About the Fellowship
The Big Questions:
Part One: Science vs. Religion
Can Science ever be reconciled with Religion?
Do science and religion have to be at war with each other? Francis Collins doesn't think so. As head of the Human Genome Project, he has a distinguished track record as a gene hunter. He's also an evangelical Christian who believes in miracles. But biologist and atheist Richard Dawkins says religion can never be reconciled with science.
Segment 1:
Steve Paulson immmersed himself in the subject of science and religion as one of this year's Templeton-Cambridge Fellows. He filed this report on his experience at Cambridge University with comments from philosopher Ken Wilber, socio-biologist E.O. Wilson, popular writer on the history of religion, Karen Armstrong and evolutionary biologist and atheist, Richard Dawkins.
Segment 2:
We hear some opinions of ordinary people on the relative importance of science and religion. Also, Jim Fleming talks with Rebecca Goldstein, author of "Betraying Spinoza: The Renegade Jew Who Gave Us Modernity." Goldstein explains how Spinoza envisioned God and why his conception appealed to later scientists like Einstein. Also, Francis Collins is one of America's most prominent scientists, longtime head of the Human Genome Project and author of "The Language of God." He's also a Christian and talked with Steve Paulson about his conversion and what it's meant for his beliefs about science and religion. Collins also sings and plays the guitar. We hear a bit of his version of "All the Good People" in honor of the genome's promise for curing rare diseases.
Segment 3:
Wicca or Neo-paganism began as a movement to recreate pre-Christian nature religions. It turns out to be just what a lot of scientists are looking for. Anne Strainchamps prepared this report on the growing popularity of Wicca. We hear from Ronald Hutton, a historian of paganism and author of "Triumph of the Moon," and from Margot Adler, NPR's New York Bureau Chief and author of "Drawing Down the Moon." We also hear from Wicca practitioners in Wisconsin and Scotland.
listen now… [mp3 audio, 53 minutes, ~24.3 MB]
Part Two: The Cosmos
How did the Universe begin?
Where do we come from? That's one of the greatest questions of humankind. For science, it's the Big Bang. An unimaginable explosion some 15 billion years ago that gave birth to energy and life as we know it. For religion, it's the mysterious hand of God. Is there room in the cosmos for both?
Segment 1:
Physicist Joel Primack and Nancy Abrams are the authors of "The View from the Center of the Universe." They tell Steve Paulson how humanity has moved back into the center of our myth-making centuries after Copernicus shattered the old notion of an earth-centered universe. Also, Don Gurnett has been working with NASA, recording audio from space for years. He plays some of his favorite space sounds for Jim Fleming and explains where they come from.
Segment 2:
Do people believe there is life on other planets? A medley of responses to this burning questions begins this segment. Thebe Medupe is an astrophysicist and producer of the documentary film "Cosmic Africa." He tells Anne Strainchamps about spending time with the Kalahari Bushmen and the Dogon people of Mali to learn their legends about the stars.
Segment 3:
Daniel Matt is the author of "God and the Big Bang" and one of the foremost scholars of Jewish mysticism and the Kaballah. He tells Steve Paulson that the Big Bang Theory is science's creation myth and that the mystical and rational traditions can inform each other. Also, theoretical physicist Michio Kaku thinks that nature is God's greatest creation. Kaku is the author of "Parallel Worlds: The Science of Alternative Universes and Our Future in the Cosmos."
listen now… [mp3 audio, 53 minutes, ~24.3 MB]
Part Three: The Brain and Belief
Can Science prove there is a biology of belief?
One of the Dalai Lama's favorite places in America is a neurobiology lab at the University of Wisconsin. Researchers there are putting Buddhist monks inside brain scanners, looking for scientific proof that meditation works. In other labs across the country, radiologists are watching nuns pray and gene hunters are decoding the genetics of faith. In this hour we'll look at the emerging biology of belief.
Segment 1:
Independent producer Karen Michel reports that some of the country's leading neuro-biologists are collaborating with Buddhist monks in an effort to understand the effects of meditation on the mind and the brain. Karen goes into Richie Davidson's lab at the University of Wisconsin to check out his findings. Also, Andrew Newberg directs the Center for Spirituality and the Mind at the University of Pennsylvania. He's the author of "Why We Believe What We Believe." Newberg tells Steve Paulson what brain imaging technology can tell us about the experiences of Franciscan nuns and Pentecostalists at prayer.
Segment 2:
Ordinary people share their first memories of God or the first time they were sure god didn't exist. Also, molecular biologist Dean Hamer tells Steve Paulson that human beings are hard-wired for belief and are genetically pre-disposed to reach beyond their own limitations.
Segment 3:
Deborah Blum is the author of "Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life after Death." She talks with Anne Strainchamps about the serious scientific effort undertaken by an elite group of scientists and scholars a hundred years ago to investigate the supernatural. What they found was mostly fraud. Also, Bruce Greyson is considered the father of research into the Near Death Experience. He's the Director of the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia and edits the Journal of Near-Death Studies. Greyson tells Jim Fleming what scientific basis there is for believing in NDEs.
listen now… [mp3 audio, 53 minutes, ~24.3 MB]
Part Four: Debating Darwin
Can you believe in God if you accept Evolution?
The theory of evolution is the flashpoint in the war between science and religion. Polls show that nearly half of all Americans believe the Biblical story of creation. Only a quarter accept evolution. And that's infuriated a lot of people. The philosopher Daniel Dennett thinks we need to "break the spell" of religion. But creationist Paul Nelson says evolution simply can't explain certain mysteries.
Segment 1:
Philosopher Daniel Dennett is the author of "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" and "Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon." He tells Steve Paulson why he finds ignorance of evolutionary biology so appalling. Also, Randy Olson is a Harvard-trained evolutionary biologist and creator of the documentary film "Flock of Dodos." We hear a clip, and Olson tells Jim Fleming why he has no use for the intelligent design movement. Also, Steve Paulson reports from Cambridge University in England on Charles Darwin's own views regarding whether his theory of evolution was compatible with religious faith. We hear from Paul White of the Darwin Correspondence Project.
Segment 2:
Ordinary people weigh in on the evolution/creationism debate. Also, biologist Richard Dawkins (author of "The God Delusion") is the man the Intelligent Design Movement loves to hate. He explains why he thinks Darwinism leads to atheism. And creationist Paul Nelson, a fellow at the Discovery Institute, makes the case for his point of view. Also, paleontologist Simon Conway Morris talks with Steve Paulson about convergence and the evolution of intelligence. Morris is the author of "Life's Solution: Inevitable Humans in a Lonely Universe."
Segment 3:
Biologist Elisabet Sahtouris is the author of "Earthdance: Living Systems in Evolution." Sahtouris has no truck with Biblical creationists but thinks the standard story of evolution has major problems. She talks with Anne Strainchamps.
listen now… [mp3 audio, 53 minutes, ~24.3 MB]
Part Five: Awe and Wonder
Where can you touch the fabric of mystery?
In the world where we take out the garbage and brush our teeth, we sometimes brush up against wonder, and awe. Some people live their lives hoping for another glimpse into this realm. We all look for it in different places. Some of us find it in God, like the great mystic poet, Rumi. Others find it on terra firma - in the magnificent intricacies of life on planet earth.
Segment 1:
Robert Fuller is the author of "Wonder" - the first in-depth look at one of humanity's most important emotions. Fuller tells Jim Feming wonder may be the bedrock of all spirituality. Fuller teaches religious studies at Bradley University. Also, plant biologist Nicholas Harberd took a year off to study a common weed - the thalecress - he found growing in a country churchyard. He kept a journal that became "Seed to Seed: The Secret Life of Plants." Harberd tells Steve Paulson what he found so fascinating about thalecress and reads from his book. Also, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver reads her poem "The Kingfisher."
Segment 2:
We hear from some ordinary people about what inspires awe and wonder in them and where they find god. Also, cell biologist Ursula Goodenough tells Steve Paulson that she finds the commonplaces of nature entirely miraculous without reference to a Supreme Being. Her book is "The Sacred Depths of Nature." Also, Scott Topper is a geneticist at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and a poet. He reads from the meditation journal he kept after learning a simple meditation from Buddhist monk George Churinoff.
Segment 3:
Coleman Barks has made it his life's work to translate the poetry of 13th century mystic and poet Rumi. Barks recites several short Rumi works for Anne Strainchamps and they talk about mystical ecstasy.
listen now… [mp3 audio, 53 minutes, ~24.3 MB]
(end of article)
return to list of publications