PODCAST · science
Intelligent Design the Future
by Discovery Institute
The ID The Future (IDTF) podcast carries on Discovery Institute's mission of exploring the issues central to evolution and intelligent design. IDTF is a short podcast providing you with the most current news and views on evolution and ID. IDTF delivers brief interviews with key scientists and scholars developing the theory of ID, as well as insightful commentary from Discovery Institute senior fellows and staff on the scientific, educational and legal aspects of the debate. Episode notes and archives available at idthefuture.com.
Episodes
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How an ID Framework Guides the Search for Habitable Worlds
How rare is Planet Earth in the vastness of the cosmos? Will we find other planets in space that could possibly harbor life? A new space telescope has just been launched that may help us with answers to those questions. On today's episode of ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes a…
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I Helped Build NASA’s Latest Space Telescope. Here’s What It Will Do.
A new space telescope was recently launched by NASA. What will it look for? Why do we need another telescope exploring the heavens? And how does an intelligent design perspective enrich both the expectations and interpretations of the telescope’s findings? Today on ID The Future, host Andrew...
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The Mystery of Life’s Origin, Then and Now
On this ID the Future our of the archive, guest host Robert J. Marks interviews chemist Charles Thaxton about a seminal 1984 book he co-authored, The Mystery of Life’s Origin, foundational to the intelligent design movement. The main body of Mystery was generally praised, Thaxton explains. It was...
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How Intelligent Engineering Can Solve the Electromagnetic Spectrum Crisis
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. Mind Matters regularly explores the nature of intelligence, the origin of information, and the things that make us...
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Restoring the Natural Theology Tradition That Fueled Modern Science
What is the state of the debate over evolution and intelligent design in the UK? And how will Discovery Institute's new Cambridge initiative impact the debate going forward? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes fellow Scotsman Dr. Alistair McKitterick, a Consulting Fellow at the...
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Sunlight And Water Are Uniquely Fit to Sustain Life
If the sun didn't power the photosynthesis of green plants, we wouldn't be breathing right now. And without the finely tuned properties of water, Earth would be a frozen, lifeless wasteland. Coincidence? Or is something else at work? On this classic episode of ID The Future out of the archive…
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Science Suggests Matter and Meaning Are Both Real
What is the story of everything? Is there a scientific and philosophical basis for meaning? Today on ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid continues exploring those questions with physicist and author Dr. Eric Hedin. In Part 2, the conversation turns to the scientific and philosophical basis for...
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A Designed Universe Makes Meaning Real, Not Illusory
Why are we here? Does life, or the universe, mean anything? And if it does, what? Today on ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid explores those questions and more with physicist and author Dr. Eric Hedin. Using the recent documentary film The Story of Everything as a springboard for discussion,...
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Why Carbon is Finely Tuned for Life
In his book Darwin’s Black Box, biochemist Michael Behe writes that in order to understand the barriers to evolution, we have to “bite the bullet of complexity.” On this classic episode of ID The Future out of the vault, Dr. Jonathan McLatchie is back to help us do just that! In the latest...
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Scoring the Universe: A Rubric for Cosmological Design
By now, you’re likely familiar with the multiverse hypothesis, which is actually just one of dozens of cosmological models proposed to explain away the significance of a beginning to the universe and the evidence for fine-tuning. But you may not know there’s a rigorous method to evaluate these...
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Inscrutable Dice and Bean Jars: Answering Objections to Fine-Tuning
You’re likely familiar with the evidence for the fine-tuning of the universe, and you may be aware that there are several cosmological models attempting to explain away that fine-tuning, including the popular multiverse hypothesis. But did you know an ID scientist has developed a scientifically...
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Tech Entrepreneur on People-First AI Innovation in Business
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. Mind Matters regularly explores the nature of intelligence, the origin of information, and the things that make us...
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The Missing 20 Years: What Designer Science Left Out
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…
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Fact-Checking Designer Science: Casey Luskin on ID History Errors
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…
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Stephen Meyer & Ben Shapiro Discuss the Origin of Information
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…
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Priors & Proof: Brian Miller Unpacks the Meyer/Halper Debate
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...
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Stephen Meyer and Ben Shapiro Talk Intelligent Design
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...
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Angus Menuge: A Defense of the Soul in the Age of AI
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...
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Physicist Robert Sheldon on Wonder, Discovery, and The Story of Everything
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...
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Medicine’s Descent From Healing to Killing
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…
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The Real-Life Medicine and Science Behind Oppenheimer’s Demon
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…
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Science & Suspense: Geoffrey Simmons Talks Oppenheimer’s Demon
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...
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Why AI and Darwinian Theory Share the Same Computational Limits
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…
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Race Against the Clock: Geoff Simmons Reads From Oppenheimer’s Demon
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...
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An Oncologist’s Journey Out of Scientific Atheism
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…
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Sleeping and Waking, By Design
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...
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The Biochemical Challenge to Darwinian Evolution Turns 30
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...
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Michael Behe on Thirty Years of Darwin’s Black Box
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…
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The Intelligent Design of Sleep
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…
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Neurosurgeon and Engineer Critique a Materialist Theory of Consciousness
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...
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Enjoy a Reading From the Landmark Book Darwin’s Black Box
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...
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Astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez Reads His Solar Eclipse Poem “Totality”
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...
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Why Aliens Won’t Solve the Origin of Life on Earth
Does invoking aliens to explain the origin of life on Earth solve the problem of biological information, or does it simply kick the can down the road? On this ID The Future, enjoy the second half of a conversation with geologist Dr. Casey Luskin and his wife, science educator Kristin Marais, as...
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Signs of Intelligence: ID, Evolution, and the Search for Alien Life
If alien life were to be discovered elsewhere in the cosmos, would it be evidence of intelligent design or blind evolutionary forces? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid brings you the first half of a recent conversation with geologist Dr. Casey Luskin and his wife, science teacher…
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Giving Up Darwin’s “Brilliant and Beautiful Theory”
Seven years ago, Yale University professor of computer science David Gelernter wrote that he was bidding farewell to neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory. Why would he take such a bold step? What convinced him that the neo-Darwinian paradigm no longer satisfied the scientific evidence? On this…
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High School Science That Teaches an ID Perspective? Yes, Please!
Is it possible to integrate the evidence for intelligent design into full-length high school biology and chemistry courses? Of course! Are such courses currently available to homeschool students? Absolutely! Discovery Institute Academy offers innovative online science courses for homeschool...
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Stephen Meyer & Piers Morgan: The Story of Everything
Is there clear and present scientific evidence that life and the universe were purposefully designed? On this ID The Future, we highlight Dr. Stephen Meyer's recent conversation with Piers Morgan on Piers Morgan Uncensored. This is Dr. Meyer's second interview with Morgan. Last time, he talked...
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Why Human Cognition Remains Unique
Today's episode of ID The Future comes from our sister podcast Mind Matters News. The age of AI is upon us and is already changing the way we conduct our lives. What is the optimal division of tasks between humans and machines? On this episode of Mind Matters News, host Robert J. Marks welcomes...
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How Modern Science Resolves the Dilemma Over Evolution
If theistic evolution doesn’t work, and Darwinian evolution is scientifically inadequate, what alternative framework better explains the origin of life and the universe? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes his two-part conversation with Father Michal Chaberek and Steve Greene,...
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Creation vs. Evolution: Re-evaluating a Catholic Dilemma
To reconcile faith and science, is it enough to say God could have used evolution? Many Christians are attracted to this idea, and it is now treated as the quasi-official Catholic position. But can this view, known as theistic evolution, really harmonize Scripture, theology, and modern science?…
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As Neo-Darwinism Fails, Vitalism Makes a Comeback
Vitalism is the age-old idea that living things possess a vital force – some fundamental element that generally does not exist in non-life. As a Darwinian paradigm took hold of the natural sciences in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, vitalism fell out of favor. But as writer and teacher...
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Mind Over Matter: Darwin, AI, and the Future of Reason
If our minds are the product of a blind and aimless process, what reason do we have to believe what we think? But if we can be rational because a rational intelligence designed life and the universe, how does that change how we should think about thinking? On this ID The Future, host Andrew...
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The Anchor of Reason: Beyond Naturalism and Materialism
Before we can ask whether the universe is designed, we should first ask if we can trust the minds we’re using to investigate it. On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes to the show science teacher and writer Rebekah Valerius to discuss an essay she recently penned unpacking the...
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What’s Next in the Search for Habitable Worlds
Are we common or rare? You can be on either side of the question and still be excited about the search for habitable planets capable of harboring life. On this classic episode of ID the Future from the archive, host and amateur astronomer Eric Anderson concludes his two-part conversation with…
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Algorithms vs Souls: The Use of AI in Global Missions
ID The Future listeners now get to enjoy two episodes each month from our sister podcast Mind Matters News, a production of the Discovery Institute’s Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence. The Mind Matters News podcast brings you insight from computer scientists…
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Take a Tour of the Cell in an Incredible Shrinking Submarine!
Imagine you have been invited to a futuristic discovery center, a lavishly funded facility that has pioneered the ability to shrink people and objects many orders of magnitude. What if you could climb aboard an incredible shrinking submarine and travel into the heart of a living cell? This would…
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Bijan Nemati on the Search for Habitable Planets
One of the most exciting areas of space research is the search for Earth-like planets around other stars. Since the first discovery some 30 years ago, thousands of exoplanets have been identified and catalogued, but the vast majority bear little resemblance to Earth and would not be conducive to...
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Beyond DNA: Evidence for Intelligent Design at the Frontier of Biology
A second revolution is underway in biology today. DNA isn’t the whole story for the development of living things. The deeper scientists look into the cell, the more they find layers of coding, regulation, communication, and control. Where did all this additional information come from? On today's…
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DNA’s Partner in the Dance of Life
Many of us have heard about one of the biggest discoveries in modern biology: the discovery of the information code embedded in DNA. But perhaps an even bigger discovery than that would be that DNA isn’t running the show by itself. A second revolution is underway centered around a hidden layer of...
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The Evaporating Promise of AGI: An Economist’s View
ID The Future listeners now get to enjoy two episodes each month from our sister podcast Mind Matters News, a production of the Discovery Institute’s Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence. The Mind Matters News podcast brings you insight from computer scientists…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
The ID The Future (IDTF) podcast carries on Discovery Institute's mission of exploring the issues central to evolution and intelligent design. IDTF is a short podcast providing you with the most current news and views on evolution and ID. IDTF delivers brief interviews with key scientists and scholars developing the theory of ID, as well as insightful commentary from Discovery Institute senior fellows and staff on the scientific, educational and legal aspects of the debate. Episode notes and archives available at idthefuture.com.
HOSTED BY
Discovery Institute
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