Will aliens have DNA? Richard Dawkins on consciousness, religion and the meaning of life

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The creator of the word ‘meme’ and of the hugely influential ‘selfish gene’ model of evolution, Richard Dawkins is the epitome of the truly public intellectual – a scientist whose ideas have proven extraordinarily influential both within his own discipline and far, far beyond. Now - in this exclusive How To Academy event with Hannah MacInnes - he tackles the small matter of the meaning of life…

Richard Dawkins is author of The Selfish Gene, voted The Royal Society’s Most Inspiring Science Book of All Time, and also the bestsellers The Blind Watchmaker, The Ancestor’s Tale, The God Delusion, and two volumes of autobiography, An Appetite for Wonder and Brief Candle in the Dark. He is also a viral sensation on YouTube - his clashes with Bill O’Reilly and Creationists, Ben Affleck and Brandon Flowers have all had millions of views, and he has featured on ComedyJesus, Truth Seeker, Nightwish, Sh3llShock, Fora.tv, Shirley Films, The Guardian, Gabriel Antonio, TED, Center for Inquiry, ANU TV, Cosmic Clips, StarTalk, Pioneer Works, The Podcast of Lotus Eaters, Big Think, Jim Jefferies, Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science

Hannah MacInnes is a broadcaster and journalist. Alongside hosting How To Academy’s live programmes and podcast, she presents a cultural show on Times Radio and interviews on-stage at a number of other major literary events. She is the host of The Klosters Forum Podcast series and has written for the Radio Times, the Evening Standard and TLS.


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