There is a lot of hype regarding UFOs.  I’m a science and logic guy, not a hype and speculation guy.  This episode will be a rigorous and methodological approach to UFOs.  You may find the material and analysis surprisingly different from other UFO presentations you’ve heard.  Part of my preparation for this topic was interviewing someone regarding events that happened over 50 years ago.  

Could there be other intelligent life in the galaxy?  Well of course there “could be”.  More meaningful questions are:  What is the likelihood that there is intelligent life somewhere else?  What is necessary for a star or planet to be a potential life site?  Could the universe have harbored intelligent life far in the past or far into the future?   If there is advanced intelligent life elsewhere, could it travel from its star to Earth?  Would it be possible to communicate with extraterrestrial life and what would be the risk/rewards of doing so?  What about non-carbon-based life?  What are the theological and philosophical implications of extraterrestrial intelligent life?  Listen in to this fascinating presentation on these questions.  UFOs will not be covered here but saved for the following episode. 

Since most people do not know what Quantum Mechanics is, it becomes a black box that swindlers use to sell things or justify bogus spiritual ideas.  This talk will put you in the driver’s seat by giving an overview of key quantum mechanical ideas and show where quantum mechanics has philosophical implications and where it does not.  Some aspects covered: Heisenberg uncertainty principle, particle-wave duality, discrete versus continuous energy states, and Schrodinger’s cat.  Don’t let the big words scare you, non-technical people will follow the talk just fine.  

A religious sect can be described as a cult for doctrinal beliefs, sociological factors, or both.  This episode covers both but focuses on sociological factors where the discussion also encompasses non-religious organization/groups that exhibit cult-like behavior.  An overview of conspiracy theories will be covered.   Aspects of deception will be explored and the difference between deception and questions of truth will be clarified.   The episode will discuss how bad science is used deceptively in medical quackery and unethical product marketing.  This episode is a sequel to the prior one on truth.  

How can someone know if something is true?  Is there such a thing as truth?  How does one generation pass truth onto the next?  What are the various ways and degrees that science claims to know something?  This episode will address these questions and more, as it takes a deep dive exploring the concept of truth.  

If there is a loving God, why is there so much pain and suffering?  This is an age-old question that many have wrestled.  This episode will dive into this question.  Don’t expect solid answers - rather new insights or a fresh perspective for looking at this issue.  The problem of pain flows out of the prior episode on thermodynamics.   

When giving this series to live audiences, thermodynamics has been one of the group’s favorites.  It is possibly the most intellectually challenging topic in the series, but don’t let that scare you as its presented in a way that non-science people can grasp the key ideas.  Most of the episode is pure science to lay a foundational understanding of thermodynamics.  With that background, the episode then explores some profound philosophical and theological implications that can change the way you view the world.  Thermodynamics is a natural lead-in to next podcast on the Problem of Pain and Suffering.  Best to get a good night’s sleep before listening to this mind-expanding topic.  

“If God made the universe, who made God?”  Be ready to take a deep dive into this question and address it from a couple different angles.  If you get a chance, go to YouTube and search for “Dr. Quantum Visits Flatland”.  This is a 5-minute video that has nothing directly to do with the “Who made God” question but illustrates a concept used in this episode.  If you don’t get to see it, by all means listen to this fascinating topic. The episode will also address the question “What is heaven like”, as the material presented offers insight into that as well.  

For centuries philosophers entertained the question of whether the universe is an illusion.  A modern take on this question is whether the universe is a computer simulation, like the movie The Matrix.  When researching this topic, I was shocked to see how much discussion is out there regarding us being in a computer simulation and how many people see this as a realistic possibility.  The episode will first address the illusion question and then move on to artificial intelligence.  From there we’ll dive into the computer simulation possibility, which will be the bulk of the episode.

There is an expression, “All roads lead to Rome”.  In a similar way it can be said that among science-orientated people, “All existence of God discussions lead to contemplating the Multiverse”.  This episode will explore the possibility that there are other universes besides our own.  This concept is referred to as the Multiverse, for multiple universes, and is highly speculative since there is currently no way to measure or detect another universe and probably never will be.  Big Bang cosmology strongly suggests there is something beyond our universe.  Is it a God, a multiverse, or both?  If exploring what science says about the existence of God is of particular interest, then this is one of the key talks of the series.  Don’t miss it!