The Michael Shermer Show

By Michael Shermer

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Category: Natural Sciences

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Subscribers: 1420
Reviews: 2
Episodes: 424


 Nov 6, 2022


 Nov 17, 2020

Description

The Michael Shermer Show is a series of long-form conversations between Dr. Michael Shermer and leading scientists, philosophers, historians, scholars, writers and thinkers about the most important issues of our time.

Episode Date
How to Repair America’s Broken Democracy
Mar 26, 2024
Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren't Growing Up
Mar 23, 2024
An Unfinished History of the Holocaust
Mar 19, 2024
The Weirdness of the World
Mar 16, 2024
The Story of Female Empowerment & Getting Canceled: Elite Commando and Kickboxing World Champion Leah Goldstein
Mar 12, 2024
Who Wrote the Qur’an, Why, and What Does it Really Say?
Mar 09, 2024
Purpose in the Eyes of a Psychiatrist
Mar 05, 2024
Does Humanity Function as a Single Superorganism?
Mar 02, 2024
The Power of Noticing What Was Always There
Feb 27, 2024
China's Grip on Rare-Earth Elements and the Future of Global Energy Security
Feb 24, 2024
mRNA Vaccines, Mask Mandates, and the COVID-19 Response (Paul Offit)
Feb 20, 2024
Foster Care, Family, and Social Class
Feb 17, 2024
How US Public Health Has Strayed From Its Liberal Roots
Feb 13, 2024
Against the New Politics of Identity
Feb 10, 2024
What Determines Who Succeeds in the NBA?
Feb 06, 2024
Transforming Mental Health: Little Treatments, Big Effects
Feb 03, 2024
Overcoming Self-Censorship in the Age of Outrage
Jan 30, 2024
One Couple’s Vacation Caused 100,000 People to Die
Jan 27, 2024
Head of TED Talks Shares a New Vision of Generosity
Jan 23, 2024
Are Parallel Universes and Extra Dimensions Real?
Jan 17, 2024
Michael Shellenberger Explains Government Censorship of Social Media
Jan 09, 2024
Multiculturalism and Lessons From the Rwandan Genocide
Jan 03, 2024
The Meaning of Life (A Message for the Holidays)
Dec 24, 2023
A Trial by Media Ended Caylan Ford’s Career in 4 Hours
Dec 19, 2023
How Not to Age
Dec 16, 2023
How to Cultivate Your Imagination as an Adult
Dec 12, 2023
Nobel Prize Winner Explains Inequality and Capitalism
Dec 05, 2023
The Purpose of the Universe
Dec 02, 2023
How Media, Politics, and Identity Drive Our Appetite for Misinformation
Nov 28, 2023
JFK 60th Anniversary of the Assassination
Nov 22, 2023
The Scientific Search for Alien Life
Nov 18, 2023
Ayaan Hirsi Ali Converted to Christianity
Nov 15, 2023
UFO: The Inside Story of the U.S. Government's Search for Alien Life
Nov 14, 2023
Identity Politics and its Discontents
Nov 11, 2023
What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things? (Dan Ariely)
Nov 07, 2023
The Role of Iran in the Israel-Hamas Conflict
Nov 04, 2023
The Secret History of Women at the CIA
Oct 31, 2023
America and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Oct 27, 2023
Cancel Culture and What to Do About It (Greg Lukianoff & Rikki Schlott)
Oct 24, 2023
Robert Sapolsky on Free Will and Determinism
Oct 17, 2023
Armageddon in the Middle East? (David Wolpe)
Oct 13, 2023
Should Employers Pay For Emotional Labor?
Oct 10, 2023
Dan Dennett Looks Back on His Career
Oct 03, 2023
How the American Right Became Radicalized
Sep 27, 2023
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT
Sep 26, 2023
Ways of Thinking That Power Successful People
Sep 19, 2023
How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy
Sep 12, 2023
The Law vs. Separation of Church and State
Sep 05, 2023
Based on DNA Testing, Only One Twin Was Granted U.S. Citizenship. Why?
Sep 01, 2023
Evidence of Aliens? Harvard Astronomer Avi Loeb
Aug 29, 2023
Slavery in the U.S. Analyzed by a Pulitzer Prize-Winning Lawyer and Historian (Ed Larson)
Aug 22, 2023
Maybe "Good Enough" Is Actually Enough? When Perfectionism Backfires.
Aug 15, 2023
Is a Human Life Worth $10 Million or Only $187,000? (Bjorn Lomborg)
Aug 08, 2023
Why We Get Fooled
Aug 01, 2023
The Saad Truth About Happiness
Jul 25, 2023
Christopher Rufo Decodes Cultural Shifts in America
Jul 18, 2023
The Truth About Martin Luther King Jr.
Jul 12, 2023
An Outsider’s Perspective on American Culture Wars
Jul 05, 2023
Children and Politics
Jun 27, 2023
The Future of Medicine: What You Need to Know
Jun 20, 2023
Michael Shellenberger on UFO Whistleblowers
Jun 14, 2023
Is the Government Hiding Aliens?
Jun 08, 2023
A Guide to Violence and Self-Defense.
Jun 06, 2023
Identity or Merit: What Matters More? (Heather Mac Donald)
May 30, 2023
Are We Risking Our Ability to Think?
May 27, 2023
Quantum Computers Will Change Everything (Michio Kaku)
May 25, 2023
What Happened to Women’s Rights?
May 23, 2023
My Final Lecture: What I Learned About Living a Good Life
May 18, 2023
Could the American Economy Collapse Like Venezuela’s? (Mark Skousen)
May 16, 2023
Scams and Frauds: A Skeptic's Survival Guide
May 13, 2023
What if You Were Born 50 Years Earlier?
May 09, 2023
How Can God Feel So Real?
May 06, 2023
Will We Ever Live in a Post-race World?
May 04, 2023
346. Kennon Sheldon — What the New Psychology of the Self Teaches Us About Free Will, Determinism, and Self-Determinism
May 02, 2023
345. Matt Johnson — How Hitchens Can Save the Left: Rediscovering Fearless Liberalism in an Age of Counter-Enlightenment
Apr 29, 2023
344. What is a Woman, Anyway?
Apr 26, 2023
343. Timothy Redmond — Political Tribalism in America: How Hyper-Partisanship Dumbs Down Democracy and How to Fix It
Apr 25, 2023
342. Valerie Fridland — Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English
Apr 22, 2023
341. Secret Scientists & Real Conspiracies — John Lisle on Stanley Lovell, the OSS precursor to the CIA, and the Masterminds of World War II Secret Warfare
Apr 18, 2023
340. Ben Alderson-Day — Presence: The Strange Science and True Stories of the Unseen Other
Apr 15, 2023
339. Gerald and Patricia Posner on Evil
Apr 11, 2023
338. AI SciFi — Physicist, Science Fiction Author, and AI Expert David Brin on ChatGPT and Whether AI Poses an Existential Threat
Apr 08, 2023
337. On the Origin of Time — Thomas Hertog on Stephen Hawking’s Final Theory
Apr 01, 2023
336. The Sacred Depths of Nature — Ursula Goodenough on How to Find Sacred Scientific Spirituality
Mar 28, 2023
335. Jennifer Michael Hecht on How to Find Meaning, Purpose, and Happiness in Everyday Life
Mar 25, 2023
334. The End of the World: Bart Ehrman on What the Bible Really Says About the End
Mar 21, 2023
333. Kevin Kelly — ChatGPT, OpenAI, and Excellent Advice for Living
Mar 18, 2023
332. Wrongfully Convicted, Ultimately Acquitted — Amanda Knox on Criminal Injustice and Why It Happens
Mar 14, 2023
331. Paul Zak — Immersion: The Science of the Extraordinary and the Source of Happiness
Mar 11, 2023
330. Jim Davies — How to Be a Better Person
Mar 07, 2023
329. Marc Schulz — The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness
Mar 04, 2023
328. Paul Bloom — Psych: The Story of the Human Mind
Feb 28, 2023
327. Rachel Moran on Her Years in Prostitution, How She Got Out of It, and Why She Thinks It Is a Form of Sexual Exploitation
Feb 25, 2023
326. Naomi Oreskes — The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market
Feb 21, 2023
325. Heinrich Päs — The One: How an Ancient Idea Holds the Future of Physics
Feb 18, 2023
324. Andrew Gold on Exorcism, Abortion, Pedophilia, Sex & UFOs
Feb 14, 2023
323. Elle Hardy — Beyond Belief: How Pentecostal Christianity Is Taking Over the World
Feb 11, 2023
322. Marty Klein — Sex Matters
Feb 07, 2023
321. William Magnuson — For Profit: A History of Corporations
Feb 04, 2023
320. Massimo Pigliucci — How to Live a Good Life and Create a Just Society
Jan 31, 2023
319. Steven Hassan — Combatting Cult Mind Control, Freedom of Mind, and The Cult of Trump
Jan 28, 2023
318. Suzie Sheehy — The Matter of Everything: How Curiosity, Physics, and Improbable Experiments Changed the World
Jan 24, 2023
317. Dacher Keltner — Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life
Jan 21, 2023
316. Daniel Akst on the Pacifists of the Greatest Generation Who Revolutionized Resistance
Jan 17, 2023
315. David Bernstein — Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America
Jan 14, 2023
314. Martin Rees — Can Science Save Us?
Jan 03, 2023
313. Matthew Cobb — As Gods: A Moral History of the Genetic Age
Dec 27, 2022
312. Louise Perry — The Case Against the Sexual Revolution: A New Guide to Sex in the 21st Century
Dec 24, 2022
311. Meghan Daum — The Problem With Everything: My Journey Through the New Culture Wars
Dec 20, 2022
310. Todd Kashdan — The Art of Insubordination: How to Dissent and Defy Effectively
Dec 13, 2022
309. India Thusi on Sex Work, Critical Race Theory, and Moral Progress
Dec 06, 2022
308. Iris Berent — The Blind Storyteller: How We Reason About Human Nature
Nov 29, 2022
307. Nicholas Dirks on Science Denial, Distrust, and Skepticism
Nov 22, 2022
306. Stephon Alexander — Fear of a Black Universe: An Outsider’s Guide to the Future of Physics
Nov 15, 2022
305. Bethanne Patrick — Book World
Nov 08, 2022
304. Justin Gregg — If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal: What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human Stupidity
Nov 01, 2022
303. Michael Shermer — Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational
Oct 25, 2022
302. Tim Palmer — The Primacy of Doubt
Oct 18, 2022
301. Alan Blinder — A Monetary and Fiscal History of the United States
Oct 11, 2022
300. Saleem Ali — Earthly Order: How Natural Laws Define Human Life
Oct 04, 2022
299. Richard Reeves — Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It
Sep 29, 2022
298. Neil deGrasse Tyson — Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization
Sep 20, 2022
297. Andrew Doyle — How the Religion of Social Justice Captured the Western World
Sep 13, 2022
296. Stephen Bloom on Jane Elliott’s Famous Experiment on Race and Brutality and What It Reveals About Today’s Racial Divide
Sep 06, 2022
295. Marian Tupy & Gale Pooley — Superabundance: The Story of Population Growth, Innovation, and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet
Aug 30, 2022
294. Sabine Hossenfelder — Existential Physics: A Scientist’s Guide to Life’s Biggest Questions
Aug 23, 2022
293. Konstantin Kisin — An Immigrant’s Love Letter to the West
Aug 19, 2022
292. Gary Marcus — Rebooting AI: Building Artificial Intelligence We Can Trust
Aug 16, 2022
291. Rob Ashton — Silent Influence and the Science of Writing, Reading, and Communicating
Aug 09, 2022
290. Anastacia Marx de Salcedo — Eat like a Pig, Run Like a Horse
Aug 02, 2022
289. James Kirchick — Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington
Jul 26, 2022
288. Lucy Cooke — Bitch: On the Female of the Species
Jul 19, 2022
287. Bobby Azarian — Life, the Universe, and Cosmic Complexity
Jul 12, 2022
286. Kevin McCaffree — How Societies Change and Why
Jul 09, 2022
285. Helen Joyce — Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality
Jul 05, 2022
284. Yoram Hazony on Traditional Conservatism vs. Enlightenment Liberalism
Jun 28, 2022
283. Michael Strevens — The Knowledge Machine: How Irrationality Created Modern Science
Jun 25, 2022
282. Anil Seth on the Hard Problem of Consciousness, the Self, and the Essence of Volition
Jun 21, 2022
281. Moneyball For Your Life: Seth Stephens-Davidowitz on Using Data to Get What You Really Want
Jun 18, 2022
280. Sam Rosenfeld on Party Polarization in the Postwar United States
Jun 14, 2022
279. Ian Morris on Deep Time and Big History
Jun 11, 2022
278. “Big Historian” David Christian on Time, the Near and Far Future, Transhumanism, Interstellar Migrations, the Fate of Our Species, and the End of Time
Jun 07, 2022
277. Michel Gagné — How to Think About Conspiracy Theories
Jun 04, 2022
276. Andrew Yang — Not Left. Not Right. Forward.
May 31, 2022
275. The Disrupted Mind: Noga Arikha on What Happens to Identity When the Brain Is Assaulted by Disease and Injury
May 28, 2022
274. Frans De Waal on Sex and Gender Across the Primate Spectrum
May 24, 2022
273. Cathy Young — The Russian Riddle Wrapped in a Ukrainian Mystery Inside an American Enigma
May 21, 2022
272. Stuart Vyse — The Uses of Delusion: Why It’s Not Always Rational to Be Rational
May 17, 2022
271. Peter Ward — The Price of Immortality: The Race to Live Forever
May 14, 2022
270. Surprising Power of Game Theory to Explain Irrationality (Moshe Hoffman and Erez Yoeli)
May 10, 2022
269. Richard Dawkins — Flights of Fancy: Defying Gravity by Design and Evolution
May 07, 2022
268. Douglas Murray on The War on the West: Race, Politics, and Culture
May 03, 2022
267. Louis Theroux on Neo-Nazis, Jimmy Savile, UFO Cults, and Scientology
Apr 30, 2022
266. Jesse Singal on Why Fad Psychology Can’t Cure Our Social Ills
Apr 26, 2022
265. Christopher Blattman on Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace
Apr 23, 2022
264. Adam Levin on Identity Theft and How to Protect Yourself from Scammers, Phishers, and Fraudsters of All Types
Apr 18, 2022
263. Dave Rubin — Left, Right, and Woke, based on his book Don’t Burn This Country: Surviving and Thriving in Our Woke Dystopia
Apr 16, 2022
262. Oliver Stone on Ukraine, Putin, and the Military-Industrial Complex
Apr 12, 2022
261. Jim Al-Khalili on the Joy of Science
Apr 09, 2022
260. Batya Ungar-Sargon — Bad News: How Woke Media Is Undermining Democracy
Apr 05, 2022
259. Ogi Ogas — Journey of the Mind: How Thinking Emerged from Chaos
Apr 02, 2022
258. Jacek Kugler — Putin & Power Transition Theory: China, Russia, and Ukraine
Mar 29, 2022
257. Simon Conway Morris on Design in Evolution & the Possibility of Purpose in the Cosmos
Mar 26, 2022
256. Imagining the Future with Reality Game Designer and Futurist Jane McGonigal
Mar 22, 2022
255. David Chalmers — Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy
Mar 19, 2022
254. Ravi Gupta on the Lost Debate: Whatever Happened to Reasoned Discussion and Respectable Disagreement?
Mar 15, 2022
253. Jennifer Sciubba on Putin, Russia, Ukraine, National & Global Security, and How Population Demographics Shape Our Future
Mar 12, 2022
252. John Mueller on Putin’s War: Russia, Ukraine, and NATO
Mar 08, 2022
251. Kelly Weill on Flat Earthers, Conspiracy Culture, and Why People Will Believe Anything
Mar 01, 2022
250. Will Sanctions Work? War in Ukraine.
Feb 25, 2022
249. Barbara F. Walter on How Civil Wars Start and How to Stop Them, including in the United States
Feb 22, 2022
248. Elizabeth Weiss on Woke Archaeology and Erasing the Past
Feb 15, 2022
247. Jacob Mchangama on Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media
Feb 08, 2022
246. Nick Pope on UAPs, UFOs, Conspiracies, and Cover-ups
Feb 01, 2022
245. Frank Sulloway on How Lives Turn Out: Genes, Environment, Pluck, and Luck
Jan 29, 2022
244. Johnjoe McFadden — Life is Simple: How Occam’s Razor Set Science Free and Shapes the UniverseMcFadden — Life is Simple: How Occam’s Razor Set Science Free and Shapes the Universe
Jan 25, 2022
243. Sally Satel on Addiction, the Opioid Crisis, Deaths of Despair, and How Psychiatry Has Gone Woke
Jan 22, 2022
242. Jonathan Gottschall — The Story Paradox: How Our Love of Storytelling Builds Societies and Tears Them Down
Jan 18, 2022
241. Jeff Maurer — I Might Be Wrong
Jan 15, 2022
240. Leonard Mlodinow — Emotional: How Feelings Shape Our Thinking
Jan 11, 2022
239. Richard Firth-Godbehere — A Human History of Emotion: How the Way We Feel Built the World We Know
Jan 04, 2022
238. Brian Klass — Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How it Changes Us
Dec 28, 2021
237. David Wengrow on The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity
Dec 21, 2021
236. Fernanda Pirie on The Rule of Laws: A 4,000-Year Quest to Order the World
Dec 18, 2021
235. Thomas Sowell: The Life and Work of the Legendary Social Theorist (Jason Riley)
Dec 14, 2021
234. Matt Ridley on the Search for the Origin of COVID-19
Dec 11, 2021
233. Goodbye Pat Linse, Skeptic Co-founder and My Best Friend…
Dec 07, 2021
232. Amishi Jha on Learning How to Pay Attention to Your Attention
Dec 04, 2021
231. Jason Hill on What White Americans Owe Black People
Nov 30, 2021
230. Bart Ehrman — Did the Christmas Story Really Happen? The Birth of Jesus in History & Legend
Nov 27, 2021
229. Fritjof Capra on Patterns of Connection: Is there a Tao of physics? Is life a web? Is humanity at a turning point?
Nov 23, 2021
228. Steven Koonin on what climate science tells us, what it doesn’t, and why it matters, based on his book Unsettled
Nov 20, 2021
227. Richard Nisbett on Thinking & Reason
Nov 16, 2021
226. Suzanne Nossel on defending free speech for all, based on her book Dare to Speak
Nov 13, 2021
225. Nancy Segal — Deliberately Divided: Inside the Controversial Study of Twins and Triplets Adopted Apart
Nov 09, 2021
224. Bobby Duffy on The Generation Myth: Why When You’re Born Matters Less Than You Think
Nov 06, 2021
223. Paul Bloom on the pleasures of suffering and the meaning of life
Nov 02, 2021
222. Suzanne O’Sullivan on psychosomatic disorders and other mystery illnesses
Oct 30, 2021
221. Antonio Damasio — Feeling & Knowing: Making Minds Conscious
Oct 26, 2021
220. Charles Foster on Being a Human: Adventures in Forty Thousand Years of Consciousness
Oct 23, 2021
219. In-Person Conversation (in Shermer’s Home) with Steven Pinker on Rationality: What it is, Why it Seems Scarce, Why it Matters in Shermer’s Home
Oct 19, 2021
218. Craig Whitlock — The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War
Oct 16, 2021
217. Mary Grabar on the 1619 Project, Howard Zinn, Historical Revisionism, and Pseudohistory
Oct 12, 2021
216. Kathryn Paige Harden — The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality
Oct 09, 2021
215. Mary Eberstadt on God, Religion, Secularization, Sexual Revolution, and Identity Politics
Oct 05, 2021
214. Tom Nichols — Our Own Worst Enemy: The Assault From Within on Modern Democracy
Oct 02, 2021
213. Mike Rothschild — The Storm Is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of Everything
Sep 28, 2021
212. Gale Sinatra & Barbara Hofer — Science Denial: Why It Happens and What to Do About It
Sep 25, 2021
211. Ashley Rindsberg — The Gray Lady Winked: How the New York Times’s Misreporting, Distortions and Fabrications Radically Alter History
Sep 21, 2021
210. Leidy Klotz on doing more with less, based on his book Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less
Sep 18, 2021
209. Heather Heying & Bret Weinstein on Evolution and the Challenges of Modern Life, Based on Their New Book a Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century
Sep 14, 2021
208. The Truth About 9/11 and Terrorism
Sep 10, 2021
207. John Petrocelli — The Life-Changing Science of Detecting Bullshit
Sep 07, 2021
206. Nichola Raihani — The Social Instinct: How Cooperation Shaped the World
Sep 04, 2021
205. Richard Dawkins on evangelizing for evolution, science, skepticism, philosophy, reason, and rationality, based on his book Books Do Furnish a Life: Reading and Writing Science
Sep 01, 2021
204. Carole Hooven on T: The Story of Testosterone, the Hormone that Dominates and Divides Us
Aug 28, 2021
203. Lee McIntyre — How to Talk to a Science Denier: Conversations with Flat Earthers, Climate Deniers, and Others Who Defy Reason
Aug 24, 2021
202. Julia Galef — The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don’t
Aug 21, 2021
201. Michael Shermer on Evolution, I.D. Theory, Consciousness, Morality, Gullibility, and Nothing (AMA # 7)
Aug 18, 2021
200. Philip Zimbardo on the Nature & Nurture of Good & Evil
Aug 15, 2021
199. David Potter — Disruption: Why Things Change
Aug 10, 2021
198. Bernardo Kastrup on the Nature of Reality: Materialism, Idealism, or Skepticism
Aug 07, 2021
197. Yaron Brook on Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, and Objectivism
Aug 03, 2021
196. Annie Murphy Paul — The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain
Jul 31, 2021
195. Jamy Ian Swiss — The Conjuror’s Conundrum
Jul 27, 2021
194. John Mackey (Founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market) on Conscious Capitalism & Conscious Leadership
Jul 21, 2021
193. Chris Edwards on Educational Reform and Thought Experiments
Jul 17, 2021
192. Lesley Newson & Peter Richerson — A New Look at Human Evolution
Jul 10, 2021
191. Michael Gordin on the Fringe of Where Science Meets Pseudoscience
Jul 03, 2021
190. Jonathan Rauch — The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth
Jun 26, 2021
189. Daniel Kahneman — Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment
Jun 19, 2021
188. Legendary Undersea Explorer Robert Ballard — Into the Deep: A Memoir From the Man Who Found Titanic
Jun 16, 2021
187. Robert Cialdini — Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
Jun 08, 2021
186. William Nordhaus on the Economics of Global Warming, Pandemics, and Corporate Malfeasance
Jun 02, 2021
185. Stephen Meyer — Return of the God Hypothesis: Three Scientific Discoveries that Reveal the Mind Behind the Universe (and why Shermer remains skeptical)
May 29, 2021
184. Alexander Green on Money & Why It Matters
May 25, 2021
183. Bari Weiss & Bion Bartning — The Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism
May 22, 2021
182. A Conversation With UFOlogist Alan Steinfeld on How Believers and Skeptics Think About UFOs
May 18, 2021
181. David Buss — When Men Behave Badly: The Hidden Roots of Sexual Deception, Harassment, and Assault
May 15, 2021
180. Andy Norman — Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think
May 11, 2021
179. Niall Ferguson — Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe
May 08, 2021
178. James Hunter & Paul Nedelisky on religious vs. secular morality — Science and the Good: The Tragic Quest for the Foundations of Morality
May 04, 2021
177. Angus Fletcher — 25 Most Powerful Inventions in the History of Literature
May 01, 2021
176. Minouche Shafik — What We Owe Each Other: A New Social Contract for a Better Society
Apr 27, 2021
175. Brian Keating — How it All Began: Cosmic Inflation, the Multiverse, and the Nature of Scientific Proof
Apr 24, 2021
174. Jordan Peterson — Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life
Apr 20, 2021
173. Naomi Oreskes — Why Trust Science?
Apr 17, 2021
172. Andrew Doyle — Free Speech: And Why it Matters
Apr 13, 2021
171. John Mueller — The Stupidity of War: American Foreign Policy and the Case for Complacency
Apr 10, 2021
170. Michio Kaku — The God Equation: The Quest for a Theory of Everything
Apr 06, 2021
169. Jeff Hawkins — A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence
Apr 03, 2021
168. Daniel Dennett & Gregg Caruso — Just Deserts: Debating Free Will (moderated by Michael Shermer)
Mar 30, 2021
167. Gary Taubes — The Case for Keto: Rethinking Weight Control and the Science and Practice of Low-Carb/High-Fat Eating
Mar 23, 2021
166. Mine! How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives (Michael Heller & James Salzman)
Mar 20, 2021
165. John McWhorter — The Elect: Neoracists Posing as Antiracists and Their Threat to a Progressive America
Mar 16, 2021
164. Neil deGrasse Tyson — Cosmic Queries: StarTalk’s Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We’re Going
Mar 13, 2021
163. Helen Pluckrose — Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, Gender, and Identity—and Why This Harms Everybody
Mar 09, 2021
162. Benjamin Friedman — Religion and the Rise of Capitalism
Mar 06, 2021
161. Roy Richard Grinker — Nobody’s Normal: How Culture Created the Stigma of Mental Illness
Mar 02, 2021
160. Abigail Shrier — Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters
Feb 27, 2021
159. Joshua Glasgow — The Solace: Finding Value in Death Through Gratitude for Life
Feb 23, 2021
158. Jason D. Hill — We Have Overcome: An Immigrant’s Letter to The American People
Feb 20, 2021
157. Avi Loeb — Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth
Feb 16, 2021
156. Ayaan Hirsi Ali — Prey: Immigration, Islam, and the Erosion of Women’s Rights
Feb 09, 2021
155. Martin Sherwin — Gambling with Armageddon: Nuclear Roulette from Hiroshima to The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1945–1962
Feb 02, 2021
154. David Sloan Wilson — Atlas Hugged: The Autobiography of John Galt III
Jan 26, 2021
153. Kevin Dutton — Black-and-White Thinking: The Burden of a Binary Brain in a Complex World
Jan 19, 2021
152. Politics & Truth — Michael Shermer Responds to Critics of His Commentary “Trump & Truth”
Jan 17, 2021
151. Trump & Truth — A Commentary by Michael Shermer
Jan 12, 2021
150. Daniel Lieberman — Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding
Jan 05, 2021
149. The After Time: The Future of Civilization After COVID-19
Dec 29, 2020
148. Have Archetype — Will Travel: The Jordan Peterson Phenomenon
Dec 22, 2020
147. David Barash — On the Brink of Destruction
Dec 15, 2020
146. Donald Prothero — Weird Earth: Debunking Strange Ideas About Our Planet
Dec 08, 2020
145. Greg Lukianoff — How Free is Free Speech?
Dec 01, 2020
144. Agustín Fuentes — Why We Believe: Evolution and the Human Way of Being
Nov 24, 2020
143. Nicholas Christakis — Apollo’s Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live
Nov 17, 2020
142. Philip Goff — Galileo’s Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness
Nov 09, 2020
141. Richard Kreitner — Break it Up: Secession, Division, and the Secret History of America’s Imperfect Union
Nov 02, 2020
140. Rebecca Wragg Sykes — Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art
Oct 27, 2020
BONUS: James Randi—A Report from the Paranormal Trenches (1992)
Oct 25, 2020
139. Shelby Steele — Shame: How America’s Past Sins Have Polarized Our Country & the film What Killed Michael Brown?
Oct 20, 2020
138. Douglas Murray — The Madness of 2020
Oct 16, 2020
137. Marta Zaraska — Growing Young: How Friendship, Optimism, and Kindness Can Help You Live to 100
Oct 13, 2020
136. Gad Saad — The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense
Oct 06, 2020
135. Paul Halpern — Synchronicity: The Epic Quest to Understand the Quantum Nature of Cause and Effect
Sep 29, 2020
134. Joe Henrich — The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous
Sep 22, 2020
133. Michael E. McCullough — The Kindness of Strangers: How a Selfish Ape Invented a New Moral Code
Sep 15, 2020
132. Leonard Mlodinow — Stephen Hawking: A Memoir of Friendship and Physics
Sep 08, 2020
131. Stuart Ritchie — Science Fictions: How Fraud, Bias, Negligence, and Hype Undermine the Search for Truth
Sep 01, 2020
130. Debra Soh — The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths About Sex and Identity in Our Society
Aug 25, 2020
129. Mona Sue Weissmark — The Science of Diversity
Aug 18, 2020
128. Michael Shellenberger — Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All
Aug 11, 2020
127. William Perry and Tom Collina — The Button: The New Nuclear Arms Race and Presidential Power from Truman to Trump
Aug 04, 2020
126. Sarah Scoles — They Are Already Here: UFO Culture and Why We See Saucers
Jul 28, 2020
125. Bjorn Lomborg — False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet
Jul 21, 2020
124. David J. Halperin — Intimate Alien: The Hidden Story of the UFO
Jul 14, 2020
123. Gerald Posner — Pharma: Greed, Lies, and the Poisoning of America
Jul 07, 2020
122. Walter Scheidel — Escape from Rome: The Failure of the Empire and the Road to Prosperity
Jun 30, 2020
121. Maria Konnikova — The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win
Jun 23, 2020
120. Andrew Rader — Beyond the Known: How Exploration Created the Modern World and Will Take Us to the Stars
Jun 16, 2020
119. Howard Bloom — Einstein, Michael Jackson, and Me: A Search for the Soul in the Power Pits of Rock and Roll
Jun 09, 2020
118. Stuart Russell — Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control
Jun 02, 2020
117. Matt Ridley — How Innovation Works: and Why It Flourishes in Freedom
May 26, 2020
116. Howard Steven Friedman — Ultimate Price: The Value We Place on Life
May 19, 2020
115. Matthew Cobb — The Idea of the Brain: The Past and Future of Neuroscience
May 12, 2020
114. Katherine Stewart — The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism
May 05, 2020
113. Dave Rubin — Don’t Burn This Book: Thinking for Yourself in an Age of Unreason
Apr 28, 2020
112. Ann Druyan — Cosmos: Possible Worlds
Apr 21, 2020
111. Scott Barry Kaufman — Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization
Apr 14, 2020
110. Bart Ehrman — Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife
Mar 31, 2020
109. Neil Shubin — Some Assembly Required: Decoding Four Billion Years of Life, from Ancient Fossils to DNA
Mar 24, 2020
108. Brian Greene — Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe
Mar 17, 2020
107. Fred Kaplan — The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War
Mar 10, 2020
106. Daniel Chirot — You Say You Want a Revolution? Radical Idealism and its Tragic Consequences
Mar 03, 2020
105. Diana Pasulka — American Cosmic: UFOs, Religion, Technology
Feb 25, 2020
104. Judith Finlayson — You Are What Your Grandparents Ate: What You Need to Know About Nutrition, Experience, Epigenetics and the Origins of Chronic Disease
Feb 18, 2020
103. Robert Frank — Under the Influence: Putting Peer Pressure to Work
Feb 11, 2020
102. Christopher Ryan — Civilized to Death: The Price of Progress
Feb 04, 2020
101. Hugo Mercier — Not Born Yesterday: The Science of Who We Trust and What We Believe
Jan 28, 2020
100. Episode Special: Ask Me Almost Anything
Jan 21, 2020
99. Bobby Duffy — Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything: A Theory of Human Misunderstanding
Jan 14, 2020
98. Robert Pennock — An Instinct for Truth: Curiosity and the Moral Character of Science
Jan 07, 2020
97. Amber Scorah — Leaving the Witness: Exiting a Religion and Finding a Life
Dec 31, 2019
96. Catherine Wilson — How to Be an Epicurean: The Ancient Art of Living Well
Dec 24, 2019
95. John Martin Fischer — Death, Immortality and Meaning in Life
Dec 17, 2019
94. David Leiser — How We Misunderstand Economics and Why it Matters
Dec 10, 2019
93. Geoffrey Miller — Virtue Signaling: Essays on Darwinian Politics & Free Speech
Dec 02, 2019
92. Tim Samuels — Future Man: How to Evolve and Thrive in the Age of Trump, Mansplaining, and #MeToo
Nov 19, 2019
91. James Traub — What Was Liberalism? The Past, Present, and Promise of a Noble Idea
Nov 12, 2019
90. Melvin Konner — Believers: Faith in Human Nature
Nov 05, 2019
89. Richard Dawkins — Outgrowing God: A Beginner’s Guide
Oct 29, 2019
88. Daniel Oberhaus — Extraterrestrial Languages
Oct 22, 2019
87. Douglas Murray — The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race, and Identity
Oct 15, 2019
86. Neil deGrasse Tyson — Letters from an Astrophysicist
Oct 08, 2019
85. Deepak Chopra — Metahuman: Unleashing Your Infinite Potential
Oct 01, 2019
84. Christof Koch — The Feeling of Life Itself: Why Consciousness is Widespread but Can’t Be Computed
Sep 24, 2019
83. Peter Boghossian — How to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide
Sep 17, 2019
82. Phil Zuckerman — What it Means to be Moral: Why Religion is Not Necessary for Living an Ethical Life
Sep 10, 2019
81. Bruce Hood — Possessed: Why We Want More Than We Need
Sep 03, 2019
80. Bryan Walsh — End Times: A Brief Guide to the End of the World
Aug 27, 2019
79. Anthony Kronman — The Assault on American Excellence
Aug 20, 2019
78. Dr. Donald Hoffman — The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth From Our Eyes
Aug 13, 2019
77. Dr. Lee McIntyre — The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience
Jul 30, 2019
76. William Poundstone — The Doomsday Calculation: How an Equation that Predicts the Future is Transforming Everything We Know About Life and the Universe
Jul 23, 2019
75. Charles Fishman — One Giant Leap: The Impossible Mission that Flew us to the Moon
Jul 16, 2019
74. Shaili Jain, M.D. — The Unspeakable Mind: Stories of Trauma and Healing from the Frontlines of PTSD Science
Jul 09, 2019
73. Andrew Seidel — Busting the Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American
Jul 01, 2019
72. Robert Zubrin — The Case for Space: Spaceflight Revolution
Jun 24, 2019
71. Dr. Michael Shermer — What is Truth?
Jun 17, 2019
70. Dr. Brian Keating — Losing the Nobel Prize: A Story of Cosmology, Ambition, and the Perils of Science’s Highest Honor
Jun 11, 2019
69. Dr. Barbara Tversky — Mind in Motion: How Action Shapes Thought
Jun 04, 2019
68. Dr. Michael Ruse — A Darwinian Meaning to Life
May 28, 2019
67. Dr. Christian Smith — Atheist Overreach: What Atheism Can’t Deliver
May 21, 2019
66. Dr. Christian List — Why Free Will is Real: A response to Sam Harris, Jerry Coyne, and Other Determinists
May 15, 2019
65. Jared Diamond — Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis
May 07, 2019
64. Michael Tomasello — Becoming Human
Apr 30, 2019
63. Dr. Hector A. Garcia — Sex, Power, and Partisanship: How Evolutionary Science Makes Sense of Our Political Divide
Apr 24, 2019
AMA-5. Dr. Michael Shermer — “Are the Miracles of Jesus Unbelievable?” Debate Postmortem
Apr 21, 2019
62. Dr. Mark Moffett — The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall
Apr 16, 2019
61. Dr. Richard Wrangham — The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution
Apr 10, 2019
60. Nicholas A. Christakis — Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society
Apr 03, 2019
59. Cass R. Sunstein — On Freedom
Mar 26, 2019
58. Ben Shapiro — The Right Side of History: How Reason and Moral Purpose Made the West Great
Mar 19, 2019
57. Dr. Frans de Waal — Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves
Mar 12, 2019
56. Dr. Tyler Cowen — How an Economist Views the World
Mar 06, 2019
AMA-4. Dr. Michael Shermer — The Problem of Evil
Mar 03, 2019
55. Dr. David Sloan Wilson — This View of Life: Completing the Darwinian Revolution
Feb 27, 2019
54. Dr. Michele Gelfand — Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World
Feb 20, 2019
53. Adam Higginbotham — China Syndrome II: The True Story of What Happened at Chernobyl
Feb 12, 2019
52. Bruce Schneier — Hacked! Security and Survival in a Hyper-Connected World
Feb 05, 2019
51. Gregg Hurwitz — Into the Light: Myths, Narratives, Archetypes, and Trump
Jan 30, 2019
AMA-3. Dr. Michael Shermer — Ask Me Anything!
Jan 22, 2019
50. Dr. Rachel Kleinfeld — A Savage Order: How the World’s Deadliest Countries Can Forge a Path to Security
Jan 15, 2019
AMA-2. Dr. Michael Shermer: Ask Me Anything!
Jan 08, 2019
49. Dr. Gad Saad — Doing Gad’s Work
Jan 01, 2019
48. Sir Martin Rees — On the Future: Prospects for Humanity
Dec 25, 2018
47. Dr. Susan Blackmore — Altered States and Conscious Beings
Dec 04, 2018
46. Zac Sechler interviews Michael Shermer about Why People Believe in God
Nov 27, 2018
45. Daniel de Visé — On Comebacks in Sports and Life
Nov 13, 2018
44. Dr. David P. Barash — Human Nature Through a Glass Brightly
Nov 06, 2018
43. Dr. Jonathan Haidt — Coming Apart
Oct 30, 2018
42. Dr. Clay Routledge — The Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything
Oct 17, 2018
40. Dr. Kwame Anthony Appiah — Who Am I? Who Are You? The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity
Oct 03, 2018
39. Heather Mac Donald — The Diversity Delusion: How Race and Gender Pandering Corrupt the University and Undermine Our Culture
Sep 26, 2018
38. Dr. Yuval Noah Harari — 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Sep 18, 2018
37. Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson — Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military
Sep 12, 2018
36. Dr. Jonathan Haidt — The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure
Sep 05, 2018
35. Dr. Tali Sharot — The Influential Mind: What the Brain Reveals About our Power to Change Others
Aug 29, 2018
34. Colin McGinn — Paradoxes, Puzzles, and Philosophy
Aug 22, 2018
33. David Quammen — The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life
Aug 15, 2018
32. Nina Teicholz — The Big Fat Surprise About Diet and Nutrition
Aug 07, 2018
31. Amy Alkon — Unf*ckology: A Field Guide to Living with Guts and Confidence
Jul 31, 2018
30. Dr. Ralph Lewis — Finding Meaning in a Meaningless Universe
Jul 25, 2018
29. Colin McGinn — Mysterianism, Consciousness, Free Will, and God
Jul 16, 2018
AMA-1. Dr. Michael Shermer — Ask Me Anything!
Jul 09, 2018
28. Edward J. Larson — On Faith and Science
Jul 02, 2018
27. Charles S. Cockell — The Equations of Life: How Physics Shapes Evolution
Jun 25, 2018
26. Dr. Stephen T. Asma — Why We Need Religion
Jun 22, 2018
25. Richard Rhodes — Energy: A Human History
May 29, 2018
24. Dr. Alan Stern and Dr. David Grinspoon — Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto
May 22, 2018
23. Dr. Kenneth R. Miller — The Human Instinct: How We Evolved to Have Reason, Consciousness, and Free Will
May 19, 2018
22. Dr. Gregory Berns — What It’s Like to Be a Dog…and Other Adventures in Animal Neuroscience
Apr 16, 2018
21. Dr. Leonard Mlodinow — Elastic: Flexible Thinking in a Time of Change
Apr 09, 2018
20. Dr. Michael Shermer — Heavens on Earth: The Scientific Search for the Afterlife, Immortality, and Utopia
Mar 25, 2018
19. Bill Nye the Science Guy Saves the World on Netflix
Mar 07, 2018
18. Dr. Bart Ehrman — How a Forbidden Religion (Christianity) Swept the World
Feb 19, 2018
17. Dr. Kip Thorne — Gravitational Waves, Black Holes, Time Travel, and Hollywood
Feb 18, 2018
16. Dr. Robert Trivers — Evolutionary Theory & Human Nature
Nov 16, 2017
15. Donald Prothero & Timothy Callahan — UFOs, Chemtrails, and Aliens: What Science Says
Oct 15, 2017
14. Dr. Nancy Segal — Twin Mythconceptions: False Beliefs, Fables, and Facts about Twins
Sep 17, 2017
13. Dr. Walter Scheidel — The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the 21st Century
Jun 11, 2017
12. Derren Brown — Magic, Happiness, and Skepticism
May 15, 2017
11. Dr. Andrew Shtulman — Scienceblind: Why Our Intuitive Theories About the World Are So Often Wrong
Apr 23, 2017
10. Dr. Carol Tavris — Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me)
Feb 19, 2017
9. Gary Taubes — The Case Against Sugar
Jan 22, 2017
8. Dr. Priyamvada Natarajan — Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal The Cosmos
Nov 13, 2016
7. Dr. Benjamin Bergen — What the F: What Swearing Reveals About Our Language, Our Brains, and Ourselves
Oct 16, 2016
6. Dr. Stephon Alexander — The Jazz of Physics: The Secret Link Between Music and the Structure of the Universe
May 22, 2016
5. Dr. Janna Levin — Gravitational Waves, Black Holes and the Nature of the Cosmos
Apr 10, 2016
4. Dr. Sean B. Carroll — The Serengeti Rules: The Quest to Discover How Life Works and Why It Matters
Mar 20, 2016
3. Dr. Arthur Benjamin — The Magic of Math: Solving for x and Figuring Out Why
Jan 24, 2016
2. Michelle Feynman — The Quotable Feynman & His Van
Dec 20, 2015
1. Dr. Lisa Randall — Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe
Nov 22, 2015