Intelligent Design the Future

Are we to credit an unguided evolutionary process for the gift of sleeping and waking? Or are these intricate systems further evidence of design? On this ID The Future selected out of the archive, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes his conversation with Dr. Eric Hedin on the intelligent design of sleep. In Part 2, the pair dig deeper into the purpose of sleep and why it’s so essential to living organisms. They also look at why it’s unlikely that a gradual Darwinian process can be credited for the origin of sleeping and waking, and why intelligent design is a better expl...

In 2026, one of the most influential books on science in our lifetime turns 30 years old. It’s Darwin’s Black Box, written by biochemist and professor Michael J. Behe. On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes his conversation with Dr. Behe as we celebrate the milestone, revisit the book’s major insights, and examine its staying power over the last three decades. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. Look for Part 1 in a separate episode.

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One of the seminal books of the modern intelligent design movement is Darwin’s Black Box, written by biochemist and professor Michael J. Behe. In 2026, that book turns 30. On this episode of ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid talks to Dr. Behe about the book's impact and the staying power of its arguments. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation.

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We’re asleep an average of about 26 years of our life! Most people have a sense that sleep is important, but many of us aren't sure exactly why. Why is sleep so crucial to survival? And how did the processes of sleep emerge in living things? Could a gradual Darwinian process be responsible, or are the systems involved another instance of intelligent design? On this episode of ID The Future selected from the vault, host Andrew McDiarmid begins a conversation with Dr. Eric Hedin about the origin and intelligent design of sleep. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Look fo...

Today's episode of ID The Future comes from our sister podcast Mind Matters News. Today, guest host Pat Flynn welcomes Dr. Robert Marks and Dr. Michael Egnor to the show to critique Integrated Information Theory (IIT), a popular mathematical model that attempts to explain consciousness through computational complexity.

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It's the book that helped launch the biochemical challenge to Darwinian evolution. It has been hailed as one of the most influential books on science in our lifetime. And this year, it celebrates thirty years in print! On today's ID the Future, host Andrew McDiarmid invites you to join him as he reads selections from Darwin's Black Box, authored by biochemist Michael J. Behe. And don't miss Andrew's two-part conversation with Behe about the impact of the book. Look for that in separate episodes of ID The Future.

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On this episode of ID The Future from our archive, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes astrophysicist Guillermo Gonzalez back to the program to read and discuss his poem "Totality: A Celestial Theater," written to commemorate the total solar eclipse that occurred in April 2024. You may already be familiar with Gonzalez's popular book The Privileged Planet, co-authored with Dr. Jay Richards, unpacking the arguments for our privileged place in the cosmos. You might also have heard about his new young adult novel The Farm at the Center of the Universe, co-written with Dr. Jonathan Witt. But you likely didn't know this accomplished...

Does invoking aliens to explain the origin of life on Earth solve the problem of biological information, or does it simply kick the can down the road? On this ID The Future, enjoy the second half of a conversation with geologist Dr. Casey Luskin and his wife, science educator Kristin Marais, as they discuss intelligent design, evolution, and alien life with host Daniel Ray on the Apologetics Profile podcast. In Part 2, the conversation shifts from the theoretical framework of intelligent design to the physical and biological hurdles that challenge both Darwinian evolution and the search for extraterrestrial life. Dr. Luskin...

If alien life were to be discovered elsewhere in the cosmos, would it be evidence of intelligent design or blind evolutionary forces? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid brings you the first half of a recent conversation with geologist Dr. Casey Luskin and his wife, science teacher Kristin Marais, that originally aired on the Apologetics Profile podcast. The conversation explores the scientific theory of intelligent design, and in particular, the intuitive ways we recognize patterns in life, from forensic science to archaeology. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. We're grateful to the producer of Apologetics Profile for...

Seven years ago, Yale University professor of computer science David Gelernter wrote that he was bidding farewell to neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory. Why would he take such a bold step? What convinced him that the neo-Darwinian paradigm no longer satisfied the scientific evidence? On this classic ID The Future out of the vault, host Andrew McDiarmid reads Gelernter's important essay in full.

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Is it possible to integrate the evidence for intelligent design into full-length high school biology and chemistry courses? Of course! Are such courses currently available to homeschool students? Absolutely! Discovery Institute Academy offers innovative online science courses for homeschool students taught from the perspective that nature reflects intelligent design. On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes the instructors of DI Academy’s biology and chemistry courses, Kristin Marais and Summer Edwards, to give us a fresh look at this year’s classes.

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Is there clear and present scientific evidence that life and the universe were purposefully designed? On this ID The Future, we highlight Dr. Stephen Meyer's recent conversation with Piers Morgan on Piers Morgan Uncensored. This is Dr. Meyer's second interview with Morgan. Last time, he talked about scientific evidence for the existence of God. This time, he explores science, faith, and the very origins of the cosmos with Piers. Meyer unpacks some of the evidence explored in the new documentary film The Story of Everything. From the digital code embedded in our DNA to the precise fine-tuning of the universe...

Today's episode of ID The Future comes from our sister podcast Mind Matters News. The age of AI is upon us and is already changing the way we conduct our lives. What is the optimal division of tasks between humans and machines? On this episode of Mind Matters News, host Robert J. Marks welcomes psychologist Dr. Joe McDonald to the podcast to explore the relationship between cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence (AI).

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If theistic evolution doesn’t work, and Darwinian evolution is scientifically inadequate, what alternative framework better explains the origin of life and the universe? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes his two-part conversation with Father Michal Chaberek and Steve Greene, authors of a new book called Creation or Evolution? A Catholic Dilemma. In Part 1, the discussion centered on why evolution became a dilemma for many Catholics. Part 2 explores the obvious follow-up questions: what does modern science actually reveal? Does the evolutionary story satisfy the evidence? And if not, what is the more adequate explanation? Fr. Chaberek and Gr...

To reconcile faith and science, is it enough to say God could have used evolution? Many Christians are attracted to this idea, and it is now treated as the quasi-official Catholic position. But can this view, known as theistic evolution, really harmonize Scripture, theology, and modern science? Or is there a better approach? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid begins a two-part conversation with Father Michal Chaberek and Steve Greene, authors of a new book called Creation or Evolution? A Catholic Dilemma. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation.

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Vitalism is the age-old idea that living things possess a vital force – some fundamental element that generally does not exist in non-life. As a Darwinian paradigm took hold of the natural sciences in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, vitalism fell out of favor. But as writer and teacher Daniel Witt reports on this classic episode of ID The Future from the vault, a willingness to flirt with vitalism seems to be growing in certain scientific circles.

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If our minds are the product of a blind and aimless process, what reason do we have to believe what we think? But if we can be rational because a rational intelligence designed life and the universe, how does that change how we should think about thinking? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes his conversation with science teacher and writer Rebekah Valerius about an essay she recently wrote unpacking the argument from reason and its implications for Darwinism, materialism, and atheism. In Part 2, Valerius shows why a Darwinian process cannot be responsible for our powers of reason...

Before we can ask whether the universe is designed, we should first ask if we can trust the minds we’re using to investigate it. On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes to the show science teacher and writer Rebekah Valerius to discuss an essay she recently penned unpacking the argument from reason and its implications for Darwinism, materialism, and atheism. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation.

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Are we common or rare? You can be on either side of the question and still be excited about the search for habitable planets capable of harboring life. On this classic episode of ID the Future from the archive, host and amateur astronomer Eric Anderson concludes his two-part conversation with Bijan Nemati, professional astronomer and expert on exoplanet search technology, to review the history of exoplanet research and share key details about upcoming NASA missions. Nemati is currently one of the lead scientists for the coronagraph instrument on the Roman Space Telescope, slated to launch in August 2026, and is also cl...

ID The Future listeners now get to enjoy two episodes each month from our sister podcast Mind Matters News, a production of the Discovery Institute’s Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence. The Mind Matters News podcast brings you insight from computer scientists, engineers, inventors, neurosurgeons, and other experts who bring sanity to the conversation about natural and artificial intelligence, going beyond the hype to explore the undercurrents of these important ideas. And although the Mind Matters News podcast will not often explicitly discuss intelligent design, it regularly explores the nature of intelligence, the origin of information, and th...

Imagine you have been invited to a futuristic discovery center, a lavishly funded facility that has pioneered the ability to shrink people and objects many orders of magnitude. What if you could climb aboard an incredible shrinking submarine and travel into the heart of a living cell? This would be a tour like no other, to be sure! You’d get a glimpse of DNA, molecular machines, and cellular architecture, certainly, but you’d also bear witness to the workings of a hidden world of information and epigenetic controls operating beyond the physical structures of life. On this ID The Futu...

One of the most exciting areas of space research is the search for Earth-like planets around other stars. Since the first discovery some 30 years ago, thousands of exoplanets have been identified and catalogued, but the vast majority bear little resemblance to Earth and would not be conducive to even simple life, much less large organisms such as ourselves. However, during the same 30 years, planet-hunting technology has also vastly improved. Where do things stand today, and what can we expect over the next decade as the hunt continues? On this classic episode of ID the Future out of the vault, host an...

A second revolution is underway in biology today. DNA isn’t the whole story for the development of living things. The deeper scientists look into the cell, the more they find layers of coding, regulation, communication, and control. Where did all this additional information come from? On today's ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid continues his conversation with Dr. Tom Woodward, co-author with Dr. James Gills of a new book called Epigenetics and the Architect: Evidence of Design at the Frontier of Biology. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation.

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Many of us have heard about one of the biggest discoveries in modern biology: the discovery of the information code embedded in DNA. But perhaps an even bigger discovery than that would be that DNA isn’t running the show by itself. A second revolution is underway centered around a hidden layer of information beyond DNA that helps direct the development of every living thing. On this episode of ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes Dr. Tom Woodward to the show to discuss his new book, co-authored with Dr. James Gills: Epigenetics and the Architect: Evidence of Design at th...

ID The Future listeners now get to enjoy two episodes each month from our sister podcast Mind Matters News, a production of the Discovery Institute’s Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence. The Mind Matters News podcast brings you insight from computer scientists, engineers, inventors, neurosurgeons, and other experts who bring sanity to the conversation about natural and artificial intelligence, going beyond the hype to explore the undercurrents of these important ideas. And although the Mind Matters News podcast will not often explicitly discuss intelligent design, it regularly explores the nature of intelligence, the origin of information, and th...

The new documentary film The Story of Everything is no longer available in movie theaters, but there are now new ways to stream and share this intriguing documentary! Host Andrew McDiarmid recently caught up with our friend and colleague Dr. Stephen Meyer to ask him a few questions about how The Story of Everything has been received and the exciting new ways people can enjoy the film.

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New fossil discoveries from China are being hailed as evidence that could reshape our understanding of the origin of complex animal life. Does the new find solve the mystery of the Cambrian explosion? Are the headlines about these fossils justified? Are these in fact the long-lost ancestors of the Cambrian animals we’ve been looking for? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes Dr. Casey Luskin to the show to to examine the evidence, ambiguity, and ongoing controversy surrounding newly reported Ediacaran bilaterian fossils.

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On this classic ID The Future out of the vault, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes comedian and author Evan Sayet to the podcast to discuss the failure of the atheist origin myth, his journey from liberalism to conservatism, and the role of humor in the scientific debate. His latest book, Magic Soup, Typing Monkeys, and Horny Aliens From Outer Space, takes a cuttingly humorous approach to dismantling the origin myths promoted by atheists to explain away the evidence for design in life and the universe. Philosopher of science Dr. Stephen Meyer calls Sayet's book “a rambunctious romp...With his trademark humor, Sa...

Today on ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes his conversation with Dr. Robert Waltzer about the amazing molecular machinery and systems that allow muscles to generate force and movement. How do microscopic structures help us move large objects in real time? In Part 2, Dr. Waltzer explores the remarkable molecular engineering required for nanometer-scale molecules to move massive bodies. He explains that muscle function actually involves constant microscopic damage as tiny proteins are strained far beyond their physical capacities. To prevent total failure, Waltzer says muscles operate like a plane being fixed while it's flying, utilizing specialized detection and signaling...

Every movement you make—walking across a room, lifting a cup of coffee, even blinking your eyes—depends on trillions of microscopic molecular machines working in remarkable coordination. On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid begins exploring the hidden machinery of muscle with Dr. Robert Waltzer, professor of biology at Belhaven University and longtime researcher and lecturer on intelligent design. First, Dr. Waltzer takes us to right to the microscopic heart of muscle. Then he explains how muscle solves the formidable engineering challenge of repairing and replacing damaged muscle components in real time. This is Part 1 of a two-part conv...

Evolutionary biologist Richard Lenski hopes to demonstrate Darwinian evolution in action. But one humble scientist from Northern Idaho says not so fast! On this classic episode of ID The Future from the archive, host Eric Anderson concludes a conversation with microbiologist Dr. Scott Minnich. In Part 2, Dr. Minnich critiques Lenski's famous Long Term Evolutionary Experiments. Through experiments of his own, Minnich has shown how the practical results of Lenski's project on E. coli are easily repeatable under different conditions, and how some key changes to E. coli are even reversible, both of which speak more to an organism's pre-existing capabilities...

ID The Future listeners now get to enjoy two episodes each month from our sister podcast Mind Matters News, a production of the Discovery Institute’s Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence. The Mind Matters News podcast brings you insight from computer scientists, engineers, inventors, neurosurgeons, and other experts who bring sanity to the conversation about natural and artificial intelligence, going beyond the hype to explore the undercurrents of these important ideas. And although the Mind Matters News podcast will not often explicitly discuss intelligent design, it regularly explores the nature of intelligence, the origin of information, and th...

Aliens are trending right now. At least the topic of alien life. It’s in the news, it’s in our movie theaters, and even the U.S. government is getting in on the action as it releases troves of documents related to unexplained phenomena and the search for extraterrestrial life. But here’s a question that isn’t getting explored as much as others: If we do find alien life, will that alien life support the case for intelligent design or an evolutionary origin of life? On this episode of ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes Dr. Casey Luskin t...

On this classic episode of ID The Future out of the vault, host Eric Anderson sits down with microbiologist Dr. Scott Minnich to discover what led him to microbiology and how he became an intelligent design researcher. In Part 1, Minnich shares how he first learned about intelligent design, met philosopher of science Dr. Stephen Meyer, and eventually became involved in the well-known documentary, Unlocking the Mystery of Life. Minnich also reflects on his childhood upbringing and his interest in the big questions even as a high school student. His plans for an eventual military career took a turn as a r...

On today's episode of ID The Future, we’re sharing a conversation with author, speaker, and professor Nancy Pearcey that originally aired on the eX-skeptic Podcast. Before Pearcey became one of the leading Christian voices engaging questions about worldview, intelligent design, evolution, and scientific materialism, she walked away from Christianity altogether. In this candid interview, Pearcey reflects on her journey through atheism, relativism, and Eastern spirituality before ultimately rediscovering Christianity as a worldview capable of explaining both reality and human dignity.

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Designing an Olympic bicycle requires the very best materials and lubricants. And the smallest of engineering choices can make the difference between winning and losing the race. On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid speaks with award-winning British engineer and designer Stuart Burgess. This time, the topic is his engineering work as lead transmission designer on the Olympic bikes used by Team Great Britain in the last three summer Olympic Games. Burgess reveals that the human body boasts a level of engineering that far surpasses the best things humans have been able to engineer. This optimal design in living...

Curiosity can lead to unexpected adventures. For self-taught scientist Forrest Mims, it inspired a successful career in science and technology that continues to this day. On this classic ID The Future out of the vault, host Andrew McDiarmid reads an exclusive excerpt from Mims’s memoir Maverick Scientist: My Adventures as an Amateur Scientist.

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If a friend, family member, or colleague lodges an objection to the fine-tuning argument for intelligent design, are you ready to respond? On this installment of ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes his two-part conversation with philosopher and intelligent design scholar Peter S. Williams. Williams reviews the most common objections to the fine-tuning arguments for intelligent design and explains why each proposal falls short scientifically, logically, and philosophically. Who knew there were over 20 objections to fine-tuning? Even host McDiarmid admits he didn't know about all of them! The more well-versed you are in responding to objections, the better you'll...

By now, you may be familiar with the fine-tuning argument for intelligent design. Scientists have discovered a whole suite of parameters and initial conditions appear to be exquisitely tuned to allow for complex life to exist, and the argument is that intelligent design better explains that evidence than chance or necessity. But you may not know the most common objections to the fine-tuning argument, or how to respond to them. On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes philosopher and intelligent design scholar Peter S. Williams to the show to equip us to answer the most common objections to...

Major General Bobby Hollingsworth had a distinguished 38-year career as a U.S. Marine fighter pilot and in leadership roles including commanding the Marine Corps Reserve Support Command and serving as vice commander of Marine forces in the Pacific. After retiring, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to lead the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. In this full-length interview with Mind Matters News host Robert J. Marks, Hollingsworth shares his life journey from dairy farm to fighter pilot, his perspective on the current state of U.S. military preparedness and leadership, and his...