Podcasts about Scopes Trial

Send us a textPLEASE NOTE: EDITING ERRORS HAVE BEEN REPAIRED. This week on Beach Talk with Betsey Newenhuyse, we're reflecting on Memorial Day from Betsey's visit to Ft. Sheridan Cemetery—where memory and meaning converge. We'll share personal thoughts about our dads and how sensational politics and shallow discourse often diminish this solemn day.Betsey brings us a notable message from Pete Buttigieg that cuts through the noise. We dive into the bizarre age obsession—“Biden's old!”—while so many political leaders are aging out. We'll also head down a rabbit trail: Young Earth creationism, QAnon, and my latest Substack post on the Scopes Trial. Anti-science. Anti-expertise. Anti-intellect. The Ark Encounter. The clergy survey. The 1960 film, Inherit the Wind. When faith becomes a box-checking exercise—what's left?I'll touch on Diarmaid MacCulloch's brilliant insights in his history of Christianity and sex. I'll talk about my professor's lecture on the difference between astrology and astronomy—it tells us a lot about Christian Nationalism's current dogma.Finally, we'll confront the attack on universities (hello, Harvard), Jemar Tisby's Roadmap to Ruin, Project 2025, and what it all means for the Church—and for our democracy. Support the showBecome a Patron - Click on the link to learn how you can become a Patron of the show. Thank you! Ken's Substack Page The Podcast Official Site: TheBeachedWhiteMale.com

Episode: 1371 The great evolution war at Oxford in 1860.  Today, we join the first major battle in a long war.

Tell me what's on your mind.What some of you may remember as the Scopes Monkey Trial is a scam. If you don't know about the trial, you may know about the movie, “Inherit the Wind,” which – and I'm being charitable here – took poetic license with the truth. Today, as we near the 100th anniversary of the trial, I tell you why.Scopes 100 Celebration

As we mark the 100th anniversary of the historic Scopes Trial, this interdisciplinary panel will delve into the enduring significance of The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes, a case that reshaped the cultural, legal, and educational landscape of America. Bringing together historians, political scientists, biologists, and philosophers, this discussion will explore the trial's foundational conflicts between science and religion, and its resonance in today's debates over the teaching of evolution and other controversial subjects.

The first big election of 2025 will be in Wisconsin, which elects a new Supreme Court Justice on April 1. Elon Musk is spending hundreds of millions in that race. That's both a threat, and an opportunity for Democrats. On this episode of Start Making Sense, John Nichols will comment.Also: How did we end up with Trump back in the White House? We got here in part because Republicans built a movement over several decades centered on what are called “the culture wars.” But there's a long history behind the culture wars, going back at least a century to the Scopes Trial, in 1925, about teaching evolution. It's still an issue today. Adam Hochschild is on the show to explain.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The first big election of 2025 will be in Wisconsin, which elects a new Supreme Court Justice on April 1. Elon Musk is spending hundreds of millions in that race. That's both a threat, and an opportunity for Democrats. On this episode of Start Making Sense, John Nichols will comment.Also: How did we end up with Trump back in the White House? We got here in part because Republicans built a movement over several decades centered on what are called “the culture wars.” But there's a long history behind the culture wars, going back at least a century to the Scopes Trial, in 1925, about teaching evolution. It's still an issue today. Adam Hochschild is on the show to explain.

We cover a range of state/church news on the federal and state levels. We announce FFRF's Scopes Trial Centennial celebration to be held in Tennessee in July. After hearing the irreverent Monty Python song, "Every Sperm is Sacred," we memorialize the life of former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, an ardent proponent of feminism and democracy and author of the book Make Trouble, by replaying our 2018 interview with her on Freethought Radio.

GOOD EVENING: The show begins in Dayton, Tennessee where the decision is made to challnge the anti-Darwinian State legislature... Scopes Trial outdoors because of the heat . CBS EYE ON THE WORLD WITH JOHN BATCHELOR FIRST HOUR - SECOND HOUR (9:00-11:00) Extended interview with Brenda Wineapple, discussing "Keeping the Faith: God, Democracy, and the Trial That Riveted a Nation" The 1925 Scopes trial in Dayton, Tennessee Clarence Darrow's defense of John T. Scopes William Jennings Bryan's prosecution Impact on American values and ongoing cultural divisions Early 20th century context of racism, intolerance, and social change THIRD HOUR - FOURTH HOUR (11:00-1:00) Extended interview with Eric H. Cline, discussing "After 1177 B.C.: The Survival of Civilizations" Aftermath of the Late Bronze Age collapse Fall of Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean civilizations Transition through the First Dark Age Stories of resilience and transformation Reconfiguration of civilizations in an age of chaos Each book discussion spans eight 15-minute segments, allowing for in-depth exploration of these historical works and their contemporary relevance.

"PREVIEW: SCOPES TRIAL: 1925: Conversation with Brenda Wineapple, author of ,'Keeping the Faith," about the 1925 '"Monkey Trial,' where the ACLU enabled the famous confrontation in Dayton Tennessee between Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan. More later." 1925 Dayton Tennessee

**NOTE**  This episode is dedicated to Mr. George (Butch) Harless a true man and true friend to many, including to his dear friend, Mr. Jerry Summers.And, to Orange Grove Center of Chattanooga for all the care and support they give and where Jerry Summers and others offer help and support. This episode is sponsored by Mountain Lights & Safety of Lookout Mountain.Please join us for our End of Year Grand Finale episode and you will be glad you did. ****************************************************************************************Who would you have if you rolled the following people into one person - Lewis Grizzard, Will Rogers, Bobby Lee Cook and maybe some Perry Mason and Andrew Jackson on the side?You might have a guy named Jerry.Listen in and hear a lot of names and a lot of Tennessee history including aspects that will amaze you about this event in American history. Traditionalism vs Modernism is what some have called this famed event. The Mountain Echo is honored to host a true legend in Chattanooga history - a true 'oak' from White Oak, the famed attorney Mr. Jerry Summers as he shares about a special event coming up about a historic event in US and world history - The Scopes Trial from 1925.This story begins which a wild cast of characters such as: a tennis coach, a pharmacist, the 'father' of TVA, a coal company executive and newspaper folks and of course a football coach. In the summer of 2025, a huge event will take place in the town of Dayton, Tennessee to commemorate the 'Scopes Trial' which s considered my many historians to be one of the most significant trials in US history. The trial captured the attention of our nation and some parts of the world as the trial played out and arguments unfolded and finally as the world waited for the outcome. Jerry does a truly masterful job of walking us through the setting and the significance of it all - a truly mesmerizing tale of American law, politics and social temperature in 1925 - 100 years ago.Join in and enjoy hearing from an authoritative voice as Mr. Summers weaves an excellent layup and story, concluding with many unknown facts about the entire event that just add more and more intrigue as the story unfolds. Many of you may think you may know the story, but you probably have not ever heard anything like this well-researched reedition. You will need to sit down, get comfortable and buckle your seatbelt.Misc. points of discussion include: Sewanee University, UTC, Bryan College, Tennesse history, Chattanooga history, WGN, Dr Harry Lawrence, Lookout Mountain, Central High School, U.S. Supreme Court, Ku Klux Klan, ACLU, Clarence Darrow, Wm Jennings Bryan, Chattanooga Times Free Press, book - Tennessee trivia and more... Many thanks to you Dear Jerry - you are a true gift and blessing to our town and community and we hope to enjoy you for many more years to come. You did a great job here!Your friends at 'the Mountain echo'.* Special thanks to Mr. Chuck Clowdis for his advice, help and support. Thank you Chuck!Spread the word! Find us at ...theMountainEcho.orgPlease "Like" and 'subscribe' for notification of new episodes on your media player's podcast menu. Also, on regular, full length, non-bonus episodes, many thanks for closing music featuring the Dismembered Tennesseans and vocals by the amazing Laura Walker singing Tennessee Waltz. Opening fiddle music played by the late Mr. Fletcher Bright.

POPULISM: In praise of Jack Kemp, GOP Populist. @ThadMcCotter @theamgreatness 1925 Scopes Trial, Dayton Penn.

Bob explains his epiphany to resolve what Darrow had in mind during his famous cross-examination of William Jennings Bryan in the famous Scopes Trial. Note this is a follow-up to his prior episode on the trial.Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:BMS ep 355, the analysis of the Scopes Monkey Trial.The complete transcript of the 1925 Scopes trial.The History Channel short on the trial.Excerpt from the Civic Biology textbook that Scopes used.Bryan's final statement (that he didn't get to deliver to the court).Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

The 1925 Scopes Trial ostensibly featured the triumph of science over fundamentalist religion. Bob gives some surprising facts that may change your assessment, including long excerpts from Clarence Darrow's famous cross-examination of William Jennings Bryan.Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:The complete transcript of the 1925 Scopes trial.The History Channel short on the trial.Excerpt from the Civic Biology textbook that Scopes used.Was Jonah swallowed by a fish or a whale?Bryan's final statement (that he didn't get to deliver to the court).Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

Preview: Scopes Trial: Conversation with author Brenda Wineapple, "Keeping the Faith," regarding the famous Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925 and the personality and operatic style of Clarence Darrow. More in later weeks. 1925 Clarence Darrow in Dayton Tennessee

Preview: Scopes Trial: Comment by author Brenda Wineapple, "Keeping the Faith," regarding the celebrity politician William Jennings Bryan, the Boy Orator of the Platte River, now in the last days of his life as he arrives in Dayton, Tennessee for the Scopes trial debating the theory of evolution in light of those who believe in a literal reading of the Bible. More in coming weeks. 1925 William Jennings Bryan

Brenda Wineapple calls them "two gladiators." The year was 1925. She writes that "the ubiquitous politician William Jennings Bryan and the criminal lawyer Clarence Darrow, each of them national celebrities for decades, were going into battle over God and science and the classroom and, not incidentally, over what it meant to be an American." Brenda Wineapple's latest book is titled "Keeping the Faith" and is about the Scopes Trial, held in the small town of Dayton, Tennessee, which focused on the state law that prohibited the teaching of evolution in the schools. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brenda Wineapple calls them "two gladiators." The year was 1925. She writes that "the ubiquitous politician William Jennings Bryan and the criminal lawyer Clarence Darrow, each of them national celebrities for decades, were going into battle over God and science and the classroom and, not incidentally, over what it meant to be an American." Brenda Wineapple's latest book is titled "Keeping the Faith" and is about the Scopes Trial, held in the small town of Dayton, Tennessee, which focused on the state law that prohibited the teaching of evolution in the schools. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do Hum, Hitler's People and The Hypocrite have in common? They are all recommended new books from KEEN ON's best read regular guest, Los Angeles Times book critic Bethanne Patrick. As usual, she recommends six books, but - whether you are looking for a magically realistic novel about the Dutch resistance to Nazism or new non-fiction on Putin's Russia or the Scopes Trial - they all offer great late summer reading. Bethanne Patrick maintains a storied place in the publishing industry as a critic and as @TheBookMaven on Twitter, where she created the popular #FridayReads and regularly comments on books and literary ideas to over 200,000 followers. Her work appears frequently in the Los Angeles Times as well as in The Washington Post, NPR Books, and Literary Hub. She sits on the board of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation and has served on the board of the National Book Critics Circle. She is the host of the Missing Pages podcast. Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

99 years after the Scopes ‘monkey trial,' religious fundamentalism still infects our schoolsLos Angeles Times, By Michael Hiltzik, on July 26, 2024https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2024-07-26/99-years-after-the-scopes-monkey-trial-religious-fundamentalism-still-infects-our-schoolsNearly a century ago, a significant trial unfolded in Tennessee, where the clash between religious fundamentalism and modern education took center stage. This trial, known as the Scopes Trial, ignited a debate that still reverberates today, pitting creationism and intelligent design against scientific understanding in schools. Although the defendant, John Scopes, lost the trial, the broader victory went to science. However, in the contemporary landscape, movements across the United States and abroad continue to push for religious doctrines to infiltrate educational curricula, with some states fighting in courts to uphold restrictive laws that challenge academic freedom.The Scopes Trial was rooted in a gesture of appeasement. The Tennessee legislature passed a bill prohibiting the teaching of evolution as a symbolic concession to a lay preacher who had otherwise failed to pass any significant legislation. This bill, initially seen as harmless, escalated into a cultural battleground once it was signed into law. The media, both then and now, played a pivotal role in sensationalizing the trial, creating a narrative that often overshadowed the reality. The trial was less about the actual legalities and more about the larger cultural war over how society should balance religious beliefs with scientific progress.Bad legislation often leads to broader societal issues, including the erosion of public trust in legal and governmental institutions. When laws are poorly conceived or enforced, they invite ridicule and diminish the legitimacy of the legal system. The Scopes Trial is a prime example of how symbolic gestures in legislation can have far-reaching and unintended consequences. The case's outcome hinged on technicalities, with the judge overstepping his authority, leading to a conviction that was later overturned. This maneuver may have been a deliberate attempt to avoid a substantive appeal, which could have set a more significant legal precedent.The struggle between science and religious dogma in education has a long and ongoing history. Even after the Scopes Trial, states like Alabama and Missouri continued to grapple with similar legal battles, with courts consistently ruling against the inclusion of creationism and intelligent design in public school curricula. These cases highlight the persistent efforts to challenge scientific education in favor of religious teachings, a battle that has spanned decades and remains unresolved.The trial's media coverage, both during the event and in subsequent portrayals, often exaggerated and distorted the facts, turning the proceedings into a spectacle rather than an accurate reflection of the issues at stake. Films and television adaptations have further muddied the waters, prioritizing entertainment over historical accuracy. This trend of sensationalizing history for media consumption has contributed to the ongoing misunderstanding of the trial's significance and its implications for the relationship between religion and education.The town where the Scopes Trial took place was largely apathetic about the legal battle, seeing it more as a financial opportunity than a moral crusade. The influx of press and visitors brought by the trial provided a much-needed economic boost to the community. However, the case itself was a poor test of the broader issues, as the local population was not particularly invested in the outcome. Despite this, the trial has become emblematic of the enduring conflict between scientific inquiry and religious belief, a conflict that continues to shape educational policies and public discourse in the United States and beyond.The Non-Prophets, Episode 23.32.2 featuring  Kelley Laughlin, Jonathan Roudabush, and Phoebe RoseBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-non-prophets--3254964/support.

Dr. Jerry Bergman: Fred Williams and Doug McBurney welcome Dr. Jerry Bergman who has taught biology, genetics, chemistry, biochemistry, anthropology, geology, and microbiology at several Universities for over 40 years. He has 9 degrees, including 7 graduate degrees. Dr. Bergman is a graduate of Medical College of Ohio, Wayne State University in Detroit, The University of Toledo, and Bowling Green State University. He has over 1,900 publications in 14 languages and 50 books and monographs, and has taught at the Medical College of Ohio where he was a research associate in the department of experimental pathology, and he also taught at the University of Toledo, and Bowling Green State University.   Bergman's Books: Hear a bit about Dr. Bergman's books (buy them here) on topics such as the Scopes Trial, the harmful effects of evolution, and the role of evolution in World War II. Bergman's books will help you be steadfast in your faith and continue the work of using creationism to promote the gospel.   Mutations Creeping In: Hear about the evolutionary "mutants" Dr. Bergman has encountered IN THE CHURCH!   Adaptations by Design: Jerry explains the real science of researching adaptation by design, versus the ludicrous assumption that genetic mutations drive increases in sophistication of function.   Gain of What? Hear what Gain of Function research really is!   Balkin' Dawkins: Hear how Richard Dawkins continues to duck a debate with Dr. Bergman.   Spiritual Warfare: Dr. Bergman tells of teaching creation among atheists, and in churches. Find out where the spiritual resistance pushes back, and where Dr. Bergman breaks through! Hear how "changing the world" is one of the ways we can more effectively reach more of the lost!   Management Advice: Doug advises the administrators of any organization, (and especially Christian organizations) to observe McBurney's Mark. That's the point at which you allow acquiring the funding necessary to perpetuate the organization to alter decisions regarding quality or morality. Mark it down. It's time to disband the organization.   The War Between Creation and Evolution: Hear how the Scopes Monkey Trial was filled with racism & phony evidence, and Dwight Eisenhower was the creationist's general up against the NAZI evolutionists in WWII.

Dr. Jerry Bergman: Fred Williams and Doug McBurney welcome Dr. Jerry Bergman who has taught biology, genetics, chemistry, biochemistry, anthropology, geology, and microbiology at several Universities for over 40 years. He has 9 degrees, including 7 graduate degrees. Dr. Bergman is a graduate of Medical College of Ohio, Wayne State University in Detroit, The University of Toledo, and Bowling Green State University. He has over 1,900 publications in 14 languages and 50 books and monographs, and has taught at the Medical College of Ohio where he was a research associate in the department of experimental pathology, and he also taught at the University of Toledo, and Bowling Green State University.   Bergman's Books: Hear a bit about Dr. Bergman's books (buy them here) on topics such as the Scopes Trial, the harmful effects of evolution, and the role of evolution in World War II. Bergman's books will help you be steadfast in your faith and continue the work of using creationism to promote the gospel.   Mutations Creeping In: Hear about the evolutionary "mutants" Dr. Bergman has encountered IN THE CHURCH!   Adaptations by Design: Jerry explains the real science of researching adaptation by design, versus the ludicrous assumption that genetic mutations drive increases in sophistication of function.   Gain of What? Hear what Gain of Function research really is!   Balkin' Dawkins: Hear how Richard Dawkins continues to duck a debate with Dr. Bergman.   Spiritual Warfare: Dr. Bergman tells of teaching creation among atheists, and in churches. Find out where the spiritual resistance pushes back, and where Dr. Bergman breaks through! Hear how "changing the world" is one of the ways we can more effectively reach more of the lost!   Management Advice: Doug advises the administrators of any organization, (and especially Christian organizations) to observe McBurney's Mark. That's the point at which you allow acquiring the funding necessary to perpetuate the organization to alter decisions regarding quality or morality. Mark it down. It's time to disband the organization.   The War Between Creation and Evolution: Hear how the Scopes Monkey Trial was filled with racism & phony evidence, and Dwight Eisenhower was the creationist's general up against the NAZI evolutionists in WWII.

Dr. Jerry Bergman: Fred Williams and Doug McBurney welcome Dr. Jerry Bergman who has taught biology, genetics, chemistry, biochemistry, anthropology, geology, and microbiology at several Universities for over 40 years. He has 9 degrees, including 7 graduate degrees. Dr. Bergman is a graduate of Medical College of Ohio, Wayne State University in Detroit, The University of Toledo, and Bowling Green State University. He has over 1,900 publications in 14 languages and 50 books and monographs, and has taught at the Medical College of Ohio where he was a research associate in the department of experimental pathology, and he also taught at the University of Toledo, and Bowling Green State University.   Do No Harm: Hear from a real doctor about the harm that teaching evolution has caused in society and the flaws in the theory itself.    Stem Cells & Ethics: Dr. Bergman discusses the science and the business of medicine, embryonic & adult stem cells, organoids and the ethics of medical research.    State's Wrongs: Can anyone out there refute Doug's assertion that the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs opinion "overturning" Roe v Wade has, for the first time in America's history, codified that the states may legally regulate the killing of innocent people?   State of the Church: Find out about the controversy surrounding the teaching of creationism in churches and the reluctance of pastors to address the topic. Dr. Bergman shares his experiences of engaging with pastors and churchgoers on the subject and highlights the importance of reaching out to churches to promote biblical creation.   Real Science: Dr. Bergman begins elaborating on how teaching creation alongside evolution is "a waste of time", listen in and find out what we should be doing to teach young people the truth about origins and the scientific method.   Bergman's Books: Hear a bit about Dr. Bergman's books (buy them here) on topics such as the Scopes Trial, the harmful effects of evolution, and the role of evolution in World War II. Bergman's books will help you be steadfast in your faith and continue the work of using creationism to promote the gospel.

Dr. Jerry Bergman: Fred Williams and Doug McBurney welcome Dr. Jerry Bergman who has taught biology, genetics, chemistry, biochemistry, anthropology, geology, and microbiology at several Universities for over 40 years. He has 9 degrees, including 7 graduate degrees. Dr. Bergman is a graduate of Medical College of Ohio, Wayne State University in Detroit, The University of Toledo, and Bowling Green State University. He has over 1,900 publications in 14 languages and 50 books and monographs, and has taught at the Medical College of Ohio where he was a research associate in the department of experimental pathology, and he also taught at the University of Toledo, and Bowling Green State University.   Do No Harm: Hear from a real doctor about the harm that teaching evolution has caused in society and the flaws in the theory itself.    Stem Cells & Ethics: Dr. Bergman discusses the science and the business of medicine, embryonic & adult stem cells, organoids and the ethics of medical research.    State's Wrongs: Can anyone out there refute Doug's assertion that the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs opinion "overturning" Roe v Wade has, for the first time in America's history, codified that the states may legally regulate the killing of innocent people?   State of the Church: Find out about the controversy surrounding the teaching of creationism in churches and the reluctance of pastors to address the topic. Dr. Bergman shares his experiences of engaging with pastors and churchgoers on the subject and highlights the importance of reaching out to churches to promote biblical creation.   Real Science: Dr. Bergman begins elaborating on how teaching creation alongside evolution is "a waste of time", listen in and find out what we should be doing to teach young people the truth about origins and the scientific method.   Bergman's Books: Hear a bit about Dr. Bergman's books (buy them here) on topics such as the Scopes Trial, the harmful effects of evolution, and the role of evolution in World War II. Bergman's books will help you be steadfast in your faith and continue the work of using creationism to promote the gospel.

Author Lisa Grunwald joins Zibby to discuss THE EVOLUTION OF ANNABEL CRAIG, a sensitive and poignant novel about a young Southern woman who sets out on a journey of self-discovery after both her parents die, as the infamous 1925 Scopes Trial tests her faith and her marriage. Lisa delves into the significance of the Scopes “Monkey Trial” for her protagonist and for present-day society. She also touches on various aspects of writing historical fiction, from extensive research to authentic character development. Finally, she talks about her life with multiple sclerosis and the ways it influences her writing.Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/43RE9QMShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Now there's more! Subscribe to Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books on Acast+ and get ad-free episodes. https://plus.acast.com/s/moms-dont-have-time-to-read-books. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1925, Americans focused their attention on the Scopes Trial, a court case in Tennessee where a teacher was put on trial for teaching evolution. Yet three years before the infamous trial, the state of Kentucky nearly passed a law that would have forbidden the teaching of evolution. Join us today for a discussion with a KHS research fellow who is writing a dissertation about the evolution debates that roiled Kentucky in 1922. Emily Muhich is a PhD Candidate at Louisiana State University. She earned her B.A. at Michigan State University and is currently working on her dissertation, which is entitled “In The Beginning: Kentucky's Anti-Evolution Crusade." She is a recent fellow, as she was here in May of 2022, so we are excited to check back in with her and see where her project has taken her over the last couple of months. Kentucky Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers from across the world who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, in publication since 1903. Hosted by Dr. Daniel J. Burge, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society. Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation. https://history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation Our show is recorded and edited by Gregory Hardison, who also wrote the original underscoring of the interview. Thanks to Dr. Stephanie Lang for her support and guidance. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay. To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website: https://history.ky.gov/

In the Scopes Trial of 1925, William Jennings Bryan spoke against teaching evolution, saying “I have all the information I need to live and die by.” Today's intense fight against teaching Critical Race Theory is more of the same. To The post Critical Race Theory: Scopes Trial Redux? appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

Paul visits Dayton, TN, the site of the notorious Scopes Monkey Trial. In 1925, famed politician William Jennings Bryan faced prominent lawyer Clarence Darrow over the teaching of evolution in public schools. After checking out the courthouse, Paul and Todd talk to local historian Tom Davis and get the full scoop. Paul then attends a performance of the annual Scopes Trial Play and gets a little surprise! Go to https://letstalkcreation.org to check out all our past shows and access this week's show notes. Email us with comments or questions at: podcast@coresci.org Check us out on social media and consider donating to support this podcast

Starting with the 1925 Scopes Trial — also known as the "trial of the century" — we look at one of the most controversial topics in our time: the debate over evolution versus a Fundamentalist understanding of the Bible. It started with a substitute teacher in Tennessee who believed that evolution should be taught in the classroom. What followed was a fiery debate that rocketed around the world. From that moment on through to the withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, we'll unpack the major moments of the movement denying climate change. Tell us what you think. Instagram and X (Twitter): @noteswithkai. Email us at notes@wnyc.org. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or going to Instagram and clicking on the link in our bio. “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. Tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org.

New attention from historians and journalists is raising pointed questions about the founding period: was the American revolution waged to preserve slavery, and was the Constitution a pact with slavery or a landmark in the antislavery movement? We have long needed a history of the founding that fully includes Black Americans in the Revolutionary protests, the war, and the debates over slavery and freedom that followed. We now have that history in Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Edward J. Larson's insightful synthesis of the founding. Throughout Larson's brilliant history, it is the voices of Black Americans that prove the most convincing of all on the urgency of liberty. Shermer and Larson discuss: Was America founded in 1619 or 1776? • What is/was an “American”? • Founding Fathers attitudes toward slavery • What was the justification of slavery? • constitutional convention and slavery compromises • U.S. Constitution and slavery • Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments • Atlantic slave trade • Fugitive Slave Act and Clause • Native Americans • monogenism vs. polygenism • slavery abolition • Quakers push for abolition • Three-fifths Compromise • The Dread Scott Decision and the Civil War • Abraham Lincoln and his rational argument for ending slavery • the future of race relations in America. Edward J. Larson is the author of many acclaimed works in American history, including the Pulitzer Prize–winning history of the Scopes Trial, Summer for the Gods. He also authored Franklin and Washington: The Founding Partnership, The Return of George Washington 1783-1789, A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800—America's First Presidential Campaign, An Empire of Ice: Scott, Shackleton, and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science, To the Edges of the Earth: 1909, the Race for the Three Poles, and the Climax of the Age of Exploration, and the textbook Evolution: The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory. He is University Professor of History and Hugh and Hazel Darling Chair in Law at Pepperdine University.

Dr. Gary North concludes his discussion of how the Scopes Trial and the ensuing political developments shaped the 20th century. Politics gets all the focus, but if every Christian began thinking and teaching how their worldview affects everything from car and home repair to art and music, as well as education (and politics), the battle would be won in short order. We must lose the "woe is me" mentality and develop a "why not me" mentality and strategy instead.

Dr. Gary North continues his discussion of how the Scopes Trial and the ensuing political developments shaped the 20th century. Christians began to get politically involved late in the 1970s but didn't have a unique tactic to extend their game plan. A defensive plan is good in the beginning but an offensive strategy is necessary to sustain the momentum. 

Dr. Gary North concludes this talk about the importance and historic significance of the Scopes Trial and William Jennings Bryan. A committed anti-Darwinist, Bryan saw the implications of Darwinism for culture and society and recognized its attack on Christianity, both implicitly and explicitly. (Part Two of Two)

In one of American Vision's talks from the archives, Dr. Gary North discusses the Scopes Trial and the importance of William Jennings Bryan as an American political figure. So many aspects of modern media came out the trial, and Dr. North exposes all of it in this fascinating presentation. (Part One of Two)

Transcript with some hyperlinksEric Topol (00:00):Hello, Eric Topol here. And what a privilege to have as my guest Al Gore, as we discuss things that are considered existential threats. And that includes not just climate change but also recently the concern about A.I. No one has done more on the planet to bring to the fore the concerns about climate change. And many people think that the 2006 film, An Inconvenient Truth, was the beginning, but it goes way back into the 1980s. So, Al it's really great to have you put in perspective. Here we are with the what's going on in Canada with more than 12 million acres of forest fires that are obviously affecting us greatly, no less the surface temperature of the oceans. And so many other signs of this climate change that you had warned us about decades ago are now accelerating. So maybe we could start off out, where are we with climate change and the climate reality?The Good News on Climate ChangeAl Gore (01:00):Oh, well, first of all, thank you so much for inviting me to be on your podcast again, Eric. It's always a pleasure and especially because you're the host and we, we have very interesting conversations that aren't on the podcast. So, , I'm looking forward to this one. So, to start with climate you know, the old cliche, there's good news and bad news. Unfortunately, there's an abundance of bad news but there's also an awful lot of good news. Let me start with that first and then turn to the more worrying trends. We have seen the passage in the US last August of the largest and most effective best funded climate legislation passed by any nation in all of history. The so-called Inflation Reduction Act is an extraordinary piece of legislation.(01:55): It's billed as allocating $369 billion to climate solutions. But actually, the heavy lifting in that legislation is done by tax credits, most of which are open-ended and uncapped, and a few without any time limits, most a 10-year duration. And the enthusiastic response to the legislation after President Biden signed it has now made it clear that that early estimate of 369 billion is a low-ball estimate, because Goldman Sachs, for example, is predicting that it will end up allocating 1.2 trillion to climate solutions. A lot of other investors and others using economic models are estimating more than a trillion. So, it's really a fantastic piece of legislation and other nations are beginning to react and respond and copy it. One month after that law was passed the voters of Australia threw out their climate denying government and replaced it with a climate-friendly government, which immediately then set about passing legislation that adopts the same goals as the US IRA and the Australian context.(03:19):And they stopped the biggest new coal mine there. And anyway, one month after that, in October, the voters of Brazil threw out their former president often called the “Trump of the Tropics” and replaced him with a new president, a former president who's a new president, who has pledged to protect the Amazon and the European Union in responding to the evil, evil and cruel invasion of Ukraine by Russia. And the attempted blackmail of nations in Europe, dependent on Russian gas and oil responded not by bending their knee to Vladimir Putin, but by saying, wait a minute, this makes renewable energy, freedom, energy. And so they accelerated their transition. And so these are all excellent signs and qualifies as good news. The other good news is not all that new, but it's still continuing to improve.(04:28):And that is the astonishing reductions in cost for electricity produced by solar and wind, and the reductions in cost for energy storage, principally in batteries and electric vehicles and a hundred other less well known technologies that are extremely important. We're in the midst of early stages of a sustainability revolution that has the magnitude of the industrial revolution, coupled with the speed of the digital revolution. And we're seeing it all over the place. It's really quite heartening. One quick example last, the, the biggest single source of global warming pollution is the generation of electricity with gas and coal. Well, last year, if you look at all the new electricity generation capacity installed worldwide 90% of it was renewable. In India, 93% was solar and wind. And India's pledged not to give permits for any new coal burning plants for at least five years, which means never, probably because this cost reduction curve, as I mentioned, is still continuing downward electric vehicles, we're now seeing that the purchases have reached 15% of the market globally.(05:56):Norway's already at 50%. They've actually outlawed the sale of any new internal combustion engines. And indeed, many national and even municipal and state jurisdictions have prospectively served notice that they, you won't be able to buy them after a certain day, 2030,  in many cases and the auto companies and truck and bus companies have long since diverted their research money all their R & D is going into EVs now. And that's the second largest source of global warming pollution. I could go through the others, but I want, I'll just tell you that there is a lot of good news.And the Bad NewsNow, the bad news is we're still seeing the crisis get worse, faster than we're deploying all of these solutions. And, the inertia in our political and economic systems is partly a direct result of huge amounts of lobbying and campaign contributions and the century old net of political and economic influence built up by the fossil fuel industry.(07:18):And they're opposing every single solution at the state level, the local level, the national level, the international level. Now, this COP 28 [the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference] coming up at the end of the year in the United Arab Emirates is actually chaired by an oil and gas company CEO-- It's preposterous. And they already have in the last two COPS, more lobbyists registered as participants than all than the five or six largest national delegations combined. And we're seeing them really oppose this change. And meanwhile, the manifestations of the crisis are steadily worsening. You mentioned the fires in Canada that are predicted to burn all summer long. And I was in New York City last week, and you, you know, from the news stories it, it was horrific. I got there the day after the worst day, oh my God.(08:21):But I saw and heard from people just the tremendous problems that people have. It's also going on in Siberia, by the way, and these places that are typically beyond the reach of TV crews and networks that don't capture our attention unless something happens to blow the smoke to where we live. And that's what's happened here. But there are many other extremely worrying manifestations that aren't getting much attention. I do think we're going to solve this, Eric. I'm very optimistic, but the question is whether we will solve it in time. We are what's the right way to say this? We're tiptoeing through a minefield with tripwires and toward the edge of a cliff. I don't want to torture the metaphor, but actually there are several extremely dangerous threats to ecological systems that are in a state of balance now, and are being pushed out of their equilibrium state into a different format.(09:35):The ocean currents--we're already seeing it with the jet stream in the northern hemisphere. You may have seen on the weather maps. They're now using these a lot where it's getting loopier and more disorganized. That's what the last few winners has, has pulled these big loops, have pulled arctic air down into areas far south in the US and in other regions, by the way. And it's making a lot of the extreme events worse. Now, we're entering an El Nino phase in the Pacific Ocean comes around every so often, and this one is predicted to be a strong one, and that's going to accentuate the temperature increase. You know, it was [recently] 110 degrees last week in Puerto Rico, 111 degrees in several countries in Southeast Asia.(10:31):Last summer, China had a heat wave that the historians say about, which the historians say there's nothing even minimally comparable in all prior known, and the length, the extent, the duration, the intensity. And we saw monsoons lead to much of Pakistan underwater for an extended period of time. I could go on, but the net and balance out the good news and the bad news we are gaining momentum. And soon we are going to be gaining on the crisis itself and start deploying solutions faster than it's getting worse. So I remain optimistic, and I always remind people, if you doubt we have the political will to see this through, remember that political will is itself a renewable resource.The Intersection of A.I. and Climate ChangeEric Topol (11:27):Yeah, that's a great optimistic point, and we sure appreciate that, because it's pretty scary to see these trends that you reviewed. Now, as you know recently there was a large group of AI scientists this one led by Sam Altman of OpenAI, who put out a statement, a one-sentence statement, and it said, “Mitigating the risk of distinction from ai, which you and are enthusiastic about, should be a global priority alongside other societal scale risks, such as pandemics and nuclear war.” Well, obviously, also climate change. So how do you see the AI intersection of climate change? Because as you well know, GPT-4, having pre-trained with some 30,000 graphic processing units [GPUs], the issues about consumption of energy carbon emissions, the need for water cooling, is AI going to make this situation worse, or will it make it better?Al Gore (12:33):Well, yeah. You know, I understand. Well, both would be my answer. And we don't have enough data yet to really know for sure which way it will tip. Maybe we'll talk about the existential risks from generative AI. As this conversation continues, there are many who have spoken up and said, well, wait a minute, before we focus on that, we need to look at the risks that are right, staring us right in the face. I mean, the use of these AI driven algorithms, not necessarily generative AI, but the AI-driven algorithms in social media are causing tremendous harm right now. You've heard about the rabbit holes that people get drawn down into on the internet. That's because of the AI-driven algorithms and the tracking of confidential information about what people are looking at and what they're interested in.(13:40):And these are rabbit holes are ,a little bit not to shift metaphors, a little bit like pitcher plants in that they have slippery slides and, oh, and, you know, what's at the bottom of the rabbit hole? That's where the echo chamber is. And when you spend long enough in the echo chamber, then those who are feeding the information to you weaponize a new form of AI, not artificial intelligence, artificial insanity. And, and we see it all over the place where people are utterly convinced of completely ridiculous and provably false conclusions and, and motivated to go out and act in the real world. On that basis we, we see the fakes and the concerns about video and audio deep fakes, and how that's going to have an impact on us and, and all manner of other concerns that need to need to be addressed.(14:43):But the existential threat is one that I do want to come back to. But, turning to your specific focus on whether it is going help or hurt or both where climate is concerned, I have co-founded a coalition called Climate TRACE that uses AI in an extremely effective, beneficial way. Trace stands for tracking real-time atmosphere, carbon emissions, and we have a coalition of AI firms, NGOs, university groups and the whole coalition works together to identify with AI, the point source of every single significant stream of emissions of global warm inclusion everywhere on the planet. We released it at the last United Nations Conference, the one that was held in Egypt last year. The top 72,000 emission point sources around the world this fall; we will release the top 70 million emission sources.(15:54): We also have every agricultural field in the world down to a 10 meter by 10 meter resolution. We have all, every single power plant, all the steel mills, every large ship, every large plane, most every well, we have all of the significant greenhouse gas emissions that wouldn't have not, that would not have been possible without ai. Now, this is not generative AI. We have used generative ai --not ChatGPT--we tried that, but there are others that are actually more proficient in the views of our team members at writing code. It has saved us time and enhanced our productivity in writing code. So that's one example where AI has been a big help. And we see it in modeling, and we see it in the preparation for adaptation and in other ways. Now, the downside is, you said in your introductory phrasing that the energy requirements and the emissions are just enormous because it is an extremely energy intensive exercise.(17:09): And you have to have the GPUs as well as the energy. So it's you could call it “oligopogenic”-- that may not be a word. It may be a hallucination, like GPT is famous for, but what I mean is it, it does tend to favor a very small number, a very wealthy, very powerful, very large companies. Basically, Google and Microsoft are driving the, the rest of the world to try to desperately catch up. You know, the CEO of Microsoft. They stole a march on Google with the release of ChatGPT and then that fascinated people and the pickup and use of GPT unbelievable is just, it, it's there's been nothing like it in.(18:19):Previous technological history. The CEO said that he wanted to make call Google out and make him dance. Well you know, Peggy Noonan said in one of her columns, that's not a responsible way for the CEO of such a company to talk. I, I like him, and I'm not really taking a poke at him, insofar as I'm making the point that there're really two companies, and the internal dynamic between the two is driving this frenzy of investment and activity, and the underlying platform, the large language models, they're all almost a commodity now. They're all over the place and have been for a while. But the need for the GPUs, the need for the energy consumption that's limiting the cutting edge developments to these two companies. For now, China doesn't trust it because they don't trust the enhanced political influence.(19:22):It might give those using it or the enhanced insight. And there are others that will try to find a way to use it, of course. But the, the emissions itself are extremely harmful and the use of generative AI in the hands of irresponsible actors. And, unfortunately, we're human beings and we have a lot of irresponsible actors around this, around this country, around the world. And they could use that to really put climate disinformation into high gear. They, they can use it in a variety of ways to further enhance the disruption, the disruptive tactics they've used in the past.Eric Topol (20:15):Yeah. Well, that's what I wanted to get into more on this. We have, I think, you know, if you want to put an existential risk at the highest level, maybe if you were assign 10 to climate change and you've brought up the fact that the large language models generative AI will make worse, the things we've already seen, the, the hacking of democracy and all the fake stuff that's the conspiracy theories that it will reinforce. And the question is, where are you, where did you place the whole generative AI era that we've now entered in if you were to weigh it against existential threat, just other, one other thing. You've, you undoubtedly, because you read more than anyone I know you're a true scholar, and you've read these doomsayer essays about hacking a democracy and(21:11): the end of the world, and some of the notable leaders in AI like Geoffrey Hinton to leave Google. And so we have, on the one hand some people saying this is a real threat to the world. And then we have Marc Andreesen who wrote, “Why AI Will Save the World” last week , a long read on this. So where do you, where do you see the existential threat of now that AI has gone into high gear, as you noted, more than a billion unique users of ChatGPT within 90 days, which is unprecedented. I mean, withAl Gore (21:45):All cap, nothing else is even close in history. Yeah,Where are we with Artificial General Intelligence?Eric Topol (21:48):Yeah. So, do you see that this has been exaggerated, the risk of generative AI? Or how do you compare it to the climate change crisis?Al Gore (22:01):Well it's a great question, Eric. And of course lots of people we know are breaking their brains trying to answer that question. I think we need a little more experience with it because our understanding is going to develop as we have more experience. But at the same time, we're trying to catch up in our basic understanding of what the heck's going on with these things. And they don't actually know it's important to note they don't know how it's doing what it's doing. And I'll, I'll circle back to that. But while we're trying to figure it out, it's continuing to advance at warp speed. GPT-4 in the cleverly titled, the provocatively titled, research paper “Sparks of Artificial General Intelligence” that Microsoft put out is already demonstrating capacities that are shockingly comparable to human capacity is the way they put it.(23:13):This less than a year after Google fired a young researcher named Blake Lemoine who said that he thought theirs had become sentient. And they fired him right away. These multiple co-authors of this paper from Microsoft weren't fired. They're in charge of the thing, and they're basically saying close to what the guy at Google said, who got fired.I think that if you listen to Geoffrey Hinton, the so-called godfather of generative AI, and there's so many, many parents of generative AI. But what caused him to change his mind, in his words, were when he realized that it is very likely to become much smarter than we are, than the smartest human beings ever are. And coupling that level of superintelligence, the phrase some have used with access to all of the knowledge that humanity has ever compiled means there is an unpredictable unquantifiable risk that we might no longer be the apex lifeform on this planet.(24:47):And that generative AI might be used that in ways that would be threatening to us. I think we need more experience with it in before we decide, okay, that's it. We not going to unplug all these dang things and bust them up with sledgehammers. That's not going to happen. Cause there's so many different entities pursuing it. But, you know, I placed this the context of one of the themes in that runs through the history of science, Eric. And that is, as we have seen in the past, new discoveries that have challenged our human understanding of our place in creation. For example, when Galileo said, the Earth's not the center of the universe, it's not the center of the solar system, the church said ah, off to prison with you, they put him on trial.(25:58):because that challenge our prime place in what we had thought was God's design. Then Darwin, of course, placed us solidly in the animal kingdom, descended from, from primates and apes and monkeys. And of course, that struggle is still, I used to represent Dayton, Tennessee and the United States House of Representatives where, where the, the Scopes Trial took place, the so-called monkey trial. And there have been a succession of other similar blows to the collective ego of humanity. We used to assume confidently that the earth was probably the only place in the whole universe that life where life emerged. And now the common assumption is it's ubiquitous throughout the universe and maybe in advanced forms and lots and lots of places. And by the way, the universe isn't the only universe they tell us.(26:55):Now, the emerging better view is that we're in a multiverse, and that's all above my pay grade. But within that, within that continuum of successive blows to the collective ego of humanity, here comes an assertion that something other than a human being may be conscious. And our immediate reaction, as it, as our predecessors' reactions were with Galileo and Darwin, et cetera, nah, that can't be we're special. No, it can't be. We're the only ones. Well maybe not. They are edging closer and closer to a point where scientists and engineers are likely to say, yep, it is conscious. Maybe it won't happen. I kind of think it is already beginning to happen. I think there's an explanation for it, but we're going to have to catch up to that explanation. And we're going have to build this airplane of regulation and safeguards while we taxi it out to the runway.Can AI Help Solve the Climate Crisis?Eric Topol (28:06):Well, you know, I share that view. You know, I don't think that continuing to say this is just a stochastic parrot is where we're at right now. It's a form of intelligence from machines that we haven't seen previously. And as you've really zoomed in on this is the big debate about the level of understanding the so-called “world model.” And, you know, this is something that is only going to get more capable over time. And that gets me to kind of close the loop on our discussion. Do you foresee that we could get to a point where our machine help would come up with new solutions? I mean, as you've summarized, you have phenomenal AI tracking of climate change, but could you foresee that there are potential solutions that we haven't thought of, that, that generative AI could help us as humans to solve the climate crisis?Al Gore (29:05):Yeah, I think that's very likely.  You know, one of the new professions that's just emerged as a, a prompt engineer—we'll have to have people trained in prompting these large language models in a way that gets us to the kinds of exchanges you're talking about. But we've, even before generative AI arrived, we have had multiple examples of artificial intelligence solving problems that we humans have not been able to solve. One example that I wrote about several years ago was the long-term effort to try to decode the genetics of a little thing called the planarian worm. It's been of extreme interest because it can regenerate every part of its body. And in, in such an efficient way they've been trying to understand it.(30:07):So a group of scientists took all of the raw data from all of the failed experiments collected during all of the failed experiments to try to solve that problem, fed 'em into an AI. And the AI said, okay, here's the answer. And it was credited. The AI agent was credited as one of the co-authors of the resulting study. We've had we've had problems in fluid dynamics solved by artificial intelligence that were impenetrable to us. So there's no question in my mind that some of the solutions that we're looking for, for the climate crisis will be found with the assistance of generative AI. I'm certain of that.Eric Topol (30:53):Well, that adds to the optimism that we want to close up with because we need that in the face of what we're seeing that's palpable every day regarding climate change. And, you know, I think this discussion, Al,  I could spend the whole day with you because it's so stimulating and your ability to cite history, as well as current and future perspective is, for me, unparalleled. So, I really enjoyed this discussion with you, and I hope we'll have another one real soon, because this generative AI era is zooming, like I've never seen ChatGPT in November, GPT-4 in March, and you know what's next here.Al Gore (31:35):So GPT-5 is coming in December, as you said. And, before you conclude, Eric, let, let me just give back to you my admiration for the work that you've been doing on the applications of generative AI in healthcare and the development of even better healthcare technologies. You're the leading exponent of this whole field of knowledge now. And you know, you helped us get through the, our effort to understand the pandemic and all the twists and turns and all of that. And now you're taking the lead on the application of AI in healthcare, and thank you very much. I speak for a lot of people in saying that.Eric Topol(32:19):Well, that's really kind to you. That's, that's where my interest was before the pandemic. And now the good part is to be able to get back to it full force. But I do think, unlike the overall existential concerns regarding AI and the large language models of AI, the net benefit for healthcare is just much more obvious. Yes, there are concerns, of course, regarding patient prompts and getting inaccurate responses. However, what it can do for the, the medical community and for patient autonomy is, is really quite extraordinary. So, in that regard another good way to, to sum up our, our discussion here because that's a very, I'm very sanguine about, as we get better about implementing AI in healthcare, it'll make a big difference particularly now with this multimodal AI that brings in images, the records, you all the data that voice, you know, the ambient voice of office visits, as well as even bedside rounds. It's really quite exciting. And I know we're going be talking about that some more in the months ahead. So thank you so much. You've, you've brightened up this day because all I keep seeing are these apocalyptic photos of New York and what's going on out there, graphs of the oceans sea surface temperature. And I'm thinking, oh my, how we keep losing ground on what you told us about for decades. And I like hearing that you think these solutions are and be increasingly to catch up to that. So thank you.Al Gore (33:59):Thank you, Eric. Get full access to Ground Truths at erictopol.substack.com/subscribe

The Scopes Trial and the Fight for the Freedom to Teach | In 1924, John Scopes, an instructor in a public school in Dayton, Tennessee, was indicted for violating the Tennessee Butler Act for teaching evolution in a publicly funded school. Strong personalities and strong beliefs clashed in the courthouse as they engrossed and even inflamed the country. Clarence Darrow, America's most famous litigator dramatically clashed with Williams Jennings Bryan, populist, presidential nominee and evangelical believer. The "trial of the century," as it was called, revealed profound cultural and religious issues. Despite Darrow's passionate espousal of free speech and civil liberties, Scopes was found guilty. The conviction was overturned but the issues were hardly resolved. Controversies over public education have continued to reverberate in America, reaching deep into each decade from the 1920s to today. Historian and legal scholar Edward Larson illuminates that history and relevance for us today.   Larson holds the Hugh and Hazel Darling Chair in Law and is University Professor of History at Pepperdine University. Originally from Ohio with a PhD in the history of science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and law degree from Harvard, Larson has lectured on all seven continents and taught at Stanford Law School, University of Melbourne, Leiden University, and the University of Georgia, where he chaired the History Department. Prior to becoming a professor, Larson practiced law in Seattle and served as counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, DC.

Content Warning: mentions of sexual assault. Ever wish you could go to a school that feels like it belongs in the 1950s? Welcome to Bob Jones University (BJU). Today we discuss BJU and its many awful takes on biology, race, and trauma-informed care. Welcome to the wild world of Bob Jones'. Support the showFollow us on Instagram: @sotgpod

From a Pulitzer Prize winner, a powerful history that reveals how the twin strands of liberty and slavery were joined in the nation's founding. New attention from historians and journalists is raising pointed questions about the founding period: was the American revolution waged to preserve slavery, and was the Constitution a pact with slavery or a landmark in the antislavery movement? Leaders of the founding who called for American liberty are scrutinized for enslaving Black people themselves: George Washington consistently refused to recognize the freedom of those who escaped his Mount Vernon plantation. And we have long needed a history of the founding that fully includes Black Americans in the Revolutionary protests, the war, and the debates over slavery and freedom that followed. We now have that history in Edward J. Larson's insightful synthesis of the founding. With slavery thriving in Britain's Caribbean empire and practiced in all of the American colonies, the independence movement's calls for liberty proved narrow, though some Black observers and others made their full implications clear. In the war, both sides employed strategies to draw needed support from free and enslaved Blacks, whose responses varied by local conditions. By the time of the Constitutional Convention, a widening sectional divide shaped the fateful compromises over slavery that would prove disastrous in the coming decades. Larson's narrative delivers poignant moments that deepen our understanding: we witness New York's tumultuous welcome of Washington as liberator through the eyes of Daniel Payne, a Black man who had escaped enslavement at Mount Vernon two years before. Indeed, throughout Larson's brilliant history it is the voices of Black Americans that prove the most convincing of all on the urgency of liberty. Edward J. Larson is the author of many acclaimed works in American history, including the Pulitzer Prize–winning history of the Scopes Trial, Summer for the Gods. He is University Professor of History and Hugh and Hazel Darling Chair in Law at Pepperdine University, and lives with his family near Los Angeles. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/steve-richards/support

Love Truce?? Donate to keep the show going! The trial was basically over. The prosecution won. John Scopes was moments away from being convicted of teaching evolution in Dayton, Tennessee. The ACLU and the prosecution had what they wanted. But Clarence Darrow did not. He wanted to make a monkey out of William Jennings Bryan, the famous "fundamentalist". But how? Darrow knew that if he turned down the chance to make a closing argument that Bryan would not be able to make one either. That meant that Bryan's carefully crafted words would never get heard. But he had one more trick up his sleeve. He would call Bryan, the lawyer for the prosecution, to the stand. Imagine that! The case was no longer about the defendant. It was about the lawyers trying to flex. Bryan took the bait. He got on the stand outdoors next to the Rhea County Courthouse in front of an audience of millions. Darrow, in a masterstroke, hit him over and over with the questions of any village atheist. Did Jonah really get swallowed by a large fish? Did the sun really stand still because Joshua prayed that it would? And Bryan... floundered on live radio. This event was made even more famous by the long-running play Inherit the Wind on broadway, which was followed up by a movie adaptation. But the play got it all wrong. Edward Larson, professor at Pepperdine University, and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Summer for the Gods, joins Chris to uncover what really happened on that muggy summer day. Helpful Sources: "Summer for the Gods" by Edward Larson Rhea County Heritage and Scopes Trial Museum Worth a visit! Court Transcript of the Scopes Trial (easy to find online) "A Godly Hero" by Michael Kazin Discussion Questions: Bryan believed in majoritarianism. What is that idea? What do you think of it? Do you think Bryan should have gotten on the stand? Why or why not? How did Bryan do on the stand in your opinion? Does this court case matter in your understanding of fundamentalism? How and when should Christians make stands for their beliefs? When should we stay quiet? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Give to help Chris do Truce full time! Tennessee was the first state in the United States to crack down hard on the teaching of evolution in public schools. Others had dabbled, but Tennessee went all the way. The ACLU wanted to challenge the validity of the case in the courts. In order to do that they needed an educator to teach it, get busted, and be brought to trial. At the same time, the town of Dayton, TN needed a boost. After the biggest employer closed down it faced serious economic trouble. What if the men of Dayon could manufacture a court case to draw the attention of the nation? They found a young teacher named John Scopes and convinced him to participate in their scheme. They booked Scopes, even though he probably never taught evolution. The ACLU had its case. Soon William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow hopped on board and it went from a publicity stunt to something for the history books. This is the event that some historians (wrongly) point to as the death of Christian fundamentalism in the United States until it was revived by the Moral Majority. One man fighting for the biblical idea of creation and another for godless atheism. But the real history is far more complex. Edward Larson, professor at Pepperdine University, joins us to discuss the trial and his Pulitzer Prize-winning book "Summer for the Gods". Helpful Sources: "Summer for the Gods" by Edward Larson Rhea County Heritage and Scopes Trial Museum Worth a visit! Court Transcript of the Scopes Trial (easy to find online) "A Godly Hero" by Michael Kazin Discussion Questions: What events led to the Scopes trial? Why did the ACLU feel they had to try the Tennessee Law? Who should decide what is taught in schools? Teachers? Parents? Lawmakers? Or some combination? What were William Jennings Bryan's motives for joining the prosecution? What were Clarence Darrow's motives for joining the defense? Should prayer be allowed before a trial about religion? Should Christians get involved in what is taught in schools? To what degree? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a topic that was sparked by Dr. White's latest series at Mecklenburg Community Church called “Primordial: Genesis and the World's Primeval History.” The culture of our day seems to want to place science and faith at odds with each other when in reality everything in science compliments God's existence - in fact, it demands it. What's ironic is that the study of science itself was deeply rooted in a Christian worldview. Episode Links In addition to the aforementioned series at Meck, there are two other series that Dr. White led on this topic that would be very helpful to check out. The first is called “The Science of God” with installments that explore the science of God's existence, of God's creation and of faith. The second is “Astrophysics… for people who are open to God.” As a culture, we seem to be almost obsessed with cosmic headlines from the Big Bang to black holes, from quarks to quantum mechanics, and from the search for planets to the search for life in the universe. This series explores whether when you delve into such things, they point away from God or to Him? Dr. White has also written blogs tied to today's conversation that we would encourage you to read. “A Post-Empirical God” discusses the concept of reductive naturalism and how scientists have become increasingly hostile towards religion. “From How to Who” is a blog that discusses the Scopes Trial you heard mentioned in today's episode. It points to the fact that the real issue of our day is not between creation and evolution, but rather between theism and naturalism. Finally, he wrote a blog titled “UFOs… Confirmed?” taking a look at the significance of life on other planets and how future discoveries in science may impact our faith. Dr. White's book Christianity for People Who Aren't Christians: Uncommon Answers to Common Questions is a great resource for you or others you may know who are open to exploring the Christian faith. He takes on the topic of faith vs. science in this book as well. You can find it HERE on Amazon or from your favorite bookseller. Once again, we hope that you'll be able to join us for the upcoming Church & Culture LIVE Podcast on Thursday, February 23 from 12 - 1 p.m. You'll be able to access the podcast live through Meck's Online Campus platform. And if you can't make it that day, not to worry - you'll still be able to listen in on the conversation through all the usual channels the next day. For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

What is the the Perfect Murder?  It's what two affluent and academically brilliant young Chicagoans, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, wanted to pull off in 1924 when the murdered fourteen-year-old Bobby Franks. WHY did they want to kill anyone? In part, to prove to themselves that were Übermensches after misunderstanding the philosophical nihilism of Nietzsche. They had come to think that they were truly advanced humans. People above the law. And that normal morality didn't apply to him. They couldn't be held liable by the laws of lesser men around them. Except they could! And they would be. They would be caught quickly because while they were extremely academically talented, criminally, they were morons. And then these two morons would have everyone in Chicago and around the nation talking about what they'd done in another so-called "trial of the century." Want to apply for the Cummins Family Scholarship fund?  The application process opens on MARCH 6TH, 2023. To apply click this link!: https://learnmore.scholarsapply.org/cummins/ Click the "Scholarship Hub America" button. Register to create a Hub account with a unique username and password.Log into your account and complete the questions in the profile section. The list of scholarships will display on the website.   Locate the  Cummins Family Scholarship Fund application and click the “Apply Now” link to fill out your information!     An online recommendation form must be submitted on your behalf. It is the student's responsibility to follow up with their recommender to ensure they submit the information before the deadline. Next start filling out the application by completing all required fields and click the “Save answers” button.  If all required data was entered, the Application section in the progress bar at the top of the page will turn green.  An error message will display at the top of the page if any fields are missing or have incomplete information. Click the “Next” button at the top of the page and use the Add a Document tool available to upload your documents. Once all documents have been uploaded, click the “Next” button again to review your information before submitting your application.  If all information appears correct, click the “Lock and Submit” button and click “OK” to submit your data to Scholarship America for processing. You will receive an email confirmation once the application has been successfully submitted.  If you don't receive the email confirmation, please check your spam or junk mail folder or search for an email from studentsupport@scholarshipamerica.org  to confirm your application has been received. Questions can be emailed to cummins@scholarshipamerica.orgWet Hot Bad Magic Summer Camps are ON SALE!  BadMagicMerch.com Bad Magic Productions Monthly Patreon Donation: We will all be donating this month to Teach For America (amount TBD) - a diverse network of leaders who work to confront the injustice of education inequity through teaching. An awesome group of meatsacks doing their best to make sure poor kids - not just middle class and rich kids - also get a good crack and going to a good college to help improve their futures. You can learn more about Teach for America or get involved by going to teachforamerica.org Get tour tickets at dancummins.tv Watch the Suck on YouTube: https://youtu.be/X9kDFavXzOkMerch: https://www.badmagicmerch.comDiscord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89vWant to join the Cult of the Curious private Facebook Group? Go directly to Facebook and search for "Cult of the Curious" in order to locate whatever happens to be our most current page :)For all merch related questions/problems: store@badmagicproductions.com (copy and paste)Please rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow the suck on social media!! @timesuckpodcast on IG and http://www.facebook.com/timesuckpodcastWanna become a Space Lizard?  Click here: https://www.patreon.com/timesuckpodcastSign up through Patreon and for $5 a month you get to listen to the Secret Suck, which will drop Thursdays at Noon, PST. You'll also get 20% off of all regular Timesuck merch PLUS access to exclusive Space Lizard merch. You get to vote on two Monday topics each month via the app. And you get the download link for my new comedy album, Feel the Heat. Check the Patreon posts to find out how to download the new album and take advantage of other benefits.

In Wild Experiment: Feeling Science and Secularism after Darwin (Duke UP, 2022), Donovan O. Schaefer challenges the conventional wisdom that feeling and thinking are separate. Drawing on science studies, philosophy, affect theory, secularism studies, psychology, and contemporary literary criticism, Schaefer reconceptualizes rationality as defined by affective processes at every level. He introduces the model of "cogency theory" to reconsider the relationship between evolutionary biology and secularism, examining mid-nineteenth-century Darwinian controversies, the 1925 Scopes Trial, and the New Atheist movement of the 2000s. Along the way, Schaefer reappraises a range of related issues, from secular architecture at Oxford to American eugenics to contemporary climate denialism. These case studies locate the intersection of thinking and feeling in the way scientific rationality balances excited discovery with anxious scrutiny, in the fascination of conspiracy theories, and in how racist feelings assume the mantle of rational objectivity. The fact that cognition is felt, Schaefer demonstrates, is both why science succeeds and why it fails. He concludes that science, secularism, atheism, and reason itself are not separate from feeling but comprehensively defined by it. This episode's host, Alison Renna, is a PhD candidate in religion and modernity at Yale University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In Wild Experiment: Feeling Science and Secularism after Darwin (Duke UP, 2022), Donovan O. Schaefer challenges the conventional wisdom that feeling and thinking are separate. Drawing on science studies, philosophy, affect theory, secularism studies, psychology, and contemporary literary criticism, Schaefer reconceptualizes rationality as defined by affective processes at every level. He introduces the model of "cogency theory" to reconsider the relationship between evolutionary biology and secularism, examining mid-nineteenth-century Darwinian controversies, the 1925 Scopes Trial, and the New Atheist movement of the 2000s. Along the way, Schaefer reappraises a range of related issues, from secular architecture at Oxford to American eugenics to contemporary climate denialism. These case studies locate the intersection of thinking and feeling in the way scientific rationality balances excited discovery with anxious scrutiny, in the fascination of conspiracy theories, and in how racist feelings assume the mantle of rational objectivity. The fact that cognition is felt, Schaefer demonstrates, is both why science succeeds and why it fails. He concludes that science, secularism, atheism, and reason itself are not separate from feeling but comprehensively defined by it. This episode's host, Alison Renna, is a PhD candidate in religion and modernity at Yale University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

In Wild Experiment: Feeling Science and Secularism after Darwin (Duke UP, 2022), Donovan O. Schaefer challenges the conventional wisdom that feeling and thinking are separate. Drawing on science studies, philosophy, affect theory, secularism studies, psychology, and contemporary literary criticism, Schaefer reconceptualizes rationality as defined by affective processes at every level. He introduces the model of "cogency theory" to reconsider the relationship between evolutionary biology and secularism, examining mid-nineteenth-century Darwinian controversies, the 1925 Scopes Trial, and the New Atheist movement of the 2000s. Along the way, Schaefer reappraises a range of related issues, from secular architecture at Oxford to American eugenics to contemporary climate denialism. These case studies locate the intersection of thinking and feeling in the way scientific rationality balances excited discovery with anxious scrutiny, in the fascination of conspiracy theories, and in how racist feelings assume the mantle of rational objectivity. The fact that cognition is felt, Schaefer demonstrates, is both why science succeeds and why it fails. He concludes that science, secularism, atheism, and reason itself are not separate from feeling but comprehensively defined by it. This episode's host, Alison Renna, is a PhD candidate in religion and modernity at Yale University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

The Scopes Trial, over the right to teach evolution in public schools, reaffirmed the importance of intellectual freedom as codified in the Bill of Rights. The trial, in a small-town Tennessee courtroom in 1925, set the stage for ongoing debates over the separation of Church and State in a democratic society—debates that continue to this day. Peter Goodchild used transcripts from the trial to create this intense docudrama. Recorded in Cambridge, Massachusetts before a live audience at the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in April of 2007.The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial is part of L.A. Theatre Works' Relativity Series featuring science-themed plays. Lead funding for the Relativity Series is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, bridging science and the arts in the modern world.Directed by Brendon FoxProducing Director: Susan Albert LoewenbergEdward Asner as William Jennings BryanBill Brochtrup as EnsembleKyle Colerider-Krugh as EnsembleMatthew Patrick Davis as John Thomas ScopesJohn de Lancie as Clarence DarrowJames Gleason as H.L. MenckenHarry Groener as Dudley Field MaloneJerry Hardin as John RaulstonGeoffrey Lower as Attorney General StewartMarnie Mosiman as NarratorKenneth Alan Williams as Arthur Garfield HaysSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Scopes Trial, over the right to teach evolution in public schools, reaffirmed the importance of intellectual freedom as codified in the Bill of Rights. The trial, in a small-town Tennessee courtroom in 1925, set the stage for ongoing debates over the separation of Church and State in a democratic society—debates that continue to this day. Peter Goodchild used transcripts from the trial to create this intense docudrama. Recorded in Cambridge, Massachusetts before a live audience at the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in April of 2007.The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial is part of L.A. Theatre Works' Relativity Series featuring science-themed plays. Lead funding for the Relativity Series is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, bridging science and the arts in the modern world.Directed by Brendon FoxProducing Director: Susan Albert LoewenbergEdward Asner as William Jennings BryanBill Brochtrup as EnsembleKyle Colerider-Krugh as EnsembleMatthew Patrick Davis as John Thomas ScopesJohn de Lancie as Clarence DarrowJames Gleason as H.L. MenckenHarry Groener as Dudley Field MaloneJerry Hardin as John RaulstonGeoffrey Lower as Attorney General StewartMarnie Mosiman as NarratorKenneth Alan Williams as Arthur Garfield HaysSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Scopes Trial, over the right to teach evolution in public schools, reaffirmed the importance of intellectual freedom as codified in the Bill of Rights. The trial, in a small-town Tennessee courtroom in 1925, set the stage for ongoing debates over the separation of Church and State in a democratic society—debates that continue to this day. Peter Goodchild used transcripts from the trial to create this intense docudrama. Recorded in Cambridge, Massachusetts before a live audience at the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in April of 2007.The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial is part of L.A. Theatre Works' Relativity Series featuring science-themed plays. Lead funding for the Relativity Series is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, bridging science and the arts in the modern world.Directed by Brendon FoxProducing Director: Susan Albert LoewenbergEdward Asner as William Jennings BryanBill Brochtrup as EnsembleKyle Colerider-Krugh as EnsembleMatthew Patrick Davis as John Thomas ScopesJohn de Lancie as Clarence DarrowJames Gleason as H.L. MenckenHarry Groener as Dudley Field MaloneJerry Hardin as John RaulstonGeoffrey Lower as Attorney General StewartMarnie Mosiman as NarratorKenneth Alan Williams as Arthur Garfield HaysSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Scopes Trial, over the right to teach evolution in public schools, reaffirmed the importance of intellectual freedom as codified in the Bill of Rights. The trial, in a small-town Tennessee courtroom in 1925, set the stage for ongoing debates over the separation of Church and State in a democratic society—debates that continue to this day. Peter Goodchild used transcripts from the trial to create this intense docudrama. Recorded in Cambridge, Massachusetts before a live audience at the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in April of 2007.The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial is part of L.A. Theatre Works' Relativity Series featuring science-themed plays. Lead funding for the Relativity Series is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, bridging science and the arts in the modern world.Directed by Brendon FoxProducing Director: Susan Albert LoewenbergEdward Asner as William Jennings BryanBill Brochtrup as EnsembleKyle Colerider-Krugh as EnsembleMatthew Patrick Davis as John Thomas ScopesJohn de Lancie as Clarence DarrowJames Gleason as H.L. MenckenHarry Groener as Dudley Field MaloneJerry Hardin as John RaulstonGeoffrey Lower as Attorney General StewartMarnie Mosiman as NarratorKenneth Alan Williams as Arthur Garfield HaysSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today we journey back to the 1925 and discuss The Scopes Trial, a trial that changed culture and education forever. We have expert guest Dr. Chuck McGowen joining us and commentary from the late great Dr. Glover as well. Don't miss this fascinating conversation today on The Public Square®.  Topic: Intelligent Design The Public Square®  with your host David Zanotti. thepublicsquare.com Release Date: Wednesday, July 26th, 2022

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