Intelligent Design the Future

Is the intelligent design movement a short-lived phenomenon that has come and gone? Or is its steady and consistent growth evidence of a flourishing scientific program? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes his conversation with Dr. Casey Luskin about his critique of a recent book called Designer Science that portrays the ID movement as a short-lived political, cultural, and religious phenomenon that has produced little new research in the last two decades. In Part 2, Luskin turns to another major problem: Designer Science almost entirely ignores the last twenty years of ID scientific research and novel arguments. As the book gets retracted by the publisher, Luskin corrects the record in this conversation. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. Source

Is intelligent design dying out or just warming up? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes Dr. Casey Luskin to a new and improved podcast studio for a sit-down, in-person conversation! Today, Dr. Luskin discusses a recent book called Designer Science that portrays the ID movement as a short-lived political, cultural, and religious phenomenon. Luskin reveals some egregious errors in this purported comprehensive history of ID. First, a made-up quote from Michael Behe used to support one of the book's major premises. Second, some glaring omissions, including a number of scientific breakthroughs and developments from ID scientists in the last two decades. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Look for Part 2 next! Also available in video format on our YouTube channel! Source

On this episode of ID The Future from our archive, we’re bringing you the concluding half of a 2019 interview between Daily Wire host Ben Shapiro and philosopher of science Dr. Stephen C. Meyer. The conversation is now seven years old, so it's a good time to dust it off and share it with those who may have missed it or forgotten about it. Dr. Meyer considers this one of the best interviews he’s done on the subject of his second solo book Darwin’s Doubt. Shapiro was extremely well-prepared and asked great questions, resulting in a thought-provoking and thoroughly engaging hour-long conversation. In the second half, Dr. Meyer and Shapiro discuss the origin of life. Source

Are the Big Bang and the evidence for the fine-tuning of the universe evidence that supports theistic belief or undermines it? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes Dr. Brian Miller to give us a breakdown of a recent debate between philosopher of science Dr. Stephen Meyer and science communicator Phil Halper about the Big Bang, the arguments for fine-tuning, and the compatibility of science and faith in general. Source

On this ID The Future selected out of the vault, we bring you the first half of Daily Wire host Ben Shapiro's 2019 interview with philosopher of science Dr. Stephen Meyer on The Ben Shapiro Sunday Special. This exchange happened seven years ago now, and we thought it was a good time to put it out there again for those who may not have heard it or don't remember it. Dr. Meyer considers this one of the best interviews he’s done on the subject of his second solo book Darwin’s Doubt. Shapiro was very well-prepared and asked great questions, resulting in a thought-provoking and thoroughly engaging hour-long conversation. We’ve got the first half of it for you today, followed by the concluding half in a subsequent episode. Source

Today’s episode of ID The Future comes from our sister podcast Mind Matters News, a production of Discovery Institute’s Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence. In this episode of Mind Matters News, hosts Dr. Robert J. Marks and Pat Flynn welcome returning guest Dr. Angus Menuge, professor of philosophy at Concordia University Wisconsin, to discuss his paper “Powers of the Soul Beyond AI.” Dr. Menuge breaks down the philosophical and logical limits of artificial intelligence, targeting the concept of anthropic mechanism to explain why material machines cannot replicate the immaterial aspects of human agency. Through the lens of five distinct powers—including insight, meta-insight, and free will—Menuge explores why large language models and advanced computing systems fall short of genuine understanding and human consciousness. Source

By now, you’ve likely heard of the new documentary film The Story of Everything. It’s a cinematic exploration of the evidence for intelligent design in the cosmos, from the fine-tuning of the universe to the stunning engineering in every living cell. Today on ID The Future, we continue our series of interviews with the scientists and scholars featured in The Story of Everything. Host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes plasma physicist Dr. Robert Sheldon to the podcast to discuss his participation in the movie and talk about his work in physics and cosmology. Source

If we believe there is no qualitative distinction between animals and humans, are we more likely to protect human life or devalue it? On this episode of ID The Future out of the vault, guest host Eric Anderson talks to historian Dr. Richard Weikart about his latest book, Unnatural Death: Medicine's Descent From Healing to Killing, now available from Discovery Institute Press. The book is a wide-ranging history of euthanasia and assisted suicide from Ancient Greece to today. How did we get to the point we are at today, and how do we turn the tide to promote the sanctity of human life? Tune in to find out. Source

Most people know about the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945. But Robert Oppenheimer’s Manhattan Project had on hand another nuclear core. After claiming the lives of two scientists in separate accidents, it was dubbed the Demon Core and melted down. Some demons, however, are not so easily destroyed. Today, guest host Jonathan Witt concludes his conversation with medical doctor, disaster prep expert, and novelist Geoffrey Simmons about his new thriller novel Oppenheimer's Demon, now available from Discovery Institute Press. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. Source

Have you ever read a book wherein both the origin and end of man hang in the balance? That's a rare combination that comes together in a new disaster thriller novel now available from Discovery Institute Press. On this ID The Future, DI Press executive editor and CSC senior fellow Jonathan Witt takes a turn at the hosting mic as he welcomes medical doctor, disaster preparedness expert, and novelist Geoffrey Simmons to discuss his latest book Oppenheimer's Demon. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Source

Today’s episode of ID The Future comes from our sister podcast Mind Matters News, a production of Discovery Institute's Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence. On this episode of Mind Matters News, guest host Pat Flynn welcomes Dr. Winston Ewert to the show to discuss Ewert’s chapter in the volume Minding the Brain. In his contribution, titled “The Human Mind’s Sophisticated Algorithm and Its Implications,” Dr. Ewert argues that the human mind’s problem-solving cognition can be modeled as a sophisticated algorithm. Ewert explains that any cognitive task can be expressed as a version of the halting problem from computer science, where an algorithm either halts or continues infinitely. He suggests that humans are able to solve a large and sophisticated subset of these problems, but are limited in the same way that no algorithm can solve all halting problems. Ewert contends that this algorithmic view of human cognition has implications that challenge reductive materialist and neo-Darwinian views, despite resistance from some thinkers who believe human abilities transcend any algorithm. Source

There are many books written by intelligent design scientists and scholars that explore the scientific evidence for intelligent design and the debate over evolution. But a new book published by Discovery Institute Press manages to be concerned with “both the origin and the end of man” in the same book! On this ID The Future, distinguished physician, successful novelist, and disaster preparedness expert Geoffrey Simmons is going to read to us a few scenes from his new thriller novel Oppenheimer’s Demon. Source

Can a blind, evolutionary process account for who we are and why we’re here? Is there anything beyond this life? On this ID The Future, enjoy a conversation with veteran oncologist, author, and speaker Dr. Stephen Iacobini. In this conversation, originally aired on the Ex-Skeptic podcast and hosted by Jana Harmon, Dr. Iacoboni shares his journey from childhood faith to scientific atheism and back to theistic belief. Along the way, he examines the failures of naturalism, the role of science, and the undeniable human longing for meaning that points to something beyond life itself. Source

Are we to credit an unguided evolutionary process for the gift of sleeping and waking? Or are these intricate systems further evidence of design? On this ID The Future selected out of the archive, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes his conversation with Dr. Eric Hedin on the intelligent design of sleep. In Part 2, the pair dig deeper into the purpose of sleep and why it’s so essential to living organisms. They also look at why it’s unlikely that a gradual Darwinian process can be credited for the origin of sleeping and waking, and why intelligent design is a better explanation. Source

In 2026, one of the most influential books on science in our lifetime turns 30 years old. It’s Darwin’s Black Box, written by biochemist and professor Michael J. Behe. On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes his conversation with Dr. Behe as we celebrate the milestone, revisit the book’s major insights, and examine its staying power over the last three decades. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. Look for Part 1 in a separate episode. Source

One of the seminal books of the modern intelligent design movement is Darwin’s Black Box, written by biochemist and professor Michael J. Behe. In 2026, that book turns 30. On this episode of ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid talks to Dr. Behe about the book's impact and the staying power of its arguments. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Source

We’re asleep an average of about 26 years of our life! Most people have a sense that sleep is important, but many of us aren't sure exactly why. Why is sleep so crucial to survival? And how did the processes of sleep emerge in living things? Could a gradual Darwinian process be responsible, or are the systems involved another instance of intelligent design? On this episode of ID The Future selected from the vault, host Andrew McDiarmid begins a conversation with Dr. Eric Hedin about the origin and intelligent design of sleep. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Look for Part 2 in a separate episode! Source

Today's episode of ID The Future comes from our sister podcast Mind Matters News. Today, guest host Pat Flynn welcomes Dr. Robert Marks and Dr. Michael Egnor to the show to critique Integrated Information Theory (IIT), a popular mathematical model that attempts to explain consciousness through computational complexity. Source

It's the book that helped launch the biochemical challenge to Darwinian evolution. It has been hailed as one of the most influential books on science in our lifetime. And this year, it celebrates thirty years in print! On today's ID the Future, host Andrew McDiarmid invites you to join him as he reads selections from Darwin's Black Box, authored by biochemist Michael J. Behe. And don't miss Andrew's two-part conversation with Behe about the impact of the book. Look for that in separate episodes of ID The Future. Source

On this episode of ID The Future from our archive, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes astrophysicist Guillermo Gonzalez back to the program to read and discuss his poem "Totality: A Celestial Theater," written to commemorate the total solar eclipse that occurred in April 2024. You may already be familiar with Gonzalez's popular book The Privileged Planet, co-authored with Dr. Jay Richards, unpacking the arguments for our privileged place in the cosmos. You might also have heard about his new young adult novel The Farm at the Center of the Universe, co-written with Dr. Jonathan Witt. But you likely didn't know this accomplished scientist and author is also a poet! Listen as Gonzalez discusses and then reads his poem aloud. Source