Episode Details

Introducing Young Earth Creationist and Intelligent Design proponents to the Emerald Green Wasp, the hooded cobra, and Ridley Scott’s Xenomorph

Over the next few weeks, we’re going to do a bit of a deep-dive into the origin of defense and attack strategies in animals.  How snakes developed hollow fangs that inject a toxic venom.  And how the horrifying specter in Ridley Scott’s Alien movie franchise ­— which implants an embryonic alien into humans, which then gestates inside its prey and eventually bursts out in full glory through the human’s chest — has a real-life correlate in the Emerald Jewel Wasp (Ampulex compressa).

Why are we doing this?  Because Young Earth Creationists and Intelligent Design proponents have a problem with the reality of predator-prey relationships.  Science shows us that predation has been driving health, innovation, resilience and beauty in all of nature for billions of years before humans came on the scene.   Young Earth Creationists, however, see predators as devolved, broken, degenerate and evil distortions of an originally perfect creation, in which all animals were vegetarian and peaceful until humans appeared and cursed the cosmos through their “original sin”.  And Intelligent Design proponents are quick to attribute biological phenomena that evoke awe and amazement to an intelligent Designer, but don’t do the same for equally intric ate phenomena that evoke horror and revulsion.

Both groups have a track record of confronting these unpleasant aspects of predation with arguments that oversimplify science to the point of distortion.

So we’re going to talk to experts in the field.  Today’s episode briefly introduces a couple highly accredited scientific experts with whom we’re going to have incredibly science-heavy conversations on the subject of their research expertise, over the next few weeks.  The first is a world-renowned herpetologist with decades of academic experience with venomous snakes and scorpions, and who will tell us the full and detailed story of how venomous snakes evolved from lizards.  The second will be an entomologist who has spent his research career studying the predatory behavior of the Emerald Jewel Wasp.  And then hope to talk to a biologist who has spent decades watching Answers-in-Genesis — the primary driver of, and provider of resources for, the Young Earth Creationist movement worldwide — and the strategies and arguments they use to promote their ideas.

So strap in … the next few weeks are going to be quite scientifically dense!

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