I. D. the Future, a podcast about evolution and intelligent design.

Welcome to I. D. The Future. I'm Andrew McDermott. On this episode, radio host and

best-selling author Michael Medved sits down with philosopher of science Dr. J Richards

to preview the theme of this year's

Dallas Science and Faith Conference and discuss the arguments of his popular

book The Privileged Planet, written 20 years ago now with co-author and astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez.

Everything we've learned since we discovered the first extra solar planet in 1995

is pointed in one direction, says Richards, and that is in the direction of increased

rarity, an increase in the number of conditions that has to go right even to get a single

habitable planet.

Over 5,000 extra solar planets have been discovered in that time, and there's suitable hype

at the possibility of these planets harboring the potential for life. But as Richards explains, even if you detect

some of the prerequisites required for habitable life to exist, you still need a transition

from non-life to life.

That is a massive chasm, a profound problem that we just cannot gloss over.

In the interview, Richards teases a new and updated edition of his book, The Privileged Planet,

and gives his host a summary of what we've learned about our privileged place in the universe

in the last century.

And now it's a pleasure to turn it over to Dr. Jay Richards and his worthy host Michael Medved.

Jay, when you set out to co-write this book with Germo Gonzalez of the University of Washington.

And I should say Jay Richards is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute.

He is also a senior research fellow at Heritage Foundation.

...