The Michael Shermer Show
Episodes
A Trial by Media Ended Caylan Ford's Career in 4 Hours
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Caylan Ford is a documentary filmmaker, charter school founder, and a former political candidate. She holds a Bachelor's degree (Hons.) in Chinese his...
How Not to Age
16 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Dr. Michael Greger, founder of NutritionFacts.org, dove into the top peer-reviewed anti-aging medical research, he realized that diet could regul...
How to Cultivate Your Imagination as an Adult
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Imagination is commonly thought to be the special province of youth―the natural companion of free play and the unrestrained vistas of childhood. The...
Nobel Prize Winner Explains Inequality and Capitalism
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When economist Angus Deaton immigrated to the United States from Britain in the early 1980s, he was awed by America's strengths and shocked by the ext...
The Purpose of the Universe
02 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Why are we here? What's the point of existence? On the 'big questions' of meaning and purpose, Western thought has been dominated by the dichotomy of ...
How Media, Politics, and Identity Drive Our Appetite for Misinformation
28 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Why are so many of us wrong about so much? From COVID-19 to climate change to the results of elections, millions of Americans believe things that are ...
JFK 60th Anniversary of the Assassination
22 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A conversation with Warren Commission Assistant Counsel Burt W. Griffin, Case Closed author and Lee Harvey Oswald scholar Gerald Posner, and JFK consp...
The Scientific Search for Alien Life
18 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone is curious about life in the Universe, UFOs and whether ET is out there. Over the course of his thirty-year career as an astrophysicist, Adam...
Ayaan Hirsi Ali Converted to Christianity
15 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On November 11, 2023, my friend, colleague, and hero Ayaan Hirsi Ali released a statement explaining "Why I am Now a Christian". What follows is my re...
UFO: The Inside Story of the U.S. Government's Search for Alien Life
14 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Identity Politics and its Discontents
11 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Get tickets for our event: https://skeptic.com/event For much of history, societies have violently oppressed ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities....
What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things? (Dan Ariely)
07 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tickets for our December event available now: https://skeptic.com/event Shermer and Ariely discuss: What is disinformation and what should we do about...
The Role of Iran in the Israel-Hamas Conflict
04 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In-person event next month: https://skeptic.com/event Shermer and Taleblu discuss: • Iran and Hamas • Hamas and Israel • Does Iran really want...
The Secret History of Women at the CIA
31 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Skeptic event this December! Tickets available now: https://shop.skeptic.com/event Shermer and Mundy discuss: • CIA research methods • a brief his...
America and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
27 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Journo discuss: who really owns land? • British Mandate • Theodore Herzl • Zionism, Judaism, and Israel • territorial disputes •...
Cancel Culture and What to Do About It (Greg Lukianoff & Rikki Schlott)
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Get your tickets to meet Peter Boghossian + Michael Shellenberger: https://skeptic.com/event Cancel Culture is a new phenomenon, and The Canceling of...
Robert Sapolsky on Free Will and Determinism
17 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Meet Jared Diamond and Michael Shermer: https://skeptic.com/event Robert Sapolsky is the author of A Primate's Memoir, The Trouble with Testosterone, ...
Armageddon in the Middle East? (David Wolpe)
13 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Wolpe discuss: what happened to Israel's vaunted security apparatus, intelligence agency and military readiness? • Zionism, Judaism, and...
Should Employers Pay For Emotional Labor?
10 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Get tickets for our event: https://www.skeptic.com/event/ A stranger insists you "smile more," even as you navigate a high-stress environment or grati...
Dan Dennett Looks Back on His Career
03 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Get tickets for our event: skeptic.com/event Daniel Dennett, preeminent philosopher and cognitive scientist, has spent his career considering the thor...
How the American Right Became Radicalized
27 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Book tickets for our event: skeptic.com/event At the height of the John Birch Society's activity in the 1960s, critics dismissed its members as a para...
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT
26 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Don't miss this! Michael SHELLENBERGER, Jared DIAMOND, Peter BOGHOSSIAN, and Michael SHERMER. LIVE & IN-PERSON, DEC. 1–3. "It's not a conference… ...
Ways of Thinking That Power Successful People
19 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Pompliano discuss: personal journey from college to Fortune to The Profile • what distinguishes the truly exceptional from the merely gr...
How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy
12 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Lee McIntyre is Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University. Formerly Executive Director of the Institute...
The Law vs. Separation of Church and State
05 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Tabash discuss: the history of the relationship between church and state • the founding framers of the U.S. Constitution and their argum...
Based on DNA Testing, Only One Twin Was Granted U.S. Citizenship. Why?
01 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is a conversation based on two of Nancy Segal's books The Twin Children of the Holocaust: Stolen Childhood and the Will to Survive and Ga...
Evidence of Aliens? Harvard Astronomer Avi Loeb
29 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Did Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb discover the remnants of an interstellar meteor in the form of spherules on the ocean floor? Could they be of alien or...
Slavery in the U.S. Analyzed by a Pulitzer Prize-Winning Lawyer and Historian (Ed Larson)
22 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
New attention from historians and journalists is raising pointed questions about the founding period: was the American revolution waged to preserve sl...
Maybe "Good Enough" Is Actually Enough? When Perfectionism Backfires.
15 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." —anonymous "Perfection is man's ultimate illusion. It simply doesn't exist in the universe. If you...
Is a Human Life Worth $10 Million or Only $187,000? (Bjorn Lomborg)
08 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
World leaders have promised everything to everyone. But they are failing. Together with more than a hundred of the world's top economists, Bjorn Lombo...
Why We Get Fooled
01 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
From phishing scams to Ponzi schemes, fraudulent science to fake art, chess cheaters to crypto hucksters, and marketers to magicians, our world brims ...
The Saad Truth About Happiness
25 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone wants to be happy. The question "How can I be happy?" drives countless decisions across the world, and billions of dollars are spent on marke...
Christopher Rufo Decodes Cultural Shifts in America
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this conversation based on his new book, America's Cultural Revolution, Christopher Rufo exposes the inner history of the intellectuals and militan...
The Truth About Martin Luther King Jr.
12 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Vividly written and exhaustively researched, Jonathan Eig's King: A Life is the first major biography in decades of the civil rights icon Martin Luthe...
An Outsider's Perspective on American Culture Wars
05 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Right now, someone, somewhere is being cancelled. Off-the-cuff tweets or "harmless" office banter have the potential to wreck lives. The Left condemns...
Children and Politics
27 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
According to conservative commentator Bethany Mandel, "the Left is waging an all-out battle on the American family, particularly the youngest members....
The Future of Medicine: What You Need to Know
20 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We are on the cusp of a major transformation in healthcare. Using information gleaned from our blood and genes and tapping into the data revolution ma...
Michael Shellenberger on UFO Whistleblowers
14 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Shellenberger discuss: the original article in Debrief • the authors Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal • why this story was not covered...
Is the Government Hiding Aliens?
08 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A commentary on the latest UAP/UFO story about the whistleblower and the government UFO retrieval program. In this special episode of The Michael She...
A Guide to Violence and Self-Defense.
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Thornton discuss: aggression: passive, proactive, reactive, relational • moralistic punishment and the game theory analysis of the logic...
Identity or Merit: What Matters More? (Heather Mac Donald)
30 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Mac Donald discuss: race as America's original sin • civil rights • equality vs. equity • disparate impact • overt racism vs. syst...
Are We Risking Our Ability to Think?
27 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How humans transfer knowledge through time might affect our ability to think. With the advent of the internet, any topic we want to know about is inst...
Quantum Computers Will Change Everything (Michio Kaku)
25 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The quantum computer, which harnesses the power and complexity of the atomic realm, promises to be every bit as revolutionary as the transistor and mi...
What Happened to Women's Rights?
23 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is Inga Thompson, one of the most decorated cyclists in American history. You might ask, besides being aware I'm something of a bike ge...
My Final Lecture: What I Learned About Living a Good Life
18 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the final minutes of the final lecture of Dr. Shermer's final semester at Chapman a student asked what practical lessons for life he might share wi...
Could the American Economy Collapse Like Venezuela's? (Mark Skousen)
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Skousen discuss: whether economics is politicized • Adam Smith and what he really said • how the economy really works • fiat mone...
Scams and Frauds: A Skeptic's Survival Guide
13 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever wondered why Bernie Madoff thought he could brazenly steal his clients' money? Or why investors were so easily duped by Elizabeth Holmes...
What if You Were Born 50 Years Earlier?
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The United States is currently home to six generations of people. With her clear-eyed and insightful voice, Twenge explores what the Silents and Boome...
How Can God Feel So Real?
06 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How do gods and spirits come to feel vividly real to people — as if they were standing right next to them? Humans tend to see supernatural agents ev...
Will We Ever Live in a Post-race World?
04 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this special episode of the podcast, Michael Shermer talks about: why race still matters why race shouldn't matter racism BLM (Black Lives Matter)...
346. Kennon Sheldon — What the New Psychology of the Self Teaches Us About Free Will, Determinism, and Self-Determinism
02 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's become fashionable to argue that free will is a fiction: that we humans are in the thrall of animal urges and unconscious biases and only think t...
345. Matt Johnson — How Hitchens Can Save the Left: Rediscovering Fearless Liberalism in an Age of Counter-Enlightenment
29 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Christopher Hitchens was for many years considered one of the fiercest and most eloquent left-wing polemicists in the world. But on much of today's le...
344. What is a Woman, Anyway?
26 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this special episode of the Michael Shermer Show Dr. Shermer comments on current events surrounding trans matters and reads his in-depth essay on t...
343. Timothy Redmond — Political Tribalism in America: How Hyper-Partisanship Dumbs Down Democracy and How to Fix It
25 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The democratic ideal demands that the citizenry think critically about matters of public import. Yet many Democrats and Republicans in the United Stat...
342. Valerie Fridland — Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English
22 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Paranoid about the "ums" and "uhs" that pepper your presentations? Bewildered by "hella" or the meteoric rise of "so"? Can the word "dude" help people...
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
18 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the summer of 1942, Stanley Lovell, a renowned industrial chemist, received a mysterious order to report to an unfamiliar building in Washington, D...
340. Ben Alderson-Day — Presence: The Strange Science and True Stories of the Unseen Other
15 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Alderson-Day discuss the psychologist's journey to understand the phenomenon of sensed-presence: the disturbing feeling that someone or so...
339. Gerald and Patricia Posner on Evil
11 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and the Posners discuss: the nature and banality of evil • Are we all potential Nazis? • Mengele, Eichmann, Himmler, Hitler • The Pharma...
338. AI SciFi — Physicist, Science Fiction Author, and AI Expert David Brin on ChatGPT and Whether AI Poses an Existential Threat
08 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Brin discuss: AI and AGI • are they existential threats? • the alignment problem • Large Language Models • ChatGPT, GPT-4, GPT-5...
337. On the Origin of Time — Thomas Hertog on Stephen Hawking's Final Theory
01 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Perhaps the biggest question Stephen Hawking tried to answer in his extraordinary life was how the universe could have created conditions so perfectly...
336. The Sacred Depths of Nature — Ursula Goodenough on How to Find Sacred Scientific Spirituality
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For many of us, the great scientific discoveries of the modern age — the Big Bang, evolution, quantum physics, relativity — point to an existence ...
335. Jennifer Michael Hecht on How to Find Meaning, Purpose, and Happiness in Everyday Life
25 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We have calendars to mark time, communal spaces to bring us together, bells to signal hours of contemplation, official archives to record legacies, th...
334. The End of the World: Bart Ehrman on What the Bible Really Says About the End
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You'll find nearly everything the Bible has to say about the end in the Book of Revelation: a mystifying prophecy filled with bizarre symbolism, viole...
333. Kevin Kelly — ChatGPT, OpenAI, and Excellent Advice for Living
18 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On his 68th birthday, Kevin Kelly began to write down for his young adult children some things he had learned about life that he wished he had known e...
332. Wrongfully Convicted, Ultimately Acquitted — Amanda Knox on Criminal Injustice and Why It Happens
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda Knox spent four years in an Italian prison for a crime she did not commit. In the fall of 2007, the 20-year-old college coed left Seattle to st...
331. Paul Zak — Immersion: The Science of the Extraordinary and the Source of Happiness
11 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The world is rapidly transforming into an experience economy as people increasingly crave extraordinary experiences. Experience designers, marketers, ...
330. Jim Davies — How to Be a Better Person
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Why do we feel like in order to be productive, happy, or good, we must sacrifice everything else? Is it possible to feel all three at once? Without ev...
329. Marc Schulz — The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness
04 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Schulz discuss: an operational definition of the "good life" or "happiness" or "well being" • the reliability (or unreliability) of self...
328. Paul Bloom — Psych: The Story of the Human Mind
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How does the brain — a three-pound gelatinous mass — give rise to intelligence and conscious experience? Was Freud right that we are all plagued b...
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
25 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Moran discuss: her dysfunctional family background • her boyfriend who pimped her • the women who sell sex and the men who buy it • ...
326. Naomi Oreskes — The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Oreskes discuss: the myth of market magic • market fundamentalism • market absolutism • market essentialism • capitalism and democ...
325. Heinrich Päs — The One: How an Ancient Idea Holds the Future of Physics
18 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Päs discuss: monism vs. dualism • What is time? • What is a field? • Is math all there is? Is math universal? • the double-slit e...
324. Andrew Gold on Exorcism, Abortion, Pedophilia, Sex & UFOs
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Gold discuss: diversity, equity, and inclusion in the media • social justice movements and their motivations • bias in STEM fields •...
323. Elle Hardy — Beyond Belief: How Pentecostal Christianity Is Taking Over the World
11 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Hardy discuss: Hardy's religious journey (raised Catholic, now agnostic) • origin of Pentecostalism and its biblical basis Pentecostalis...
322. Marty Klein — Sex Matters
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Klein discuss: sex therapist and the reasons people seek therapy • self-help sex books • sexual orientation • asexuality • sex abu...
321. William Magnuson — For Profit: A History of Corporations
04 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Americans have long been skeptical of corporations, and that skepticism has only grown more intense in recent years. Meanwhile, corporations continue ...
320. Massimo Pigliucci — How to Live a Good Life and Create a Just Society
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode Michael Shermer speaks with the stoic philosopher and evolutionary biologist Massimo Pigliucci on how to apply the ancient wisdom of s...
319. Steven Hassan — Combatting Cult Mind Control, Freedom of Mind, and The Cult of Trump
28 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this conversation, based on a leading cult expert Steven Hassan's books (Combatting Cult Mind Control, Freedom of Mind, and The Cult of Trump) you ...
318. Suzie Sheehy — The Matter of Everything: How Curiosity, Physics, and Improbable Experiments Changed the World
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Physics has always sought to deepen our understanding of the nature of matter and the world around us. But how do you conduct experiments with the fun...
317. Dacher Keltner — Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life
21 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Awe is mysterious. How do we begin to quantify the goose bumps we feel when we see the Grand Canyon, or the utter amazement when we watch a child walk...
316. Daniel Akst on the Pacifists of the Greatest Generation Who Revolutionized Resistance
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Pacifists who fought against the Second World War faced insurmountable odds — but their resistance, philosophy, and strategies fostered a tradition ...
315. David Bernstein — Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America
14 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Bernstein discuss: the SCOTUS case on affirmative action and race preferences at Harvard and elsewhere • Elizabeth Warren (Cherokee ance...
314. Martin Rees — Can Science Save Us?
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Rees discuss: existential threats • overpopulation • biodiversity loss • climate change • AI and self-driving cars, robots, and un...
313. Matthew Cobb — As Gods: A Moral History of the Genetic Age
27 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Cobb discuss: objections to genetic engineering (political, religious, cultural) • selective breeding • recombinant DNA • the ethics...
312. Louise Perry — The Case Against the Sexual Revolution: A New Guide to Sex in the 21st Century
24 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ditching the stuffy hang-ups and benighted sexual traditionalism of the past is an unambiguously positive thing. The sexual revolution has liberated u...
311. Meghan Daum — The Problem With Everything: My Journey Through the New Culture Wars
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Daum discuss: unauthorized autobiography • Feminism (first, second, third wave, and beyond) • Was the sexual revolution good or bad (o...
310. Todd Kashdan — The Art of Insubordination: How to Dissent and Defy Effectively
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For too long, the term insubordination has evoked negative feelings and mental images. But for ideas to evolve and societies to progress, it's vital t...
309. India Thusi on Sex Work, Critical Race Theory, and Moral Progress
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Thusi discuss: how she gained access to police and sex workers in Johannesburg • what it was like patrolling brothels in Johannesburg •...
308. Iris Berent — The Blind Storyteller: How We Reason About Human Nature
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Blind Storyteller is an intellectual journey that draws on philosophy, anthropology, linguistics, cognitive science, and Berent's own cutting-edge...
307. Nicholas Dirks on Science Denial, Distrust, and Skepticism
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nicholas Dirks is a strong advocate for academic and scientific collaboration across disciplines and recently helped launch the International Science ...
306. Stephon Alexander — Fear of a Black Universe: An Outsider's Guide to the Future of Physics
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this important guide to science and society, cosmologist Stephon Alexander argues that physics must embrace the excluded, listen to the unheard, an...
305. Bethanne Patrick — Book World
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A conversation with literary critic and publishing insider Bethanne Patrick about the future of books, book publishing, authors and readers. Shermer a...
304. Justin Gregg — If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal: What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human Stupidity
01 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
All our unique gifts like language, math, and science do not make humans happier or more "successful" (evolutionarily speaking) than other species. Ou...
303. Michael Shermer — Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Shermer discusses his new book Conspiracy, out October 25, 2022. In Conspiracy Shermer: reviews and integrates evolutionary, psychological, s...
302. Tim Palmer — The Primacy of Doubt
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why does your weather app say "There's a 10% chance of rain" instead of "It will be sunny tomorrow"? In large part this is due to the insight of Tim P...
301. Alan Blinder — A Monetary and Fiscal History of the United States
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Blinder discuss: serving on Bill Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers • being the Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve Board • What kin...
300. Saleem Ali — Earthly Order: How Natural Laws Define Human Life
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Ali discuss: • the search for structure in nature • order and randomness • economic laws • natural laws • natural orders: molecu...
299. Richard Reeves — Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It
29 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Reeves discuss: • comparison method: U.S. vs. other WERID countries • education • work/labor market • family • marriage • Divo...
298. Neil deGrasse Tyson — Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Tyson discuss: why he decided to write about social, cultural, and political issues now • conflict and resolution in science and society...
297. Andrew Doyle — How the Religion of Social Justice Captured the Western World
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Shermer and Doyle discuss: terminology of: PC, identity politics, woken, social justice, antifa, BLM, TERF, intersectionality • Critical Social Just...