The Catholic Scientist

Dr. Kenneth Kemp, an emeritus professor of philosophy at the University of St. Thomas, discusses human evolution in light of the first Papal encyclical to discuss human evolution, Humani generis. He also gives an overview of his most recent book, The Origins of Catholic Evolutionism, 1831–1950 (CUA Press), which details how the Church engaged with evolutionary thought in the 19th and early 20th century.

In the second of two episodes, Dr. Jonathan Lunine, Chief Scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, discusses the possibility of life existing elsewhere in the solar system and how scientists are able to get data from various NASA missions to address this question. Dr. Lunine is a member of the NationalAcademy of Sciences and is one of the founding board members of the Society of Catholic Scientists.

Dr. Jonathan Lunine, Chief Scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, discusses his career in planetary science as well as his faith journey as a scientist. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and is one of the founding board members of the Society of Catholic Scientists.

In this episode we bring you a talk Ross Douthat delivered at the Society of Catholic Scientists' 2025 Annual Conference. In the talk, Douthat discusses his latest book, Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious (Zondervan), and the arguments for why our experience of reality is more parsimoniously explained from a theist perspective than from an atheistic or materialistic perspective. He discusses the cultural moment we find ourselves in, one in which many people, particularly young people, are open to exploring religious belief. Enjoy.

Here is a link to Ross Douthat's book: Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious.

Dr. Stephen Barr shares the story behind the foundation of the Society of Catholic Scientists. Dr. Barr, the President of the Society of Catholic Scientists, discusses how he became interested in the relationship between science and the Catholic faith and why he felt compelled to work with other Catholic scientists to launch the Society in 2016.

Further information on the Society and the work it does can be found here. https://catholicscientists.org/

If you are interested in Dr. Barr's work in Science and Faith, a link to his book, Modern Physics and Ancient Faith can be found here.