''Point of Inquiry'' is the radio show and flagship

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

of the Center for Inquiry (CFI), "a

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

promoting science, reason, and secular values in public policy and at the grass roots". Started in 2005, ''Point of Inquiry'' has consistently been ranked among the best science podcasts available in

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

. It has been celebrated for its guests and for the quality of its interviews. Former guests include leading scientists, writers and public intellectuals such as

Neil DeGrasse Tyson Neil deGrasse Tyson ( or ; born October 5, 1958) is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. Tyson studied at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Columbia University. From 1991 to 1994, he was a po ...

Paul Krugman Paul Robin Krugman ( ; born February 28, 1953) is an American economist, who is Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and a columnist for ''The New York Times''. In 2008, Krugman was th ...

Lisa Randall Lisa Randall (born June 18, 1962) is an American theoretical physicist working in particle physics and cosmology. She is the Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of Science on the physics faculty of Harvard University. Her research includes the funda ...

Brian Greene Brian Randolph Greene (born February 9, 1963) is a American theoretical physicist, mathematician, and string theorist. Greene was a physics professor at Cornell University from 19901995, and has been a professor at Columbia University since 1 ...

Oliver Sacks Oliver Wolf Sacks, (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and writer. Born in Britain, Sacks received his medical degree in 1958 from The Queen's College, Oxford, before moving to the Uni ...

, Susan Jacoby,

David Brin Glen David Brin (born October 6, 1950) is an American scientist and author of science fiction. He has won the Hugo,Temple Grandin Mary Temple Grandin (born August 29, 1947) is an American academic and animal behaviorist. She is a prominent proponent for the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter and the author of more than 60 scientific papers on animal behavior. Gra ...

Format

''Point of Inquiry'' is recorded at the

Center for Inquiry The Center for Inquiry (CFI) is a US nonprofit organization that works to mitigate belief in pseudoscience and the paranormal, as well as to fight the influence of religion in government. History The Center for Inquiry was established in 199 ...

headquarters in

Amherst, New York Amherst () is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. Amherst is an inner ring suburb of Buffalo. As of 2020, the town had a total population of 129,595. This represents an increase from 122,366 as reported in the 2010 census. The second ...

features over 200 free episodes of ''Point of Inquiry'', averaging 30 to 35 minutes in length, with each consisting of a long form interview with a high-profile guest from the worlds of

scientific skepticism Scientific skepticism or rational skepticism (also spelled scepticism), sometimes referred to as skeptical inquiry, is a position in which one questions the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence. In practice, the term most commonly refe ...

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

, and

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

. The show focuses on traditional topics in scientific skepticism, such as

psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, ...

investigations,

alternative medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...

, alleged extraterrestrial visitations, ghosts, and

cryptozoology Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that searches for and studies unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, particularly those popular in folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness ...

. It also covers current events and public policy. The inaugural episode in December 2005 featured an interview with CFI founder

Paul Kurtz Paul Kurtz (December 21, 1925 – October 20, 2012) was an American scientific skeptic and Secular humanism, secular humanist. He has been called "the father of secular humanism". He was Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University at Buff ...

, who spoke about the incompatibility of science and religion. In July 2012, ''Point of Inquiry'' produced their first video episode featuring Michael De Dora, Ed Brayton,

Jessica Ahlquist Jessica Ahlquist (born June 21, 1995) is an American activist and public speaker who filed a lawsuit in 2012 against Cranston High School West, where she was a student, to remove a religious prayer from its auditorium. The suit, '' Ahlquist v. C ...

, and Jamie Kilstein. Previously, Chris Mooney hosted half of the shows with the balance split between the other hosts. In October 2013, CFI announced the "new team who will take ''Point of Inquiry'' into its next exciting phase", Lindsay Beyerstein, Josh Zepps and producer Joshua Billingsley. On June 2, 2017, ''Point of Inquiry'' released its first episode with new host Paul Fidalgo. New hosts Kavin Senapathy and

James Underdown James "Jim" Underdown (born October 9, 1960) has been the executive director of The Center for Inquiry (CFI) West in Los Angeles since 1999. The Center for Inquiry is a non-profit educational organization with headquarters in Amherst, New York ...

were announced on October 15, 2018. The show is produced by CFI

digital marketing Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services. Its development duri ...

strategist, Michael Powell.

Staff

Timeline

Popular Science Idol

''Point of inquiry'' co-sponsored the "Popular Science Idol" contest along with the National Science Foundation Office of Legislative and Public Affairs, Discover Magazine, and Popular Science as a science spoof of the reality television series ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

''. The event was hosted as a workshop to discover the next great science communicator. The event was hosted by Chris Mooney and Indre Viskontas served as one of the expert judges. The first event was won by Tom Di Loberto for a 3-minute presentation on the difficulties involved in predicting the weather.

Select episodes

A full episode list is available on iTunes.

Recognition

In May 2012, ''Point of Inquiry'' was named one of the "Top 10 Podcasts to Feed Your Brain" by Business Insider. Featured podcast suggestion by the ''Telegraph'' February 9, 2013.

Awards

References

External links

* {{Skeptical podcasts Philosophy podcasts Scientific skepticism mass media Science podcasts Alternative radio programs American talk radio programs Audio podcasts 2005 podcast debuts 2005 radio programme debuts