Bestselling Authors Deepak Chopra and Leonard Mlodinow Release Landmark Debate Moderated by Larry King on YouTube

NEW YORK, Oct. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Bestselling authors Deepak Chopra and Leonard Mlodinow announce today the release of a landmark debate about the conflict between science and spirituality moderated by one of the world's most famous journalists, Larry King.

The debate will be released on Deepak Chopra's YouTube channel in four parts over the course of four days, available starting Tuesday, October 18th at 7pm EDT. There will be a live chat following the final episode. Deepak Chopra's YouTube channel is available at: Deepak Chopra Global YouTube as well as at his website DeepakChopra.com.

Two of the world's foremost authorities on spirituality and science, Deepak Chopra and Leonard Mlodinow face off on some of the most fundamental questions that have intrigued humanity for hundreds of years, including how the universe began, where life comes from, and whether or not Darwinism fully explains evolution. The YouTube debate series was inspired by their collaboration on War of the Worldviews: Science vs. Spirituality, a new book published by Harmony Books on October 4, 2011.

In the YouTube debate with Larry King, Mlodinow defends his controversial position that science does not -- and cannot -- conclude that God is an illusion. And Chopra explains that his definition of spirituality is separate from organized religion. Both agree that a literal view of the bible is an outmoded way of thinking. "This will go down as one of the more important books of this decade," said Larry King, of War of the Worldviews.

"We are thrilled that Larry King, one of the legendary broadcasters of all time, has joined Leonard Mlodinow and me for a YouTube event that epitomizes the exciting new ways that authors and thinkers can connect with and engage with audiences around the world."

The author of over sixty books and nineteen New York Times bestsellers, Deepak Chopra has been widely recognized for his innovative use of social and digital media to share his message. He has nearly 650,000 followers on Twitter (@DeepakChopra) and fifty thousand friends on Facebook. He writes over 200 blogs a year for outlets such as Huffington Post, SFgate.com, The Washington Post's On Faith site, Intentblog.com, and Beliefnet.com, among others. His own radio and podcast channel, Deepak Chopra Radio on BlogTalk Radio, will debut soon.

"I can't get my message out without adapting to the new landscape," said Chopra, who tweets many times a day. "As a group, we writers won't survive until we figure out how to place books in the global conversation, and YouTube represents one great way to accomplish this."

Leonard Mlodinow received his PhD in theoretical physics from the University of California at Berkeley and currently teaches at Caltech. His books include Feynman's Rainbow, Euclid's Window, and The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives, which was a New York Times Bestseller, Editor's Choice, and 2008 Notable Book of the Year. Mlodinow is the writing collaborator of Stephen Hawking and co-author of the recently published The Grand Design, a book that argues that invoking God is not necessary to explain the origins of the universe.

Deepak Chopra, MD, FACP is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, Adjunct Professor of Executive Programs at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and Senior Scientist with The Gallup Organization. TIME magazine has described Deepak Chopra as one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century and credits him as "the poet-prophet of alternative medicine." He also has a multi-media speaker series HomeBase, a physical and a virtual salon he created with ABC Carpet & Home CEO Paulette Cole. His new reality TV show "Dinner with Deepak" will air on the SyFy Channel.

SOURCE The Crown Publishing Group