Science and Culture Today | Discovering Design in Nature

Today

Scientific Inference or Philosophical Preference?

_{Stephen C. Meyer and William A. Dembski
October 13, 2026
14
Evolution}

On March 26–28, 1992, scientists and philosophers assembled at Southern Methodist University for an event whose title posed a provocative question.

Improved Social Science? It Could Happen

_{Science & Culture
October 13, 2026
2
Social Sciences}

The theme is not unfamiliar: neither the falsehood nor the reasons for it are news. But three efforts at reform are worth knowing about.

The Exceptional Place of Human Reason

_{Science & Culture
October 13, 2026
3
Philosophy}

Skeptical Hume held that “Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions,” and can “never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.”

From “These Tiny Little Mistakes” — Evolution!

_{David Klinghoffer
October 14, 2026
4
Evolution}

“Life continues to create itself,” “evolution is entirely built on these tiny little mistakes.”

Recent Work: A Theory of Intelligence Metrics

_{William A. Dembski
October 13, 2026
2
Intelligent Design}

“A standardized inferential method has emerged for SETI, archaeology, forensic science, and the historical sciences generally.”

Matt Dillahunty and His “Surveys”

_{David Klinghoffer
October 12, 2026
5
Cosmology}

Maybe Dillahunty had consulted some other survey that morning, but a “show of hands” is certainly no ground for adjudicating matters of this nature.

Book on “Brain Evolution” Hasn’t Aged Well

_{Denyse O’Leary
October 12, 2026
5
Neuroscience & Mind}

The first problem they mention is magnified. We haven’t got anywhere near figuring out “how the brain works.”

ID the Future

with Andrew McDiarmid

How an ID Framework Guides the Search for Habitable Worlds

_{2277
Bijan Nemati
October 14, 2026}

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.

I Helped Build NASA’s Latest Space Telescope. Here’s What It Will Do.

_{2276
Bijan Nemati
October 12, 2026}

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.

The Mystery of Life’s Origin, Then and Now

_{2275
Charles Thaxton
October 9, 2026}

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.

Latest Videos

The Immortal Mind with Michael Egnor

_{The Center for Science and Culture
October 5, 2026
Intelligent Design
Secrets of the Human Body}

Can your mind survive if your brain is severely damaged? Acclaimed neurosurgeon Michael Egnor delves into what the science shows, drawing on research of near death experiences and minimally conscious individuals.

…

The Scientific Evidence He Couldn’t Ignore: Dr. Brian Miller’s Journey

_{Brian Miller
September 24, 2026
Intelligent Design}

What happens when the scientific story you’re given seems to leave no room for God? Dr. Brian Miller grew up with a belief in God, but everything changed when he entered MIT and later pursued a PhD in physics at Duke University.

…

Can the Mind Be Explained by the Brain?

_{The Center for Science and Culture
September 22, 2026
Intelligent Design
Secrets of the Human Body}

Is the human mind fully explained by the physical brain? Acclaimed neurosurgeon Michael Egnor explores why there may be a lot more going on with our minds than we think in this episode of Secrets of the Human Body.

…

Dr. Stephen Meyer Answers the Biggest Questions About God & Science

_{Stephen C. Meyer
August 7, 2026
Intelligent Design}

What happens when you follow the evidence wherever it leads? Dr. Kevin Klar sits down with Dr. Stephen Meyer to explore some of the biggest questions at the intersection of science, philosophy, Christianity, and the search for truth.

…

Intelligent Design

Recent Work: A Theory of Intelligence Metrics

_{William A. Dembski
October 13, 2026
2
Intelligent Design}

“A standardized inferential method has emerged for SETI, archaeology, forensic science, and the historical sciences generally.”

Back in the Saddle: A Second Edition

_{William A. Dembski
October 11, 2026
4
Intelligent Design}

The big obstacle for me came from feeling at odds with my publisher, Cambridge University Press.

Brave, Brave, Brave, Brave Sir Richard

_{David Klinghoffer
October 11, 2026
2
Intelligent Design}

If I were an atheist, I would feel pretty discouraged about now by the New Atheist icon.

They Don’t Make Atheists the Way They Used To

_{David Klinghoffer
October 9, 2026
4
Intelligent Design}

Dillahunty contended that the biological information coded in DNA isn’t really information at all but only analogous to it. Try to follow this word salad.

Historical Sciences

Origin of Life

Why Life’s Origin Can Only Be Explained by Design

_{Brian Miller
September 8, 2026
5
Origin of Life}

The reagents of the feedstock are never produced by processes as on the early Earth. Production requires substantial energy and controlled industrial procedures

Origin of Life: The Fundamental Challenge

_{Winston Ewert
September 6, 2026
5
Origin of Life}

But what if instead of keyboards, the familiar monkeys were drawing Scrabble tiles?

From Life’s Origin to Cyanobacteria

_{Science & Culture
September 5, 2026
3
Origin of Life}

That’s now just 1 billion years for all the apparatus to hit on the lucky combination randomly, unless we start with design principles.

Evolution

From “These Tiny Little Mistakes” — Evolution!

_{David Klinghoffer
October 14, 2026
4
Evolution}

“Life continues to create itself,” “evolution is entirely built on these tiny little mistakes.”

My 2014 Talk at the University of Chicago

_{William A. Dembski
October 9, 2026
5
Evolution}

After it had been announced on campus, Jerry Coyne, a prominent Darwinian biologist at the University of Chicago, tried to talk Leo into disinviting me.

From Australia, an Evolutionary Puzzle

_{Wolf-Ekkehard Lönnig
October 6, 2026
3
Evolution}

In the present article, the most important result is this: All extant Australian marsupial families are also known from the fossil record.

Paleontology

Fossil Explosions Persist, and Other Confirmations

_{Casey Luskin
August 12, 2026
10
Paleontology}

From 2016 until his tragic death in 2025, Bechly made many important contributions to ID literature on the topic of fossil explosions in the history of life.

“Weirdest Theory Yet” for the Cambrian Explosion

_{Casey Luskin
August 6, 2026
5
Paleontology}

First the Oxygen Theory, now the Feces Theory. But how much experience do we really have with feces creating new genetic information?

Neanderthal Babies Developed Like Modern Humans

_{Casey Luskin
July 6, 2026
2
Paleontology}

Don’t miss the words of Professor Uthmeier: “both human forms.” What he’s saying is that both Neanderthals and modern humans were “human forms.”

Cosmology

Matt Dillahunty and His “Surveys”

_{David Klinghoffer
October 12, 2026
5
Cosmology}

Maybe Dillahunty had consulted some other survey that morning, but a “show of hands” is certainly no ground for adjudicating matters of this nature.

Return of the God-of-the-Gaps Objection

_{Stephen C. Meyer
October 6, 2026
4
Intelligent Design}

True, our ID argument does depend in part upon critical assessments of the causal adequacy of materialistic explanations for the origin of DNA information.

Three Replies to “Who Designed the Designer?”

_{Stephen C. Meyer
September 29, 2026
5
Intelligent Design}

Suppose scientists did formulate a viable materialistic explanation for the origin of life. Couldn’t someone ask for an account of the origin of matter itself?

Human Origins

Human Evolution Needs Subhumans, Needs Them Badly

_{Denyse O’Leary
August 15, 2026
6
Human Origins and Anthropology}

Excavation of Neanderthal and other sites is leveling even further the fabled Ascent of Man.

Biological Origins Is Entering a Surreal Stage

_{Science & Culture
August 14, 2026
2
Human Origins and Anthropology}

No biological history and no biological beginning: are you seeing the trend? Both seem to be responses to being battered by the evidence.

Neanderthals Progress from Brute to Beaut

_{Denyse O’Leary
July 23, 2026
2
Human Origins and Anthropology}

We must be ready to ask some questions about many of the evolution stories we have taken for granted.

Archaeology

More Discoveries Point to Neanderthal Intelligence

_{Denyse O’Leary
December 5, 2024
5
Archaeology}

This very ancient people we know the most about can’t be the missing link that many paleontologists are looking for.

The Joy of (Neanderthal) Cooking

_{Denyse O’Leary
July 30, 2024
5
Archaeology}

The Darwinian account of the human race would be much easier to believe in good faith if scientists could point to a clearly inferior and clearly human being.

Dallas Conference: Archaeology & the Life of Jesus

_{Titus Kennedy
January 19, 2024
1
Archaeology}

My presentation will explore archaeological discoveries illuminating a major event in the life of Jesus — his trial in Jerusalem.

History of Science

What C. W. Howell Left Out of His “History” of ID

_{Andrew McDiarmid
September 17, 2026
2
History of Science}

I conclude my conversation with Dr. Casey Luskin about his critique of a recent book from New York University Press, by C. W. Howell.

Lamarck’s Contribution to Evolutionary Thought

_{Michael Flannery
July 9, 2026
6
History of Science}

The rehabilitation of Lamarck and the important work of scholars of the past (i.e., Sinnott) and present (i.e., Turner) suggest an interesting conclusion.

Darwin’s Atheism and a Question of Terminology

_{Michael Flannery
May 26, 2026
8
History of Science}

Calling Gibberson, Miller, McGrath, and others theistic evolutionists is inaccurate because it fails to distinguish them from genuinely theistic evolutionists.

Geology

As an Idea, the “Anthropocene” Era Is Dead

_{Science & Culture
November 25, 2025
3
Geology}

In a world where pundits regularly accuse us all of being too anthropocentric, the naming of a new geological epoch would enshrine that view forever in science.

The Wonders of a Hard Mineral

_{David Coppedge
September 5, 2025
11
Geology}

Explore the features of a remarkable mineral erupted from volcanoes that is found in our teeth. How did it get there?

Plate Tectonics and Scientific Discovery

_{Guillermo Gonzalez
September 3, 2024
4
Geology}

Plate tectonics is important for advanced life in multiple ways and planets with plate tectonics are very rare.

Life Sciences

Plant Cognition Defies Evolutionary Hierarchy

_{Denyse O’Leary
August 25, 2026
5
Life Sciences}

It’s a familiar concept: the long, slow march from mud to mind meant that only toward the upper tier would we find such developments as cognition.

The Latest: Plants as “Non-Human Persons”

_{Denyse O’Leary
June 19, 2026
5
Life Sciences}

The need to see humans as equivalent to animals has now spread to the need to see us as equivalent to plants.

Fireweed: An Example of Intelligent Latent Design

_{Eric Hedin
February 5, 2025
7
Life Sciences}

The photo with fireweed in the foreground at the top of this article was taken by my father, Robert Hedin, at Mount Shuksan in Washington State.

Neuroscience

Book on “Brain Evolution” Hasn’t Aged Well

_{Denyse O’Leary
October 12, 2026
5
Neuroscience & Mind}

The first problem they mention is magnified. We haven’t got anywhere near figuring out “how the brain works.”

NY Times Aside, “Babies Are Obviously Conscious”

_{David Klinghoffer
October 8, 2026
3
Neuroscience & Mind}

If there an “active scientific debate” about it, then could it really be that the answer isn’t so clear?

Dr. Egnor: The “Platonic Turn” in Science

_{David Klinghoffer
October 5, 2026
2
Neuroscience & Mind}

There is a “disconnect” between a physical organ of the body — the brain — and the “immortal mind,” the human spirit, that transcends it.

Medicine

Beware of These Two Sources of Bad Medical Advice

_{Science & Culture
September 30, 2026
3
Medicine}

The bots are more likely to accept planted nonsense if it appears in clinical documents — not unlike some people we know, to be honest.

Real Science, Medicine Behind Oppenheimer’s Demon

_{Andrew McDiarmid
September 3, 2026
2
Medicine}

Novelist Geoffrey Simmons explains how he drew on his background as an ER doctor and disaster preparedness expert to make his story real and plausible.

Great News! Scientists Used AI to Create Viruses

_{Wesley J. Smith
August 10, 2026
3
Medicine}

What about attempts to test their virulence in humans? The approach in the Stanford lab sure sounds like a new form of gain-of-function research to me.

Biology

Oldest Evidence for an Organismal Magnetic Compass

_{Eric Cassell
October 8, 2026
3
Intelligent Design}

The evidence exists in so-called magnetofossils found in marine sediments that have been dated to 97 million years old.

Return of the God-of-the-Gaps Objection

_{Stephen C. Meyer
October 6, 2026
4
Intelligent Design}

True, our ID argument does depend in part upon critical assessments of the causal adequacy of materialistic explanations for the origin of DNA information.

From Australia, an Evolutionary Puzzle

_{Wolf-Ekkehard Lönnig
October 6, 2026
3
Evolution}

In the present article, the most important result is this: All extant Australian marsupial families are also known from the fossil record.

Physical Sciences

Physics

Matt Dillahunty and His “Surveys”

_{David Klinghoffer
October 12, 2026
5
Cosmology}

Maybe Dillahunty had consulted some other survey that morning, but a “show of hands” is certainly no ground for adjudicating matters of this nature.

Anthropic Design: Conservation Laws and Life

_{Eric Hedin
October 8, 2026
7
Physics}

In the early 20th century, a remarkable discovery came to light that showed a foundational basis for the conservation laws of physics.

So, You Say No Cosmologists Ever Made This Claim?

_{Bruce Gordon
September 23, 2026
6
Cosmology}

Like mighty Samson of old, in a single-handed effort physicist Bruce Gordon responded to 1,870+ comments.

Chemistry

Why Life’s Origin Can Only Be Explained by Design

_{Brian Miller
September 8, 2026
5
Origin of Life}

The reagents of the feedstock are never produced by processes as on the early Earth. Production requires substantial energy and controlled industrial procedures

Illusion of Progress in Origin-of-Life Research

_{Brian Miller
September 3, 2026
5
Origin of Life}

This paper contains the imaginative storytelling, speculative leaps, and inflated claims that have become staples of the origin-of-life literature.

High School Science with an ID Perspective? Yes!

_{Andrew McDiarmid
July 24, 2026
2
Science Education}

Kristin Marais and Summer Edwards explain why they’re so passionate about teaching their subject and how the courses are designed with maximum flexibility.

Astronomy

Canals on Mars: A Mistaken Design Inference

_{Winston Ewert
October 7, 2026
5
Astronomy}

Any remaining doubts were settled by Mariner 4 which flew by Mars in 1965 and took pictures demonstrating that there were no canals.

The Heavens Declare, and the Sky Tells

_{David Klinghoffer
September 17, 2026
2
Astronomy}

Our contributor Kirk Durston takes gorgeous astronomy and other nature photos. He graciously agreed to let me share these, with his captions.

New Light on Dark Energy

_{Eric Hedin
August 17, 2026
7
Cosmology}

Modern astronomy relies not only on bigger telescopes and more sophisticated instruments, but upon computational power.

Fine-Tuning

Answering Objections to Cosmic Fine-Tuning

_{Andrew McDiarmid
September 28, 2026
3
Fine-tuning}

Fine-tuning strongly favors theism because it predicts a life-permitting order in advance, while naturalism only retrofits explanations after the fact.

New Light on Dark Energy

_{Eric Hedin
August 17, 2026
7
Cosmology}

Modern astronomy relies not only on bigger telescopes and more sophisticated instruments, but upon computational power.

Inscrutable Dice and Cosmological Fine-Tuning

_{Bruce Gordon
May 19, 2026
14
Physics}

Phil Halper has argued against a position that no one holds, and his argument as a whole lays claim to the very capacity his objection denies.

Earth Sciences

Geophysics

Aurora Borealis: Scientific and Aesthetic Design

_{Casey Luskin
May 12, 2024
9
Astronomy}

You appreciate the aurora borealis or aurora australis because you were not created by strictly material evolutionary processes.

Geoengineering on an Intelligently Designed Planet

_{Tova Levengood
August 30, 2023
4
Intelligent Design}

Scientists are still discovering how many systems, controls, and other aspects of planetary fine-tuning are in place to ensure that we have abundant life.

No Iron, No Life: Design in Iron Availability

_{Science & Culture
January 25, 2022
9
Biology}

As an exercise, count the number of lucky breaks that had to occur for the evolutionary story to work.

Environment

Journal Trumpets Glaciers’ “Right to Exist”

_{Wesley J. Smith
June 2, 2026
4
Environment & Climate}

Glaciers are made up of snow that over millennia compacted into ice. They grow or shrink based on climate. They are geological features.

Great Science Cancellation Continues

_{David Klinghoffer
September 18, 2025
3
Scientific Freedom}

In the domination of science by ideology, by the myth of “settled science,” the stakes couldn’t be more profound.

COSM Will Feature Nobel Laureate John F. Clauser

_{Science & Culture
September 12, 2025
5
Physics}

Discovery Institute’s upcoming COSM 2025 tech conference will feature something a little different.

Rare Earth

Stephen Meyer on the Meaning of Artemis II Mission

_{David Klinghoffer
April 8, 2026
3
Rare Earth}

Aboard the lunar spacecraft, astronaut Victor Glover spoke movingly about what some have called our Privileged Planet.

Study: Geological Habitability Parameters

_{Casey Luskin
August 14, 2024
8
Rare Earth}

One thing that is likely to get some pushback is the study’s claim that modern-style plate tectonics on Earth did not commence until the Neoproterozoic.

Earth and Mars — A Rare Gem and a Sharp Contrast

_{Eric Hedin
August 5, 2024
9
Rare Earth}

Apparently, simple living organisms must exist for eons on a planet before more advanced life can thrive.

Planetology

The Search for ETs: Keeping Hope Alive

_{Denyse O’Leary
October 15, 2025
5
Planetology}

The question looms: How much can science avoid facts while retaining the character of science?

Rights for Planets, Moons, and Space Microbes?

_{Wesley J. Smith
September 29, 2025
3
Planetology}

The ultimate purpose in granting such rights would be to disincentivize investments in space exploration and keep us Gaia-bound.

Hope for Mars Life Is Dashed Again

_{David Coppedge
March 4, 2025
1
Planetology}

Subsequent landers discovered a high concentration of perchlorates in the soil. Perchlorates are chlorinated salts, often used in fireworks.

Culture

Human Exceptionalism

Nature Rights — Now Coming to the United Nations

_{Wesley J. Smith
September 30, 2026
4
Human Exceptionalism}

The potential harm to human thriving and to our self-perception as an exceptional species cannot be overstated.

Ice with That? Latest Madness from Nature Rights

_{Wesley J. Smith
September 24, 2026
7
Human Exceptionalism}

Ice has no agency. It is frozen water. Water contains minerals and other elements. Do they have rights, too?

Tree Rights Advocacy Is Based on Irrationality

_{Wesley J. Smith
March 17, 2026
5
Human Exceptionalism}

We protect trees and woodlands with laws and regulations without resorting to irrational ideological justifications and materially impeding human thriving.

Arts

Late Night Fun with Evolution and Oppenheimer

_{Geoffrey Simmons
September 28, 2026
4
Evolution}

Bats by the millions would be falling from the roofs of caves if that ankle-locking design, an all-or-nothing proposition, had not come about all at once

Learning about Technology from Wendell Berry

_{Andrew McDiarmid
September 20, 2026
10
Technology}

Berry describes the beautiful working relationship he had with his wife, Tanya. She typed his work on a Royal standard typewriter.

How Best to Appreciate Paleolithic Cave Art

_{Science & Culture
September 19, 2026
3
Cultural Anthropology}

Of course, the experience wouldn’t be really complete without simulating the threat of a cave bear trapping the artists.

Ethics

In Canada, New Push for Euthanasia for Dementia

_{Wesley J. Smith
October 12, 2026
3
Bioethics}

Some are celebrating Canada’s government “indefinitely suspending” legalizing euthanasia for mental illness as a great victory for life. Not me.

As an Approach to Ethics, Longtermerism Fails

_{Denyse O’Leary
October 12, 2026
5
Technology}

Elon Musk, whose ambition for space colonies is legendary, has said, “This is a close match for my philosophy.”

Nature Rights — Now Coming to the United Nations

_{Wesley J. Smith
September 30, 2026
4
Human Exceptionalism}

The potential harm to human thriving and to our self-perception as an exceptional species cannot be overstated.

Social Sciences

Anthropomorphism May Be as Old as the Human Race

_{Denyse O’Leary
October 5, 2026
5
Cultural Anthropology}

Such relationships can lead to delusional spirals, including marrying a bot. One man proposed to his bot when he feared it would run out of memory.

Consequences of an Abandonment of Books

_{Denyse O’Leary
October 2, 2026
6
Technology}

If we reach the point where most people cannot muster that level of sustained attention, changes unwelcome to many of us are inevitable.

How Best to Appreciate Paleolithic Cave Art

_{Science & Culture
September 19, 2026
3
Cultural Anthropology}

Of course, the experience wouldn’t be really complete without simulating the threat of a cave bear trapping the artists.

Faith and Science

Miller: Blur at the Edges, Vs. the Blur Everywhere

_{David Klinghoffer
October 1, 2026
2
Faith & Science}

Evidence for intelligent design in nature may be clear to you, while other matters relating to faith remain far more perplexing.

A Slapdash Take on “Catholic Evolutionism”

_{Michael Flannery
September 25, 2026
5
Faith & Science}

When Pope Pius IX awarded St. George Jackson Mivart a doctorate, he was not by implication casting his imprimatur or approval on evolution.

Two Decades Later, “New Atheists” Debate Is Over

_{David Klinghoffer
September 22, 2026
3
Faith & Science}

In the Philippine jungles after World War II, a few lonely Japanese soldiers carried on fighting for decades, not realizing the war was over.

Science Education

A Hub of Intelligent Design in Africa

_{Tova Levengood
September 3, 2026
3
Science Education}

Not only does the space enable regular study, but also it hosts ID discussion forums, faculty or departmental workshops, and club training.

Moving ID Forward: A Seminar to Remember

_{Terrell Clemmons
August 11, 2026
8
Science Education}

Graduates won’t be alone. A bonus for Seminar grads is the opportunity to be connected with a mentor who will help them navigate the hostile environment ahead.

High School Science with an ID Perspective? Yes!

_{Andrew McDiarmid
July 24, 2026
2
Science Education}

Kristin Marais and Summer Edwards explain why they’re so passionate about teaching their subject and how the courses are designed with maximum flexibility.

Scientific Freedom

The Wrong Tool to Fix Woke Science Journals

_{Wesley J. Smith
May 3, 2025
2}

The government has no business pressuring medical journals about their content — no matter how biased.

Hysteria in the Science Sector Over DOGE

_{Wesley J. Smith
March 30, 2025
4}

Whatever problems now exist for the public medical research funding sector, the disappointing Francis Collins helped create them.

Stand Up for Science or… for Naked Ideology?

_{Wesley J. Smith
March 12, 2025
4}

“Stand Up for Science 2025” protests were clearly aimed at reaffirming control by the now discredited science establishment.

Science Reporting

Scientific American Starts Sober, Quickly Relapses

_{Brian Miller
September 24, 2026
6
Science Reporting}

A proposal by University of Washington planetary scientist David Catling addresses what origin-of-life researchers call the phosphate problem.

Wall Street Journal Welcomes Story of Everything

_{David Klinghoffer
April 17, 2026
4
Science Reporting}

My colleague asked, “Has that happened before?” Not that I recall. Is something changing? Perhaps.

On the Origin of Our New Name

_{Andrew McDiarmid
September 27, 2025
3
Science Reporting}

First, the conversation delves into the site’s launch in December 2004, when the modern intelligent design movement and the Internet were both relatively new.