Intelligent Design the Future

It's the book that helped launch the biochemical challenge to Darwinian evolution. It has been hailed as one of the most influential books on science in our lifetime. And this year, it celebrates thirty years in print! On today's ID the Future, host Andrew McDiarmid invites you to join him as he reads selections from Darwin's Black Box, authored by biochemist Michael J. Behe. And don't miss Andrew's two-part conversation with Behe about the impact of the book. Look for that in separate episodes of ID The Future.

On this episode of ID The Future from our archive, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes astrophysicist Guillermo Gonzalez back to the program to read and discuss his poem "Totality: A Celestial Theater," written to commemorate the total solar eclipse that occurred in April 2024. You may already be familiar with Gonzalez's popular book The Privileged Planet, co-authored with Dr. Jay Richards, unpacking the arguments for our privileged place in the cosmos. You might also have heard about his new young adult novel The Farm at the Center of the Universe, co-written with Dr. Jonathan Witt. But you likely didn't know this accomplished scientist and author is also a poet! Listen as Gonzalez discusses and then reads his poem aloud.

Does invoking aliens to explain the origin of life on Earth solve the problem of biological information, or does it simply kick the can down the road? On this ID The Future, enjoy the second half of a conversation with geologist Dr. Casey Luskin and his wife, science educator Kristin Marais, as they discuss intelligent design, evolution, and alien life with host Daniel Ray on the Apologetics Profile podcast.

In Part 2, the conversation shifts from the theoretical framework of intelligent design to the physical and biological hurdles that challenge both Darwinian evolution and the search for extraterrestrial life. Dr. Luskin also discusses the professional risks and academic pressures faced by scientists who dare to suggest that the design evident in nature may be actual design from an actual designer. The conversation wraps with a surprising conclusion: that the possible future discovery of alien life would actually be the ultimate disproof of Darwinism, pointing instead to a common design blueprint shared across the cosmos.

If alien life were to be discovered elsewhere in the cosmos, would it be evidence of intelligent design or blind evolutionary forces? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid brings you the first half of a recent conversation with geologist Dr. Casey Luskin and his wife, science teacher Kristin Marais, that originally aired on the Apologetics Profile podcast. The conversation explores the scientific theory of intelligent design, and in particular, the intuitive ways we recognize patterns in life, from forensic science to archaeology. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. We're grateful to the producer of Apologetics Profile for permission to share this conversation at ID The Future.

Seven years ago, Yale University professor of computer science David Gelernter wrote that he was bidding farewell to neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory. Why would he take such a bold step? What convinced him that the neo-Darwinian paradigm no longer satisfied the scientific evidence? On this classic ID The Future out of the vault, host Andrew McDiarmid reads Gelernter's important essay in full.

Is it possible to integrate the evidence for intelligent design into full-length high school biology and chemistry courses? Of course! Are such courses currently available to homeschool students? Absolutely! Discovery Institute Academy offers innovative online science courses for homeschool students taught from the perspective that nature reflects intelligent design. On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes the instructors of DI Academy’s biology and chemistry courses, Kristin Marais and Summer Edwards, to give us a fresh look at this year’s classes.

Is there clear and present scientific evidence that life and the universe were purposefully designed? On this ID The Future, we highlight Dr. Stephen Meyer's recent conversation with Piers Morgan on Piers Morgan Uncensored. This is Dr. Meyer's second interview with Morgan. Last time, he talked about scientific evidence for the existence of God. This time, he explores science, faith, and the very origins of the cosmos with Piers. Meyer unpacks some of the evidence explored in the new documentary film The Story of Everything. From the digital code embedded in our DNA to the precise fine-tuning of the universe, Meyer argues that the most “common sense” explanation for our existence isn’t blind, purposeless processes – it’s intentional design.

We're grateful to the producer of Piers Morgan Uncensored for permission to share this conversation on ID The Future.

Today's episode of ID The Future comes from our sister podcast Mind Matters News.

The age of AI is upon us and is already changing the way we conduct our lives. What is the optimal division of tasks between humans and machines? On this episode of Mind Matters News, host Robert J. Marks welcomes psychologist Dr. Joe McDonald to the podcast to explore the relationship between cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence (AI).

If theistic evolution doesn’t work, and Darwinian evolution is scientifically inadequate, what alternative framework better explains the origin of life and the universe? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes his two-part conversation with Father Michal Chaberek and Steve Greene, authors of a new book called Creation or Evolution? A Catholic Dilemma.

In Part 1, the discussion centered on why evolution became a dilemma for many Catholics. Part 2 explores the obvious follow-up questions: what does modern science actually reveal? Does the evolutionary story satisfy the evidence? And if not, what is the more adequate explanation? Fr. Chaberek and Greene review just a few of the many lines of scientific evidence suggesting that a Darwinian process in wholly incapable of producing life as we know it.

To reconcile faith and science, is it enough to say God could have used evolution? Many Christians are attracted to this idea, and it is now treated as the quasi-official Catholic position. But can this view, known as theistic evolution, really harmonize Scripture, theology, and modern science? Or is there a better approach?

On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid begins a two-part conversation with Father Michal Chaberek and Steve Greene, authors of a new book called Creation or Evolution? A Catholic Dilemma.

This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation.