The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott

Professor Niles Eldredge on Evolution

Continuing in my series on evolution and creationism. In this episode you’re in for a treat. I’ve managed to score an interview with a special guest—a celebrity in the field of evolutionary biology.  Sit back and enjoy!
Dr. Niles Eldredge has been a paleontologist on the curatorial staff of the American Museum of Natural History since 1969. His early work focused on the evolution of trilobites—a group of extinct arthropods that lived between 535 and 245 million years ago. Eldredge is the Curator responsible for the content of the major exhibition Darwin, which opened in New York, London, Rome and Lisbon in time to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth in February 2009. His book Darwin. Discovering the Tree of Life (2005) accompanied the exhibition.
Eldredge’s main professional passion has always been evolution. Throughout his career, he has used repeated patterns in the history of life to refine ideas on how the evolutionary process actually works. The theory of “punctuated equilibria” developed with Stephen Jay Gould in 1972, was an early milestone. Eldredge went on to develop a hierarchical vision of evolutionary and ecological systems, and in his book The Pattern of Evolution (1999) he has developed a comprehensive theory (the “sloshing bucket”) that specifies in detail how environmental change governs the evolutionary process. Other works include Unfinished Synthesis (1985) and Eternal Ephemera (2015). A critic of gene-centered theories of evolution, Eldredge’s Why We Do It (2004) presents an alternative account to the gene-based notions of “evolutionary psychology” to explain why human beings behave as they do.
Concerned with the rapid destruction of many of the world’s habitats and species, Eldredge was Curator-in-Chief of the American Museum’s Hall of Biodiversity (May, 1998), and has written several books on the subject—most recently (1998) Life in the Balance. He has also combated the creationist movement through lectures, articles and books—including The Triumph of Evolution...And The Failure of Creationism (2000).
Eldredge who is also an amateur jazz trumpeter and avid collector of 19th century cornets, lives with his wife, his dog and cat, and 500 cornets in Ridgewood, New Jersey—but repairs to the Adirondack Mountains to hike, think and write as often as possible. He is currently writing Gaian Homilies, an account of his experiences witnessing the nature of Gaia and the negligent Gaiacide committed by Homo sapiens.
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Paleovirology and Evolution with Dr. Welkin Johnson

This episode continues my series on creationism and evolution. I’m excited to talk to a virologist to get the inside scoop on how viruses mingle with our DNA at the molecular level.  This is one of the evidences for evolution and common descent that I referenced in the series opening podcast.
Welkin Johnson, Ph.D. is a virologist with a particular interest in paleovirology. Dr. Johnson’s research team works on molecular level virus-host interactions, and the impact of these interactions on the evolution of both the viruses and their hosts.
A Michigander by birth, he attended UC Berkeley, where he obtained his bachelor’s degree in Microbiology & Immunology. After working for a year as a lab tech at UC San Francisco, Welkin moved to Boston, where he obtained his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology & Microbiology from Tufts University School of Medicine. He was a postdoctoral fellow and later faculty in the Dept. of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics at Harvard Medical School. In 2011, he joined the faculty of Boston College, where he currently serves as the Chair of the Biology Department. He also serves on the Board of Scientific Advisors for the National Cancer Institute, and is on the editorial boards of several journals.
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Dr. S. Joshua Swamidass on Genesis and Evolution

This episode continues my series on science and religion. In previous episodes I’ve interviewed the director of the Vatican Observatory, and a nuclear engineer. On this episode I delve more deeply into one of the leading firestorms in that debate. Creationism vs. Evolution.
Dr. Swamidass was raised in a religious evangelical family of young earth creationists. After learning the scientific evidence behind evolution he realized he was being lied to. Now he works within the religious community to challenge the theological basis of anti-science beliefs such as this.
S. Joshua Swamidass MD PhD, a physician and a scientist, is an Associate Professor of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine at Washington University in St Louis. His group uses artificial intelligence to advance science at the intersection of biology, chemistry, and medicine. He is the author of The Genealogical Adam and Eve and the founder of Peaceful Science (https://peacefulscience.org/).
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Evolution and Genetics

This episode is an introduction to a series on Evolution and Creationism.  The Theory of Evolution is the cornerstone of modern biological science, providing a cohesive framework that explains how the diversity of life that we observe today came about.  It has been borne out again and again through the discovery of previously unknown fossils with traits intermediate between extant varieties.
Genetic science has exploded in recent years due to the advances from the human genome project. Scientists now have the ability to sequence entire genomes and run statistical analyses to test theories of common descent.  
In this episode I provide some of the interesting discoveries and highlights that I hope to explore in coming weeks with the help of experts in the field.  Stay tuned for more!
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Dr. Jessica Lovering is changing public perception of nuclear energy

In this episode I interview Dr. Jessica Lovering and analyze her essay with Suzanne Baker, 'Can Nuclear go Local?'.  In this work they discuss ways that nuclear advocates and nuclear industry can address some of the main concerns of environmental opponents.
Dr. Jessica Lovering is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Good Energy Collective, a new organization working on progressive nuclear policy. She completed her PhD in Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. She is a Fellow with the Energy for Growth Hub and the Fastest Path to Zero Initiative at University of Michigan. She was formerly the Director of the Energy Program at the Breakthrough Institute.
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What about the waste?

In this episode we dig into the science and politics associated with spent nuclear fuel.
The public policy debate around the energy transition is one of the most polarized and critical to the future of our society.
The IPCC reports provide an ongoing review of the status of the science on this topic.  IPCC pathways to net zero all include significant nuclear power, yet the public policy debate has not yet caught up. The European Union Joint Research Council has researched green energy sources and has confirmed the scientific consensus—nuclear causes no more environmental harm than any other power source.
In my previous episode I answered the question 'What about Fukushima'. 'What about the waste' is the second most common 'gotcha' response that people are conditioned to ask in response to the possibility of expanding nuclear energy. 
Listen as I summarize my discussions with several experts on nuclear waste management. You may be surprised at what you hear.
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What about Fukushima?

Nuclear energy has now been recognized by a UN expert committee as the lowest carbon intensity of any major energy source. Anyone who has been involved in climate advocacy will have heard the common refrain ‘what about Chernobyl and Fukushima?’ We all know about the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.  It caused roughly 100 deaths and thousands of cases of preventable thyroid cancer.  But what about Fukushima Daiichi?
In this episode I will summarize my interviews with several nuclear and radiation health experts on the subject.
Dr Philip Thomas is a professor of risk management at University of Bristol. Dr. Thomas has extensive experience in the chemical and nuclear industries and is co-author of the NREFS study which developed an objective method of risk assessment in nuclear accidents.
Dr. Gerry Thomas is Professor of Molecular Pathology at Imperial College London, and an expert on the molecular biology of thyroid cancer. She established the Chernobyl tissue bank in 1998, and is an author of a number of reviews of the health effects of radiation exposure following nuclear accidents, having contributed to IAEA publications on the Fukushima accident UNSCEAR publications on the Chernobyl accident.
Geochemist and Energy scientist Dr. James Conca is Senior Scientist for UFA Ventures, Inc. in the Tri-Cities, Washington, an Adjunct Professor at Washington State University in the School of the Environment, a Trustee of the Herbert M. Parker Foundation, an Affiliate Scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and a Science Contributor to Forbes on energy and nuclear issues.
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Dr. Jan Blomgren on God and science

In this episode I'm continuing my exploration of the intersection of science and religion. These represent two seemingly incompatible paths to truth, one of which values skepticism, the other which values faith. I interview a professor of applied nuclear physics who believes that quantum mechanics is not inconsistent with the influence of the supernatural in the universe.
Jan Blomgren is CEO and founder of INBEx (Institute of Nuclear Business Excellence), focused on nuclear power leadership. He is also CEO of KraftAkademin, a centre of excellence on nuclear power technology. He has previously been a professor of applied nuclear physics at Uppsala University, nuclear competence strategist at Vattenfall, and Director of the Swedish Nuclear Technology Centre.
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Science and Religion with Brother Guy Consolmagno, SJ

In this episode I interview the head of the Vatican Observatory, Brother Guy Consolmagno, SJ, PhD to discuss the intersection of science and religion. I ask him if he sees a conflict between faith and skepticism. You might be surprised at the answer.
Brother Guy Consolmagno SJ, is a Jesuit brother, Director of the Vatican Observatory and the President of the Vatican Observatory Foundation whose research studies meteorites and asteroids. He is a native of Detroit, Michigan, received SB and SM degrees from MIT, and earned his PhD in Planetary Sciences from the University of Arizona in 1978. Along with more than 200 scientific publications, he is the author of six popular astronomy books. In 2014 he received the Carl Sagan Medal from the American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Sciences for excellence in public communication in planetary sciences
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Summary of the linear-no-threshold controversy

In this episode I summarize my research on the linear-no-threshold model of radiation health effects, replaying key excerpts from my past interviews with leading experts on the topic.
These include thyroid cancer expert Professor Geraldine Thomas of Imperial College London, Dr. Edwin Lyman, Director of Nuclear Power Safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, radiation dosimetry expert Dr. Blake Walters of Canada's National Research Council, and nuclear accident expert Dr. Philip Thomas, Professor of Risk Management at University of Bristol.
I hope you learn as much as I have!
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