Podcast for Inquiry S04E01: 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  
• Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommendations
• Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women final report 

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Podcast for Inquiry S03E24: 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.

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Stab Everyone You Love with Rocky Mountain Atheists

Last week I had the pleasure to host a webinar for Rocky Mountain Atheists last week. It's an updated version of the Stab Everyone You Love talk I gave at Nerd Nite back in February 2020 (which YouTube has censored for containing "medical disinformation"). It was a fun presentation to revisit, and the attendees were engaged and seemed to enjoy. If you haven't already heard this talk, this version is a good one to see. 

Podcast for Inquiry S03E23: 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. 

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I was a guest on the Apostate Sisters YouTube channel

I met Nancy and Patti, the Apostate Sisters, at BAHACON in August. I gave a brief impromptu talk about CFIC and they liked it so much they invited me to be a guest on their YouTube channel. It was a fun conversation, and I'm pleased with how it came out. This is a great introduction to my views on activism, secularism, Humanism, parenting, changing society, and much more. Enjoy!

Podcast for Inquiry S03E22: Saving civilization is about more than climate change, says Professor Katherine Richardson

All life on earth ultimately depends on energy and how it flows between biological and geochemical systems on the planet. Katherine Richardson and her team identified nine boundaries which need to be respected if our planet is to remain conducive to human thriving. Climate change is just one of them.

We are exceeding six boundaries, and in recent years they are all getting worse.

Katherine discusses how she and her team identified the nine planetary boundaries and why it is essential to consider how they interact, instead of viewing them as independent issues. The effects of exceeding planetary boundaries are affecting life today, disrupting air travel, causing severe flooding, and contributing to more frequent and powerful storms. (For the most up to date overview, read Planetary Boundaries guide humanity’s future on Earth, published in Nature magazine on November 8, 2024.)

We have the knowledge and technology to live within the planetary boundaries; the question remains whether we have the will, and the time, to implement them.

The nine planetary boundaries are:

• Climate change
• Biosphere integrity
• Stratospheric ozone depletion
• Ocean acidification
• Phosphorus and nitrogen biogeochemical flows
• Land system change
• Freshwater change
• Atmospheric aerosol loading
• Novel entities

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Podcast for Inquiry S3E21: Melanie Trecek-King defines and discusses critical thinking

Many people - especially those in skeptical organizations like CFIC - talk about the importance of critical thinking. But what is it? How can we use it effectively? How do people navigate complex subject areas without developing deep expertise? Melanie Trecek-King, creator of Thinking is Power, discusses how people internalize beliefs, how they can be a part of one’s identity, why some issues become politicized, what constitutes good evidence, and much, much more. 

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Podcast for Inquiry S3E20: Does the Bible endorse slavery and genocide? Dr. Joshua Bowen provides receipts.

In his first appearance on Podcast for Inquiry, Dr. Josh Bowen compared what we know about history from archaeology and contemporaneous literature with the stories from the Old Testament. 

In today’s episode, Dr. Bowen reveals what the Bible has to say about slavery and genocide, and goes a bit outside his comfort zone to talk about whether the Old Testament should be considered a guide to a moral and ethical life. 

Referenced during the conversation:

• Read Dr. Bowen’s latest book: Did the Old Testament Endorse Slavery? (Extensively Revised and Expanded Second Edition) 
• Watch Josh rap about Gilgamesh
• Subscribe to Megan Lewis' podcast Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman  

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Podcast for Inquiry S3E19: Kate Cohen believes atheists should be out and proud

Kate Cohen talks about her journey from privately knowing she was a non-believer to writing We of Little Faith: Why I Stopped Pretending to Believe (And Maybe You Should Too). She discusses how being an atheist and a commitment to honesty informed how she raised her children, and how being forthright about her lack of belief in social interactions has simplified her life. We also talk about some of the challenges associated with being an open atheist.

Kate is a Washington Post columnist and some of the articles she references in the conversation are below. 

• A Car Ride with Lena
• In America you have to opt out of religion in public life. That's backwards. 
• America doesn't need more God. It needs more atheists. 

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Podcast for Inquiry S3E18: Greg Oliver asks: Why is religious discrimination official provincial educational funding policy?

Greg Oliver, founder and president of the Canadian Secular Alliance, believes that governments should not favour one faith over another, nor believers over non-believers. That three Canadian provinces continue to this day to fully fund a Separate school system for a single faith - Catholicism - is an egregious violation of secular principles that should guide our public policy. Greg explains why Catholic schools are funded, how two provinces stopped funding sectarian schools, addresses many myths about the separate school system, and what we can do about it. (Check out the new organization Alumni to Amend Section 93.)

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