Podcast appearances and mentions of connie barlow

The Reverend Michael Dowd is a bestselling eco-theologian, TEDx speaker, and pro-science, pro-future advocate whose work has been featured in The New York Times, LA Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Newsweek, Discover, and on television throughout the United States and Canada. His book, Thank God for Evolution, was endorsed by 6 Nobel Prize-winning scientists, noted skeptics, and religious leaders across the spectrum. Michael and his science writer, and evolutionary educator wife, Connie Barlow, have spoken to some 3,000 groups throughout North America since April 2002. His blogs and lectures are available at Michaeldowd.org and Postdoom.com.

“God is Reality with a personality.” —Rev. Michael Dowd Today we’re sharing a very special Living in Oneness broadcast with you featuring Rev. Michael Dowd, an evolutionary theologian, best-selling author, and evangelist for Big History and an honorable relationship to the future.  His 2009 book Thank God for Evolution was endorsed by six Nobel Prize-winning scientists, noted skeptics and by religious leaders across the spectrum. Michael and his wife Connie Barlow, an acclaimed science writer and evolutionary educator, permanently travel North America promoting the inspiring side of science, religious naturalism, and one-story spirituality. Tune in to this podcast, "Thank God for Evolution," to hear Rev. Michael and Steve discuss... Betraying the future by living the Good Life Planting seeds of a healthy religiosity and spirituality The “I-Thou” vs. the “I-It” relationship Treating beings as creatures not tools The personification of Reality And much more! (Note: this is a special rebroadcast and any websites, links, programs, or events mentioned may no longer be active. Thank you!) To hear more about evolutionary reality, please join Lynne McTaggart, Gregg Braden, and Bruce H. Lipton for their Free 3-part online video series, ‘Smarter, Stronger, Faster.’ Explore Humanity’s Team and the timeless truth that We Are All One.  Learn more about the Humanity’s Team free education programs. Explore Humanity Stream, our streaming subscription service with unlimited access to our most popular masterclasses and additional inspiring conscious programming, providing 550 hours of total content with a 7-day free trial here! Join us every Friday at 12 noon Pacific / 3pm Eastern for our LIVE Accelebration program, a global community gathering to celebrate and support one another on the conscious journey. 

Science writer, evolutionary educator, and more-than-human ‘grassroots’ climate activist, Connie Barlow joins Terry to reflect on the heartbreaking journey of accepting our ecological predicament, what it means to be a good ancestor, and how "life stages" open possibilities for a more sacred relationship to climate grief, to death, and to transformation. Ultimately, they fortify each other in their commitments to give more, require less, and be a generous sacrifice to the younger generations who are arriving in a strange world and will need us. Connie Barlow and her husband Michael Dowd were once full-time itinerant travelers in North America, spreading the good news of inspiring “Great Story” of evolution. Connie is known not just as his mission-partner, but also as a science writer, specializing in evolutionary ecology. Her first two books were published by MIT Press and her final one, The Ghosts of Evolution, led her directly to founding Torreya Guardians, the citizen group that has been moving the Florida Torreya north, an more dedicated work helping native trees move north in advance of the rapidly shifting climate. A new book published this year titled The Journeys of Trees made Connie a major character in its drama because of her rogue leadership in helping the Florida Torreya tree.  Here are some of the questions they explore: How can we become ancestors that future generations will appreciate, and how might we help others in our generation to do so too? Young people have always had dreams, but climate chaos may be curtailing the dreams of young people — what are the implications of this?   At later stages of the cycle of life, do we see important new ways to relate to climate grief and transformation? How can elders hold wise ground for those younger?  In what ways is societal collapse — or a “deep reset” as Connie says — already underway, not just abstractly, but in our own experience? What is it to recognize the sacredness of death? Can we be grateful for what death makes room for? For more information on Connie Barlow and Terry Patten, check out the following resources:   Connie’s website TheGreatStory.org Writings of Connie Barlow Connie’s husband Michael Dowd’s website “Post Doom” Conversations State of Emergence Podcast Website A New Republic of the Heart website Terry Patten's personal website   We hope you appreciate this week’s episode with Connie Barlow on State of Emergence. If you believe these conversations are important and want to support them, please join us as a monthly contributor and become part of our community of listeners. Thank you so much.

[Intro: 8:02] In this episode, I speak with writer, arborist, and professional horticulturist Max Paschall. We discuss his essay ‘The Lost Forest Gardens of Europe,’ published at the Shelterwood Forest Farm website. In addressing the ever-increasing, ongoing impacts anthropogenic climate change is having on food production and land management, for those of us that descend from European colonizers in North America, what can we learn from the past? What relationship did our ancestors have with the lands they were indigenous to, and how did they adapt to rapid climatological and ecological shifts throughout the millennia? In Max's fascinating and illuminating essay ‘The Lost Forest Gardens of Europe,’ the answers to these questions come more into focus.   “Whereas modern industrial agriculture is descended from a distinctly imperialist Roman plantation system based on slave labor, systems like coltura promiscua [mixed cultivation] are the direct descendants of the indigenous forest gardens of pre-agricultural Europe. Since the Neolithic Revolution, an assortment of farming systems in Europe that relied heavily on monocultures and a handful of finicky staple crops often ended abruptly and violently. The diverse forest gardens of peasants, however, have quietly shrugged off ten thousand years of turbulent changes. This article is a look at the little-known history of these systems and their innovative strategies for survival. As we search for ways to remake the way we garden, farm, and live in a time of climate change, extreme inequality, and political disarray, looking back at the innovations of Europe’s hidden agroecological past can provide invaluable lessons on how we might collectively move forward.” (https://bit.ly/2HRkScu) Max Paschall is an ISA certified arborist and professional horticulturist coming from four generations of nurserymen and women. He is the founder of Shelterwood Forest Farm, a small wooded farm located in the Appalachian foothills of eastern Pennsylvania.  Episode Notes: - Read ‘The Lost Forest Gardens of Europe’: https://bit.ly/2HRkScu - Learn more about the Shelterwood Forest Farm: https://www.shelterwoodforestfarm.com - Max provides some resources at the end of the interview, including: ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’ by Robin Wall Kimmerer: https://bit.ly/3jCzNoE / Sylvanaqua Farms: https://www.sylvanaqua.com / Connie Barlow, founder of Torreya Guardians: http://torreyaguardians.org / ‘The Invention of the White Race’ by Theodore W. Allen: https://bit.ly/33oUbUM - The song featured in this episode is “Brutal Moderna” by Qasim Naqvi from the Erased Tapes 1+1=X album: https://youtu.be/F3R63U7BCKI - The title card features artwork by Philipp Hackert: https://bit.ly/2HRmkLY WEBSITE: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com BOOK: http://bit.ly/ORBITgr PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness DONATE: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast DROP ME A LINE: Call (208) 918-2837 or http://bit.ly/LBWfiledrop EVERYTHING ELSE: https://linktr.ee/patterns.of.behavior

Reverend Michael Dowd is a Christian minister, author, and eco-theologian.  He is known as a bridge builder, making connections between liberals and conservatives, religious and non-religious people, science and religion, and showing how a sacred view of Big History, human nature, and death can inspire each of us to live with greater joy, integrity, purpose, and passion.  The heart his current "post-doom" work about living in the age of dying is summed up in his two-part video series, Collapse and Adaptation Primer. According to Rev. Dowd, "These two videos are a 'crash course' in post-doom and deeply adaptive thinking and living. They contain a distillation of humanity’s best and most up-to-date collective intelligence regarding Earth system science, ecology, abrupt climate change, environmental history, and collapsology .... Special attention is given to how we can support each other in staying sane, sober, and inspired in chaotic and challenging times." Core to his way of seeing, Rev. Dowd approaches nature from a sense of gratitude, sacredness, and understanding that he is here to be in service to all life and all creation.  Through his work, he has come to deeper understanding of the predicament of modern human civilization, and engages in efforts to give voice to this context, along with his perspectives on a “Christian response”, grounded in compassion and goodwill.  He supports audiences in transcending belief systems in a way that deepens connection to the core of their faith. Rather than seeing religion and science as antithetical to each other, Reverend Dowd’s work brings the two together.  He believes we are in the midst of an “evidential reformation”, with people increasingly open to religious interpretations based on new scientific, historical, and cross-cultural evidence.  For Reverend Dowd, this includes a belief that “Big History is the new Genesis” – that ecology is the new theology. Reverend Dowd believes in the sanctity of Big History -- “the 14 billion year science-based sacred story of cosmic genesis, from the formation of the galaxies and the origin of Earth life, to the development of self-reflective consciousness and collective learning, to the emergence of comprehensive compassion and tools to assist humanity in living harmoniously with the larger body of life.”  His work seeks to bridge the "how to live" questions with deep acceptance of reality and big history. This marriage of science and religion forms a thread throughout Dowd’s life and work.  Raised a Roman Catholic, Reverend Dowd had a “born-again” experience at the age of 20 and began attending an Assemblies of God church, eventually earning a Master of Divinity degree from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (now Palmer Seminary) and serving as a United Church of Christ minister.  In 1995, Reverend Dowd became the Religious Organizer for the National Environmental Trust, working with religious leaders from a variety of faiths on social and environmental issues, eventually presenting policy ideas to Congress.  Reverend Dowd has also worked with The Portland Sustainable Lifestyle Campaign, and with Global Action Plan’s (now The Empowerment Institute) EcoTeam and Livable Neighborhood programs. His work has been featured in The New York Times, LA Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Newsweek, Discover, and on television throughout the U. S. and Canada. His book, Thank God for Evolution, was endorsed by 6 Nobel Prize-winning scientists, noted skeptics, and religious leaders across the spectrum. Reverend Dowd and his wife, science writer, evolutionary educator, and climate activist Connie Barlow, have spoken to some 3,000 groups throughout North America since April 2002. Reverend Dowd has delivered two TEDx talks and a program at the United Nations, and conducted three acclaimed online conversation series: “The Advent of Evolutionary Christianity” (2011), “The Future Is Calling Us to Greatness” (2015) and “Post-doom: Regenerative conversations exploring overshoot grief, grounding, and gratitude” (2020). Regardless of the format, Reverend Dowd's work provides audiences with applications of evolutionary and ecological wisdom that break through the confusions of these rapidly shifting times. This conversation will focus on the topics related to his most recent “post-doom” work conversation series.  What is overshoot, and how does it connect to a Christian minister?  What does a “post-doom” context have to do with a service-oriented life?  How can traditional religious institutions (and their community members) gracefully integrate an ecological worldview?  How can one become resilient in a way that is aligned with evolution, ecology, and perennial wisdom teachings?  Join us, along with your volunteer hosts Kozo Hattori and Birju Pandya, in conversation with this deep thinker anchored in faith, history, and science.

Michael Dowd – Post-Doom: Confronting Climate Chaos, Beyond Denial and DespairAired Tuesday, December 24, 2019 at 2:00 PM PST / 5:00 PM ESTInterview with Michael Dowd, Eco-Theologian and Author of “Thank God For Evolution”“The most dangerous predator on Earth, “Humanisaurus Wrecks” is on the brink of extinction.” — Swami BeyondanandaSometimes I think we have created the political polarization and paralysis, the toxic culture wars, the fixations on “the pedophile elite”, and the arguments about how many sexes there are, so that we can distract ourselves from the elephant and donkey in the living room – what scientists are calling the Sixth Great Extinction.The foreboding symptoms include climate chaos that seems to be spiraling out of control, dying oceans, societal unrest, and species loss. And at the top of the endangered species list, whether we accept it or not, is our own species. And yet we want to imagine that life will go on “as usual.”Meanwhile, the two sides have retreated to their respective corners and are indulging in the two drugs more popular – and dangerous – than the opioids: Hopium and Deniatol. We have one force strung out on hopium – hoping that technology will save us, and another addicted to Deniatol, denying any problem exists. And many of those who have been addressing the issue for decades have all but given up.My guest this week on Wiki Politiki, Michael Dowd offers a way through and past the denial and despair with a powerful re-frame he calls Post Doom. Writes Michael:Doom is the mid-point between denial and regeneration…with or without us.Post-doom is what opens up when we remember who we are, accept what is inevitable, honor our grief, and invest in what is pro-future and soul-nourishing.A post-doom heart and mindset means living, loving, and relating honorably with full awareness that…• There are dimensions of abrupt climate change beyond human control.• Our ecological predicament encompasses all aspects of life.• Climate is not our biggest problem; overshoot is (climate chaos is but a symptom).• Human-centered measures of progress and wellbeing are ecocidal and self-terminating.• Human-centered technology and the market are false gods, creating hell on Earth.• The extinction of Homo colossus (rapacious industrial humanity) is both inevitable and necessary.• The extinction of Homo sapiens this century or next cannot be ruled out.Rev. Michael Dowd is a bestselling author, eco-theologian, sustainability activist, and TEDx speaker whose book, Thank God for Evolution, was endorsed by 6 Nobel Prize-winning scientists, noted skeptics, and by religious leaders across the spectrum.Michael and his science writer, evolutionary educator, and eco-centric activist wife, Connie Barlow, have spoken to some 2,700 groups throughout North America since 2002. Their work provides audiences with applications of evolutionary and ecological wisdom that break through the confusions of these rapidly shifting times. Michael’s passion and legacy work is most fully expressed in his recent sermons, his 2019 video discussion course, “Pro-Future Faith: The Prodigal Species Comes Home”, and new podcast: “Post-doom: conversations exploring overshoot grief, grounding, and gratitude”.If you’re ready to move past despair, denial and false hope, please tune in this Tuesday, December 24th at 2 pm PT / 5 pm ET. http://omtimes.com/iom/shows/wiki-politiki-radio-show/To find out more about Rev. Michael Dowd and his sobering yet heartening Post-Doom vision please go here. https://www.postdoom.com/And now that we ARE back with new shows (and planning a Zoom video element after the first of the year), we invite you to help support Wiki Politiki and our mission to bring about “the great upwising” and functional politics! See below.One more thing… How YOU and WE Can Make a DifferenceHave you noticed that regardless of which of the two political parties you vote for, neither of them seem to be willing to confront Monsanto and agribusiness? Are you disgusted and frustrated by the stonewalling by the two-party duopoly? Are you ready to empower a truly effective “third-way” movement that can move the dial? Are you ready for … oxymoron alert … FUNCTIONAL POLITICS?If so, go here to find out more: https://wikipolitiki.com/functional-politics-an-idea-whose-time-has-come/Support Wiki Politiki — A Clear Voice In The “Bewilderness”If you LOVE what you hear, and appreciate the mission of Wiki Politiki, “put your money where your mouse is” … Join the “upwising” — join the conversation, and become a Wiki Politiki supporter: http://wikipolitiki.com/join-the-upwising/Make a contribution in any amount via PayPal (https://tinyurl.com/y8fe9dks)Go ahead, PATRONIZE me! Support Wiki Politiki monthly through Patreon!

Aired Tuesday, 5 June 2018, 5:00 PM ESTSpiritual Climate Change: Beyond “Hopium”, Denial and DespairA Conversation with Michael Dowd, Author of Thank God for Evolution, and Michael Mielke, Author of Delusions and Contradictions“Is climate change real? Well, I just took a vacation in the future and spent a fabulous week in Tropicanada.” — Swami BeyondanandaAs the two political parties keep our attention focused on “identity issues”, the elephant (and donkey) in the living room is the IDENTICAL ISSUE we face — our human civilization spinning itself outside the web of life. And as Swami has said, if we lose the Earth there goes the GDP.This week, two Mikes share the mike to speak freely and frankly about the climate change issue — how and why it has been ignored and side-stepped, and why our species has a spiritual imperative to face the music and find new ways of dancing together. As Michael Mielke points out in his recent e-book, Delusions and Contradictions, neither conservatives nor progressives have REALLY confronted climate change, and the changes we need to make to preserve some form of human civilization on our planet.The conservative form of denial is more blatant and obvious — dismiss the whole thing as a liberal plot to enrich George Soros. The progressive camp, says Mielke, is strung out on two forms of “hopium”. First, there is what he calls the “Tinkerbell Effect”, the hope that the magic of technology will come up with a fix that will allow us to continue using the energy we are using and sustain a civilization. The other form of denial is imagining that the reforms of the Paris Agreement (which we are not even following) will be enough to prevent the collapse of our civilization and mitigate the climate disasters that are already happening.Meanwhile, there are those climate change activists who have fallen into despair and resignation, as they sense that it’s too late, and that society will not and cannot make the necessary changes in time.That brings our second Mike to the mike … Michael Dowd is an Evangelical Christian (don’t worry, his wife Connie Barlow is an atheist scientist) who has written a wise book with the whimsical title, Thank God for Evolution. Dowd maintains that it is our spiritual imperative to step away from otherworldly conversations about the nature of God, to focus on the this-worldly reality of “the God of nature.” Dowd sees evolution as a “reality-based creation story” where “ecology becomes theology” and religion focuses not on the miracles of the past but how we collectively become “the savior of our future” — the “prodigal species.If you find yourself stuck in hopium, denial or despair about the future of human life on the planet, join us for this sober yet inspiring conversation about what can be done NOW while we are still in “pre-disaster” mode — and how we can honestly engage friends and family in this life-or-death conversation.You can find out more about Michael Mielke and Delusions and Contradictions here: https://mahb.stanford.edu/recentnews/clutches-delusion-dragon/and here: https://www.tree-of-life.works/You can read more about Michael Dowd here: http://michaeldowd.org/Tune in this Tuesday, June 5th at 2 pm PT / 5 pm ET: http://omtimes.com/iom/shows/wiki-politiki-radio-show/How you can support Wiki PolitikiJoin the “upwising” — join the conversation, and become a Wiki Politiki supporter: http://wikipolitiki.com/join-the-upwising/Go ahead, PATRONIZE me! Support Wiki Politiki monthly through Patreon!

The message was delivered on Sunday, May 27, 2018, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Michael Dowd, Guest Speaker. MESSAGE DESCRIPTION A deep-time big picture is vital for staying sane and sober in confusing and contracting times. Such an evidence-based “sacred realism” can help us accept what is inevitable, avoid what is futile, and be a blessing to friends, family, and neighbors in a difficult and uncertain world. This sermon by renowned eco-theologian and TEDx speaker, Michael Dowd, bridges the gap between head and heart and celebrates the convergence of science, inspiration, and sustainability.  *Rev. Michael Dowd is a bestselling eco-theologian and pro-science, pro-future ‘evangelist’ whose work has been featured in The New York Times, LA Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Newsweek, Discover, and on television nationally. His book, Thank God for Evolution, was endorsed by 6 Nobel Prize-winning scientists, noted skeptics, and by religious leaders across the spectrum. Michael has delivered two TEDx talks and a program at the United Nations. He and his wife, science writer and climate activist, Connie Barlow, have spoken to some 2,500 groups across North America since 2002, including nearly 500 UU churches. Rev. Dowd has also conducted two acclaimed online conversation series: “Evolutionary Christianity” (http://thegreatstory.org/ec-participants.html) and “The Future Is Calling Us to Greatness" (https://www.tree-of-life.works/greatness). SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: WATCH THIS MESSAGE ON YOUTUBE: SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: GIVE A DONATION TO HELP US SPREAD THIS LOVE BEYOND BELIEF: or text LOVEBB to 73256 LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: Twitter: All Souls Church Website:  

Connie Barlow and Michael Dowd reflect on the past year of learnings and insights, stimulated by listening to the final chapter of William Catton's book, Overshoot. Content is expanded in Dowd's 2016 video trilogy Standing for the Future (on youtube) and in Dowd's Grace Limits Audios webpage compilation.

The Reverend Michael Dowd is an evolutionary theologian, bestselling author, and evangelist for Big History and an honorable relationship to the future. His 2009 book, Thank God for Evolution, was endorsed by 6 Nobel Prize-winning scientists, noted skeptics, and by religious leaders across the spectrum. His work has been featured in The NY Times, LA Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Newsweek, Discover, Wired, Skeptic, and on CBC, CNN, ABC News, and Fox News.Michael and his wife, Connie Barlow, an acclaimed science writer and evolutionary educator (both climate hawks), permanently travel North America promoting the inspiring side of science, religious naturalism, and one-story spirituality. They've addressed some 2,000 religious and secular audiences since 2002 — from Catholic, Protestant, and Evangelical Christian churches, to Unitarians and freethinkers, to secular grade school, high school, and university students, to New Thought, Integral, and Eastern Spirituality groups.Key Takeaways:[6:06] How the Reverend's stance on climate change is different than most conservatives[8:30] How we need to frame the climate change talk to get conservatives on board too[14:16] If changing climates in various parts of the earth is really such a bad thing[19:05] Whether or not evolution was randomWebsites Mentioned:www.thegreatstory.orghttps://www.entheos.com/The-Future-is-Calling-Us-to-Greatness/entheos

Sermon delivered by Rev. Michael Dowd on August 31, 2014. Rev. Michael Dowd is an outspoken religious naturalist, evolutionary theologian, bestselling author, and one of the most inspiring science and religion speakers in America today. Since April 2002, Michael and his wife (UU science writer Connie Barlow) have lived entirely on the road, delivering talks at more than 400 UU congregations, summer camps, and minister retreats, as well as for other religious and secular groups. Their work was featured as the cover story of our national membership magazine, UU World, in the spring of 2006. Their ministry has also been featured in The New York Times, LA Times, Washington Post, and Discover magazine, and Michael has appeared on television nationally on CNN and ABC News. Michael has delivered two TEDx talks and has also spoken at the United Nations. He will be offering a free presentation Friday, September 5 at Unity Temple entitled "The Future is Calling Us to Greatness: Inspiring Science, Realistic Hope."

Connie Barlow delivered a guest sermon on 27 October 2013 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hendersonville, North Carolina. The full title is "How Religion Is Failing Our Youth — and What We Can Do About It." She addressed three major concerns: first, the importance of youth being offered a coherent story by which to navigate the excitement and challenges of life (she recommends the "epic of evolution"); second, helping boys in particular steer away from the most debilitating and addictive aspects of internet gaming and internet video porn (without laying on fear or shame); and third, doing what we need to do systemically to pass on a healthy economy and a healthy planet to the generations that follow.

Connie Barlow introduces in January 2014 a learning and action series for helping trees adapt to climate change — species by species, decade by decade. Citizen naturalists are invited to research a favorite native tree species and begin to work with others to keep up with the northward movement of forest zones by planting and monitoring small numbers of wild seeds of common species onto private forested lands well north of where those seeds were collected. This "assisted migration" in a time of unprecedented climate shift will be increasingly necessary in the decades ahead. Foresters can create the maps to show us where species will need to move to. But we citizen naturalists will play a complementary role in ensuring that the full diversity of genotypes keeps pace with a warming and drying continent. NOTE: This podcast is the soundtrack of a richly illustrated videoblog by Connie that is posted on youtube: VIDEO: Climate, Trees, and Legacy.

Connie Barlow delivered a guest sermon at Harbor Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Muskegon, Michigan, on June 30, 2013. While scientifically literate peoples have long appreciated science for what it tells us about our outer nature (the vast universe and the ecological intimacies that surround us), we are now in the midst of a revelatory experience in which evolutionary brain science is helping us understand our inner nature. We learn that the ancient instincts that so vitally served our ancestors without complication a few generations back now cause us turmoil and trauma because they are profoundly mismatched with altogether new temptations — which, in excess, can sabotage our lives and our relationships. Connie explores 4 realms of profound "mismatch" between our inherited instincts and the ramped-up substances and activities that can do us harm in excess: foods, feel-good substances, connectivity compulsion (including internet porn), and advanced medical technologies that all too often prolong the suffering and generational costs of what would otherwise be the natural death of elders.

Connie Barlow recites and discusses a December 2012 essay she and Michael Dowd produced and posted in both the Huffington Post (online here) and Metanexus (here). Barlow and Dowd deliver a call-to-action for religious educators and ministers in theologically liberal settings to revamp their goals and curricula toward offering children and youth the inspiring, practical, and deeply meaningful fruits of a fully evolutionary worldview.

Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow "woke up" to the magnitude and speed of climate change in December 2012. The dangers of human-caused climate disturbance had, by then, become undeniable, making this the fundamental moral issue of our time. In this podcast, the duo include clips from the world's most respected climate scientist, NASA's James Hansen, and two key advocates for systemic change: Bill McKibben and David Roberts.  Because this is just the audio track of the original video podcast, we recommend you watch the entire 49-minute video on YouTube: "Climate Change and Intergenerational Evil". Please recommend that your friends watch it too.

Connie Barlow delivers a 20-minute sermon at Cadboro Bay United Church near Victoria, BC (Canada) October 2012. Connie suggests that progressive churches will serve a vital role for the next generations when they evolve their understanding of "religious education" to mean primarily the need to provision children with a sense of feeling at home in the universe. Only in churches and homeschool settings can our culture's widespread malaise of "amythia" be healed. To do so, science must be presented in deeply meaningful ways, while all facets of education are integrated as elements ('beads") in one grand (and globally shared) story: the epic of evolution.

Connie Barlow builds on the 2011 call-to-action opinion piece by NYT columnist David Brooks ("Death and Budgets"), and the 2011 essay (in The New Republic) by Daniel Callahan and Sherwin B. Nuland, "The Quagmire: How American Medicine Is Destroying Itself." ( You can also watch an illustrated version of this podcast on YouTube.) Here, Barlow issues her own call-to-action in order to "foment a revolution" with her fellow boomers and with what remains of the older generations. By "just saying no" to costly medical diagnostics and interventions that merely prolong dwindling life in our elder years, and by pioneering vibrant, responsible, and celebratory ways of openly and actively dying, we can return to humanity's ancestral roots of "generational generosity" in our modes of living and dying. We each can take care to ensure that our legacy "passes forward" blessings to the generations who follow us -- not insupportable debt. Note: This is a sequel to podcast 30, "Death and Intergenerational Generosity." You can sample all of Connie Barlow's text, audio, and video programs on a sacred, naturaistic regard for death at http://thegreatstory.org/death-programs.html

Connie Barlow and Michael Dowd reflect on their current work of translating the discoveries and interpretations of the fledgling sciences of evolutionary psychology and evolutionary brain science into perspectives and practical tools for transforming lives and relationships.  Inspiration and direction for participating in cultural and societal improvement are drawn from the equally new scholarly discipline of Big History, which aims to uncover broad patterns within the trajectory of evolution and their causal links. The duo give examples of how this work has already helped each of them access empowering emotional states: gratitude for the past, trust in the future, inspiration to be in action, and empathy for engaging oppositional views.  Michael directs listeners to a newly posted site for free online viewing of the main public program he has been presenting in 2010, “Evolutionize Your Life.”  Dowd also commends a new downoadable audio lecture series by Allen D. MacNeill, “The Modern Scholar: Evolutionary Psychology I”.

Connie Barlow reflects on events that motivated her to write her boldest statement yet on the importance of provisioning children with a coherent cosmology.  Now available online, "Imprinting Is Not Indoctrination" is a challenge to freethinking parents and liberal religious educators who are so determined to not indoctrinate their kids that they fail to give them "a creation story / worldview through which to enjoy and securely navigate the years of childhood wonder, learning, and innocence."  Connie concludes this podcast with brief descriptions of the newest additions to the "What's New?" page on TheGreatStory.org website.  Notably, a preview of a new children's curriculum (which uses Great Story Beads): "Your Universe Story." Also Connie's newest videomashing project, "Praise Darwin!" — an evolution revival meeting now on YouTube. Finally, links to a terrific dialogue with scientist and kids curricula developer Jon Cleland-Host and a moving 21-minute documentary, "The Great Story in Kosovo."

Connie Barlow reflects on her visit to Pioneer Cemetery in Canandaigua NY, where her paternal ancestors six generations back are buried.  (Photo right is of her brother Bill and nephew Myles Barlow pondering the stone memorials of Abner and Mary Barlow.)  This podcast topic was also stimulated by a memoir in the 6/20/10 issue of New York Times Magazine: "What Broke My Father's Heart".  Barlow notes that the essay well depicted the modern-day obstacles that make achieving a natural and good death for the elderly exceedingly difficult in our highly medicalized culture, but that it was sorely lacking in addressing the equal need for the elderly themselves to make decisions in light of "intergenerational equity."  To this, Michael Dowd added, "It is more than just intergenerational equity we are calling for; it is intergenerational generosity."  The duo explore the role that a deep-time perspective can play in naturalizing our understanding of death and thereby calling forth voluntary and joyful expressions of intergenerational generosity. Recommended background reading on the current imbalance in intergenerational equity is the 2/1/10 Op-Ed column by David Brooks, "The Geezer's Crusade". Also, you can access online Connie's brief memoir on her mother's death, a bold proposal for re-incentivizing end-of-life medical choices, and an annotated list of other resources for evolving our cultural approach to death.

Connie Barlow and Michael Dowd announce the launch of two new podcast series and provide snippets from the first several episodes.  "Inspiring Naturalism" is a new series in which Barlow and Dowd serve as cohosts, interviewing and engaging ideas with scientists, historians, educators, and others leading the way toward reality-based views of the world that are both meaningful and motivating.  "Evolving Faith" is hosted by Michael; he engages theologians, ministers, and other religious professionals in exploring ways for evolving religious traditions toward congruence with the foundation of inspiring naturalism. The short samples include dialogue with evolutionist David Sloan Wilson, big historian David Christian, and theologian Bishop John Shelby Spong.

Michael Dowd extemporaneously delivers a guest sermon at a large, very progressive church in Spring Lake Michigan: C3 Exchange. This being Memorial Day weekend, his theme is remembering — but from a deep-time perspective.  Michael offers the congregation four essential components for experiencing deep-time grace: (1) Learn your story, (2) Interpret life generously, (3) Honor your instincts, and (4) Be a blessing to others and the world.  His wife, Connie Barlow, regards this as his best sermon ever.

Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow discuss ideas and share stories from their 8 years of experience evangelizing a modern evolutionary perspective in churches -- many of which have yet to update their beliefs, creedal statements, and liturgies beyond pre-medieval norms and understandings. Specifically, the duo highlight the harm caused by veneration of ancient religious scriptures over more modern evidential discoveries. Dowd suggests that, by making an idol of the written word, "The Christian church in the developed world will continue down a long and slow path to its own extinction, or irrelevance, as long as it sees the Bible as God's Word, as the main way the divine communicates, while failing to see scientific evidence as divine revelation." Dowd has also posted a companion blog to this podcast (same title), on his ThankGodForEvolution.com website. Note: This podcast builds upon Podcast #6, posted 6 September 2009, "The New Atheists As God's Prophets" and Podcast #7, posted on 20 September 2009, "Humanity Grows Up: From Beliefs to Knowledge".

Connie Barlow was one of 17 guests interviewed by Craig Hamilton in early 2010 as part of Craig's free, multi-week telecourse: "Awakening the Impulse to Evolve: The Birth of Evolutionary Spirituality".  35,000 people signed up to listen to the interview series live or to visit the audio archives at their leisure. This was a landmark event, both for giving free access to the insights and ruminations of many acclaimed thinkers across a spectrum of views and for its use of new technology that enabled listeners to ask questions and to enter into small-group discussions. In this podcast, Connie Barlow dialogues with Craig about how, what Connie calls, "deep-time eyes" inspire and enliven her naturalistic approach to evolutionary spirituality, as a religious naturalist, aka "evolutionary emergentist." Note: For more on the topic of "emergence", which Connie discusses in this interview, see our 5 September 2009 podcast, "Evolutionary Emergence".

Dark Green Religion, Bron Taylor's new book, is one of the topics covered in this potpourri podcast by Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow.  Other current events discussed are the March 2010 iaunch of a "Neo-Humanist Statement" by Paul Kurtz and others, Sam Harris's recent TED Talk, the Dennett/LaScola study "Preachers Who Are Not Believers", their recent experience at "The Little Church That Could," and more.

Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow discuss current events in the context of "evolutionary legacy" -- the ripples of action that continue on in the world after we, as individuals, are gone.  Intentional, even courageous, action are what the evolutionary impulse is calling forth from each of us now.  As Dowd frames the issue, "The growing edge of both Eastern and Western thinking is participatory: How do we, in an embodied way, participate in the evolution of life, the evolution of consciousness and culture, such that we further evolution in positive, constructive ways?" Examples come from the work of Thomas Berry, notably, his distinction between a "redemption" focus v. a "creation" focus, as well as a February 7, 2010, sermon by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar of All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Michael Dowd published 3 blogs recently on his ThankGodforEvolution.com website, which he and Connie Barlow discuss here.  The first is for general audiences and is titled, "Evolutionary Spirituality: Coming Home to Reality".  Dowd advocates a very practical form of evolutionary spirituality that is above all relational.  Striving for "deep integrity" and pursuing an evolutionary calling ("deep bliss") are core elements. Next come the highlights of the two blogs Dowd wrote specifically for Christians: "Atheists Promote Bible Reading?!" and "The Salvation of Religion: From Beliefs to Knowledge"

View from the Center of the Universe made a powerful impression on Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow when it was published in 2006. This podcast celebrates its coauthors: Joel R. Primack and Nancy Ellen Abrams and their continuing role in interpreting cosmological science in ways that offer modern peoples not only a deeply meaningful universe but one in which the human project can be experienced as central. Michael and Connie offer listeners a sampling of their favorite quotations from this book, while reflecting on their own experience of evangelizing mainstream science as our common creation story. Web references include: Primack Quotes and View from the Center of the Universe, as well as two YouTube videos: Nancy Ellen Abrams: "Cosmic Society" and Joel and Nancy's 4-part 2009 Terry Lectures.

"Death is natural and generative at every level of reality." That affirmation was a core part of Connie Barlow and Michael Dowd's teachings during their years of living on-the-road as America's Evolutionary Evangelists. Having a naturalized view of death in the cosmos is not, however, intended to diminish the sadness we feel when a loved one dies. Rather, this insight, which emerges from the sciences, provides a "cosmic container" to hold us safely as we experience our grief. What better way to convey this perspective than by story? In this podcast Connie reads to Michael a 5-chapter, interactive story she wrote in 2009, called "Tree Talks About Death." You can freely download this story by visiting the Children's Curricula page of TheGreatStory.org website. A wealth of resources for adults on the topic of death can be accessed via Connie's "Death Through Deep-Time Eyes" webpage.

Connie Barlow and Michael Dowd riff on the latest sensation in musical culture -- which is also the latest sensation in the public understanding of science. It is a new music video series created by independent video artist John Boswell. Posted on YouTube, and also available in mp3 for free download, the two projects Boswell created thus far have topped the charts. "A Glorious Dawn," which features the auto-tuned (and thus singing) voice of Carl Sagan is now the top-rated music video of all time. Boswell launched "We Are All Connected" on October 19, and within three days it surpassed 100,000 views on YouTube. It features four singing voices blended with the original video images from which the voices were drawn. These are: Carl Sagan, again, Richard Feynman, Bill Nye ("the science guy"), and Neil deGrasse Tyson singing the words from which the title itself is drawn. Watch this video and see if you, too, feel that a whole new world of possibility and hope is now beckoning us forward. Truly a religious experience! You can get there via the artist's website: Symphony of Science.

Michael Dowd Thank God for Evolution: How the Marriage of Science and Religion Will Transform Your Life and Our World (Viking) (27 min.) Michael Dowd and his wife, Connie Barlow, who is a science writer, call themselves "evolution’s evangelists." They travel the country giving talks, workshops and retreats on the religious implications of the theory of evolution. Devoted to exploring ways of finding unity between science and faith, "evolution evangelist." Michael Dowd says Darwin ’s idea is God’s gift to theology, and that this evolution can be integrated with religion in holy and meaningful ways.

The Reverend Michael Dowd, along with his wife, science writer Connie Barlow, have lived permanently on the road for years, sharing a "sacred view of evolution" with religious and secular audiences of all ages. His new book is Thank God for Evolution: How the Marriage of Science and Religion Will Transform Your Life and Our World. In this conversation with D.J. Grothe, Michael Dowd reveals how his kind of Christianity is different from most others who would call themselves Christian, and argues that all religions are evolving in the direction of naturalism. He argues that evolution must be mythologized in order to save our species. He explains how he reinterprets orthodox Christian doctrines such as "personal salvation," "the centrality of the cross," and "original sin" in ways that are compatible with scientific ways of thinking, and recounts how understanding evolutionary brain science helps reinterpret certain notions of sexual "sin." He addresses the criticism that that there is no good reason to use religious language to speak about science and evolution. And he expresses why his evolution evangelism is so important: that evolution be embraced and that it would be able to "do its magic," listing the seven reasons how evolution can transform lives and change the world.

The Reverend Michael Dowd, along with his wife, science writer Connie Barlow, have lived permanently on the road for years, sharing a "sacred view of evolution" with religious and secular audiences of all ages. His new book is Thank God for Evolution: How the Marriage of Science and Religion Will Transform Your Life and Our World. In this interview with D.J. Grothe, Michael Dowd discusses his new book Thank God for Evolution, which is a religious defense of the central organizing theory of modern biology. He reveals the agenda of the book, and the reception it has received from both the scientific and the religious communities. He explains his religious background, and how he has adopted a thoroughly "naturalized" religion that he calls "Religion 2.0," compatible with and integrated with evolution, and which rejects the supernatural or the "unnatural." He details why he has become an "evangelist for evolution" and why the "gospel of evolution" has been so popular for both the religious and the secular audiences he has spoken to over the last six and a half years. He expounds his "evolution theology," and how the traditionally religious can embrace the facts of evolution, which he considers the most important religious act they can commit.