Intelligent Design the Future

Latest Episodes:

The Exclusion, and Return, of Purpose in Science Oct 26, 2026

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Purpose was once considered fundamental to understanding nature. But for the last few centuries, scientists committed to a Darwinian view of life have ignored it. Now some materialists are reconsidering agency, function, and emergence in biology. But can they succeed without acknowledging intelligent design? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes Dr. Stephen Iacoboni, an award-winning cancer researcher and practitioner of medical oncology for forty years. In his personal memoir, The Undying Soul, he chronicles his spiritual journey and return to faith. And in his book, Telos: The Scientific Basis for a Life of Purpose, he offers a unique reconciliation between faith and science. He also writes regularly at Science & Culture Today. In this opening segment, Iacoboni takes us on a brief historical tour of purpose in science, showing when it began to get excluded in the scientific pursuit.

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Landmark Origins Book Conclusions Are Even Stronger Today Oct 23, 2026

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On this classic ID the Future out of the vault, guest host Robert J. Marks interviews Roger Olsen, co-author of the groundbreaking book The Mystery of Life’s Origin. In the work’s epilogue the authors suggested that a designing intelligence stands as the best explanation for the origin of life. And with a revised and greatly expanded new edition of the book available, Olsen says that more than thirty-five years of additional research from the origin-of-life community have left their conclusions stronger than ever.

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How Engineering Logic Unlocks Biological Mysteries Oct 21, 2026

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Intelligent design is fundamentally a theory of design detection. But in addition to helping us evaluate models that best explain past events, ID can also guide experiments that study the present-day operations of nature. On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid records a conversation from our new Studio West in the Seattle offices of Discovery Institute. McDiarmid is joined by two members of our Center for Science & Culture science team, Dr. Emily Reeves and Dr. Brian Miller, to discuss a new paper co-authored by our science team that unpacks how intelligent design can guide scientific research in multiple fields of science.

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From Origins to Operations: The Broad Utility of Intelligent Design Oct 19, 2026

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You may already know that an intelligent design framework can help us empirically detect whether an outcome in nature exhibits properties that indicate design. But did you also know an ID perspective can be applied to experimental science to guide research into how the natural world operates? On this episode of ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid is joined by Dr. Casey Luskin and Dr. Jonathan McLatchie, two members of the Center for Science & Culture's team of resident scientists, to discuss a new paper co-authored by the science team unpacking how intelligent design can guide scientific research in multiple fields of science.

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Servers & Souls: Cloud Computing and Personal Identity Oct 16, 2026

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Like many, you may be storing important files and photos in the cloud. But just where is this magical cloud? How is it powered? Is it safe? To answer these questions and more, Mind Matters News host Robert J. Marks is joined by Walter Myers III, a principal engineering manager for Microsoft’s Azure Cloud and a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute. Their conversation provides an overview of cloud computing infrastructure, including an explanation of where the cloud is physically located, the different service models (infrastructure, platform, and software as a service), and the technical details of how data is stored and protected in the cloud. Then, the conversation pivots to the philosophy of identity, exploring the philosophical concept known as the Ship of Theseus. This episode comes from our sister podcast Mind Matters News, a production of Discovery Institute's Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence.

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How an ID Framework Guides the Search for Habitable Worlds Oct 14, 2026

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How rare is Planet Earth in the vastness of the cosmos? Will we find other planets in space that could possibly harbor life? A new space telescope has just been launched that may help us with answers to those questions. On today's episode of ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes a two-part conversation with physicist Dr. Bijan Nemati about his work on the Nancy Roman Space Telescope. In this segment, we dive deeper into what constitutes a habitable planet, how Roman will team up with the James Webb space telescope to discover hidden worlds, and how intelligent design can inform our expectations and interpretations of data sent back from Roman.

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I Helped Build NASA’s Latest Space Telescope. Here’s What It Will Do. Oct 12, 2026

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A new space telescope was recently launched by NASA. What will it look for? Why do we need another telescope exploring the heavens? And how does an intelligent design perspective enrich both the expectations and interpretations of the telescope’s findings? Today on ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid is delighted to begin a two-part conversation with physicist Dr. Bijan Nemati about his work on the Nancy Roman Space Telescope. He’ll also help us understand the goals of the new observatory and how it will contribute to humanity’s understanding of the cosmos. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation.

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The Mystery of Life’s Origin, Then and Now Oct 09, 2026

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On this ID the Future our of the archive, guest host Robert J. Marks interviews chemist Charles Thaxton about a seminal 1984 book he co-authored, The Mystery of Life’s Origin, foundational to the intelligent design movement. The main body of Mystery was generally praised, Thaxton explains. It was the epilogue that proved controversial. There, the three authors reviewed five proposed explanations for life’s origins and suggested that the best explanation was that the first life originated through an act of creative intelligence. Thaxton also tells a little about the recently revised and expanded edition of the book, with new contributions from Stephen Meyer, Brian Miller, James Tour, and others.

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How Intelligent Engineering Can Solve the Electromagnetic Spectrum Crisis Oct 07, 2026

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Today’s episode of ID The Future comes from our sister podcast Mind Matters News, a production of Discovery Institute’s Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence. Mind Matters regularly explores the nature of intelligence, the origin of information, and the things that make us uniquely human, all concepts that are central to the theory of intelligent design. Enjoy today’s offering of Mind Matters News! In this episode of Mind Matters News, host Robert J. Marks speaks with Baylor University spectrum experts Dr. Charles Baylis, Dr. Austin Egbert, and PhD candidate Jonathan Swindell about the nation’s pressing electromagnetic spectrum crisis. Have you ever thought about all of the electromagnetic waves in the room you’re in right now? You have invisible microwave cell phone signals in the air, plus all of the signals for broadcast television and AM and FM radio. Radiation from a GPS signal is there waiting for you to tap in. The range of frequencies in electromagnetic waves is known as the electromagnetic spectrum. And that spectrum is in great demand, with the rapid proliferation of personal wireless devices, radar network, and satellite weather sensors all competing for a spot. Managing the electromagnetic spectrum is our topic today.

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Restoring the Natural Theology Tradition That Fueled Modern Science Oct 05, 2026

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What is the state of the debate over evolution and intelligent design in the UK? And how will Discovery Institute's new Cambridge initiative impact the debate going forward? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes fellow Scotsman Dr. Alistair McKitterick, a Consulting Fellow at the Center for Science & Culture’s Whewell Center in Cambridge and a Program Director at London School of Theology. The pair will discuss how Alistair got interested in intelligent design, his work at the Whewell Center, and the state of the debate over evolution and intelligent design in the United Kingdom.

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