A podcast for scientific, skeptical, secular, rational and humanistic inquiry.
You’ve got answers? We’ve got questions.
A podcast for scientific, skeptical, secular, rational and humanistic inquiry.
You’ve got answers? We’ve got questions.
Everything you always wanted to know about the solar system* (*but were afraid to ask), with John E. Moores
John E. Moores (X, Bluesky) is a planetary scientist and associate professor at York University. He is a member of the Royal Society of Canada, formerly served as the Science Advisor to the President of the Canadian Space Agency and has contributed to five NASA and ESA-led space missions. He is the co-author of Daydreaming in the Solar System, which imagines a future when visiting other planets is as common as hiking in a national park. The book is also grounded in the latest scientific knowledge about planetary geophysics. In addition to talking about the book, John answers some of Leslie’s pressing questions about the solar system, including: How do planets and moons become tidally locked? Why are most planets in the solar system aligned in a plane? Why are there gaps in Saturn’s rings? Is there life elsewhere in the solar system, or in the universe?
Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Join today! Produced by Zack Dumont, Martin Zielinski, and Leslie Rosenblood. Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodcastforInquiry. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@centreforinquiry.ca.
Podcast for Inquiry’s Amazing Third Year
Podcast for Inquiry’s third year may have been its best yet, with twenty-four regular episodes, one bonus episode, and one of Leslie’s diatribes.
Episodes covered a wide range of topics. Some of my favourites from 2024 can be grouped into four categories:
Philosophy:
- Podcast for Inquiry kicked off 2024 with a thoughtful and insightful conversation with Australian philosopher Russel Blackford. We discussed the philosophical principle of Liberalism and delved into its implications for free speech and toleration.
- If you accept that God has created you for a purpose, then what do atheists have to live for? My conversation with Dr. Ralph Lewis addresses this question directly, as we talk about his book Finding Purpose in a Godless World: Why We Care Even if the Universe Doesn’t.
- I speak with CFIC’s own Mark Maharaj about anti-natalism, the philosophical idea that choosing to have children is an unethical act.
Science:
- For several years, I have been fascinated with whether free will is real or a compelling illusion. I am delighted Podcast for Inquiry dedicated two episodes to the question last year. Dr. Julien Musolino contends that free will (as commonly understood) is scientifically incoherent, but that it’s not a big deal. Kevin Mitchell, on the other hand, argues that evolution gave us — not just humans, but all animals, including amoebae — free will, and speculates about the ramifications for society and its institutions.
- Tangentially related to free will was last year’s final episode, with Paco Calvo, about the possibility of plant intelligence. His research is ongoing; preliminary results are tantalizing but not yet definitive.
- Climate change is a major, but far from the only, threat to human civilization. Professor Katherine Richardson and her team identified nine planetary boundaries which need to be respected if our planet is to remain conducive to human thriving. It remains an open question whether we will choose to do so.
- But if we mess up Earth, we can always go elsewhere, right? Dr. Kelly Weinersmith wanted to know, so she started by reading just about everything ever published on the topic. Then she wrote A City on Mars summarizing what she learned, and talked to me about it.
Religion and Secularism:
- In April 2021, CFIC started publishing its Cost of Religion in Canada report series. Hardly anyone read them. But when Sandra Dunham asked, “Why does Canada give $5.6 billion annually to religious charities?” on Podcast for Inquiry, secularists, atheists, and humanists across Canada took notice.
- It’s not just religious charities that benefit from government largesse. Ontario fully funds a parallel, separate school system at a cost of approximately $10 billion per year. Greg Oliver, president of the Canadian Secular Alliance, debunks many myths and discusses what can be done about public funding for Catholic schools.
- Podcast for Inquiry had a couple guests return for encore performances in 2024. Dr. Josh Bowen revealed what the Bible has to say about slavery and genocide. And Catherine Nixey‘s second appearance was about her book Heresy, the many forms of early Christianity, and what humanity lost with Christianity’s rise.
- Andrew Seidel is the author of The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is un-American. The answer should be obvious, but unfortunately his arguments are more relevant now than ever.
Critical Thinking:
- CFIC often emphasizes the importance of critical thinking, but what is it exactly? Melanie Trecek-King talks about how people can navigate complex subject areas without developing deep expertise, what constitutes good evidence, and more.
- Relatedly, Robin Reames discusses her book The Ancient Art of Thinking for Yourself. Learn why emotions are more compelling persuaders than facts, the power of “alternative”, and the centrality of fear.
- How can we know what is true, when each of us necessarily has an incomplete understanding of reality? Dr. Carolyn Biltoft has thought deeply about this question, and shares her insights.
- Despite it being nearly impossible for humans to comprehend absolute truth (if such a thing even exists), there are some things we know about the universe with a very high degree of confidence. So why is science denial so prevalent in our society? Gale Sinatra explains that we all have biases and are vulnerable to fallacies that can lead to misunderstanding scientific topics.
- Scientific illiteracy can have catastrophic consequences. Kat Mac trusted her alternative health provider, and taking the recommended herbal supplements nearly killed her.
Podcast for Inquiry’s 2025 season is already underway, with episodes about Canada’s ongoing discrimination against its Indigenous population, and growing up in Canada within an observant Muslim household, already released. There will be many more conversations exemplifying the spirit of genuine open inquiry every two weeks as Podcast for Inquiry continues into its fourth year.
Gaia Vince identifies the four horsemen of the Anthropocene
Gaia Vince (@wanderinggaia) is an award-winning science writer and author. She is particularly interested in the interaction between human systems and Earth’s planetary systems. Her research has taken her around the world. Gaia’s latest book is Nomad Century: How Climate Migration Will Reshape Our World. We are already at 1.6 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures, with significantly more to come. The four horsemen of the anthropocene – fire, heat, drought, and flood – will lead human migration on an unprecedented scale. Gaia describes what we must do, individually and collectively, to prepare.
Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Join today! Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodcastforInquiry. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@centreforinquiry.ca.
Canada has not reconciled with its Indigenous peoples, say Maureen Bulbrook and Christina Ninham
Maureen Bulbrook and Christina Ninham are Indigenous lawyers who know from direct experience that Canada has never stopped discriminating against its First Nations people, from the Doctrine of Discovery at the time of contact to current day (with Prime Minister Harper arguing that residential school records should be destroyed even as he apologized for Canada’s treatment of Indigenous peoples and Prime Minister Trudeau failing to deliver on his promise of clean drinking water in all Indigenous communities). Canada passed a law in November 2024 banning forced sterilization because of the ongoing commonplace practice of doing so to primarily Indigenous women.
For reliable information about First Nations people, visit:
-
Canadian government websites
-
First Nations community websites
-
APTN https://www.aptn.ca/
- Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women final report
Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Join today! Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodcastforInquiry. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@centreforinquiry.ca.
Paco Calvo considers the possibility of plant intelligence
Paco’s thesis is a provocative one: plants are, in a meaningful sense, intelligent. Paco discusses what intelligence is, and how we might recognize it in other beings. People used to believe that only humans are intelligent. Over time, other mammals were deemed to also think and feel. Today, most people grant that many animals, such as birds and octopi, exhibit intelligent behaviours. Paco extends this to plants by detailing what science has to say – both theoretically and empirically – about the hypothesis of plant intelligence. The conversation concludes with some thoughts about the moral and philosophical implications if plants are found to be truly intelligent.
Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodcastforInquiry. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@centreforinquiry.ca.
Heresy: Jesus Christ and the Other Sons of God, with Catherine Nixey
Why do scholars now refer to early Christianities instead of early Christianity? How has the meaning of the word “Heresy” changed from its original definition to taking on its current connotations? Why did Christianity grow from a fringe cult with few followers and disdained by the intelligentsia and people in power to becoming the largest religion in the world today? What did humanity lose with Christianity’s rise?
Catherine Nixey answers all these questions and more as she discusses her new book, Heresy, on Podcast for Inquiry.
Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodcastforInquiry. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@centreforinquiry.ca.