's a rare combination that comes together in a new disaster thriller novel now available from Discovery Institute Press. On this ID The Future, DI Press executive editor and CSC senior fellow Jonathan Witt takes a turn at the hosting mic as he welcomes medical doctor, disaster preparedness expert, and novelist Geoffrey Simmons to discuss his latest book Oppenheimer's Demon. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation.

Today’s episode of ID The Future comes from our sister podcast Mind Matters News, a production of Discovery Institute's Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence.

On this episode of Mind Matters News, guest host Pat Flynn welcomes Dr. Winston Ewert to the show to discuss Ewert’s chapter in the volume Minding the Brain. 

In his contribution, titled “The Human Mind’s Sophisticated Algorithm and Its Implications,” Dr. Ewert argues that the human mind’s problem-solving cognition can be modeled as a sophisticated algorithm. Ewert explains that any cognitive task can be expressed as a version of the halting problem from computer science, where an algorithm either halts or continues infinitely. He suggests that humans are able to solve a large and sophisticated subset of these problems, but are limited in the same way that no algorithm can solve all halting problems. Ewert contends that this algorithmic view of human cognition has implications that challenge reductive materialist and neo-Darwinian views, despite resistance from some thinkers who believe human abilities transcend any algorithm.

There are many books written by intelligent design scientists and scholars that explore the scientific evidence for intelligent design and the debate over evolution. But a new book published by Discovery Institute Press manages to be concerned with “both the origin and the end of man” in the same book! On this ID The Future, distinguished physician, successful novelist, and disaster preparedness expert Geoffrey Simmons is going to read to us a few scenes from his new thriller novel Oppenheimer’s Demon.

Can a blind, evolutionary process account for who we are and why we’re here? Is there anything beyond this life? On this ID The Future, enjoy a conversation with veteran oncologist, author, and speaker Dr. Stephen Iacobini. In this conversation, originally aired on the Ex-Skeptic podcast and hosted by Jana Harmon, Dr. Iacoboni shares his journey from childhood faith to scientific atheism and back to theistic belief. Along the way, he examines the failures of naturalism, the role of science, and the undeniable human longing for meaning that points to something beyond life itself.

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 selected out of the archive, 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.

In 2026, one of the most influential books on science in our lifetime turns 30 years old. It’s Darwin’s Black Box, written by biochemist and professor Michael J. Behe. On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes his conversation with Dr. Behe as we celebrate the milestone, revisit the book’s major insights, and examine its staying power over the last three decades. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. Look for Part 1 in a separate episode.

One of the seminal books of the modern intelligent design movement is Darwin’s Black Box, written by biochemist and professor Michael J. Behe. In 2026, that book turns 30. On this episode of ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid talks to Dr. Behe about the book's impact and the staying power of its arguments. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation.

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 of ID The Future selected from the vault, 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 in a separate episode!

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.