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UC Press Podcast: God in Proof

In the latest UC Press Podcast episode, writer and editor Nathan Schneider takes us on a philosophical tour of proofs, from the ancient to the modern, revealing the historical continuum of arguments for and against the existence of God. His new book, God in Proof, explores centuries of believers and unbelievers—from ancient Greeks, to medieval Arabs, to [more...]

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Draw a Proof, Win a Book

Nathan Schneider, author of the forthcoming book God in Proof: The Story of a Search from the Ancients to the Internet (June 2013) is running a contest over at his website, The Row Boat, in which he asks readers to draw a proof of what they believe. Read Schneider’s description of the contest below.

What Do You Believe? How [more...]

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The Gospel of an Icon and End of an Era

Now that The Oprah Winfrey Show has come to an end, will Oprah’s fans find a new icon to worship? In the run-up to the show’s final episode, which aired today, media outlets have been turning to Kathryn Lofton, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Yale University and the author of Oprah: the Gospel of an [more...]

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The Gospel of Oprah: New Podcast with Kathryn Lofton

Have you heard the good news? If you’ve been at all exposed to popular culture over the last two decades, chances are you’ve heard it—the message of Oprah’s gospel, that is. In the latest UC Press Podcast, we interview Kathryn Lofton, author of the forthcoming book Oprah: The Gospel of an Icon (March). Lofton, a [more...]

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What if Oprah Gave Away Things that Mattered?

The folks over at the Post Carbon Institute have created a spoof video around the fascinating, often disturbing spectacle of Oprah’s Favorite Things. The video illustrates some key points made in the book, The Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st Century’s Sustainability Crises, edited by Richard Heinberg and Daniel Lerch.

In the chapter “Dangerously Addicted,” Dr. [more...]

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Miracles and Healing: New Podcast with Robert Scott

Out of the tens of millions of pilgrims who have sought healing at Lourdes since the 19th century, there have been 66 official miracles, says Robert Scott in this UC Press podcast. However, the number of people who report that their suffering vanished after visiting the site is astronomically higher.

Scott finds that for many, appealing [more...]

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The Bay Area's Jewish History

On KQED’s Forum this week, Fred Rosenbaum spoke to Michael Krasny about his book Cosmopolitans: A Social & Cultural History of the Jews of the San Francisco Bay Area, in which he chronicles the diverse ways the Jewish community has shaped and enriched the region, from the first congregations during the Gold Rush to the [more...]

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State and Spirituality in China

The American Public Media program Speaking of Faith recently rebroadcast a 2008 interview with author Mayfair Yang, in which Yang and host Krista Tippett discuss intersections of religion and state in China, and how attitudes toward religion in China have been shaped in part by the West. In her edited volume Chinese Religiosities, Yang explores [more...]

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A New Perspective on Science and Religion

“We need to begin at the beginning. We need to begin at our beginnings”, writes Adam Frank in a recent post on the NPR.org blog 13.7: Cosmos and Culture, to which he is a regular contributor. Frank, an astrophysicist and author of The Constant Fire, argues for a new perspective on the relationship between [more...]

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Public Welfare Medal and PROSE Award Winners

Eugenie Scott

The National Academy of Sciences has awarded its prestigious Public Welfare Medal to Eugenie Scott, author of Evolution vs. Creationism, in recognition of her work as executive director of the National Center for Science Education (NCSE), promoting and defending the teaching of evolution in schools.

“Eugenie Scott has worked tirelessly and very effectively to [more...]

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