Point of Inquiry
Episodes
Eugene Burger - Magic and Mystery
12 Jan 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Eugene Burger, "universally recognized as perhaps the finest close-up magician in the world," (Stagebill magazine) has written fifteen best-selling bo...
Ann Druyan - Carl Sagan and The Varieties of Scientific Experience
06 Jan 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Ann Druyan is an author, public lecturer, and TV and movie writer and producer whose work focuses on the worldview of science. She is the widow of Car...
R. Joseph Hoffmann - The Scientific Study of Religion
29 Dec 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Hoffmann, formally at Oxford, is director of Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion (CSER). He has appeared widely in the media and ...
Tom Flynn - The Real War on Christmas
22 Dec 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Tom Flynn is the Editor of Free Inquiry magazine. A journalist, novelist, entertainer, and folklorist, Flynn is the author of numerous articles for Fr...
Susan Blackmore - In Search of the Light
15 Dec 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Sue Blackmore is a psychologist and writer whose research on consciousness, memes, and the paranormal has been published in over sixty academic papers...
Paul Kurtz - What is the Point of Inquiry
08 Dec 2006
Contributed by Lukas
In this special episode of Point of Inquiry, Paul Kurtz joins D.J. Grothe for an overview of CFI's mission and challenges. Kurtz is founder and chair ...
Barry Kosmin - The Scientific Study of Secularism
02 Dec 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Barry Kosmin is a sociologist, and is research professor in public policy and law at Trinity College. He is co-author of One Nation Under God and auth...
Norm Allen - Science, Humanism, and the Black Community
24 Nov 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Norm Allen is executive director of African Americans for Humanism, an educational organization primarily concerned with fostering critical thinking, ...
Michelle Goldberg - Kingdom Coming
18 Nov 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Michelle Goldberg is a freelance writer who has reported from all over the United States, as well as from Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Israel and the West Ban...
Richard Wiseman - Theatre of Science
10 Nov 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman started his working life as a professional magician and currently holds Britain's only Professorship in the Pub...
Chris Mooney - Science, Politics, and the Midterm Election
04 Nov 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Chris Mooney is an acclaimed writer about subjects at intersection of science and politics. His writing has appeared in Wired, New Scientist, Free Inq...
The CFI 10th Annual Houdini Seance - Halloween 2006
01 Nov 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Harry Houdini, the world-famous magician and escape artist, earnestly explored the religion of spiritualism and communication with the dead after his ...
Salman Rushdie - Secular Values, Human Rights and Islamism
28 Oct 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Salman Rushdie is a British-Indian essayist and novelist widely acclaimed for his narrative style that blends myth and fantasy with real life. He has ...
Jill Tarter - Are We Alone?
21 Oct 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Jill Tarter holds the Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, CA where she...
Richard Dawkins - The God Delusion
16 Oct 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Richard Dawkins, considered one of the world's most influential scientists, is the first holder of the Charles Simonyi professorship of the public und...
Sam Harris - Letter to a Christian Nation
07 Oct 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris is the author of the New York Times best-seller The End of Faith: Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason. He is a graduate in philosophy...
Robert M. Price - The Reason Driven Life
29 Sep 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Robert M. Price is professor of theology and scriptural studies at Coleman Theological Seminary and professor of Biblical Criticism at the Center for ...
Michael Shermer - Why Darwin Matters
22 Sep 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Shermer is one of the most well-known skeptics in America. He is a contributing editor and monthly columnist for Scientific American, and is t...
Ann Druyan - Science, Wonder, and Spirituality
15 Sep 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Ann Druyan is a renowned author, lecturer, and television and motion picture writer/producer whose work mostly explores the implications of science an...
Paul Kurtz - World War and World Religions
08 Sep 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Paul Kurtz is founder and chair of the Center for Inquiry and a number of other organizations. A Fellow of the American Association for the Advancemen...
Amy-Jill Levine - Who Was Jesus of Nazareth
01 Sep 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Amy-Jill Levine is E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of New Testament Studies at Vanderbilt University Divinity School, where she also holds ...
Joe Nickell - Ancient Astronauts and the Nazca Lines
26 Aug 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Nickell, Senior Research Fellow for CSICOP, is considered the world's leading paranormal investigator. A former professional stage magician and pr...
Neil deGrasse Tyson - The Sky Is Not the Limit
18 Aug 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Neil deGrasse Tyson, one of America's superstars of science, focuses his research on star formation, exploding stars, dwarf galaxies, and the structur...
Eugene Straus, M.D. - Medical Marvels, Compassion, and Skepticism
11 Aug 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Eugene Straus, M.D., is Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the State University of New York Downstate College of Medicine. He's also served as a senior...
Bill Cooke - Is Scientific Humanism Anti-Religious?
04 Aug 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Bill Cooke, former international director for the Center for Inquiry, is a senior lecturer at the School of Visual Arts at University of Auckland at M...
Derek Araujo - A Decade of Campus Freethought Activism
28 Jul 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Derek Araujo was one of the founders and the first student president of the Campus Freethought Alliance in 1996. At the time he was attending Harvard ...
Barry Beyerstein - The Sins of Big Pharma
22 Jul 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Barry Beyerstein is Professor of Psychology and a member of the Brain Behaviour Laboratory at Simon Fraser University. His research has involved many ...
Thomas Kida - Dont Believe Everything You Think
15 Jul 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Thomas Kida is a professor in the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the author of many articles on decis...
Paul Kurtz - The Courage to Become
08 Jul 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Paul Kurtz, considered the father of the secular humanist movement and a founder of the worldwide skeptic movement, is Professor Emeritus of Philosoph...
James Randi - Science, Magic, and Future of Skepticism
30 Jun 2006
Contributed by Lukas
James "The Amazing" Randi is a world-renowned magician, skeptic and investigator of paranormal claims. He has been a central figure in the development...
Tom Flynn - The Rise of the Non-Religious
23 Jun 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Tom Flynn is the Editor of Free Inquiry magazine. A journalist, novelist, entertainer, and folklorist, Flynn is the author of numerous articles for Fr...
Jerry Coyne - The Case Against Intelligent Design
16 Jun 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Jerry Coyne is a professor in the department of ecology and evolution at the University of Chicago, where he works on diverse areas of evolutionary ge...
Cathleen Falsani - The God Factor
09 Jun 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Cathleen Falsani is the religion reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, where she has covered spirituality and popular culture from Vatican City, Ireland...
Joe Nickell - Psychic Detectives
03 Jun 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Nickell, Senior Research Fellow for CSICOP, is considered the world's leading paranormal investigator. A former professional stage magician and pr...
R. Joseph Hoffmann - Examining The Da Vinci Code
26 May 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Hoffmann is Campbell Professor of Religion and Human Values at Wells College, New York and chair of the Committee for the Scientific Examination o...
Matt Nisbet - Framing Science
20 May 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Matt Nisbet is assistant professor in the school of communication at the Ohio State University. He focuses on the intersections between science, media...
Paul Kurtz - Science and Planetary Ethics
12 May 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Paul Kurtz, considered the father of the secular humanist movement and a founder of the worldwide skeptic movement, is Professor Emeritus of Philosoph...
Edward Tabash - True Meaning of Church/State Separation
05 May 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Edward Tabash is a constitutional and civil rights lawyer in Beverly Hills, California. Graduating magna cum laude from UCLA in 1973, he graduated fro...
Eugenie Scott - Evolution vs. Religious Belief?
29 Apr 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Eugenie Scott, a physical anthropologist, has been the director of the National Center for Science Education for nearly 20 years. A former president o...
Bill Nye - Changing The World With Science Education
21 Apr 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Bill Nye is one of America's leading popularizers of the scientific outlook. As a scientist, engineer, comedian, author, and inventor, he hosted Bill...
Sam Harris - The Mortal Dangers of Religion
14 Apr 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris is the author of the New York Times bestseller The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason. Mr. Harris is a graduate in ph...
Sam Harris - The End of Faith
07 Apr 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris is the author of the New York Times bestseller The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason. Mr. Harris is a graduate in ph...
Herbert Hauptman - The Joy of Science
31 Mar 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Herbert Hauptman is winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for pioneering a mathematical model for determining the molecular structures of crystallize...
Jamy Ian Swiss - Psychics, Science, and Magic
24 Mar 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Jamy Ian Swiss is universally considered one of the world's top sleight of hand performers, famous to magicians for his subtlety, skill and depth of u...
Susan Jacoby - American Freethought Heritage
17 Mar 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Susan Jacoby is the author of Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism, now in its tenth hardcover printing and recently published in paperback....
Paul Kurtz - Skepticism of the Third Kind
11 Mar 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Paul Kurtz, considered the father of the secular humanist movement and a founder of the worldwide skeptic movement, is Professor Emeritus of Philosoph...
Daniel Dennett - Breaking the Spell
03 Mar 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel Dennett, the author of such groundbreaking and influential books as Consciousness Explained and Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Mean...
Dr. Wallace Sampson - Science Meets Alternative Medicine
25 Feb 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Wallace Sampson serves as editor of The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine and is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Counci...
Joe Nickell - Aliens and Abductions
18 Feb 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Nickell, Senior Research Fellow for CSICOP, is considered the world's leading paranormal investigator. A former professional stage magician and pr...
Richard Dawkins - The Root of All Evil?
11 Feb 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Richard Dawkins is professor of the public understanding of science at Oxford University. The recipient of a number of awards for his writing on scien...
Marci Hamilton - Religion and the Rule of Law
04 Feb 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Marci Hamilton is a distinguished constitutional law professor at Cordozo School of Law and is the author of the critically acclaimed book God vs. The...
Chris Mooney - The Republican War on Science
28 Jan 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Chris Mooney, a Washington correspondent for Seed magazine, a senior correspondent for the American Prospect, and a columnist for Skeptical Inquirer m...
Eugenie Scott - The Dover Trial: Evolution vs. Intelligent Design
20 Jan 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Eugenie Scott, a physical anthropologist, has been the director of the National Center for Science Education for nearly 20 years. A former president o...
Max Maven - Magic and Skepticism
13 Jan 2006
Contributed by Lukas
The great movie director Orson Welles wrote that Max Maven has "the most creative mind in magic." The New York Times observed that his "category-defyi...
Ibn Warraq - Why I Am Not a Muslim
06 Jan 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Ibn Warraq is the author of a number of books, including Why I Am Not A Muslim, considered among the most important critical looks at the negative asp...
Susan Jacoby - The History of American Secularism
31 Dec 2005
Contributed by Lukas
Susan Jacoby is the author of Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism, now in its tenth hardcover printing and recently published in paperback....
Andrew Skolnick - The Dangers of Alternative Medicine
23 Dec 2005
Contributed by Lukas
Andrew Skolnick, Executive Director of the Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health, is a nationally renowned science journalist who has w...
Joe Nickell - Skeptical Inquiry vs. Debunking
16 Dec 2005
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Nickell, Senior Research Fellow for CSICOP, is considered the world's leading paranormal investigator. A former professional stage magician and pr...
Paul Kurtz - Science and Religion: Are They Compatible?
11 Dec 2005
Contributed by Lukas
Paul Kurtz, considered the father of the modern secular humanist movement, is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at ...