Point of Inquiry

This week we welcome Bangladeshi atheist blogger and social activist, Asif Mohiuddin, for a special episode of Point of Inquiry, recorded before a live audience at the Center for Inquiry’s Reason for Change conference. His is a harrowing and deeply inspiring story of courage.

Mohiuddin is among the many secularist bloggers in Bnagladesh who have been targeted for death by Islamic extremists, and several attempts have been made on his life. (He was a friend and colleague of Avijit Roy, who was murdered when he visited Dhaka in February.) Rather than provide him protection from those trying kill him, the government of Bangladesh threw Mohiuddin in jail without trial for blasphemy, where he was kept in the same cell as his attackers, and was routinely threatened with death by other prisoners. Now free, but always wary of ongoing threats to his life, Mohiuddin is unwavering in his efforts bring secularism and equality to Bangladesh.

Prepare to be amazed by his willingness to bridge divides, and his ability to make connections with those so violently opposed to him.

This week, Point of Inquiry welcomes Richard Dawkins for a special episode recorded before a live audience at the Center for Inquiry’s Reason for Change conference in Buffalo, New York on June 13, 2015. Dawkins is easily one of the world’s most influential and controversial scientists; a pioneer in evolutionary biology, science communication, and the public visibility of atheists. He is the author of several bestselling books including The Selfish Gene, The God Delusion, and Unweaving the Rainbow, and he is founder of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science.

Dawkins is joined by Point of Inquiry host Josh Zepps, discusses how he found his love for science and evolution, the importance of secular values, and how we can inspire people to appreciate and embrace science. It’s not all serious and lofty, of course, as Dawkins cops to being “pretty condescending and bossy,” and displays his remarkable proficiency with an outlandish American accent.

Dawkins, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award from CFI at this conference, brings the audience to its feet with his wit and insight.

Celebrities have always played an oversized role in our culture, and there’s nothing new about them using their star power to endorse ideas or products. But we now live in a time in which mass media consumption is greater than ever before, and the celebrities we revere are now at our fingertips, often only tweet away. This constant bombardment of celebrity culture is proving to have a greater impact on how we live our lives than we may even realize. Even if you aim to ignore celebrity endorsement, the ripple effects in our hyper-connected world are often unavoidable.

This week on Point of inquiry, Lindsay Beyerstein chats with Tim Caulfield, law professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta, as well as the Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy. Caulfield is here to discuss his newest public health book, Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?: When Celebrity Culture and Science Clash. Caulfield’s research provides new insight into just how much of our well-being is at the mercy of our favorite stars.

Opponents of abortion have been largely successful in wielding the First Amendment in their fight to protest abortion providers and patients, and according to this week’s guest, this freedom has too often resulted in the terrorization and harassment of providers who are forced to live each day fearing for their lives. Few realize just how dangerous it is to be a doctor who preforms abortion procedures, who often feel that they have no choice but to wear bulletproof vests or carry a firearm for protection.

David Cohen is associate professor at the Drexel University of Law and co-author of Living in the Crosshairs: The Untold Stories of Anti-Abortion Terrorism, co-authored with Krysten Connon. They interviewed abortion providers across the country about what they deal with on a day to day basis. Talking with host Lindsay Beyerstein, Cohen brings the insight he’s gained as to how exactly we should be responding to anti-abortion terrorism, and the need to protect the lives of health care providers as much as we protect freedom of speech.

Religion is a very comforting aspect of many people’s lives, providing a community of like-minded individuals, as well as more than a little nostalgia. But even within the same faith groups, one can almost always find tension over theological technicalities.

This week on Point of Inquiry, Jeff Rasely, author of Godless: Living a Valuable Life Beyond Belief, talks about how beliefs tend to leave people divided, whereas secular values unite. Rasely spent 25 years of his life as a dedicated member of the Presbyterian Church, and even studied to become a minister. As comforting as religious belief can be, Rasley learned through his rich experiences that belief also often divides and isolates people who would otherwise find common ground, if they only embraced their shared values instead of contentious religious commandments.

This week on Point of Inquiry, Lindsay Beyerstein is joined by renowned journalist Michael Specter, a staff writer for The New Yorker, to talk about the subject of his award-winning story, “Against the Grain: Should You Go Gluten-Free?”

The trend of gluten-rejection is growing despite the fact that foregoing gluten has zero health benefits, unless you’re among the 1% of the population with celiac disease. Specter explains how the misinformation about gluten has gotten to this point, and what a health diets should actually look like.

Michael Specter will also be speaking at CFI’s Reason for Change conference June 11-15 in Buffalo, New York. If you’d like to see Michael Specter and Lindsay Beyerstein in person, make sure you go to ReasonforChange.org to register today!

Ex Machina, a new film that tells the story of a billionaire programmer who creates an artificially intelligent female robot, is in theaters now, and its writer and director, Alex Garland, is our special guest on Point of Inquiry this week. Although this is Garland's debut as a director he has also written hit novels such as The Beach as well as written and produced screen plays such as 28 Days Later.

As the power of computers and the software that runs them rapidly advances year by year, the representation of artificial intelligence in sci-fi films like Ex Machina are inching closer and closer to reality. Josh Zepps talks to Garland about the science and philosophy behind consciousness, the future of self-aware machines, and the ethical considerations we’ve barely begun to ponder.

When over one-third of American adults are obese, it’s no wonder that our culture is deluged with fad diets and alleged miracle supplements. Everyone is looking for the easiest way to obtain and maintain health but it’s no small task in the midst of a whirlwind of conflicting information. And what the heck is a calorie anyway? It may be that the easiest fix is to look at what science tells us about the kinds of foods best fuel our bodies.

This week on Point of Inquiry, Lindsay Beyerstein takes a closer look at what science tells us about our diets as she talks with nutritionist and author of Why Calories Count, Marion Nestle. She's the Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University and works extensively to research and educate what our bodies do and don’t need to work their best.

There are dozens of bestselling books on spirituality for teens (and many more not on the bestseller list), and many books on atheism as well. But, surprisingly, books about atheism and agnosticism specifically for young people are rare indeed. David Seidman was perplexed by this lack of material for teenagers questioning faith, and that led him to write What If I'm an Atheist? A Teen's Guide to Exploring a Life Without Religion.

In his conversation with Point of Inquiry’s Lindsay Beyerstein, Seidman discusses several techniques for young nonbelievers as to how best to come out to religious parents, and has advice on such things as dating and fitting into peer groups — all of which are all the more difficult when identifying with a minority belief. Teenagers are rebuilding their identities as adults and losing faith can be isolating and traumatic, making the need for this book long over due.

Peter Singer has revolutionized the way we think about morals and values. He’s lead the way in providing evidence for some of the toughest moral controversies such as animal rights, abortion, and wealth inequality. Singer’s newest book is entitled The Most Good You Can Do, and it's an exploration of the philosophical movement known as effective altruism; the desire to make the world its best possible version using reason and evidence.

This week on Point of Inquiry, Singer discusses how opinion and fact are not mutually exclusive, and how effective altruism uses science-based evidence and critical thinking to uncover moral facts and open a dialogue about what values are objectively going to benefit us the most.