Mike's Multiverse

This week Science Mike talks about memories of his friendship with Rachel Held Evans. Rachel passed away on May 4, 2019, and left a changed world in her wake.

How Rachel Held Evans really should be remembered by Sarah Bessey and Jeff Chu

Our Rachel by Austin Channing Brown

This week we covered these questions on Ask Science Mike:

Is there a way to escape the current monopolized control of "algorithms" when it comes to how we find and perceive information?

Fake News & Media Literacy

How can I be more gracious to my wife during my faith transition?

Finding God in the Waves

Does the "no platforming" movement against the alt-right set ourselves up for failure if the tables ever get turned?

What are the most effective ways to implement a carbon tax?

Canada passed a carbon tax that will give most Canadians more money

This episode was sponsored by KiwiCo. Give your kids the gift of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math for FREE. Details at https://kiwico.com/science

This week Science Mike talks with his friend Christy Neal about what it’s like to live with a brain injury.

Christy Neal is a stay-at-home mom and former homeschool mom of 10 years. She enjoys entertaining, organizing, gardening, long walks with friends and all things pizza related.

Christy lives in Los Angeles with her 3 children and husband of almost 19 years.

For the next three weeks, Hillary McBride is answering your questions about mental health. Hillary McBride is a therapist and researcher, and one of Science Mike's best friends. Her book Mothers, Daughters, and Body Image: Learning to Love Ourselves as We Are has helped women all over the world learn to love their bodies and heal from past hurts. She's also a co-host of The Liturgists Podcast.

This episode is sponsored by Kiwi Co. Give your kids the opportunity to explore STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) in a way that's fun and engaging with a subscription--your first box is free if you use this link: http://kiwico.com/science

In this second of three episodes, Hillary McBride is answering your questions about mental health. Hillary McBride is a therapist and researcher, and one of Science Mike's best friends. Her book Mothers, Daughters, and Body Image: Learning to Love Ourselves as We Are has helped women all over the world learn to love their bodies and heal from past hurts. She's also a co-host of The Liturgists Podcast.

For the next three weeks, Hillary McBride is answering your questions about mental health. Hillary McBride is a therapist and researcher, and one of Science Mike's best friends. Her book Mothers, Daughters, and Body Image: Learning to Love Ourselves as We Are has helped women all over the world learn to love their bodies and heal from past hurts. She's also a co-host of The Liturgists Podcast.

This episode is sponsored by Kiwi Co. Give your kids the opportunity to explore STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) in a way that's fun and engaging with a subscription--your first box is free if you use this link: http://kiwico.com/science

This week is a Patron special--every question was submitted by the Ask Science Mike Patreon community. If you'd like to join us, click here.

Here's the questions from this week's show, plus additional resources.

You've expressed belief in a God that is the ground of all being, Einstein's God, a reductionist left-hemisphere God. You've also expressed belief in a God of mysticism and subjective experience, a God of feeling and intuition, a holistic right-hemisphere God. Do you ever feel the need to bridge the gap between these two Gods? Can you say they are the same, or do we need a God for each cerebral hemisphere?

Finding God in the Waves

Hey Mike, I have a question for you. I'd love to know if there is a physiological link between grief and an increased sex drive? I can see that sex can be a temporary escape from pain, or a release of tension. And that the loneliness of grief could prompt a desire to connect physically with someone else. But is there anything science can shed light on, to further explain an increased sex drive at times of significant pain and loss, and whether its a coping mechanism or a way of the body seeking to heal? It seems incongruous in part. Asking for a friend...! Huge love to you. Come back to London soon X

5 Things They Don't Tell You About Grief

Can you talk about quantum teleportation? What has been demonstrated and what is theoretical sci-fi?

Quantum teleportation is real, but it's not what you think

How do you interact with friends or family members who are conservative fundamentalists and lovingly concerned that you are "sinning" by reading the Bible differently than they do? It's frustrating when they continue to want to discuss hot-button topics like homosexuality—never as a method of understanding my perspective, but instead with the purpose of changing my mind and helping me understand the "truth.”

Hi Mike! I asked this one a couple Thanksgivings ago when you answered all the patreon questions, but it was never on the show—perhaps it got lost in the patreon comment vortex. I'm curious how you, as a married enneagram 9, maintain your own identity? I'm 43, and have never been able to have a romantic relationship in which I didn't lose myself (I'm an introverted 9w1 sexual variant) (neutral good, haha), so I've shied away from them to maintain a sense of self. It seems to me like I might like to have a long-term partnership or marriage someday, so I'm curious what steps you take to keep your identity separate from Jenny & the girls. I've been in talk therapy, done programs, attended seminars, etc—but I tend to keep all interpersonal relationships at arm's length because I feel chaotic and like I can't find myself in the noisy din of other people's presence. Any advice from your experience would be appreciated. Peace, love, and entropy!

Why don't organisms with the shortest reproductive cycles rule the world? It seems to me that simple organisms with rapid reproduction should evolve more quickly than more complex organisms with longer lifespans. If that's the case, shouldn't those species have a wider range of adaptations to "select" from for suitability to their environments, giving them a serious evolutionary advantage over those of us that don't breed like rabbits? In other words, why isn't mosquitoes' ability to dodge evolving faster than my ability to swat them? (Sorry if this is Natural Selection 101 - my "Christian" education sadly excluded that course from its science curriculum).

This week is a special episode discussion science literacy in our society.

Here's a few resources mentioned in this episode.

Last Week Tonight on Psychics

Everything wrong with the young blood injection craze (The Verge)

Behind the Curve (Netflix)

Science Mike's Five Ingredients of an Anti-Science Worldview

This week, Science Mike talks to Michael Gungor about his new podcast, THIS, as well as his upcoming book, also called THIS.

Here’s the questions we covered on this episode (as well as helpful links to resources):

I am an affirming straight man with a Christian non-affirming friend who is gay. How do I have a conversation with him that helps take away the shame he feels because of his same sex attraction?

The Reformation Project

What should Christians make of the similarities between Jesus and other ancient religious figures like Mithra, Krishna, Dionysus, and Horus?

Jesus in comparative mythology

Is there any reason to believe that God is loving other than the Bible and personal experience?

Finding God in the Waves

How often do people recover from chronic depression?

Managing Chronic Depression