Next month Ince is heading to Australia to perform his one-man show, Happiness Through Science. His visit is funded by the Atheist Foundation. Not surprisingly, Ince has often wondered – evolution and cosmology being what they are – why so many people still believe that a supernatural force plays a commanding role in life and history. "I think we're evolved to want certainty," he says. "I think the battle against fundamentalist belief – whether in religion or in politics – is the greatest battle there is. I think the idea of getting rid of religion is pretty unlikely – there's always going to be some room left for mysticism. But I think we should encourage the idea of doubt. "The thing with science is that in the majority of subjects, especially materialistic subjects, it's the best answer. It may not be 100 per cent correct all the time, but it's the 'least wrong' answer." The notion of doubt, of constantly testing one's assumptions, is central to scientific practice. It is also, of course, utterly antithetical to religious practice, wherein faith is fundamental. And that means that communication across the divide is often difficult.

"This is one of the battles that we have. People often say, well, take climate change – not even the scientists are certain. And you say, yes, they are the most likely to be not certain, but their uncertainty is based on incredible levels of rigour." Ince has been disconcerted lately during radio interviews with American scientists. "When they're asked a question that invites conjecture, they get really worried," he says. "They seem to feel such a level of scrutiny by so many special interest groups. They don't want to say things in case a creationist picks up on it. They might be very pugilistic on their blogs, but on air they feel that they have to be very careful. "That's a very worrying thing, when the world's leading scientific culture is in a battle with the forces of mysticism." Guests on The Infinite Monkey Cage have ranged from cosmologist Neil deGrasse Tyson and physician-cum-author Ben Goldacre to comedians Alexei Sayle and Eric Idle.

"We had the head of the Royal Society on once," says Ince. "He was nervous about it. We said, look, you've won a Nobel Prize; you've changed the world. We're just going to dick around for an hour." The show, now entering its 12th series, has proved an unexpected success, confounding the received wisdom that serious science and daft jokes should never occupy the same broadcast space. "We love doing it," he says. "I can talk for Brian on this matter. I would never talk for him on particle physics, because he is what he is and I am a fool, and I accept that. It's one of the reasons our relationship works. You will never hear me say, 'Well, Brian, I'm really going to take you to task on these equations'." Ince laments a number of anti-science positions that currently influence political decision-making in the developed world, such as the anti-vaccination debate. Where other science communicators (and prominent atheists) such as Richard Dawkins are wont to vent the frustrations that arise from confronting such evidence-free positions, Ince remains resolutely calm and refuses to belittle his opponents. He is an entertainer first and foremost, and knows how to keep an audience onside.

On stage, he is far more likely to celebrate the triumphs and foibles of science than mock religion. He tells, for instance, a delightful story concerning an experiment conducted by Charles Darwin in order to test whether earthworms could hear. The great naturalist collected a number of worms from his back garden, and then watched for reaction as, one by one, he played a tin whistle and a bassoon, then shouted at them, before finally carrying them into his drawing room for a piano recital. Darwin concluded, on impressive experimental evidence, that earthworms are as deaf as posts. In writing up his results, he reflected that his own brain was a "chaos of delight" – a phrase that Ince finds glorious. "In terms of the tours and the science shows that I do, the main thing is to not offer a harsh critique of where we think people are wrong," he says. "Instead, I try to offer the beautiful imagery and ideas that things like the theory of evolution can give you. I try to talk about the journey that has led to the variety of life on the only planet that we know of that actually has life." He and Cox are hoping to record a series of The Infinite Monkey Cage in Australia next year. For the moment, though, he's focused on his solo show, which may well be a cheering exercise, especially for the hundreds of scientists currently facing unemployment, for whom recent chaos has been far from delightful, and who fear that those in power are, like earthworms, deaf to the music of science. Robin Ince is touring Australia during April, appearing at Storey Hall, Melbourne, on April 18 and the Seymour Centre, Sydney, on April 25. Tickets: atheistfoundation.org.au/robinince

The Infinite Monkey Cage podcasts: bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/timc