Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Richard Dawkins — The Root of All Evil?
Richard Dawkins is professor of the public understanding of science at Oxford University and a regular columnist for Free Inquiry magazine. The recipient of a number of awards for his writing on science, including the Royal Society of Literature Award and the LA Times Literary Prize, he has also been awarded the Royal Society Michael Faraday Award for the furtherance of the public understanding of science.

In a recent poll in the United Kingdom, he was named Britain’s leading public intellectual. He is the author of a number of critically acclaimed books, such as The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, Unweaving the Rainbow, The Devil’s Chaplain, and The Ancestor’s Tale.

In this interview with DJ Grothe, he discusses his newest work, a two-part documentary series for British television entitled The Root of All Evil?, in which he challenges what he calls "the process of non-thinking called faith."

Also in this episode, noted ex-muslim and best-selling Islamic scholar Ibn Warraq explores the recent worldwide riots over the Danish cartoons depicting Mohammed as a terrorist; Point of Inquiry contributor Lauren Becker explores "defensive driving maneuvers" in a world where so many "drive by faith and not by sight;" and DJ Grothe talks with Derek and Swoopy, hosts of the wildly popular podcast Skepticality, exploring the use of this new medium to advance the critical, pro-science view in our society.

[more] www.pointofinquiry.org

You can discuss this episode at: www.cfi-forums.org

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