The Poetry of Reality with Richard Dawkins

The Poetry of Reality with Richard Dawkins

The Poetry of Reality is hosted by world renowned truth-teller, evolutionary biologist and best-selling author, Professor Richard Dawkins. He has been celebrated globally for his honest critique of religion and tradition and his push for critical thinking. His books include The Ancestor’s Tale, The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, Climbing Mount Improbable, Unweaving the Rainbow, A Devil’s Chaplain, The God Delusion, The Greatest Show on Earth, The Magic of Reality, his two-part autobiography An Appetite for Wonder and A Brief Candle in the Dark, and Outgrowing God: A Beginner’s Guide. Dawkins has long been known for his uncompromising passion for science, calling out for the pressing need in modern societies for scientific literacy and rational thinking, especially in the education of young minds. His relentless pursuit of truth, and his recognition of the beauty of life on earth, will feature in this podcast, as he charts his way through scientific and existential inquiries like ‘What are we doing here?’ and ‘When did life begin?’

Episodes

If God designed it, why is it so badly built?

October 16, 2025 • 13 mins
In this episode, Richard Dawkins revisits a 2012 conversation from the Great Minds program, produced by the Educational Broadcasting System in South Korea. He examines why life looks designed yet is full of flaws, showing how imperfections in nature reveal the true workings of evolution and expose the limits of intelligent design.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection a...
Mark as Played

Why Ants Tear Off Their Own Wings

September 30, 2025 • 15 mins
In this episode, Richard Dawkins revisits a 2012 conversation from the Great Minds program, produced by the Educational Broadcasting System in South Korea. Drawing on themes from his book Flights of Fancy, Dawkins explores humanity’s ancient dream of flight, the physics that govern it, and the evolutionary paths that enabled some creatures to soar while others lost their wings. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.ads...
Mark as Played

Why Ideas Spread Like Viruses

September 20, 2025 • 75 mins
In this episode of The Poetry of Reality, Richard joins a live audience in Edinburgh to discuss his latest book, The Genetic Book of the Dead. In this wide-ranging conversation, he reflects on how DNA preserves the story of evolution, describing organisms as “living books” that record the environments of their ancestors. He explores camouflage, whale ancestry, convergent evolution, and the hidden logic of genes, while breaking down...
Mark as Played

Can We Still Be Optimistic About the Future? | A Conversation with Steven Pinker

September 14, 2025 • 97 mins
In this episode of The Poetry of Reality, Richard Dawkins and Steven Pinker explore the frontiers of science, language, morality, artificial intelligence, evolution, and the future of human civilization. Steven Pinker is a Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, psycholinguist, popular science author, and public intellectual. He is an advocate of evolutionary psychology and the computational theory of mind. Hosted by Simplecast,...
Mark as Played

What It Is Like To Debate Jordan Peterson ｜A Conversation with Nihal Arthanayake

July 11, 2025 • 84 mins
In this episode of The Poetry of Reality, Richard Dawkins joins Nihal Arthanayake for a compelling conversation in London, England This episode was filmed as part of Richard Dawkins' tour. Nihal Arthanayake is an acclaimed multi-award winning broadcaster, journalist, podcaster and author. He currently presents the Headliners Podcast on the BBC in the UK. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for in...
Mark as Played

Richard Dawkins DESTROYS Creationist Arguments

June 20, 2025 • 20 mins
In this episode, Richard Dawkins reacts to a compilation of videos featuring arguments about religion, evolution, and science. This is the first video in the new series, Richard Dawkins Reacts, where Richard Dawkins watches clips from the internet ranging from creationist claims to debates on science and faith—and shares his unfiltered thoughts and insights. A straightforward look at how science is misunderstood—and why it matter...
Mark as Played

Why The Selfish Gene Haunts Some Readers | A Conversation with John McWhorter

June 13, 2025 • 83 mins
In this episode of The Poetry of Reality, Richard Dawkins joins John McWhorter for a compelling conversation about Richard's latest book, The Genetic Book of the Dead along with a wide array of topics including evolution, genetics, science, and the broader cultural forces that shape our understanding of truth. John McWhorter is a linguist, author, and professor at Columbia University, best known for his work in creole studies, s...
Mark as Played

Some 'Intellectuals' Make It Sound Deep | A Conversation with Peter Boghossian

May 30, 2025 • 91 mins
In this episode of The Poetry of Reality, Richard Dawkins joins Peter Boghossian for a compelling conversation about Richard's latest book, The Genetic Book of the Dead along with a wide array of topics including evolution, genetics, science, and the broader cultural forces that shape our understanding of truth. This episode was filmed as part of Richard Dawkins' tour. Peter Boghossian is an American philosopher, author, and ed...
Mark as Played

Why i Care About the Existence of God | A Conversation with Michael Shermer

May 23, 2025 • 95 mins
In this episode of The Poetry of Reality, Richard Dawkins joins Michael Shermer for a compelling conversation about Richard's latest book, The Genetic Book of the Dead along with a wide array of topics including evolution, genetics, science, and the broader cultural forces that shape our understanding of truth. This episode was filmed at as part of Richard Dawkins' tour. Michael Shermer is a science writer and historian, founder...
Mark as Played

Is New Atheism Losing? | A Conversation with Matt Ridley

May 16, 2025 • 90 mins
In this episode of The Poetry of Reality, Richard Dawkins joins Matt Ridley for an insightful conversation touching on evolution, genetics, science, and culture. Matt Ridley is a science writer and journalist whose work spans evolutionary biology, economics, and the role of innovation in human progress. Join Substack: https://richarddawkins.substack.com/ Subscribe to The Poetry of Reality Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channe...
Mark as Played

ChatGPT Passed the Turing test, but… | A Conversation with Brian Keating

May 13, 2025 • 95 mins
In this episode of The Poetry of Reality, Richard Dawkins joins Brian Keating for an insightful conversation touching on evolution, genetics, science, and culture. They explore Richard's latest book, The Genetic Book of the Dead along with a wide array of topics including AI, the extended phenotype, evolution, the possibility of alien life followed by audience questions. This episode was filmed as part of Richard Dawkins' tour....
Mark as Played

Will the Supreme Court Gender Case Victors Get The Apologies They Deserve?

May 12, 2025 • 7 mins
This article was published by the Spectator  on the 17th of April 2025, with the title  “Will the Supreme Court gender case victors get the apologies they deserve? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Mark as Played

I Sympathize with Trans People, but... | Richard Dawkins in Conversation with Colin Wright

May 5, 2025 • 95 mins
In this episode of The Poetry of Reality, Richard Dawkins joins Colin Wright for an insightful conversation touching on evolution, gender, science, and culture - They explore Richard's latest book, The Genetic Book of the Dead along with a wide array of topics including the nature of truth, the reliability of science, evolution, and the controversies surrounding sex and gender. This episode was filmed as part of Richard Dawkins' ...
Mark as Played

A Conversation with Nick Gillespie in Milwaukee | Richard Dawkins' Final Tour

April 30, 2025 • 93 mins
In this episode of The Poetry of Reality, Richard Dawkins joins Nick Gillespie, for an insightful conversation touching on evolution, genetics, science, and culture. They explore Richard's latest book, The Genetic Book of the Dead, along with his previous works such as The Selfish Gene. The discussion expands into science’s ongoing tensions with ideology, religion, and postmodern thought, followed by a spirited audience Q&A session...
Mark as Played

Am I responsible for WOKE Nonsense? | A Conversation with Alex O'' Connor in Oxford

April 18, 2025 • 82 mins
In this episode of The Poetry of Reality, Richard Dawkins joins Alex O’Connor for a breakdown of his latest book, The Genetic Book of the Dead. They also reflect on new atheism and the meaning vacuum, Richard’s debate with Jordan Peterson, and the concept of God followed by audience questions. This episode was filmed at New Theatre, Oxford, on the 21st of Oct 2024, as part of Richard Dawkins' tour. Alex O’Connor is a YouTuber, wr...
Mark as Played

Why Darwin Stopped Believing in GOD | Richard Dawkins with Patrick House

April 11, 2025 • 84 mins
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Mark as Played

Space meets Earth, Porco and Dawkins in Glasgow

April 3, 2025 • 83 mins
In this episode of The Poetry of Reality, Richard Dawkins engages in an insightful conversation with Carolyn Porco about gene immortality, ancestral traits, the extended phenotype, extraterrestrial life, criticisms of religion and atheism, followed by audience questions. This episode was filmed at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on the Oct 31st 2024, as part of Richard Dawkins' tour. Carolyn Porco is a renowned planetary scientis...
Mark as Played

Sonnets by ChatGPT

March 24, 2025 • 5 mins
Following my dialogue with ChatGPT on whether it is conscious, I thought it would be interesting to look at its poetic creativity. I decided to give it a subject dear to my heart. Link to my Substack - https://richarddawkins.substack.com/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Mark as Played

Exploring AI, Evolution & the Universe ft. Taryn Southern

March 20, 2025 • 32 mins
Richard Dawkins and Taryn Southern are back for another thought-provoking Q&A session, tackling a wide range of fascinating topics. From Richard’s personal epiphany moments to his thoughts on AI, alien life, and the origins of the universe, this episode delves deep into the mysteries of evolution, intelligence, and existence. Other audience questions dive into topics like inherited knowledge, the evolution of survival instincts, ...
Mark as Played

Is There More Wonder In Genes Than In Gods? - A Conversation with Alex O' Connor

March 13, 2025 • 85 mins
As part of his 2024 tour, Richard Dawkins engaged in an insightful conversation with Alex O'Connor at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles on September 28th. They discuss Dawkins' latest book; The Genetic Book of the Dead, religion, evolution, and concludes with a Q&A session. Alex O’Connor is a YouTuber, writer, and public speaker, best known as the host of the Within Reason podcast, with over one million subscribers on YouTu...
Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    Stuff You Should Know

    Stuff You Should Know

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    Crime Junkie

    Crime Junkie

    Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.

    NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal

    NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal

    Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.

    Dateline NBC

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    The Breakfast Club

    The Breakfast Club

    The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

Explore

iHeart

Live Radio

Podcasts

Artist Radio

Exclusives

News

Features

Events

Contests

Photos

Information

About

Advertise

Blog

Brand Guidelines

Contest Guidelines

Subscription Offers

Jobs

Get the App

Automotive

Home

Mobile

Wearables

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.