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Point of Inquiry to Continue with New Hosts PDF Print E-mail
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Written by D.J. Grothe   
Monday, 01 February 2010 16:00

Our friends at CFI have announced that Point of Inquiry will continue, which is good news — I would have been deeply saddened to see it cancelled due to my moving onto the JREF. We are also told that all of the previous 200+ episodes that I hosted will continue to be made available.

Point of Inquiry will proceed with three new hosts: Chris Mooney, Karen Stollznow, and Bob Price, all three friends and colleagues of mine in skepticism and humanism. While I had offered to continue hosting Point of Inquiry gratis, because I knew the value of the show for advancing CFI's important mission, CFI's management decided it wasn't the best business decision for them to have the President of a separate organization hosting the show.

I respect that. I also proposed the possibility of the JREF and CFI co-producing the show, in a new spirit of cooperation among national skeptics organizations, which also was not in the cards. Along with Thomas Donnelly (the workaholic producer of the last 200+ episodes), I am really proud of the track record of Point of Inquiry, having built it up over the last four years with Thomas despite occasional internal opposition. And so we are both very happy that the show will continue, and be hosted by three exemplars of the values we tried to advance with the show.

All three of the new hosts are perfect for their new roles. I first met Chris Mooney in the late '90s when I was just getting involved with CFI while in grad school. Over the years, I have really enjoyed seeing him succeed at bringing the public's attention to important issues of science education and public science policy, both through his best-selling books and his national media appearances. And I've enjoyed interviewing him a number of times on Point of Inquiry. Bob Price, an engaging thinker on matters of historical Biblical criticism and popular nonsense claims, will be an excellent host for episodes dealing with religious skepticism. I have known Bob and have admired his work for many years, and recently had the pleasure of spending a weekend with him in the middle of Missouri at  a skepticism conference. He is one of the best conversationalists I know, and one of the most popular guests we've had on Point of Inquiry. Karen Stollznow is a rising star in the skeptical movement, and an active paranormal investigator. She has experience with podcasts and I think she will bring a fresh perspective to discussions of the paranormal and pseudoscience. I sincerely wish all three new hosts well, and look forward to seeing what Point of Inquiry becomes going forward.

CFI's press release announcing the new hosts can be found here.

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Comments (9)Add Comment
Point of Inquiry is one of my Favorite Podcasts
written by mlanger, February 01, 2010
Although I'll miss you in that podcast, I'll keep listening. Great guests, great topics. I also look forward to the podcasts you'll be doing for the JREF.
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This is great!
written by devilschord, February 01, 2010
Not only do I still get to listen to DJ Grothe, now in "For Good Reason," but I also have the pleasure to listen to three other greats in the movement! This can only make us an even stronger community, I think (and hope)...
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...
written by latsot, February 02, 2010
The decision to include Chris Mooney is a disappointment and a serious concern. He advocates an accomodationist view of the conflict between science and religion, suggesting that there is one way only for atheists to respond to this debate and that atheists who are hostile to religion harm the cause of science (in ways he has yet to satisfactorally explain or provide sufficient evidence for).

It doesn't bother me too much that I oppose this view entirely - there is certainly room for opposing views - but Mooney clearly feels that only his approach is appropriate and others with differing approaches should toe his line (for the sake of science).

For this reason, I have no confidence that he will be sufficiently open-minded for this position.

I won't re-hash the debate here, it's been done to death, but if anyone has somehow not come across it and wants to learn more, I suggest checking out the blogs: Pharyngula, Butterflies and Wheels and Why Evolution is True.
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I forgot
written by latsot, February 02, 2010
I meant to include Metamagician and the Helfire Club as another blog to check out. Both it and Butterflies and Wheels have threads on this at the moment. I'd expect others to have similar posts soon.
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written by Skep, February 02, 2010
The choice of Chris Mooney is extremely disappointing. Throughout the "framing" science debate, Chris Mooney showed that he is unwilling or unable to backdown from untenable positions once stated. While he is an experienced science writer and somewhat attractive, his positions that atheists need to shut up about the science of evolution and that the NCSE should take a stance on **religion**, declaring that evolutionary theory and religion are compatible, are positions that Mooney has taken intractable stances on. Mooney, IMO, has shown himself to be more dedicated to his own ego than to keeping science about science. As poster "latsot" noted, it is not so much that one may disagree with Mooney's position but in the way that Mooney's ego prevents him from debating the issue objectively and based on facts, instead Mooney seems interested in stifling opposing viewpoints, even to the point of banning at least one of his most effective critics, Ophelia Benson, from posting in the comments section of his blog.

I strongly question the choice of Chris Mooney as a host for Point of Inquiry. I find his approach hostile to objective inquiry, especially to objective criticism of Mooney's own claims. I hope his role will be a brief one.
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written by latsot, February 02, 2010
Skep is right. Mooney's approach is not conducive to skeptical enquiry and he's behaved shamefully in recent months by defending his stance at all costs and without coherent argument. This is the opposite of skepticism.

I cannot understand this decision.
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written by latsot, February 03, 2010
Damn and blast, how can there be only six comments about this? There are thousands of comments on other sites about why Mooney might be the worst person to do this...

Well for goodness' sake let's discuss it.
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MOOOOOOONEY!!!!!
written by badger3k, February 04, 2010
How's this latsot? Do they have a fainting couch in the studio, so that when Milquetoast Mooney gets the vapors, he can have someplace to rest his po' head? I was disappointed that Mooney, with his dogmatic defense of his own beliefs, especially when he refuses to present evidence or even ideas, is at odds with scientific and skeptical inquiry. Maybe Mooney can interview PZ when his book comes out - that'll be one I listen to. Until then, I'll unsubscribe or just delete his shows and wait for Stollznow and Price, and keep an eye out for the new show that DJ hinted at coming out soon (is that still in the works?) via some podcast (skeptics guide, maybe?).
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written by Skep, February 04, 2010
The new JREF show is already up on iTunes with the first episode. You can unsubscribe to POI now :-) I've just set mine to manual so I can download the episodes I want. Unfortunately, it seems Mooney will be doing **half** of all the shows, even though he is just one of the three hosts. Given Mooney's track record I'm not sure I'll bother listening to his first episode, or any of them. And, of course, in his usual self aggrandizing style, he's posted praise of himself and his new role on his blog, the way he did about Unscientific America, while ignoring criticism.

I have to say, though, that DJ Grothe seems to be partially responsible for this debacle and Grothe and publicly states that he thinks Mooney will be a good host. I disagree, but I think friendship can blind people. Remember how Mooney backed a certain communications "framing" expert, in part because they were friends? Now I think Grothe is making the same mistake.

BTW, if you are into skeptical podcasts, try the Righteous Indignation, a British podcast.

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Last Updated on Monday, 01 February 2010 18:44