Point of Inquiry

Point of Inquiry Live | Steven Pinker - The Decline of Violence


Listen Later

Note: You can watch this episode on Youtube

Since the horrendous massacre of children and teachers in Newtown, CT last year, gun control and the second amendment have been frequent topics of the national conversation. Point of Inquiry would be remiss if we didn't add our signature long-form interview style to the discussion. To that end, we interviewed Steven Pinker whose recent book suggests that we are, contrary to popular belief, living in the most peaceful time in humanity's existence.

Steven Pinker is professor of psychology at Harvard University. He is the author of eight books, including How the Mind Works, The Blank Slate, The Language Instinct and most recently The Better Angels of our Nature: Why Violence has Declined. He is a two-time Pulitzer-prize finalist, one of Time's 100 Most Influential People and one of Foreign Policy's top 100 Global Thinkers.

Also featured is an interview with Tom Di Liberto, meteorologist at NOAA and winner of the 2013 America's Science Idol contest.

This episode was recorded live at the 2013 AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston and was produced by Adam Isaak. The event was sponsored by the Center for Inquiry and the National Science Foundation.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Point of InquiryBy Center for Inquiry


More shows like Point of Inquiry

View all
Big Picture Science by Big Picture Science

Big Picture Science

938 Listeners

The Atheist Experience by The Atheist Community of Austin

The Atheist Experience

2,372 Listeners

Skeptoid by Brian Dunning

Skeptoid

2,655 Listeners

Skeptics with a K by Skeptic Media Limited

Skeptics with a K

430 Listeners

Rationally Speaking Podcast by New York City Skeptics

Rationally Speaking Podcast

705 Listeners

TheThinkingAtheist by The Thinking Atheist

TheThinkingAtheist

2,837 Listeners

Cognitive Dissonance by Atheist and Skeptical News

Cognitive Dissonance

4,040 Listeners

Dogma Debate by Serious Circus, Inc

Dogma Debate

954 Listeners

Inquiring Minds by Indre Viskontas

Inquiring Minds

825 Listeners

Talk Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria by Cara Santa Maria

Talk Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria

959 Listeners

Friendly Atheist Podcast by Friendly Atheist Podcast

Friendly Atheist Podcast

1,395 Listeners

The Bart Ehrman Blog Podcast by John Mueller, Bart Ehrman Early Christianity Historical Jesus

The Bart Ehrman Blog Podcast

191 Listeners

The Michael Shermer Show by Michael Shermer

The Michael Shermer Show

914 Listeners

Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas by Sean Carroll | Wondery

Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

4,136 Listeners

The Origins Podcast with Lawrence Krauss by Lawrence M. Krauss

The Origins Podcast with Lawrence Krauss

488 Listeners