The Podcast For Inquiry

Centre For Inquiry Canada
  • 4.0 (1)
  • Science
  • Updated Biweekly

A podcast for scientific, skeptical, secular, rational and humanistic inquiry. They've got answers? We've got questions.

  1. 2d ago

    Society suffers as sports gambling insinuates itself into people's lives: Darragh McGee

    Dr. Darragh McGee (Instagram) is an academic at the University of Bath and the author of Imitation Games. He details the deceptive practices gambling companies employ to entice new customers, and how they are encouraged to place bets habitually. In-play betting is very different from simply wagering on the outcome of a match - which leads to a discussion about the nature of addiction and its relationship with problem gambling. Like many firms, gambling companies prioritize profit above people, and Darragh compares gambling firms with Big Tobacco. Darragh describes how gambling firms make it trivially easy to sign up, and deliberately challenging to leave. Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Join today! Produced by Zack Dumont, Martin Zielinski, and Leslie Rosenblood. Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodcastforInquiry. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@centreforinquiry.ca.

  2. Sep 2

    ENCORE: Burkas, beatings and bicycles - The life of Yasmine Mohammed

    Yasmine Mohammed is a human rights activist and author of Unveiled: How the West Empowers Radical Muslims. Yasmine is one of the most prominent and vocal figures supporting persecuted freethinkers across the globe, from elevating the voices of marginalized freethinkers on her podcast, to creating a global network of allies across religious and political divides through the CLARITy Coalition. Yasmine shares how her childhood was dramatically changed when her mother became an unofficial "second wife" to a devout Muslim man, and how Canada failed to protect her due to the bigotry of low expectations. She describes her journey from non-practicing Muslim to becoming an open atheist, and how the trauma of her childhood continued to haunt her as an adult. We also discuss how countries suffer under Islamic rule, the particular hatred of Jews that is a core element of Islam, and the origin of and problems with the term Islamophobia.  Learn more about Yasmine and support her efforts:  Free Hearts Free Minds Yasmine Mohammed Podcast Unveiled: How the West Empowers Radical Muslims Clarity Coalition Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, BlueSky    Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Join today! Produced by Zack Dumont, Martin Zielinski, and Leslie Rosenblood. Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodcastforInquiry. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@centreforinquiry.ca.

  3. Aug 19

    ENCORE: Steven Pinker on Rationality and Humanist Values

    Even as a young teenager, Dr. Steven Pinker (@sapinker) prized rationality as a virtue, and considered himself an anarchist. He changed that belief, however, when evidence indicated that anarchy was not a path to human flourishing. In this special episode, a co-production with the New Enlightenment Project, previous Podcast for Inquiry guest Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson returns as a co-host. Together, Lloyd and Leslie explore with Dr. Pinker whether universities are betraying their mission, how the human brain spectacularly fails while also working wonders, the loose connections between science and technology with social and moral progress, and what humanity needs to do to continue to thrive for the next 50-100 years.  Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Join today! Produced by Zack Dumont, Martin Zielinski, and Leslie Rosenblood. Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodcastforInquiry. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@centreforinquiry.ca.

  4. Aug 5

    ENCORE: Kelly Weinersmith asks: Are we ready to live off-planet?

    Dr. Kelly Weinersmith (@FuSchmu) is the co-author (with her husband Zach) of Soonish and A City on Mars. Kelly maintains that while having humans living off Earth would be awesome, we're simply not ready for it yet. She answers many of Leslie's questions: Why can't we go to Mars if we have the will? Why can't we all just get along? Why should we expand? Why is building a habitable space station harder than settling on Mars or the moon? What laws would apply in any off-Earth settlement? Where should we focus our space research efforts?  Kelly also goes on a rant about Helium 3.    There are two great conferences taking place in Ontario in August 2026:  World Humanist Congress August 7-9 in Ottawa https://www.worldhumanistcongress.org/  BAHACON August 21-23 in Sarnia https://bahacon.com/  Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Join today! Produced by Zack Dumont, Martin Zielinski, and Leslie Rosenblood. Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodcastforInquiry. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@centreforinquiry.ca.

  5. Jul 22

    ENCORE: Solomon, Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, Gandalf: All fictional! With David Fitzgerald

    After years of research, David Fitzgerald has come to a surprising conclusion: that all the main characters in the world's major religions are entirely the product of human imagination. While many have long doubted the supernatural feats that religious figures are purported to have done, the assumption that these are grounded in at least a kernel of historical fact is widely held. David explains how the stories we are familiar with today accreted over time, and the utter lack of evidence that any of the major figures of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, or Buddhism ever actually existed. There are two great conferences taking place in Ontario in August 2026:  World Humanist Congress August 7-9 in Ottawa https://www.worldhumanistcongress.org/  BAHACON August 21-23 in Sarnia https://bahacon.com/  Podcast for Inquiry is brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Join today! Produced by CFIC volunteers. Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodcastforInquiry. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@centreforinquiry.ca.

  6. Jul 8

    ENCORE: Saving civilization is about more than climate change, says Professor Katherine Richardson

    All life on earth ultimately depends on energy and how it flows between biological and geochemical systems on the planet. Katherine Richardson and her team identified nine boundaries which need to be respected if our planet is to remain conducive to human thriving. Climate change is just one of them. We are exceeding six boundaries, and in recent years they are all getting worse. Katherine discusses how she and her team identified the nine planetary boundaries and why it is essential to consider how they interact, instead of viewing them as independent issues. The effects of exceeding planetary boundaries are affecting life today, disrupting air travel, causing severe flooding, and contributing to more frequent and powerful storms. (For the most up to date overview, read Planetary Boundaries guide humanity's future on Earth, published in Nature magazine on November 8, 2024.) We have the knowledge and technology to live within the planetary boundaries; the question remains whether we have the will, and the time, to implement them. The nine planetary boundaries are: Climate change Biosphere integrity Stratospheric ozone depletion Ocean acidification Phosphorus and nitrogen biogeochemical flows Land system change Freshwater change Atmospheric aerosol loading Novel entities There are two great conferences taking place in Ontario in August 2026:  World Humanist Congress August 7-9 in Ottawa https://www.worldhumanistcongress.org/  BAHACON August 21-23 in Sarnia https://bahacon.com/  Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Join today! Produced by Zack Dumont, Martin Zielinski, and Leslie Rosenblood. Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodcastforInquiry. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@centreforinquiry.ca.

  7. Jun 24

    We've been here before: Apocalypses past and present with Lizzie Wade

    Lizzie Wade is the author of APOCALYPSE: How Catastrophe Transformed Our World and Can Forge New Futures.  She is a science writer focusing on archaeology and anthropology, a contributing correspondent for Science, and her work has also appeared in Wired, Archaeology, National Geographic, and Slate. Follow her work via The Antiquarian newsletter at theantiquarian.email The conversation starts with how ancient Egypt, which was very hierarchical and funneled lots of resources to its ruling class, collapsed when a prolonged drought struck. Lizzie explains how the Mayan civilization still very much existed when it was first contacted by the Spanish, despite the centralized state dissolving centuries earlier. Lizzie ponders whether there are grand themes in the study of history, or if it's just one damn thing after another. According to Lizzie, contemporary society is facing its own apocalypse, but there are options available to us to address it.    There are two great conferences taking place in Ontario in August 2026:  World Humanist Congress August 7-9 in Ottawa https://www.worldhumanistcongress.org/  BAHACON August 21-23 in Sarnia https://bahacon.com/  Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Join today! Produced by Zack Dumont, Martin Zielinski, and Leslie Rosenblood. Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodcastforInquiry. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@centreforinquiry.ca.

  8. Jun 10 ·  Bonus

    Leslie's Diatribes #5: The Arc of the Moral Universe

    Leslie spoke about CFIC for a few minutes at the 2026 WeCanReason conference in early May. The brief talk wasn't recorded but seemed to resonate with many attendees, so today's bonus episode is Leslie recreating the speech for Podcast for Inquiry subscribers.  As with all Diatribes, the opinions expressed are Leslie's alone and do not represent CFIC or any other organization. Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Join today! Produced by Zack Dumont, Martin Zielinski, and Leslie Rosenblood. Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodcastforInquiry. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@centreforinquiry.ca.

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About

A podcast for scientific, skeptical, secular, rational and humanistic inquiry. They've got answers? We've got questions.

Information

  • Creator
    Centre For Inquiry Canada
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    127
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Centre For Inquiry Canada
  • Show Website
    The Podcast For Inquiry

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