Saving civilization is about more than climate change, says Professor Katherine Richardson
Release Date: 11/20/2024
ENCORE: What It Means to be Moral with Phil Zuckerman
The Podcast For Inquiry
PfI is on hiatus for the summer, so we're bringing you some of our favourite episodes from our back catalogue. New shows will resume in September. is a professor of Secular Studies at Pitzer College. Phil describes what the Secular Studies program entails from philosophical, political, and sociological perspectives. Phil is the author of What It Means to be Moral, and he and Leslie discuss how leading an ethical life does not require a religious foundation. Phil is the Executive Director of , and you can read his most recent articles and essays on . Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by...
info_outline
Aaron Devor explains the ABCs of the Trans+ community
The Podcast For Inquiry
Leslie speaks with Aaron about many issues related to transgender people, or the Trans+ community. They discuss how the perceived binaries of sex, sexual preference, gender, and gender expression are more complicated and nuanced in reality. Aaron details how many people identify as transgender and nonbinary in Canada, and provides insights into many current controversies including pronouns, sports, puberty blockers, and incarceration. , PhD, FSSSS, FSTLHE, is an internationally recognized leader in Transgender Studies who has been studying and teaching about transgender topics since the...
info_outline
Is nuclear energy low carbon, cost efficient, and sustainable? Jason Donev has the answers.
The Podcast For Inquiry
If uranium in a nuclear power plant emits so much radiation it boils tons of water, how safe is it for workers? Given the huge facilities required and massive mining efforts, is nuclear truly carbon neutral? Is there enough uranium in the earth for nuclear energy to be a long term source of electricity? If we build more nuclear plants, will we retire fossil fuel sources of electricity or simply increase our electricity usage accordingly? Jason Donev answers all these questions, and more, in our second conversation on nuclear energy. References from our conversation: ...
info_outline
BONUS: BAHACON 4 in Sarnia Ontario, August 8-10, 2025
The Podcast For Inquiry
The fourth BAHACON is coming in a little over two month’s time. Leslie speaks with Jeff Brooks about the conference’s location, speakers, and other attractions that makes the Bluewater Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics conference so popular for attendees from across North America. Learn more and register at Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the . ! Produced by Zack Dumont, Martin Zielinski, and Leslie Rosenblood. Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: . Send your thoughts and feedback to .
info_outline
New clear nuclear news, with Jason Donev
The Podcast For Inquiry
Prof. Jason Donev is tenured at the University of Calgary. He leads the world’s largest and most used energy resource for adults, . As a reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Prof. Donev works to help people understand nuclear power's role in providing reliable energy without emitting greenhouse gases. Jason talks about how much energy people around the world use, with a reminder that electricity is only a fraction of our overall energy budget. Jason describes nuclear energy’s advantages and disadvantages compared with the other major sources of electricity. We...
info_outline
A little less livestock, a lot more action - with Mark Lynas
The Podcast For Inquiry
Mark Lynas is the author of several environmental books, including Seeds of Science (2018), Our Final Warning (2020), and the forthcoming Six Minutes to Winter. Until 2024 he was research and climate lead with the Alliance for Science at the Boyce Thompson Institute, an affiliate of Cornell University. Mark is now the policy lead with the pro-science environmental campaign network WePlanet, launched in 2021 and now active in 18 countries. Our conversation starts with a recognition of the dire emergency presented by climate change, and that human food production is a significant...
info_outline
Nigerian Nightmare: The personal toll of being a Humanist, with Mubarak Bala
The Podcast For Inquiry
Mubarak Bala was born in Nigeria's Kano State, on the southern coasts of the Sahara Desert, in 1984. He was schooled in both the Islamic and modern education system. This makes him an outlier, since most families believe the two school systems are mutually exclusive. Boko, Western Education, is Haram, or unIslamic. When Mubarak started doubting the existence of demons, he was told that displaying any doubt was denying the word of the prophet. When his beliefs evolved to atheism, he paid an enormous price for saying so publicly. We talk about his experiences and also about Nigerian...
info_outline
Cell phones, Cinemas, and Comestibles: Canada’s Conundrum with Monopolies, with Vass Bednar
The Podcast For Inquiry
Vass Bednar is the Executive Director of McMaster University’s Master of Public Policy program, and the co-author of The Big Fix: How Companies Capture Markets and Harm Canadians. Our conversation starts with the observation that many sectors in Canada’s economy are dominated by one or only a few firms. Vass and Leslie discuss whether that is good or bad for Canadians, including an analysis of cinemas, grocery stores, and banking. They debate the role of government, the tools it has at its disposal, and what the future might hold. Relevant resources: NICE, the Network of...
info_outline
Trials and tribulations trying to bring a refugee to Canada
The Podcast For Inquiry
In 2019, Brian and Brent (members of the Calgary-based ) joined a “Group of Five (G5)” sponsorship committee (one of the ways Canada allows private citizens to resettle refugees in Canada) to bring a UN recognized refugee, Omer, to Canada. When Omer expressed doubts about his faith, he had to flee his native country of Pakistan due to threats on his life. Omer has been living in hiding in Nepal for several years. Though Omer’s should have been a straightforward case, the experience of navigating the bureaucracies of several nations - as well as the COVID-19 pandemic -...
info_outline
Distinguishing jargon from gobbledygook - Dr. Jonathan Stea on evidence-based medicine over wellness industry misinformation
The Podcast For Inquiry
(, ) is a full-time practicing clinical psychologist and an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Calgary. In today’s episode, Jonathan reveals that many mental health practitioners have no scientific grounding for their treatments, which can lead to disaster - yet it can be very difficult for an layperson to distinguish between a new technique they don’t understand that works, and a new technique they don’t understand that is gibberish. “Quantum neurological reset therapy” should get your spidey sense tingling, and Jonathan shares a few...
info_outlineAll 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
Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodcastforInquiry. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected].