The Michael Shermer Show Archives

The Michael Shermer Show Archives


Latest Episodes

Jonathan Eig — The Truth About Martin Luther King Jr.
July 12, 2023

Shermer and Eig discuss: how to write biography • the history of the King family going back to slavery, Jim Crow, etc. • the influence of King Sr. on Martin’s intellectual and emotional development and the Ebenezer Baptist Church • King’s early experience

Umut Özkirimli — How the Left Can Make Its Way Back From Woke
July 05, 2023

Shermer and Özkirimli discuss: identity politics, cancel culture • woke, TERF, anti-fragility, anti-racism • diversity, equity, and inclusion • Ibram X. Kendi, Robin DiAngelo • Loretta Ross, rape, retributive vs. restorative justice • Woman’s March • left

Is There a Woke War on Families? Bethany Mandel — Stolen Youth: How Radicals Are Erasing Innocence and Indoctrinating a Generation
June 27, 2023

Shermer and Mandel discuss: the problem of woke ideology • anecdotes vs. data about woke actions and intentions • sex and gender • woke medicine • transgender affirming care • government vs. private responses to social movements and ideas • Trump, DeSanti

Scientific Wellness — Leroy Hood and Nathan Price on Why the Future of Medicine Is Personalized, Predictive, Data-Rich and in Our Hands
June 20, 2023

Hood, Price, and Shermer discuss: why we age and die • sickcare vs. healthcare • the 10 most popular drugs in the U.S. work for only about 10% of treated people • chronological age ≠ biological age • life expectancy, life span, longevity, and healthspan •

Michael Shellenberger on UFO Whistleblowers
June 13, 2023

Shermer and Shellenberger discuss: the original article in Debrief • the authors Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal • why this story was not covered by the New York Times or the Washington Post • whistleblower David Grusch and his claim that the U.S. govern

Is the Government Hiding Aliens?
June 08, 2023

Is the Government Hiding Aliens? A commentary on the latest UAP/UFO story about the whistleblower and the government UFO retrieval program. In this special episode of The Michael Shermer Show, Dr. Shermer addresses the latest claims by a whistleblower tha

Matt Thornton on Violence: Why It Evolved, Why It Still Happens, and What to Do About It
June 06, 2023

Shermer and Thornton discuss: aggression: passive, proactive, reactive, relational • moralistic punishment and the game theory analysis of the logic of violence • gun violence (homicide, suicide, accidents) • violence against women/children • male-on-male

Heather Mac Donald — When Race Trumps Merit: How the Pursuit of Equity Sacrifices Excellence, Destroys Beauty, and Threatens Lives
May 30, 2023

Shermer and Mac Donald discuss: race as America’s original sin • civil rights • equality vs. equity • disparate impact • overt racism vs. systemic racism • why Blacks make less money, own fewer and lower quality homes, work in less prestigious jobs, hold

Simon Winchester — How We Transfer Knowledge Through Time
May 27, 2023

Shermer and Winchester discuss: how to become a professional writer • ChatGPT, GPT-4, and AI • knowledge as justified true belief • What is truth? • Are we living in a post-truth world of fake news and alternative facts? • education, past and present • bo

Quantum Leaps: Michio Kaku on How the Quantum Computer Revolution Will Change Everything
May 23, 2023

Shermer and Kaku discuss: AI, GPT, sentience/consciousness, the end of humanity • decoherence • Uncertainty Principle • multiverse, parallel universes, and Many Worlds hypothesis • Einstein • the evolution of the computer • the origin of life • climate ch