Veritas Riff

Why health care reform needs spiritual reform

Veritas Riff — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

New laws and policies won't be enough to tackle the health care crisis. Dr. Ray Barfield of Duke University explains why addressing American spiritual beliefs about the end of life is a missing piece.
(March, 2012)

Is Science at War with Religion?

Veritas Riff — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0800

A majority of polled Americans believe that a commitment to science conflicts with a commitment to religion. Oxford physicist Ard Louis seeks to change their minds.
(Feb. 2012)

The brave new world of genetic medicine

Veritas Riff — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

We live in the beginning stages of a medical revolution. But will we like where it takes us? With Joshua Swamidass.

The invention of sexual identity

Veritas Riff — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Christians often ask, "Is homosexuality a sin?" The better questions are, "What is homosexuality?" and "What is heterosexuality?" and "Where did this label come from?" With Jenell Paris.

Thomas Kinkade vs. Modern Art

Veritas Riff — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

What is a work of art? A sentimental image of a candle-lit cabin, or a canvas with a single red square “my four-year-old could have drawn”? With Daniel Siedell.

Jesus Christ, extra-terrestrial?

Veritas Riff — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

If life is found on other planets, does Christian faith come unraveled? Or would other life forms also be redeemed by grace? With Jennifer Wiseman.

A philosopher goes to prison and finds hope

Veritas Riff — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Modern philosophy is accused of being an out of touch enterprise locked away in the ivy tower. Does it have anything meaningful to offer those living a grittier version of life? To find out, Andrew Chignell, a philosophy professor at Cornell University, started teaching a class to one of the grittiest environments around: a maximum security prison. In prison, concepts such as hope and ethics take on an entirely new meaning.

What is the cultural cost of the bailout economy?

Veritas Riff — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0800

The exact financial cost for the massive 2008 government bailout of the economy is still being tabulated. What is harder to calculate is the toll the action took on Americans beliefs about the government and their own financial obligations. But that cultural impact may be the one that will be the most damaging one in the long run.

David Skeel, professor of corporate law at the University of Pennsylvania and a leading expert in issues of public policy, debt and bankruptcy, speaks about the long term cultural ramifications of the bailout economy.

Why are ER waits so long?

Veritas Riff — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

The emergency room is the aspect of health care most widely and similarly experienced by Americans. The state of the ER tells us a great deal about the state of health care: the financial pressures involved, its ability to care for the poor, and what reform looks like.

Dr. Renee Hsia, who teaches emergency room medicine at the University of California in San Francisco and is an expert in health care policy, riffs on these issues.

Why are so many Christian politicians getting caught in sex scandals?

Veritas Riff — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

In the last few years, there has been a virtual epidemic of Christian politicians caught, well there’s no better way to put it, with their pants down. Of all the nine major sex scandals involving all U.S. congressmen since 2006, eight of them involved figures strongly self identified as Christians (mostly Evangelicals of some sort).

Why is this happening? And what does it say about the potent mix of sex, religion, and power that increasingly swirls around Christian elites?

Michael Lindsay riffs on these questions, drawing on his expertise as a professor of sociology at Rice University and the author of the award winning books, Faith in the Halls of Power. Michael is one of the founders of the Veritas Riff.