After a long break, the Thoughtful Geeks are back with a new episode!  This time we review the recent controversial documentary by Ben Stein called "Expelled," which argued for the case of intelligent design (a.k.a. "ID") in the academic square, albeit in quite a provocative manner.  What the film may have missed was actually defending and properly identifying what ID actually is, and what it isn't. We attempt to do that in this episode, reviewing its foundational arguments and counter-arguments. For example, we postulate whether there could be alternate universes with a separate set of physical constants that can sustain life... Why would that be important? We look into writings by Michael Behe and William Dembski, among others to provide context to this debate.

We hope to add a follow-up episode to this one to address more of the philosophical arguments here, and also address the issue of academic freedom (which is a hot issue given ID and, more prominently, the debate on global warming).

We'd love your comments and suggestions, as well as recommendations for future topics.