California Science Center taking heat for screening Darwin's Dilemma. Thou shalt steal? What's sex ed funding doing in the Senate health bill? And, the best science stories of 2009.
California Science Center and Darwin's Dilemma
LA's California Science Center is under fire (and facing a lawsuit) for scheduling, and then cancelling, a screening of a film about intelligent design. The American Freedom Alliance intended to show "Darwin's Dilemma" alongside "We Are Born of Stars," a documentary that supports Darwin's theory of evolution. Now the AFA contends that the California Science Center, in cancelling the screening, is violating the 1st Amendment by stifling scientific debate over the validity of intelligent design. Is a science center the wrong place to argue intelligent design? Or does academia have a responsibility to air both sides of this debate?
Guest:
John Mark Reynolds, Professor of Philosophy, Biola University in La Mirada, also a fellow at the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture, which promotes the teaching of intelligent design
Michael Shermer, science writer and founding publisher of Skeptics magazine, columnist for Scientific American
Thou shalt steal?
The Ten Commandments say: "Thou Shalt Not Steal." Pretty clear, right? But Father Tim Jones, the vicar at a Church in York in the U.K., told his parishioners it's more subtle than that...for the poor, shop lifting from chain stores is more moral than mugging, prostitution or burglary. In fact, it might even be justified under desperate circumstances. A priest advising his flock on the morals of stealing? It's caused a huge scandal within the Church of England. But raises the question: can it ever be okay to steal?
Guest:
James Stacy Taylor, Professor of Ethics, College of New Jersey
Abstinence education in the healthcare bill
Advocates of abstinence-based sex education are celebrating a last minute addition to the Senate health bill that allows programs with proven results to compete for slices of a $100 million pie allocated for prevention of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. What constitutes success in sex education—delayed sex, reduced teen pregnancy, increased knowledge of contraception? And what place does the provision have in a health overhaul bill?
Guests:
Stan Weed, President of the Institute of Research and Evaluation; lead author of a 2008 study that showed the rate of sexual activity of Virginia teens who participated in abstinence programs was reduced by 50 percent
Bill Albert, Chief Program Officer at the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
Top science stories of 2009
Water on Mars? The discovery of a giant snake that can tell us about climate change? Radiation turns your hair grey? These are just a few of the top science stories of 2009. What other profound, fascinating, and weird discoveries did scientists unearth and unleash this year?
Guest:
Corey S. Powell, Editor-in-chief, Discover Magazine