We live in a time of overflowing and interweaving crises. A global pandemic exacerbates a mental health crisis caused by social media technology. The upheaval of American electoral politics caused by an erosion (or breakdown?) of social and relational trust. The rise of nationalism, the proliferation of war, and longing for justice in the realms of gender and race. Underneath it all appears to be a crisis of knowledge and its convergence around skepticism of science, a culture of suspicion, and confusion about basic factual information, let alone right and wrong. We need wisdom. Badly. But in times of crisis and chaos, where are we to turn for wisdom?
In this episode, Mark Labberton is joined by longtime friend Francis Collins, physician, researcher, and former director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Known for his leadership in mapping the human genome, his public service at the NIH spanned three presidencies and culminated with overseeing the national response to Covid-19 pandemic. The author of many books, including his bestselling The Language of God, Collins’s new book is The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust, a reflection on the crisis of truth, science, faith, and trust, and how the exhausted middle might chart a path toward a better future.
