Free Inquiry Audio Edition
by Center for Inquiry
Latest episode
From Vibe Coding to Vibe Critiquing? On AI, Bullshit, and What I…
From Vibe Coding to Vibe Critiquing? On AI, Bullshit, and What I…
About this podcast
The audio edition of Free Inquiry magazine, the Journal for Secular Humanist Ideas.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 146 episodes
- From Vibe Coding to Vibe Critiquing? On AI, Bullshit, and What I Actually Argue about Genital Cutting—A Response to Steve Grumette · 21 min · Season 46Brian D. Earp responds to Steve Grumette's criticism of his scholarship on child genital cutting. Read this article and find accompanying references at…
- Male Circumcision and Female Genital Mutilation: A Response to Steve Grumette and Others · 17 min · Season 46Daniel N. MacClymont argues that male circumcision and female genital mutilation (FGM) share important ethical concerns, including the nonconsensual removal of healthy genital…
- A Dangerous False Equivalence · 18 min · Season 46Steve Grumette argues that female genital mutilation (FGM) and routine male circumcision should not be treated as morally or medically equivalent simply because both involve…
- Stranger Danger: How Bart Ehrman's Latest Unmasks the History of Altruism · 29 min · Season 46Ben Bayer examines Bart Ehrman's history of Christian altruism, arguing that Christianity's emphasis on selfless service to strangers represented a major shift in Western moral…
- Final Thoughts: Is Humanism a Creed? · 10 min · Season 46Ronald A. Lindsay argues in his final Free Inquiry editorial that humanism should remain a philosophy grounded in freedom of inquiry, reason, evidence, and individual autonomy…
- Ariel Peckel Named New Executive Director of CSH and Editor of Free Inquiry · 3 min · Season 46The Center for Inquiry welcomes Ariel Peckel to his new position as Exectutive Director of the Council for Secular Humanism and editor of Free Inquiry. Read this article and find…
- In This Issue: Altruism & Its Christian Taint · 5 min · Season 46Ronald A. Lindsay previews his last issue as editor of Free Inquiry, Volume 46, Number 6, titled Altruism & Its Christian Taint. Read this article and find accompanying…
- We Need a Good Dose of Freethinking, Internationalist Solidarity—And a Belated Happy Fourth of July! · 16 min · Season 46Daniel James Sharp argues that freethinkers and secular humanists in both the United States and Britain face a growing threat from Christian nationalism and other forms of…
- Crime and Punishment · 31 min · Season 46Bart Laws examines the realities behind crime, punishment, and incarceration in the United States, challenging common assumptions that harsher penalties alone can solve crime…
- God Takes a Tumble · 5 min · Season 46Ronald A. Lindsay praises S. T. Joshi's The Downfall of God: A History of Atheism in the West, Vol. 2 as a comprehensive and authoritative account of how scientific…
- A Memoir on Ballooning and Grief · 9 min · Season 46Dennis E. Curry reviews Julian Barnes's Levels of Life, arguing that its unflinching exploration of grief offers a deeply humanist alternative to religious consolation. Through…
- Bill Cooke's Misleading, Meritless Review · 9 min · Season 46Richard Carrier argues that Bill Cooke's review of The Obsolete Paradigm of a Historical Jesus misrepresents both his arguments and the evidence, claiming the review ignores key…
- Carrier Fails to Carry His Burden · 16 min · Season 46Bill Cooke reviews and critiques Richard Carrier's The Obsolete Paradigm of a Historical Jesus (2025), arguing that its case for Jesus mythicism relies on circular reasoning…
- Does Work Matter? · 8 min · Season 46Robyn E. Blumner explores how artificial intelligence may reshape humanity's relationship with work, arguing that even if technology creates a future of abundance and leisure…
- Sex: The Strange Journey of One Little Word · 7 min · Season 46Russell Blackford explores how the word sex has shifted in meaning over the past century, arguing that modern society has replaced old religious discomfort with new forms of…
- In This Issue August/September 2026 · 5 min · Season 46Ronald A. Lindsay previews Free Inquiry's August/September 2026 issue. Read this article and find accompanying references at…
- Placating the Gods: The Core of Religion · 6 min · Season 46Ronald A. Lindsay argues that modern religions, particularly the Abrahamic faiths, retain the ancient practice of trying to placate deities through sacrifice and petitionary…
- Just What We Need: More Partisanship in Government, More Money in Politics · 5 min · Season 46Ronald A. Lindsay argues that two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions significantly expand presidential power and the influence of money in politics, threatening the independence…
- Michelle Obama's Manhood, Washington's Prayer at Valley Forge, and the Gospels · 4 min · Season 46Ronald A. Lindsay explores how myths, legends, and misinformation become attached to prominent figures, comparing modern conspiracy theories about public figures and historical…
- Why Listen to the Pope, Speaking as the Pope, on AI? · 4 min · Season 46Ronald A. Lindsay critiques the widespread attention given to Pope Leo XIV's recent AI encyclical, arguing that the Catholic Church's theological claims and supernatural beliefs…
