Science and Spirituality for the Curious
This the official podcast of the Science and Spirituality Institute. The focus is on relationships between the sciences and different spiritualities and faith traditions. We rely primarily upon the dialogue methodology for exploring these relationships.
Episodes
19 episodes
Ep1.18: What Scientists, Christians, and Other Spiritualities can learn from Buddhism
In this episode, Richard Randolph has a far-ranging conversation on Buddhism, ecology, and Western science with Dr. Stephanie Kaza. Dr. Kaza is Professor Emerita at the University of Vermont, where she taught Environmental Studie...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 18
•
44:12
Ep 1.17: Is There Scientific Evidence for the Existence of a Creator God?
In this episode, Richard Randolph interviews Olivier Bonnassies, who along with Michel-Yves Bolloré, is co-author of the book, God, The Science, The Evidence, The Dawn of a Revolution. This book was originally published in France...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 17
•
26:50
Ep 1.16: Using AI in Faith Communities and in Spiritual Practices
In this episode, Richard explores how Artificial Intelligence technology might be appropriately used within faith communities, as well as how individual persons might use the technology to enhance their spiritual practices.
•
Season 1
•
Episode 16
•
40:58
Ep 1.15: Understanding the War on Science
This episode examines the cultural warfare against science and scientists, with special attention to the severe reductions in federal funding for research proposed by the Trump Administration. The podcast includes a financial overview of ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 15
•
27:13
Ep 1.14: How God Loves, A Conversation with Thomas Oord
This episode features a conversation with Thomas Oord, a leading Christian theologian in “Open and Relational Theology.” He is the Director of the Center for Open and Relational Theology and also on the doctoral faculty at Northwind Semin...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 14
•
39:21
Ep 1.13: Will AI and Spirituality Co-Evolve?
Some have argued that the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) represents a “fourth industrial revolution.” We still have much to learn about AI and the ultimate scope of its influence. Yet, this much is already certain, AI wil...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 13
•
37:23
Ep 1.12: How Thinking about the Possibility of Extraterrestrials Deepened My Spirituality
Although we have not yet detected Extraterrestrial Intelligence (ETI), there’s a very strong probability that ETI does exist in the universe and that it may some day contact us. What would that mean for Earth-based faiths and spiritualities? Wo...
•
Episode 12
•
32:14
Ep 1.11: How Galileo, Darwin, and Scopes Were Hijacked by the Science–Spirituality Warfare Fallacy
In the late 1800s, two books were published in the United States, arguing that science and religion were locked in an inevitable zero-sum conflict that would only be resolved when one winner emerged and completely vanquished its opponent. ...
•
Episode 11
•
39:30
Ep 1.10: Is the Universe Fine Tuned by a Higher Power?
In this episode, we will explore an important question in scientific cosmology and spirituality: Our universe contains a number of physical constants woven into diverse equations that govern physical laws and determine the conditions for ...
•
Episode 10
•
33:25
Ep 1.9: Math’s Unique Contribution to Spirituality
Since Ian Barbour’s pioneering work in the mid-1960s, there has been a lively dialogue between spirituality and many scientific disciplines, including physics, biology, neuroscience, and genetics. By comparison, there has been relat...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 9
•
27:56
Ep 1.8: The Role of Ethics in the Science and Spirituality Relationship
Richard discusses the different ways ethics can inform the science and spirituality relationship. To lay the groundwork for his exploration of ethics in science and spirituality, Richard begins by drawing two very important distinctions:&...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 8
•
35:32
Ep 1.7: How Science Can Deepen and Strengthen Spirituality and Faith
In this solo episode, Richard Randolph begins by acknowledging the disastrous misunderstanding prevalent in society that science and spirituality are somehow locked in a bitter winner-take-all conflict for supremacy. Against this fa...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 7
•
32:46
Ep 1.6: The Seven Essential Attributes of an Authentic Spirituality
In this solo episode, Richard Randolph does a deep dive into our understanding of spirituality. He acknowledges that people have different spiritualities. Yet at the same time, he believes that these diverse spiritualities all share...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 6
•
37:40
Ep 1.5: An Interview with Dr. Robert J. Russell, Founder of the Center for Theology and the Natural Science (CTNS)
Robert J. Russell is a very unique individual and highly qualified in the area of science and spirituality. Now retired, he has a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California, Santa Cruz and he is an ordained pastor in the United Church o...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 5
•
43:11
Ep 1.4: Genetics, CRISPR, Ethics, and Spirituality
In this episode, Richard explores the ethical challenges and spiritual questions raised by the new CRISPR technology with Dr. Marnie Gelbart, who is Director of Programs at the Harvard Medical School’s Personal Genetics Education & Dialogue...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 4
•
39:08
Ep 1.3: What Does Neuroscience Contribute to Our Understanding of the Human Soul?
Richard’s guest for this episode is Dr. Hermina Nedelescu, a neuroscientist at the Scripps Institute. Hermina is a third-generation scientist from Romania. Her current research focuses on neural circuits and their role in emot...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 3
•
41:07
Ep 1.2: Is Society Developing a Religious Faith in Science and Technology? UFOs as a Case Study
In this episode, Richard talks with Ted Peters about UFOs as a cultural phenomenon. A Lutheran theologian, Ted Peters has been a central figure in the long-standing dialogue among scientists, philosophers, and theologians. He has a ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 2
•
37:32
Ep 1.1: An Interview with Dr. Katy Hinman from the Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
In this episode, Richard interviewed Dr. Katy Hinman who is Director of the Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion (DoSER) program at AAAS. Katy’s background uniquely qualifies her to lead the DoSER program. She has a Ph.D. in Ec...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 1
•
37:54