Skepticism with civic consequences.
Point of Inquiry brings a secular, science-minded filter to contested ideas in public life. Jim Underdown questions paranormal claims, religious authority, court decisions, science education, vaccines, and the stories institutions tell about themselves.
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Point of Inquiry is a skeptical interview show built around the places where evidence, authority, and public belief collide. Jim Underdown brings a direct editorial presence, often opening with a clear position before turning to a guest with subject knowledge. The show is comfortable being pointed. It is especially interested in claims that carry social consequences, from paranormal testing to religious power, science education, vaccines, and constitutional law. One episode challenges the methods behind telepathy claims involving severely autistic, non-communicative children. Another gives Chanchal Garg room to discuss a family’s reverence for a guru and the costs of belief around religious authority. With Eddie Tabash, the show examines Supreme Court decisions through the lens of secular Americans and church-state separation. With Eugenie Scott, it connects the Scopes Monkey Trial, creationism, public schools, and the later Kitzmiller case. The science episodes are not abstract. Dr. Ed Krupp’s Griffith Observatory conversation asks what public astronomy is for when an observatory is not primarily a research machine. David Miles explains vaccines, polio, and the difference between public fear and biological risk. A conversation with Professor Richard Wiseman turns cold reading into a readable set of tactics, showing how psychics and similar performers use feedback, general categories, and human pattern-seeking. The show also looks at institutional storytelling, including Will Potter’s work on factory farming and the distance between pastoral imagery and industrial food systems. Point of Inquiry’s appeal comes from that mix: civic concern, science communication, and impatience with evasive claims. It is not a neutral tour through interesting topics. It has a secular skeptical spine. Still, the interviews are practical rather than theatrical, giving listeners names, cases, methods, and historical context. The show works best for people who want public science and public reason treated as live issues, not museum pieces.
Made for: For secular, science-minded listeners who want interviews about belief, evidence, courts, medicine, and public misinformation. It fits people who prefer plainspoken skepticism over polished neutrality.
What sets it apart: Point of Inquiry pairs skeptical investigation with civic stakes, moving easily from paranormal claims to Supreme Court analysis and science education. Its edge comes from testing not just ideas, but the institutions that protect them.
Point of Inquiry is the Center for Inquiry's flagship podcast, where the brightest minds of our time sound off on all the things you're not supposed to talk about at the dinner table: science, religion, and politics.Guests have included Brian Greene, Susan Jacoby, Richard Dawkins, Ann Druyan, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Eugenie Scott, Adam Savage, Bill Nye, and Francis Collins.Point of Inquiry is produced at the Center for Inquiry in Amherst, N.Y.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A clear vaccine discussion that gets specific about polio, boosters, and risk.
Point of Inquiry turns to vaccines in a conversation that starts with smallpox, measles, influenza, and polio, then moves into how vaccinations work and why boosters matter.
A blunt skeptical take that keeps its attention on method, testing, and the weak points in the setup.
Point of Inquiry takes on The Telepathy Tapes with a clear skeptical edge, and its strongest moments come when it keeps the discussion grounded in testable mechanics.
A hilltop observatory becomes a public lesson in how looking outward can reshape perspective.
Griffith Observatory emerges here less as a research site than as a civic tool for changing scale. Jim Underdown's conversation with Dr. Ed Krupp keeps returning to Colonel Griffith J.
Rotating StarTalk scientist-hosts and a comedian co-host tackle listener-submitted cosmic questions.
Cosmic futures, argued from constraints.
Patient answers for enormous space questions.
Why does the world's most visited public observatory, with over 9 million telescope viewers, prioritize public awe over crucial research?
A top podcast claims autistic kids have telepathic powers, but a skeptic says their tests are laughably unscientific.
On Point of Inquiry, Jim Underdown asks historian Joseph Kelly how The Biggest Lie traces American authoritarianism to the South from 1818 to 1915.
Point of Inquiry host Jim Underdown records a science-and-skepticism presentation for a young-earth-creationist high school, where students question miracles, evolution, morality, and the Big Bang.
Point of Inquiry host Jim Underdown examines The Telepathy Tapes with behavioral scientist Stuart Weiss and former facilitator Janice Boynton.
Point of Inquiry host Jim Underdown interviews Chanchal Garg about spiritual and sexual abuse within a guru-led community followed by millions in India.
This episode features an interview with constitutional lawyer Eddie Tabash discussing the current 6-3 conservative Supreme Court's impact on church-state separation and the rights of secular Americans.
This episode discusses the history of creationism vs.
This episode features an interview with Dr.
This episode explores the hidden realities of industrial factory farming and the misleading propaganda surrounding it, based on investigative journalist Will Potter's book 'Little Red Barns, Hiding the Truth from Farm to Fable'.
Cold reading makes psychics, mediums, tarot readers, and palm readers seem to know private facts without prior information.
The Oxford COVID-19 platform used a chimpanzee virus so another protein could be slotted in.
Host Jim Underdown interviews Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker Scott Kennedy about vaccine hesitancy, misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, and his pro-science films like 'Shot in the Arm'.
This episode explores the growing demographic of 'nones'—people with no religious affiliation—in the United States, featuring an interview with author Ryan Burge about his book on the topic.
This episode features an interview with David Javerbaum, a comedy writer known for his work on The Daily Show and other projects, discussing his career and his podcast The Godcast.
This episode explores Christmas from a secular perspective with Tom Flynn, discussing his views on the holiday, the so-called 'war on Christmas,' and how atheists navigate traditions during unusual times like COVID-19.