Wonderfest: The 'Trial of the Century': Scopes at 100

2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the “Trial of the Century”: Tennessee vs. John T. Scopes, the first major legal assault against the teaching of evolution in America. Mostly because of the fictional movie Inherit the Wind, the Scopes “monkey trial” is wrongly perceived as a victory for evolution over the forces of obscurantism. The full story is much more complex and interesting, involving science, religion, law, education, politics, celebrities, modern communications, and the politicization of science.

Our Wonderfest speaker is physical anthropologist Dr. Eugenie Scott, author of Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction, and former director of the National Center for Science Education.