Radio interview with Richard Dawkins for How On Earth

Last week I recorded an interview with evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins for the radio program How On Earth. We spoke about his new book, The Magic of Reality: How We Know What’s Really True, which was featured this morning as a promotional gift during KGNU’s fall pledge drive along with a couple segments of the interview.

An extended version of that interview is now available at the How On Earth website.

The Magic of Reality is a pretty cool book. It’s aimed at a younger audience than Dawkins’ previous work, and it’s illustrated quite beautifully, in full color, by artist Dave McKean. The book is a primer on basic science and critical thinking, an ode to the beauty of the natural world, and a really fun read. From my blog post at the How On Earth website:

While examining a dozen seemingly simple questions (What is a rainbow? Why are there so many different kinds of animals?) Dawkins explores both human cultural history—how various cultures have used religious stories and mythmaking to explain the world—and the scientific method—how observation and experimentation can show us what’s really happening. His message throughout is that reality has its own poetic magic that rivals or exceeds even the best-spun tales.