Enco, I like the stuff about “debate culture”.  New Atheism has been good for that.

Simon:

Thanks for the link. The critiques of New Atheism were kind of hit and miss. Some with validity that can help, some just based on “vibes” or “feelz.”

One the speakers said New Atheism was “performative”. If “performative” means the dictionary definition–“being enacted as it is said”–does this mean the movement is speaking God out of…[Read more]

Sorry, fixed:

mp3:

https://orangebud.co.uk/BBC Radio 4 Beyond Belief – New atheism 2026-10-13.mp3

If there are any problems with the link, let me know.  Left-click: play, right-click: save-link-as/download.

Here’s a programme that was on BBC Radio 4 the other day: “New Atheism”.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0032s9x

Reg:

Environment: CNN’s scary plastics report should be tossed into the recycling bin.

This reminds me of the scare talk of last decade when people were alleging that the bread used by Subway Sandwiches™ contained the same plastics used in yoga mats.

I responded by going to my quiet space and said “OOOhm! Best Yoga mats I’ve ever t…[Read more]

Fellow Unbelievers:

Bobby Brainworm and some rotten people in the State of Denmark are repeating a version of the infamous Tuskeegee Syphillis Experiment:
Controversial vaccine trial touted by RFK Jr gets go-ahead in Guinea-Bissau
Recommended dose of hepatitis B vaccine will be withheld from thousands of newborns by Danish researchers
Melody…[Read more]

Reg, Jake, Simon, and Fellow Unbelievers:

To expect AI to practice Philosophical thought and to act ethically first requires creators and owners who do the same. For once, here’s some words from both the “Godfather” of AI and from a AI component manufacturer.

AI godfather Geoffrey Hinton: ‘We’re creating alien beings. I’m willing to be selfi…[Read more]

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
What do you mean by “thorough and satisfactorily.” How do you determine it is satisfactory. What makes your interpretation of human behavior better than another? Those questions involve reasoning about evidence, explanatory adequacy and competing hypotheses.

A good example is conceptions of fairness, how it evo…[Read more]