Science Programs on Radio, TV and Internet

Ah! Vintage Sam Harris!For those who might be interested, his two books are The End of Faith and Letters to a Christian Nation. The second is a sequel to the first.--Percy

I am currently on session 6, many of the talks have been excellent. Susan Neimans speach had a moment that particularily sparked some thought in me - and possibility of future debate. I must give my thanks for pointing out these videos. They will prove to be a great resourse as I begin to look up the science, history, and philosophy that the speakers brought up in the discussions.

Did you see the little exchange where Sam Harris was questioned about reincarnation?He basically dodged the question and made it seem that he was less than fully skeptical that reincarnation is real. While I don't think this invalidates some of the very interesting things he has said throught the talks it did seem to make him appear a bit of a hypocrit.

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Of course, biblical creationists are committed to belief in God's written Word, the Bible, which forbids bearing false witness; --AIG (lest they forget)

downloadable after about 2 pm EST Saturday from
Home | Quirks & Quarks with Bob McDonald | CBC Radio"What will the Earth look like in 250,000,007 AD?"Are you thinking of travelling to Australia, but are balking at the length of the flight? Well, good news is at hand, because Australia is getting closer to us every year. In fact, given enough time, you'll be able to drive there. Of course, that amount of time is two-hundred-and-fifty million years, but on a geological scale that isn't too long. Figuring out what's going to happen to our planet that far in the future is called geo-forecasting, and it's a serious scientific discipline, complete with differing theories, and competing camps. We'll provide you with a long term forecast for the planet, this weekend on the show.Plus - How to find a particle that's never been seen? Elementary, dear Higgs.Al this and more on Quirks & Quarks, Saturday right after the noon news on Radio One, or anytime on our web page.

see Home | Quirks & Quarks with Bob McDonald | CBC Radio on Saturday for download and detailed contents.This Week on Quirks & Quarks we ask:"Are You In There?"It’s a fate you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy: to be entombed in your own paralysed body, unable to speak or move a muscle - and yet completely aware of what’s going on around you. Locked-in Syndrome is an extremely rare neurological condition that condemns patients to a life sentence in their own bodies. From the outside, it’s hard to tell if someone is locked-in or whether they’re in a vegetative state - unaware of the world around them. However, researchers have begun to develop new ways of testing patients’ brains in order to “read the minds” of people who can’t otherwise communicate. The techniques researchers are using to help locked-in patients communicate are also helping scientists finally get a toehold on the holy grail of brain science: just how the brain goes about creating consciousness.Plus - seahorse sex: when daddy gets pregnant.

I just finally finished listening to the Stuart Hameroff presentation on quantum consciousness last night, the first talk of Session 4 of the conference. He seemed to be saying that the Platonic qualities of human beings are embedded in the fabric of the universe, and seemed to be claiming to have demonstrated this to some degree. It took me forever to get through it. It literally put me to sleep several times, not because it was boring, but because I just couldn't believe a word of it or connect any of it to anything I thought I understood. I stuck with it because what came before at this conference was of such high quality that I believed that this must be of the same high quality, and that perhaps in the discussion afterwards I would start to get it.But at the conclusion of the talk when Hameroff asked for questions the audience seemed stunned into silence, and session leader Roger Bingham came down and said, "I think there probably will be questions on that, you seem to have enraged just about everybody."
And the first question was from Lawrence Krauss, the physicist who wrote The Science of Star Trek: Hameroff mounted a spirited and detailed response to all skeptical questions (the only type that were asked, as it happened), and if he had converts in the audience they were silent.To me Hameroff's work is what happens when you build theories disconnected from evidence. He mentioned that he had to catch a plane immediately after his talk, and it's a shame he won't be around to respond to the many remarks about his approach that are bound to be made throughout the rest of the conference.--Percy

That was a pretty interesting interchange. I thought it was weird that he kept saying, "... the neural computationalists can't explain ...blah blah blah...." almost like it was some kind of weird sect battle and not actually science at all.So you haven't actually gotten then to the section with Sam Harris talking about reincarnation?

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Of course, biblical creationists are committed to belief in God's written Word, the Bible, which forbids bearing false witness; --AIG (lest they forget)

Extremely entertaining series of short videos: In an interview at TAM (The Amazing Meeting, JREF - Home) with Swoopy of Skepticality fame (Skepticality - The Official Podcast of Skeptic Magazine), Brain Dalton, the creator, said that they were working on making the concept into a half-hour TV show.--Percy

Julia Sweeney has a new one-woman show called "Letting Go of God". Some of you may remember her as Pat in Saturday Night Live. She had an earlier one-woman show called "God said Ha!" that is available on video."Letting Go of God" is still being performed daily in Los Angeles and so is not yet available on video, but a 17 minute excerpt is available and well worth watching: You'll love the part about the Mormons!--Percy

Sam Harris outline's his position on religious fundamentalism and moderatation in about 20 minutes, great stuff: Sam Harris at Idea CIty '05--Percy

This was originally posted by Utopia in the Proposed New Topics forum, but it's not really a proposal for a discussion topic, so I'm reposting it here.--Percy

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Go to the following link for the link to listen to the show:
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Carl Sagan's Footprints on Space
Aired: Thursday, February 15, 2007 11-12PM ET

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When it came to explaining the vast cosmos to Americans, there was no one like superstar astronomer and great communicator of science, Carl Sagan.

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He reminded us of the "billions and billions" of mysteries that surround us. In books and lectures and on TV, he asked the really big questions.

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Carol Sagan died, too young, ten years ago. But the big questions and emerging answers did not.

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This hour we're going to listen back to Sagan, hear from his collaborator and wife of twenty years Ann Druyan, and come up to date on the cosmos with astrophysicst Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

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This hour On Point: our cosmos and ourselves, ten years after Carl Sagan.

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Guests

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· Neil Degrasse Tyson, astro-physicist and author of "Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries"
· Ann Druyan, Co-writer with Carl Sagan of the best selling book "Cosmos" and producer of the Sagan inspired movie "Contact", widow of Carl Sagan.

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This is a great show and I think the folks here at EvC could appreciate it.Greg P.

see Home | Quirks & Quarks with Bob McDonald | CBC Radio for downloadThis Week on Quirks & Quarks:Walking on the Moon - Again.Two years ago, George W. Bush announced it was time for humans to go back to the moon. By 2020, we should be once again walking on the surface of our closest neighbour. But President Bush never said what we're going to do once we actually get there. At the recent meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a group of space researchers sat down to figure out what we should be doing once we reach the lunar surface. From prospecting underfoot for water and minerals, to building telescopes that look into the deepest reaches of the universe, the scientists examined the options. We'll talk about their plans, and how the moon could be a training ground for future missions to Mars.Plus, caterpillars that click.All this and more on Quirks & Quarks, with host Bob McDonald, Saturday right after the noon news on Radio One, or anytime on our web page.AND COMING MARCH 19: A new evening repeat of Quirks & Quarks - every Monday night at 11pm on Radio One.

see Home | Quirks & Quarks with Bob McDonald | CBC Radio for downloading.This Week on Quirks & Quarks:The Chickens Fight BackSince the late nineties, each autumn has brought back the fears of a coming pandemic. According to the doomsayers, one of these years, avian flu is going to make the final jump from birds to humans, and cause an outbreak of disease that could devastate the human population. But avian flu is only one of many diseases that can cross the species barrier. Mice, rats, horses, dogs, cats, even fruit bats, carry contagions that can make us ill. In a new book called "The Chickens Fight Back," a Canadian veterinary epidemiologist takes us around the world, looking at some of the ways animals can make us sick, and offering ways to counter the problems. And guess what? Most of the time, it isn't the animal that's the problem, it's us.Plus ... putting the planet on climate control ....All this and more on Quirks & Quarks, with host Bob McDonald, Saturday right after the noon news on Radio One, or anytime on our web page.AND NOW a second opportunity to hear Quirks & Quarks - every Monday night at 11pm on Radio One.

This week on Quirks & Quarks:It's the Great Aussie/Canuck Science Adventure.The moose goes walkabout with the wombat, and the beaver goes camping with the kangaroo, as Bob McDonald goes Down Under for the Great Aussie/Canuck Science Adventure.Quirks & Quarks, Canada's national science program, and The Science Show, Australia's equivalent program on ABC Radio National, are joining forces for a unique exploration of science, north and south. And here's the kicker: both programs first went on the air at virtually the same time in 1975.
And both are now broadcast on Saturdays at noon.In the first program, the host of The Science Show, Robyn Williams, introduces Bob to leading Australian researchers. And in the second program, Bob introduces Robyn to Canadian scientists. And both programs get to hear both of the hosts doing the interviews.April 21: Bob interviews the Australians:Bob learns about farming and eating kangaroos; saving the Tasmanian Devil from extinction; discovering the fossils of marsupial lions; and avoiding the deadly sting of the Irukandji jellyfish.All this and more on Quirks & Quarks, with host Bob McDonald, Saturday right after the noon news on Radio One, or anytime on our web page at cbc.ca/quirks.AND NOW there's a second opportunity to hear Quirks & Quarks - every Monday night at 11pm on Radio One.Don't forget to check out our new Quirks blog: Sorry - we can't find that page
Or subscribe to our Quirks podcast: Home | Quirks & Quarks with Bob McDonald | CBC Radio

incl Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, AC Grayling