Interview w/ Dr. Joshua Swamidass (Part 2)

Part 2 of our interview with Dr. Joshua Swamidass. We discuss some of the particulars of why neo-Darwinianism is no longer the reigning paradigm in contemporary evolutionary biology. Swamidass argues that the deficiencies intelligent design theorists point to have been acknowledged (and addressed) as early as the 1960s. In particular, “Haldane’s dilemma” which was proposed in 1957 but widely considered to be solved by Motoo Kimura in 1968. Stay tuned Part 3 of our interview where we discuss Dr. Swamidass’s new book The Genealogical Adam & Eve.

Video of the interview: https://youtu.be/k0VQ5twZFXg

Resources mentioned during or relevant to the episode

  • “Cancer and Evolution” by Joshua Swamidass. https://peacefulscience.org/cancer-evolution/
  • VAN VALEN, L. Haldane’s Dilemma, Evolutionary Rates, and Heterosis. The American Naturalist 97, no. 894 (1963): 185-190. https://doi.org/10.1086/282267
  • KIMURA, M. Evolutionary Rate at the Molecular Level. Nature 217, 624–626 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/217624a0
  • KOONIN, E.V. Splendor and misery of adaptation, or the importance of neutral null for understanding evolution. BMC Biol 14, 114 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-016-0338-2
  • DURET, L. (2008) Neutral theory: The null hypothesis of molecular evolution. Nature Education 1(1):218. https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/neutral-theory-the-null-hypothesis-of-molecular-839/

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DisclaimerThink Theism is an independent podcast produced in association with Ratio Christi TAMU. The opinions, perspectives, and beliefs expressed in individual episodes are those of the participants only and not necessarily a reflection of Ratio Christi nor Texas A&M University.