The theory of evolution is under attack from a controversial new idea called intelligent design. But is it science?

When Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution nearly 150 years ago, he shattered the dominant belief of his day – that humans were the product of divine creation. Through his observations of nature, Darwin proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection. This caused uproar. After all, if the story of creation could be doubted, so too could the existence of the creator. Ever since its proposal, this cornerstone of biology has sustained wave after wave of attack. Now some scientists fear it is facing the most formidable challenge yet: a controversial new theory called intelligent design.

Eminent scientist Colin Blakemore examines Christianity's relationship with science. He argues that science is the biggest challenge Christianity has ever faced, and questions whether the fundamental tension between the two can ever be resolved. Or will science eventually make religion redundant? Blakemore interviews esteemed scholars and Churchmen in order to understand how science continues to force Christians to re-evaluate the way they look at the world.

This is the uncut interview with Randolph Nesse from the 'The Genius of Charles Darwin' presented by Richard Dawkins. Randolph Nesse is the co-author of 'Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine'

Synopsis: In the first of a new three-part series Andrew Marr explores how Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection has taken on a life of its own far beyond the world of science. He argues that Darwin's theory has transformed our understanding of what it means to be human. Over the last 150 years, Darwin's ideas have challenged the need for a creator, undermined religious authority, and provided new ways of looking at the origins of human morality.

Synopsis: Andrew Marr explores Darwin's impact on politics and society. The theory of natural selection has been used to justify imperial expansion and oppression, but Darwin's ideas were also crucial to the democratic, anti-racist values of the United Nations, and have been used to help eliminate a fatal genetic disease from the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn. Darwin's theory of evolution has also led to the difficult social and political choices presented by predictive DNA testing.

Synopsis: In the final episode of the series, Andrew Marr discovers how Darwin's ideas are helping mankind to save life on earth from extinction - the environmental movement was built upon his insight that all life on earth is connected. Exploring the impact of industrialisation, intensive farming and our growing hunger for meat, Marr tells the story of our slow awakening to the full implications of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection and our own destructive powers as a species.

In this two-part documentary, Oxford Professor Richard Dawkins examines how religious faith is gaining ground in the face of rational, scientific truth. The program takes you to some of the world's religious hot-spots, both in America and the Middle East. Dawkins meets with religious leaders and their followers, as well as scientists and skeptics to examine the power of religion. Interviews with former Pastor Ted Haggard, the novelist Ian McEwan, the former Bishop of Oxford, and others offer valuable insights into the global impact and consequences of faith in the 21st century.

Along with his million-copy bestseller The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins' Root of All Evil? has helped inspire people of reason worldwide to say "Enough is enough!" Our modern world is the product of a long march from ignorance and fear to the Enlightement and beyond, always guided by the power of science and reason. To now abandon our endeavour toward progress and knowledge for faith and superstition puts humanity in peril.

The Selfish Green Debate

The Selfish Green? was the opening event of Wildscreen 2004, a landmark debate on the future of conservation with Sir David Attenborough, Professor Richard Dawkins, Jonathan Dimbleby (chair), Dr Jane Goodall and Dr Richard Leakey.

God, the Universe & Everything Else is an educational colloquium, attempting to uncover a grand unified theory of the laws that govern the universe. This enlightening program delves deep into topics such as the Big Bang Theory, the expansion of the universe, black holes, extraterrestrial life and the origins of creativity. The program is hosted by Magnus Magnusson, and was produced by Central Independent.

Featuring:
Stephen Hawking is a British theoretical physicist who has dedicated much of his life to probing the laws of time and space described by Einstein's Theory of Relativity.
Carl Sagan was an American astronomer who played a major role in the development of the American space program, as well as his contributions to planetary science.
Arthur C. Clarke is a British author, most famous for the science fiction classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and his optimistic vision for mankind exploring the galaxy.

The prescient seeds of thought disseminated by Friedrich Nietzsche in the 19th century prefigured the pivotal 20th-century concepts of existentialism and psychoanalysis. In this program, interviews with Nietzsche biographers Ronald Hayman and Leslie Chamberlain, archivist Dr. Andrea Bollinger, translator Reg Hollingdale, writer Will Self, and philosopher Keith Ansell Pearson probe Nietzsche’s life and elucidate his writings. In addition, his sister’s role in editing his works for use as Nazi propaganda is highlighted. Extracts of Nietzsche’s aphoristic prose, drawn from works such as The Parable of a Madman and Thus Spoke Zarathustra, aptly convey the essence of a supreme stylist and prophetic thinker.

As the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's masterpiece, On the Origin of Species, approaches, Richard Dawkins presents the ultimate guide to Darwin and his revolutionary theory of evolution by natural selection, which Dawkins considers the most important idea ever to occur to a human mind.

In the second programme Prof Dawkins explains that Darwin's Theory of Evolution presented a disturbing truth: that humans are animals – the fifth ape. This forces us to question whether our morals and manners are just a veneer. He confronts an issue that even Darwin skirted around – the evolution of human beings – and asks 'what does it mean to be evolved?' And in world where religions attack Darwinism for excusing selfish or even barbaric behaviour, Dawkins is forced to enter Darwinism's heart of darkness.

Although natural selection is the driving force of our evolution Dawkins clarifies that this does not mean that society should be run on Darwinian lines. "As a scientist I'm thrilled by natural selection, but as a human being I abhor it as a principle for organising society."

And humans are not immune to the nightmarish Darwinian process. Dawkins travels to the slums of Nairobi where hundreds die of AIDs each year. Here he meets prostitutes who seem to have acquired a genetic immunity to the HIV virus. This resistance, it seems, can be inherited and so, over time, will become more prevalent, shaping the community here. "This," Dawkins tells us, "is the unstoppable force of natural selection".

Dawkins travels between Kenya (the birthplace of not only Dawkins, but the human race), America and the UK to explore what evolution really means for humans and human society.

Starting out in Africa, he speaks to palaeontologist Richard Leakey who assures him that "we are closer to chimpanzees than a horse is to an ass". But Dawkins finds that many religions are nevertheless censoriously opposed to Darwin's Theory of Evolution. He cannot convince evangelical Bishop Bonifes Adoyo that man evolved from ape, and posits that many (fearfully) reject Darwinism as a goal-less, soul-less theory. If nature – often ruthlessly competitive – is the model for human society then surely we inhabit a 'dog eat dog' world.

Exploring this line of thought, Dawkins investigates the world of the entrepreneurial businessman and social Darwinism, examining whether there are parallels to be drawn between economic and biological systems. He also explores the way in which Darwinism has been abused by those who have associated it with the eugenics movement or those who manipulate it to justify racism and right wing politics. Finally, in examining both the 'caring' behaviours of human beings and animals, he examines how the moral code of human beings, and their displays of sensitivity and altruism, can be reconciled with the idea of the survival of the fittest.

In this final episode Dawkins examines why Darwin's theory remains one of the most controversial ideas in history.

As Darwin set out on the voyage on the Beagle he still believed that god created the world and everything in it. But the evidence he discovered - fossils, patterns of anatomical resemblance, startling similarities of embryos and domestic breeding - demonstrated the truth: that all life forms vary and that some are more likely to reproduce, passing variations on. His wife Emma, however, was deeply religious and Darwin never criticised religion in public but he believed that "science would bring about a gradual illumination of minds".

Today, Dawkins argues, science has the evidence to prove that evolution is true. Modern discovery of the DNA code which links all life has added to the mountain of evidence showing that evolution is a fact. So why, he wonders as he meets creationists in America, is opposition to evolution more aggressive than ever?

Dawkins is also concerned that back in the UK teaching evolution has become a hugely sensitive issue for science teachers: "This is multicultural Britain. And one of its fault lines runs straight through our children's classrooms. How do we reconcile scientific truth with the deeply held convictions that bind religious communities?"

Returning to the school he visited in episode one, Dawkins confronts the science teachers and challenges their view that they "can't get in to the business of knocking down kid's religions and the religions of families." "There really is", he says, "something special about scientific evidence. Science works; planes fly. Magic carpets and broomsticks don't. Gravity isn't a version of the truth; it is the truth. Anybody who doubts it is invited to jump out of a tenth floor window. Evolution too, is reality."

This equivocation, Dawkins says, began with the Church of England who, rather than attack Darwin, embraced him in a "comfortable relativist fudge". So he meets the Archbishop of Canterbury to ask how he reconciles Darwin and the laws of physics with the miracles described in the bible.

Finally, Dawkins travels to meet an old friend, Dan Dennett, who shares many of his own beliefs, to answer the question Darwin himself was confronted with: how can we find solace in a godless world?

Passionate Darwinian David Attenborough, who sees evolution as the cornerstone of all the series he has ever made, shares his personal view on Darwin's controversial idea. Journeying through the last two hundred years, he tracks the changes in our understanding of the natural world, and asks three key questions: how and why did Darwin come up with his theory? Why do most people think he was right? And why is it more important now than ever before?