For Immediate Release January 28, 2013 Lola Gregg [email protected]

NOTED AUTHOR TO SPEAK IN SPRING GREEN

Steve Paulson, author of Atoms and Eden and Executive Producer of the popular NPR feature program “To the Best of Our Knowledge” is slated to speak in Spring Green on 3:00 p.m., March 10, 2013. The program is sponsored by Grassroots Citizens of Wisconsin and hosted by Arcadia Books.

In Atoms and Eden: Conversations on Religion and Science, Paulson, who is a Peabody Award-winning journalist and contributing writer for “Slate,” “Huffington Post” and other publications, explores a number of important and interesting topics: The , the origins of life, the nature of consciousness, the foundations of religion, the meaning of God, and many more. In his conversations, he talks with some of the most prominent intellectuals of our , including , Karen Armstrong, E.O. Wilson, Sam Harris, Elaine Pagels, , Daniel Dennett, , Paul Davies and Steve Weinberg. The interviewees include Christians, Buddhists, Jews and Muslims, as well as agnostics, atheists, and other scholars whose perspectives challenge description.

Collectively, these engaging dialogues cover the major issues that have often pitted science against religion—from the origins of the universe to debates about God, Darwin, the nature of reality and the limits of human reason. These are complex, intellectually rich discussions, presented in an accessible manner. In his Spring Green presentation, Paulson will extend the conversation to include the wider community of southwest Wisconsin, where many have read and discussed his book over the past several months.

Born in Rome, Paulson grew up in Milwaukee and graduated with a degree in European literature from Earlham College. His radio reports have been broadcast regularly on NPR’s Morning Edition and “All Things Considered.” As an interviewer with the national team for “To the Best of Our Knowledge,” Paulson has specialized in covering environmental issues and popular culture. He's especially fascinated by the stories of field biologists. "I find these people both inspiring and admirable," he says, "because they manage to combine science with difficult conservation work." He, his wife interviewer Ann Strainchamps and their two children live and work in Madison.

Atoms and Eden: Conversations on Religion and Science was published by Oxford University Press in 2010. It is available through local libraries and may be purchased on the evening of Paulson’s presentation. ########