THE ROAD TO HECK

Is paved with good intentions, so they say. Well, I had good intentions. PZ Myers had encouraged people to call in to the first Minnesota Atheists radio show, and since I knew that the charming Kristine Harley of Amused Muse was interviewing Richard Dawkins, that sounded fine to me. I knew, from accounts on Kristine's site, that she and and Dr. Dawkins had shared some amusing times together on a cruise in the Galapagos, so I thought that I would mention that.

Now, much of my job (I'm a public school teacher) involves talking for a living, and I don't ordinarily get nervous or tongue-tied. But there I was, on the line with one of the scientific world's most distinctive and eminent voices, and I confess that I was nervous. I should've realized that, given time limits, an obscure anecdote wouldn't have been a good choice, but I barreled ahead and then awkwardly plopped off with a 'I'll take your comments off the air.' You can doubtless revel in my ineptitude by perusing the podcast.

However, if my stumbling isn't sufficient to entice you, you should know that PZ had a nice segment ("A Moment of Science") on whale evolution and that Dr. Dawkins was characteristically trenchant. I think, in particular, that his account of how he was solicited under false pretenses to be interviewed for the upcoming Ben Stein 'documentary' Expelled is required listening. So give the podcast a listen, there's some good stuff there, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

* * * * * *UPDATE * * * * * * * *

I am told the podcast will not be available until sometime Monday. Still, check it out when you can!