Down the Wormhole

Last Spring, Adam published a book called "Living with Tiny Aliens: The Image of God for the Anthropocene", and it's high time we talk about it! It is full of playful curiosity and deep interrogations of our theological frameworks. How can astrobiology help us to not only rethink our place in the cosmos, but our identity as image bearers of God? We'll let Adam explain...
 
https://www.amazon.com/Living-Tiny-Aliens-Anthropocene-Groundworks/dp/0823287718
 
"Astrobiology is changing how we understand meaningful human existence. Living with Tiny Aliens seeks to imagine how an individuals’ meaningful existence persists when we are planetary creatures situated in deep time―not only on a blue planet burgeoning with life, but in a cosmos pregnant with living-possibilities. In doing so, it works to articulate an astrobiological humanities.
Working with a series of specific examples drawn from the study of extraterrestrial life, doctrinal reflection on the imago Dei, and reflections on the Anthropocene, Pryor reframes how human beings meaningfully dwell in the world and belong to it. To take seriously the geological significance of human agency is to understand the Earth as not only a living planet but an artful one. Consequently, Pryor reframes the imago Dei, rendering it a planetary system that opens up new possibilities for the flourishing of all creation by fostering technobiogeochemical cycles not subject to runaway, positive feedback. Such an account ensures the imago Dei is not something any one of us possesses, but that it is a symbol for what we live into together as a species in intra-action with the wider habitable environment."
 
 
Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast
 
More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/
 
produced by Zack Jacksonmusic by Zack Jackson and Barton Willis 

Episode 67
Did you hear? Scientists found life on Venus! Well... Not quite. But maybe! Also maybe not... It's all a bit uncertain, but we're here to untangle it for you. We're talking biosignatures, poop on the moon, rainbow fingerprints, corned beef space sandwiches, and our future tardigrade overlords. It's a lot of fun! 
 
Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast
 
More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/
 
produced by Zack Jacksonmusic by Zack Jackson and Barton Willis 
 
Show Notes
Arecibo collapses: https://www.npr.org/2020/12/01/940767001/arecibo-observatory-telescope-collapses-ending-an-era-of-world-class-research
 Poop on the moon: https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/3/22/18236125/apollo-moon-poop-mars-science
 https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/moon-mars/a13598/is-there-poop-on-the-moon-17630231/
 Astrobiology intro: https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/about/history-of-astrobiology/
 Spectroscopy: https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/toolbox/spectra1.html
 Big bird in space:  https://www.history.com/news/big-bird-challenger-disaster-nasa-sesame-street
 Corned beef sandwich in space: https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/02/22/corned-beef-sandwich-in-space/
https://www.space.com/39341-john-young-smuggled-corned-beef-space.html
 Adam’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Living-Tiny-Aliens-Anthropocene-Groundworks/dp/0823287718/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1607044336&sr=1-1-5e875a02-02b1-4426-9916-8a5c26cd5a14 

In part 7 of our Sinai and Synapses interview series, we are talking with the Dr. Telli Davoodi. She is a postdoctoral fellow in psychology at Princeton University, and her research focuses on religious and scientific cognition and what psychological roles they serve. She has studied childhood development across the world and has some fascinating insights as to how children learn to process religion and science. 
Are religious children more likely to accept unseen entities like germs? Are we messing up our children by teaching them about Santa and Jesus when they're young and expecting they can tell them apart later? How do children in non-Christian countries perceive science and religion? All that and more! 
 
Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast
 
More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/
 
produced by Zack Jacksonmusic by Zack Jackson and Barton Willis 

Space: the final frontier...
Nothing captivates our imagination like the vast expanse of outer space. For as long as humans have been alive, we've been inspired by the stars, the planets, and what exists beyond our terrestrial shell. In this miniseries, we are going to explore some of the ways that the leading edge of astronomy, astrophysics, astrobiology, and other astro-disciplines are pushing us to reexamine and redefine our theologies. We're kicking this project off with a simple question:
 
"What will be the next Copernican Revolution?"
 
Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast
 
More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/
 
produced by Zack Jacksonmusic by Zack Jackson and Barton Willis 

Episode 64
In part 6 of our Sinai and Synapses interview series, we are talking with the Rabbi Jordan Shaner. He is the assistant rabbi at Temple Sinai Congregation of Toronto, Ontario. His rabbinic thesis focused on theologies in the Babylonian Talmud, including on the way the Talmud presents the intersection between physiology, health, religious practice and spirituality. He is a member of the Toronto Board of Rabbis and represents that organization as a board member of Christian-Jewish Dialogue of Greater Toronto, which fosters relationships between a number of faith communities in the Greater Toronto Area. 
 
Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast
 
More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/
 
produced by Zack Jacksonmusic by Zack Jackson and Barton Willis 

Episode 63
We're wrapping up our miniseries on big emotions with one of the most important ones, gratitude. Over the past 20 years, researchers have shown what we've intrinsically known for hundreds of thousands of years: gratitude is the key to happiness. It binds us together as a society, buoys our own mental health, and draws us closer to the divine. How might you let gratitude work its magic in your life today? 
 
Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast
 
More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/
 
produced by Zack Jacksonmusic by Zack Jackson and Barton Willis 

Episode 62
In part 5 of our Sinai and Synapses interview series, we are talking with the Rev Dr Kristel Clayville. She is the former Acting Director of the Zygon Center for Religion and Science at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago as well as a Senior Fellow at the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago. Clinically, she works as a chaplain and ethicist at the University of Chicago Medical Center, and focuses on the existential and spiritual issues facing organ transplant patients. Her early research was on the uses of the Hebrew Bible in environmental ethics, but more recently, she has turned toward the intersection between environmental ethics and bioethics to study the green burial movement and organ donation. Welcome to the podcast, the Rev Dr Kristel Clayville.
 
Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast
 
More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/
 
produced by Zack Jacksonmusic by Zack Jackson and Barton Willis 

Episode 61
In part 5 of our miniseries on "big emotions", we're talking about resiliency. Yes, that's right. After digging into awe, disgust, shame, and anger, we're concluding with some practical advice for being alive. We're joined by Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Micah Roberts who shares their expertise after years of helping at-risk communities learn to thrive under pressure. With the election less than a week away, a new wave of COVID cases in the US and Europe, and just the usual stressors of being alive, this episode is perfectly timed to help you to bounce back and be your best you today. 
 
*Micah Roberts, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (referred to in this episode as Abra Morgan)
 
Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast
 
More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/
 
produced by Zack Jacksonmusic by Zack Jackson and Barton Willis