AI Will Not Doom Us (Nor Climate Change) (#364)

AI Will Not Doom Us (Nor Climate Change) (#364)

Author: Dan Koch December 1, 2025 Duration: 1:10:34
We ease into today’s topic with a Top of Mind segment on two competing narratives: does having children make the future better? Or worse? From right-leaning fears of population collapse to left-leaning concerns about overpopulation and climate impact, both arguments rely on catastrophizing about opposing dystopian predictions, and I myself have not been immune to them. For our main interview, I’m joined by Kevin Kelly, founding editor of Wired magazine and author of the "thousand true fans" theory (yes, that Kevin Kelly), to explore his concept of "protopia"—a vision of the future that's neither utopian nor dystopian, but rather a steady 1-2% improvement compounded over time. We get into the weeds on process theology, the cosmic Christ appearing on trillions of planets, why we'll need a "catechism for robots" within 100 years, and how AI might actually make us better humans by forcing us to codify what "better than us" even means.  Kevin's technological optimism isn't naive—he fully acknowledges that more powerful technologies create more powerful problems—but he argues our capacity to solve problems consistently outpaces our ability to create them, and that technology itself carries something divine in how it expands the possibility space for human flourishing. From personal anxiety about parenthood to cosmic theology to the future of consciousness itself—this is exactly the kind of conversation we love to have on this show. Kevin Kelly's Website | Kk.org Article Mentions: https://skepticalscience.com/moving-away-high-end-emission-scenarios.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com ___________________________________________ Follow Dan on IG: www.instagram.com/dancoke/ Or Twitter: twitter.com/DanKoch Faith deconstruction resources: www.soyouredeconstructing.com/ Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankoch Email about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.com YHP Patron-only FB group: tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98 Website: www.dankochwords.com/yhp.html Join Dan's email list: www.dankochwords.com/ Artwork by sprungle.co/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hosted by Dan Koch, Religion on the Mind digs into the messy, fascinating, and deeply personal space where our inner lives meet our search for meaning. This isn't a sermon or a debate; it's a series of conversations that feel more like late-night talks with curious friends. Each episode brings in a different voice-psychologists, scholars, writers, and other experts-to explore how our beliefs, doubts, rituals, and spiritual yearnings are intertwined with the workings of the human mind. We get into the psychology behind religious experience, the spirituality that emerges outside traditional structures, and the very real ways these forces shape identity, community, and coping. The tone is thoughtful but unvarnished, embracing complexity without pretension. You'll hear genuine curiosity, nuanced perspectives, and, yes, the occasional bit of cussing when the topic calls for it. The goal is to offer a space for reflection on how these fundamental aspects of being human collide and coexist. If you've ever wondered about the psychological roots of faith, the spirituality of non-belief, or just how our brains make sense of the profound, this podcast provides a grounded, accessible entry point to those questions.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Religion on the Mind
Podcast Episodes
Anxiety & OCD Across Generations (#359) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:20:05
I'm sitting down with my friend of 12 years, Sara Billups, to talk about her brand new book Nervous Systems—and all the many meanings implied in its title. We start with how anxiety gets passed down through generations.…
When Fiction Reveals a Deeper Truth (#358) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:55
Today I’m joined by my brother-in-law Cameron Reed and fellow therapist Gabe Cortez to explore fiction through the lens of psychology and spirituality. We’re planning a series of conversations on Religion & Fiction in wh…
Why John Mark McMillan Walked Away From The Music Industry (#356) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:23:33
I sit down with musician John Mark McMillan for an exclusive conversation about something I never thought I'd see—one of contemporary Christian music's most boundary-pushing artists stepping away from the touring life af…
Theology Beer Camp Update [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:07
Here's a little update after our weekend in St. Paul, MN for Theology Beer Camp 2025. See you on Monday with our regular episode! ___________________________________________ Follow Dan on IG: www.instagram.com/dancoke/ O…
Cognitive Distortions & Religion, Pt 1: Should/Must Statements (#355) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:51:07
I'm launching a new series diving deep into cognitive distortions—those sneaky thinking errors we all fall into—and exploring how they show up at the intersection of psychology and religion. In this first episode, I tack…
Charlie Kirk: Martyr? (#354) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:50
I sit down with John Hawthorne, retired Christian university sociology professor and author of The Fearless Christian University, to unpack the troubling martyrdom narrative emerging around Charlie Kirk's assassination.…
Christianity Rising in Silicon Valley (#353) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:20
You Have Permission is now Religion on the Mind! Look for our updated artwork in your podcast feed and listen to this episode for more about what you can expect with the new name. In this episode, I sit down with Zoë Ber…
You Have Permission is now Religion on the Mind [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:30
It’s a new name, new art… and the rest is pretty much the same content you know and love on the overlap of psychology, religion and spirituality. My teammates Josh Gilbert and Joy Vetterlein join me for a quick chat abou…
Tripp Fuller: Does Original Sin Need a Comeback? (#352) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:55:30
Friend of the pod Tripp Fuller joins me in full Dodgers gear (the audacity!) to discuss why the doctrine of original sin desperately needs a comeback—not the toxic version that told us we couldn't trust our own emotions…