How do you think that this would have gone if Richard Dawkins had been replaced by Christopher Hitchens or Lawrence Krauss?
I really respect and find amusing the somewhat different styles of the late Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss, The Unholy Trinity.
Dawkins = the spirit of cricket.
Hitchens = the spirit of rugby league.
Krauss = the spirit of American football.
Lawrence Krauss did a show, produced here in Minnesota, called On Being. It used to be Speaking of Faith, but she started having more scientists and discussing more general human nature, rather than just religion, so they changed the name. It went pretty well, until Krista Tippet, the interviewer started pressing the belief issue, Krauss didn’t give an inch, he became rather combative, cutting her off, but you could say she was being pushy too. They have a great website with audio and transcripts and extras if you want to look it up.
I like the series Dawkins did where he listened patiently to a range of people. Some of them opened up and gave very nuanced answers, admitting a high degree agnosticism. Krauss or Hitchens aren’t really into that.
Thanks very much for that. I will look it up.