We are living in extraordinary times. For most of the world, the global COVID-19 pandemic is at the forefront of people’s minds. The accompanying uncertainty has been almost palpable, and people are craving every bit of information that they can get their hands on. With most sporting events and other activities cancelled or delayed, the “armchair coaches” have had to turn to other interests; now most people have become “armchair epidemiologists,” debating the merits of mask wearing and physical distancing, weighing the risks of trying to reach heard immunity before a vaccine, and analyzing every facet of the government’s response from local to federal levels.
In this episode of the podcast, Dr. Jonathan Lett presents for us his recent article addressing the phenomenon of boredom and the particular contours it bears in our present, digital age. Show NotesBored in a Digital Age https://www.cbhd.org/intersections/bored-in-a-digital-age Jonathan Lett, PhD https://www.letu.edu/academics/theology-and-vocation/fac-bio-lett.html Faith, Science, and Technology Initiative at LeTourneau University https://www.letu.edu/academics/faith-science-technology-initiative/ Intersections Forum https://www.cbhd.org/intersections Shared Convictions: CBHD and LeTourneau on Mission https://www.cbhd.org/resource-type/shared-convictions-cbhd-and-letourneau-on-mission
Show Notes:The Challenge of Pastoral Leadership Today: What Is Our Technological Age Doing to Us?Kelly Liebengood, Ph.D.Intersections ForumShared Convictions: CBHD and LeTourneau on Mission2026 Annual Conference, Polytechnic Bioethics, June 25-27
This episode of the podcast celebrates the 20th anniversary of The Bioethics Podcast. The inaugural episode was uploaded on February 3, 2006, and we thought it might be interesting to listen again to that first episode as we mark the 20th anniversary of this project. Show NotesRoss Douthat’s interview with Noor Siddiqui: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/opinion/genetics-children-noor-siddiqui.html
In this episode of The Bioethics podcast, CBHD Research Scholar Anna Vollema and CBHD Research Analyst Heather Zeiger join CBHD Executive Director Matthew Eppinette for a discussion of the Netflix documentary film Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever. The film is a profile of Bryan Johnson, a tech entrepreneur who is devoting his fortune to extending his life through careful and detailed monitoring of various biomarkers, as well as experimental treatments and other methods. Show NotesTrailer: https://youtu.be/kf9e1o7rUeo?si=WlDYOepN3nId5BS7 Watch on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81757532 Katie Drummond, "Bryan Johnson Is Going to Die," Wired https://www.wired.com/story/big-interview-bryan-johnson/ Todd T.W. Daly, Chasing Methuselah: Theology, the Body, and Slowing Human Aging, Cascade Books, 2021, https://a.co/d/dhZLvuv In Chasing Methuselah, Todd Daly examines the modern biomedical anti-aging project from a Christian perspective, drawing on the ancient wisdom of the Desert Fathers, who believed that the incarnation opened a way for human life to regain the longevity of Adam and the biblical patriarchs through prayer and fasting. Daly balances these insights with the christological anthropology of Karl Barth, discussing the implications for human finitude, fear of death, and the use of anti-aging technology, weaving a path between outright condemnation and uncritical enthusiasm.Denyse O'Leary, "A Science-Based Case for the Immortality of the Human Soul," CBHD https://www.cbhd.org/intersections/a-science-based-case-for-the-immortality-of-the-human-soul Kent Dunnington, Addiction and Virtue: Beyond the Models of Disease and Choice, IVP Academic, 2011, https://a.co/d/fc8bRLQ Neither of the two dominant models (disease or choice) adequately accounts for the experience of those who are addicted or of those who are seeking to help them. In this interdisciplinary work, Kent Dunnington brings the neglected resources of philosophical and theological analysis to bear on the problem of addiction. Drawing on the insights of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas, he formulates an alternative to the usual reductionistic models.