 Next up we have Cara Santa Maria Her talk is called science with a side of atheism Skepticism out in the open. She was she used to be a senior science correspondent for the Huffington Post Her haiku is Seven syllables Cara Santa Maria perfect second line. Please welcome to the stage Cara Santa Maria Hi everyone So I think I'm gonna cut my talk a little bit short so that I can get some more kind of interaction I'm really hoping that there's a mic out in the audience or that we can wing this so that we can have more conversation I much prefer to talk with people than to talk at people and I'm not gonna lie, but I was kind of up until 5 a.m. Playing poker last night I think that's kind of the risk of doing a skeptic convention in a casino Like what do you expect really and I have to prepare because I'm gonna be playing in the poker tournament tomorrow night And hopefully a lot of you guys are gonna join. Yeah Yeah So I kind of wanted to Introduce myself first and mostly I think I'm gonna spend the time that I have today What little time I have kind of talking to you about who I am and how I came into What it is that I do because Tam is a really exciting Experience for me. This is my first time here a lot of times when I give talks I either specifically give talks at science conferences or I specifically give talks at Atheist conventions and so this is super interesting for me because the science the skepticism the atheism It all is kind of coming together in this great group of people and it makes it really hard to focus and figure out what it is I you know really want to talk about so I figure You know, I'm the embodiment of all three. I'm gonna talk about me Hopefully that doesn't bore you guys too much So I wanted to start by telling you a little bit of who I am and what I do and why the organizers of this event the wonderful Organizers even thought to call me up and ask me to come speak to you guys today. So my name is Cara Santa Maria Those of you in the audience who do know me most likely know me either from my work that I do with the young Turks Which is an online news organization a progressive online news organization or with the work that I previously did with the Huffington post So I started at Huff post Probably about two years ago I just left in April to pursue more kind of TV and online opportunities but when I started at the Huffington post they didn't have a science page and I thought it was really important that they have a science page because let's be real They needed a science page and and you know what we really kind of aimed to do when I first went there was to Make a safe haven, you know, we had no control over what went on in the health pages We had no control over what went on with specific bloggers that showed up all around the site There's like 50 verticals on that site and every vertical has a different editor But we thought if we start a science page We can have a home where there's no woo where evidence-based thinking can live And so that's what we set out to do and I started a video series there called talk nerdy to me where I would talk nerdy well, thank you and and You know it ran the gamut really I was the science correspondent my background is a neuroscience I'll get to that But they really wanted me to focus on all things science so long as they didn't step on the toes of the green pages of the health pages so I Would focus on space stories I would focus on brain stories kind of new news in the sciences But I always snuck in a little bit of that skepticism. I did a piece about what happens when you die I did a piece about whether or not prayer really works I did a piece probably one of my favorites about the power of positive thinking And I really like to focus on those kind of evergreen stories those stories that sort of fly in the face of what The general public and especially on the left, you know I'm not going to claim to know the political affiliations of most of the people in the audience but I have a feeling we're a little left-leaning and And it's funny how much woo really does exist on the left You know we think about the right and the climate deniers and the anti-evolutionist But you know the anti-vaxxers kind of live on the left and especially the anti-gmo people they live on the left And sometimes I think it's really important to to stand up for those things even when it's your your people It's your audience because they're not getting a good dose of that. So So basically that's kind of where I'm coming from. I've done a lot of television I did a pilot for HBO called talk nerdy to me when I first started out in this field Which ultimately got got folded into my Huffington Post series. I've appeared on Larry King and on the Nerdist and on Some old CNN shows Parker Spitzer things like that back when they were around Attack of the show on G4 if any of you guys watch that And and now I'm basically freelancing I've done some work for Sundance channel for travel channel for Nat Geo and I'm about to start a new venture on a new network That'll be launching in August. I'm gonna be working on their daily show So I'm super excited about that The transition there for me came from science into news current events and politics and again I'll talk a little bit about why Why I think that's an important transition for me But before I before I focus on what it is that I'm doing now and why it is that I'm doing what I'm doing now I wanted to tell you a little bit about how I got here because I Am an American atheist But I was born as a Texan Mormon So my folks at the time were married at the time were Mormon my last name is Santa Maria I can't think of a more Catholic last name than that my father's Italian my mother's Puerto Rican They were tried and true Catholics who converted together and Join the LDS church and you know, it's funny while I was playing poker last night I think I got a lot of insight talking to some of the folks at the table and to this one very interesting gentleman who claims to have walked on water He was fun And and and I talked a little bit about, you know, why it is that I think at the LDS church Seems to be so attractive and in some ways I find myself Not defending it it is still very much a part of my family, which is difficult because you know, it's bullshit And it's it's really easy for me to say that but I I understand a little bit why people Swallow the bullshit in the Mormon church and that's because in order to have an answer for everything The answer start to get really crazy now people who are raised Catholic I think struggle with this idea of Okay, the Trinity it's like God and he gave birth to himself And that's really confusing and he's also a ghost that kind of hangs around I don't get it and then the answer is always oh well God works in mysterious ways and you've got to have faith and you know, that's gonna help you out and and I think that probably my parents To some extent they really started on that path of being truth seekers and I think that they were struggling with this idea and and they were interested in finding answers and Coming from this kind of safe place in the Catholic Church where they were confused all of the time where where where God works in Mysterious ways was not satisfactory to them anymore. They stumbled upon the Mormon church Well in the Mormon church, there is an answer to every question you might ask. Well, how can God give birth to a son? Oh, well or how can God give birth to himself? Well, it's not him. The Trinity is three separate beings that's what they teach in that church and How is it that we can interpret this scripture as inheriting our own kingdoms after we do? Oh, well, you just get your own planet It's a good deal for you and and and it starts to get kind of insane But the reason it's insane is because that curious kid who shows up to Sunday school because I don't get this How does this work? What's the answer to this? There's always an answer and it feeds you and you start to get more interested, which is why I held on until I was about 14 So I was baptized at eight because of course in the LDS church eight is the age of concept We all make the best decisions of our lives when we're eight years old I guess it's better than being an infant and having no choice in the matter But let's be honest what eight-year-old isn't just trying to impress their parents isn't just trying to do what they think their parents Want them to do so I was baptized. I went through the gamut. I baptized dead people. You guys have heard of this, right? It's weird They're not actually like dead bodies in the font or anything like that. These people are long dead But yeah, I did that I feel bad about that like I converted people after they die I mean, I know it's all bullshit anyway, and it really has no effect, but Looking back, it's kind of a weird thing And so so I was in that church. I was really in it, you know Sunday for three hours Wednesday for two hours Monday family home evening every day before school from at 6 a.m going to seminary studying the Bible the Book of Mormon the Pearl of Great Price the Doctrine and Covenants and Around the time that I was 14 I came to my father My parents were divorced at this point my mother I lived with my mother, but my father had joint custody and I went to his house For all of those times that I mentioned to be engaged in church activities And I went to my father and I said, you know dad, I don't I don't think I believe in God I'm I'm questioning this a lot. I'm a little confused about it and You know like the good Mormon that he was he said well care I have a moral obligation to God to force you to go to church until you're 18 as long as you live under my roof and being the kind of Let's say Revolutionary 14 year old that I was I said well, I guess I can maybe won't live under your roof anymore It was a tough decision to make at that time It was it was really was a Sophie's choice, but in so many ways I liken this unto anybody else who's coming out for any other reason It's so hard to pretend like you're something that you're not Year after year after year and I think it really starts to take a piece of you away And at that point in my life, and I don't regret this decision I knew that I couldn't do this anymore and that I was willing to risk a Relationship with the person that I was supposed to trust most in my life It's a lot kind of to be on the on the shoulders of a teenager But it was that important to me and since then you know, we've kind of reestablished our relationship We didn't we didn't speak for many years But I'm feeling much better about things things now even though there's always lingering issues And I'm sure many of you have dealt with that in the audience many of you Who decided to leave your church whatever church that may be and we're raised in the south like I was in Texas or raised in the Bible Belt raised in in a kind of controlling environment and disappointed your parents in doing so and it's a tough place to be but I think it's a testament to your strength and And I think that you guys are great examples I try to be an example for those kids who kind of feel like they're Maybe a little lost like all they know are other people in the church and something just doesn't feel right I think it's really important to kind of be true to yourself regardless of of how you do it and what that means to you so The interesting thing for me is that the atheism came first long before the science I Don't know if the atheism informed the science. I don't know if the science Reestablishes the atheism. I think probably there's there's an intermediate variable at play, you know confounding variable that is just this kind of angsty anti-spirit this questioning spirit this This personality trait that says I want to know the truth and I don't care Who is feeding me these lies? I don't care if it's going to get me in trouble I don't care if it's going to cause me grief But I need to understand and so, you know, I started school checking on my time here. Oh my god. No, okay, sorry I was like I have not been going for 30 minutes only 10 only 10 were good I Started school. I started college with an intention of studying vocal jazz performance like you know every normal child does Went to college at 16 Started studying studying music. I went to the University of North Texas amazing school for jazz music quickly realized that I hate playing piano and You got to really be pretty good at piano to major in what I wanted to major and got lazy smoked a lot of pot and Decided that you know, I'll get a psych degree. Why not that seems easy enough and And I started focusing on psychology. I Really focused on it I decided to get a bachelor of science as opposed to a bachelor of the arts so that I could understand the scientific method a Little bit takes some extra coursework in research methodology, right a thesis I got involved with a neuropsychologist in my kind of junior senior year and started seeing patients with brain damage and Became fascinated by their stories fascinated by the Situations they found themselves in fascinated by linking how they were as people by linking their behavior and their personalities to What had happened to them dramatically or to how they had had difficulties with development and ultimately I decided that I wanted to know more so I stuck around I got a master's degree in neurobiology where I specifically focused on cell culture techniques and and kind of some Parkinson's studies and After that I went to New York Thought that I would get my PhD in clinical neuropsychology fell in love with a boy moved to LA never finished the PhD You know life takes you on turns But it but it really opened a lot of interesting doors for me because I found that I always really loved being in the classroom I love teaching. I didn't so much love being at the microscope I didn't so much love having to sacrifice mice every day. I knew it was important It was a part of the work that I do. I'm a huge advocate of animal research, of course And and I'm I'm proud of the work that I did but I don't think it was for me I like teaching and I realized that kind of If I go through the media, I can teach a lot more people and I can teach them in more creative ways So so that's really how I made that transition into doing things on the web and doing things on television and doing podcasts and Trying to get out there and communicate science in that way So I mostly focused as I said I was I was working as the senior science correspondent for huff post and I was focused on kind of the hard sciences But then I started getting involved with the young Turks and that was really exciting for me because I started to realize that I was sort of in an echo chamber. We'll pretend like we're not in an echo chamber right now But I started to realize that When you communicate science sometimes you're lucky enough to do a video that goes viral You're lucky enough to do a story that a kind of an outside outlet picks up and shares around the web but a lot of times you're talking to people who are interested in hearing stories about science and Really, I wanted to reach those people who maybe don't think they want to learn about science or maybe Don't really know that there are atheists out there in the world and so I started to get involved doing more kind of political reporting and I love it. I love talking about current events I love talking about what's going on in the news and I specifically always try to maintain this focus on evidence-based thinking critical thinking on Thinking scientifically about things that aren't necessarily scientific because I am much less concerned about the kids Kids are scientists kids are naturally scientists. They're curious. I mean kids have the traits that scientists have They're born with them. We beat it out of them usually But most of the time at a young enough age kids are already exploring the natural world the way that scientists like to do I'm really concerned about the adults. I'm concerned about about their parents And I'm concerned about people who show up and they walk into that voting booth. I want those people To be able to exercise Their skeptical minds. I want those people to understand How to make decisions based on available evidence and that is what I'm always trying to communicate That's what I do as a science communicator. That's why I think science literacy needs to be improved in this country Not because I think we need to make new scientists. There will always be people amazing people who will do science but everybody should have the gift of Thinking scientifically everybody should be able to wear that lens That turns a light bulb on that illuminates dark corners and that squashes the fear That comes along with not knowing, you know, people talk about this This concern that as soon as you know how things work, it's gonna take the magic out of them well No offense to a to James, but I don't mind living in a world without real magic. I want to live in the world Where we understand why because when we understand why there aren't any monsters under our beds anymore There's a lot less to be afraid of so Where am I? Well, I'm pretty much there. So that brings me to today and I kind of already mentioned why it is Or how it is that I that I got into this this realm into this kind of Science meets news meets current events meets skepticism meets atheism. I don't know. It's a whole weird mishmash Mostly, I just know how to be me. I Talk the way that I talk and so far that has served me. Well, I Hope it continues to I know that this room is a room full of people Who I think hold similar values and it's a room full of people who? At whatever level are doing their part to do the same thing that I'm trying to do I have a media platform and I'm very grateful for that I'm very lucky to have that and I hope that I can hold on to that The way that I try to hold on to that is to be as genuine as possible and to really speak from the heart But everybody in this room. I know does the same thing that I do whether you do it on The web or you do it around the kitchen table or you do it around the water cooler. I urge you not to be afraid and I urge you to kind of come out of the darkness and To speak about these things with people who may not understand that skeptics that atheists are moral beings People who need to see strong examples so that we're no longer ranked lower On a self-report survey than rapists I'm not sure if you remember that study that came out Maybe about five years ago where individuals rank ordered a bunch of different types of people and Atheists were ranked lower in trustworthiness than rapists and The reason for that is because people don't understand They don't know that the guy living next door the guy who they borrow You know sugar from and who's loaned them their lawnmower is an atheist They don't know where we are because we're hiding oftentimes in these dark corners because we're still not accepted now I like to speak about science about skepticism and about atheism Out loud not because I'm trying to Convert that's not even the right word People not because I'm trying to bring more into my fold. It's not a fold. It's not an organization it's a lack thereof but because I I Think that we really are in an in an era right now where this is is probably going to be the next big Civil rights movement because we're still living in a culture We're just saying that you don't believe in God Prevents you from getting elected to public office We're saying that you don't believe in God could prevent you from getting a job You know we need to stand up and show people that We're just like everyone else We don't have horns. We're not going to hell. We don't believe in hell. So that would be difficult and We're strong moral people We have values with families. We give back to our community All of those things are important and you know why we do it because we want to not because we fear eternal retribution There's no better reason than that So I want to thank you guys so much for listening to my story brief as it was because what I'd really like to do now And I hope that you guys Actually have questions or comments or or any way to join the conversation. I'd love to be able to open it up to that Because like I said, I don't think it's really that interesting to be talked at for a half hour I'd rather speak with you. It's very hard for me to see though, and I also don't know if there's a moderate. Oh Look at that cheers. Thanks so much You know what? Let's do what we did last year really quick so we can not block anyone's view Let's form a line right here real quick. So come on up. We'll take our first one right here I'm gonna form a line right this way and that way you can see them and we're good to go Science editor at Huffington Post Correspondent Correspondent not the editor I wanted to make that clear because it sounds kind of like going into the belly of the beast I wondered if you would expand a little bit on how much you Flack you got for that from some of the other you said you had to stay away from medicine You had to stay away from D-Pak Chopra or whatever How did that work out for you? Yeah, um, you know what what's interesting Anybody here in the crowd today? Kind of a member of the science online community SIO science online. No, okay well science online is a great group of people who meet up every year and Basically who who communicate science online? They write blogs. They make videos. They're very engaged And we have a conference every year the very first year that I went was two years ago I was invited by Boris of Kovic She was the blog editor at Scientific American and he said I want you to come to this conference and you will have a target on your back Just David Dobbs is gonna grill the hell out of you Carl Zimmer is gonna be pissed off and and I said, okay, I'll go I'll go I'll take a bullet and that was a big part of what I did as the science correspondent for the Huffington Post is Operating this weird Middle space where I was kind of trying to defend the post But I was also trying to make sure that the public and that the scientific community understood Where I was coming from and for the most part I was really surprised and and pleasantly surprised and impressed to see how many people within the HuffPost community Saw what I did there as a breath of fresh air and really appreciated what I was doing there Interestingly enough one of my closest Or I should say most interesting Colleagues there was a religion reporter and he was a really good reporter and was always really interested We learned so much from each other. He did such a good job reporting religion We talked like for hours on end about about the LDS church He would call me when he needed to make sure that you know help with fact-checking and things like that So so it was tough But I really didn't have that much direct communication with the editors that were giving people like Jenny McCarthy and Deepak Chopra a mouthpiece I had to be a little bit Diplomatic, you know when I did the piece about the power of positive thinking I talked about Eckhart Tolle I talked about Deepak Chopra. I talked about Robbins I didn't so much talk about Oprah because I want to have a career I mean it was tough, you know because she was very much involved with HuffPost And and I wanted her picture to be the lead picture about why the power positive thinking movement is just destroying America But it is tough. Sometimes you have to kind of make those kinds of decisions But but you don't want to make those kinds of decisions at the risk of the content and so As as careful as I had to be I think I was very lucky in that regard I'll keep my answer shorter. Sorry. Hey Karen. My name is Steven. Hi Steven I was surprised how many first-tammers we have here last night at the Baxter and Brian show last night Can you talk a little bit about for maybe for first-tammers or atheists that are still kind of in the closet or So the science science-based Believers, how do they come out of the closet? What's the first steps? How do they not necessarily get involved in starting their own podcast or all those advanced steps? But those those just kind of how do you let people around you know? It's not okay to disparage atheists or to to talk about the great wonder of homeopathy Right, it's not easy. It's not easy and for me. I mean I think for me it was about Coming out to my parents. I think that was the first big step But it's tough, you know, I have a lot of LGBT friends and I know that kind of a mantra in the LGBT community Which I think is an important mantra is that you don't have to tell anybody you don't want to tell like it's your life It's your decision and I do feel very strongly about that When we're talking about your belief structure to if you're a very private person and you don't want to do that I'm not saying that you're doing anything wrong for not coming out and speaking up but Those of you who do and who said a really good kind of example in your community are helping Those those who are kind of scared and kind of hiding to be able to feel more comfortable to do that And so I think things like this are a great first step finding like-minded individuals finding them It's that's one of the best things about living in the internet age Is that you can actually find people who have the same ideals as you have when you might have grown up in a Small southern town where you literally didn't know anybody who didn't go to church Now all of a sudden you can go to an ex Mormon chat room and meet people all across the country Who are dealing with the same things that you're dealing with and so I think the first thing is finding your community? the first thing is finding people that you trust that you can kind of confide in and What happens is that you start to kind of gain a strength from that and you start to feel less like you're Going to fall without a safety net if you do speak up and you start to realize that well If I tell people that I don't believe and they hate me for that if I tell them that I don't believe and they Don't want to have anything to do with me anymore Why was I friends with those people to begin with and and so I think You know developing a cushion and putting putting people around you that are open-minded and that are interested is probably the first The first step to that. Hi. Thank you. I love what you're saying Thank you. I'm a United Methodist minister I I'm left-wing. I did a gay marriage back in 1971 but I'm wondering if if You believe that the empirical paradigm Does explain how everything works? Is that a theory supported by the empirical research or is it a statement of faith? I think that this is a really good question and it's something that I didn't really clarify Clarified it last night at the poker table. It's all blurring together. I didn't really clarify it up here But I feel very strongly I call myself an atheist and the reason I call myself an atheist is for simplicity's sake I got some tweets this morning from people like atheism is militant and agnosticism is the only true way And you know truth be told we're all agnostic. I feel very strongly about this We are all agnostic because it is impossible to use scientific methodology Science is the study of the natural world. You cannot study anything metaphysical or supernatural by definition With the tools of science now some people will say it's because it's not there Other people will say maybe it is there, but I can't interact with it in that way There's no way to gain empirical evidence about something that by definition is ineffable and untestable That being said I think we all live our lives either as theistic agnostics or atheistic agnostics For me the idea of a God doesn't factor into my daily life the idea of Being watched over of a great plan is not necessary. I'm not saying that science Like I'm not saying that you can disprove God Through scientific methodology, but I think that scientific methodology does Put me in a position at least To to look at the world that I live in look at the universe that I live in and say God is not necessary to explain Kind of the grandeur of the universe actually I've got to wrap up But I have a quote my most recent tattoo is like big and it's down my ribs And if you watch this episode of Star Talk radio with Neil deGrasse Tyson At live at the bell house. I'm talking about it in that episode and he like drags me to the front of the stage And like lifts up my shirt to show off my tattoo and somebody in the audience is like, how did you know she had that? Neil was like she told me come on But I have this tattoo on my ribs and it's a quote by Carl Sagan And it says we are a way for the cosmos to know itself and for me That's a really beautiful statement because a lot of people I think want to feel like there is a greater consciousness Like the cosmos itself has some sort of design some sort of plan. I don't believe in a collective consciousness I don't believe in anything supernatural and I love this because it's so poetic and it gives you it gives me that Spiritual I never use that word because it's like is meaningless to me It's an eye roll every time I hear the word spiritual drives me crazy But that whatever that is those chills that you get This idea that because we can contemplate on our place in the universe And we are made of the stuff of stars We are made of the same material that was produced in the furnace of a star being born That we in essence are away for the cosmos to know itself That thought to me is humbling enough and fantastic enough and amazing enough that I don't need God in my life To be able to explain why I'm here and and and what this all means But ultimately I think it is important that I make that distinction. I am an atheist Agnostic and you sir or a theistic agnostic and thank you for your comments. Thank you guys so so much for coming