Point of Inquiry is the Center for Inquiry's flagship podcast, where the brightest minds of our time sound off on all the things you're not supposed to talk about at the dinner table: science, religion, and politics. Guests have included Brian Greene, Susan Jacoby, Richard Dawkins, Ann Druyan, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Eugenie Scott, Adam Savage, Bill Nye, and Francis Collins. Point of Inquiry is produced at the Center for Inquiry in Amherst, N.Y.
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Garrett G. Fagan - Archaeological Fantasies
Garrett G. Fagan is Associate Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies at Penn State University. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and McMaster University Canada. His main research interests lie in the field of Roman History, about which he’s published numerous scholarly articles. He has lectured widely on topics in Roman history, and this year coedited From Augustus to Nero: An Intermediate Latin Reader. His newest book is Archaeological Fantasies: How Pseudoarchaeology Misrepresents the Past and Misleads the Public. In this interview with D.J. Grothe, Fagan explains the differences between archaeology and pseudoarchaeology, emphasizing how the science of archaeology benefits society. He explores possible motivations of pseudoarchaeologists, and challenges various pseudoarchaeological theories, such as Atlantis, the origins of the Great Pyramids in Egypt, and the theories purporting to discover great pyramids in Bosnia. He also details the various ways that pseudoarchaeology and other pseudoscientific thinking may harm society.