The Michael Shermer Show

Daniel Oberhaus — Extraterrestrial Languages

Exploring Earthlings’ various attempts to reach out to non-Earthlings over the centuries, Daniel Oberhaus poses some not entirely answerable questions. Is there not only a universal grammar (as Noam Chomsky has posited), but also a grammar of the universe? If we send a message into space, will extraterrestrial beings receive it? Will they understand? What languages will they (and we) speak? If we can’t even communicate with non-human mammals and primates, how are we going to communicate with sentient alien…

Douglas Murray — The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race, and Identity

In Science Salon # 87 Michael Shermer speaks with Douglas Murray about his new book The Madness of Crowds on sexuality, gender, technology and race playing out in our workplaces, universities, schools and homes in the names of social justice, identity politics and intersectionality.

Neil deGrasse Tyson — Letters from an Astrophysicist

In Science Salon # 86, Michael Shermer speaks with Neil deGrasse Tyson about his latest book Letters from an Astrophysicist. In this discussion of his hand-picked collection of 101 letters, we go behind the scenes of his public fame by revealing his correspondence with people across the globe who have sought him out in search of answers.

Deepak Chopra — Metahuman: Unleashing Your Infinite Potential

In Science Salon # 85 Michael Shermer and Deepak Chopra make an attempt at mutual understanding through the careful unpacking of what Deepak means when he talks about the subject-object split, the impermanence of the self, nondualism, the mind-body problem, the nature of consciousness, and the nature of reality.

Christof Koch — The Feeling of Life Itself: Why Consciousness is Widespread but Can’t Be Computed

In this fascinating discussion of the hard problem of consciousness — that is, explaining how the feeling or experience of something can arise from neural activity — neuroscientists Christof Koch argues that consciousness is the feeling of being alive, not a type of computation or a clever hack. Consciousness is experience. Consciousness is The Feeling of Life Itself.

Peter Boghossian — How to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide

In our current political climate, it seems impossible to have a reasonable conversation with anyone who has a different opinion. Everyone seems to be on a hair trigger. This conversation is a guide to straightforward, practical, conversational techniques necessary for every successful conversation — whether the issue is climate change, religious faith, gender identity, race, poverty, immigration, or gun control.

Phil Zuckerman — What it Means to be Moral: Why Religion is Not Necessary for Living an Ethical Life

By deconstructing religious arguments for God-based morality and guiding readers through the premises and promises of secular morality, Zuckerman argues that the major challenges facing the world today―from climate change and growing inequality to religious support for unethical political policies to gun violence and terrorism―are best approached from a nonreligious ethical framework.

Bruce Hood — Possessed: Why We Want More Than We Need

Psychologist Bruce Hood explains why our uniquely human preoccupation with ownership governs our behavior, even when it is often irrational, and destructive. Possessed is the first book to explore how ownership has us enthralled in relentless pursuit of a false happiness, with damaging consequences for society and the planet — and how we can stop buying into it.

Bryan Walsh — End Times: A Brief Guide to the End of the World

In Science Salon # 80, Michael Shermer speaks with Bryan Walsh about his brand new book End Times in which he provides a stunning panoramic view of the most catastrophic threats to the human race.

Anthony Kronman — The Assault on American Excellence

The former dean of Yale Law School argues that the feverish egalitarianism gripping college campuses today is out of place at institutions whose job is to prepare citizens to live in a vibrant democracy. Where many see only the suppression of free speech, the babying of students, and the drive to bury the imperfect parts of our history, Kronman recognizes in these on-campus clashes a threat to our democracy.

Dr. Donald Hoffman — The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth From Our Eyes

Cognitive scientist Dr. Donald Hoffman challenges the leading scientific theories that claim that our senses report back objective reality. How can it be possible that the world we see is not objective reality? And how can our senses be useful if they are not communicating the truth? Hoffman argues that while we should take our perceptions seriously, we should not take them literally.

Dr. Lee McIntyre — The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience

In Science Salon # 77, an engaging conversation on the nature of science, Dr. McIntyre and Dr. Shermer get deep into the weeds of where to draw the line between science and pseudoscience.

William Poundstone — The Doomsday Calculation: How an Equation that Predicts the Future is Transforming Everything We Know About Life and the Universe

When will the world end? How likely is it that intelligent extraterrestrial life exists? Are we living in a simulation like the Matrix? Is our universe but one in a multiverse? How does Warren Buffett continue to beat the stock market? How much longer will your romance last? In this wide ranging conversation with Michael Shermer, science writer William Poundstone answers these questions, and more.

Charles Fishman — One Giant Leap: The Impossible Mission that Flew us to the Moon

On this July 16th, the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, Michael Shermer speaks with veteran space reporter Charles Fishman who has been writing about NASA and the space program for more than 30 years.

Shaili Jain, M.D. — The Unspeakable Mind: Stories of Trauma and Healing from the Frontlines of PTSD Science

Shermer speaks with practicing psychiatrist and trauma scientist at the National Center for PTSD Shaili Jain, M.D about her new book in which shines a long-overdue light on the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) epidemic affecting today’s fractured world.

Andrew Seidel — The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American

Was America founded on Judeo-Christian principles? Are the Ten Commandments the basis for American law? What, exactly, was the role of religion in America’s founding? Shermer speaks with constitutional attorney and scholar at the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) Andrew L. Seidel who argues that America was not built on the Bible and that Christian nationalism is, in fact, un-American.

Robert Zubrin — The Case for Space: How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up a Future of Limitless Possibility

In Science Salon # 72, Michael Shermer speaks with visionary astronautical engineer Robert Zubrin where he lays out the plans for how humans can become a space faring, multi-planetary civilization.

Dr. Michael Shermer — What is Truth?

In this live podcast event hosted by the Santa Barbara Science Salon in conjunction with the Skeptics Society and the Unitarian Society, co-hosted by Dr. Whitney Detar, Dr. Shermer reflects on the question “What is Truth?” in the context of his lifelong search to understand why people believe weird things.

Dr. Brian Keating — Losing the Nobel Prize: A Story of Cosmology, Ambition, and the Perils of Science’s Highest Honor

In Science Salon # 70, Dr. Michael Shermer speaks with cosmologist and inventor of the BICEP (Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization) experiment Dr. Brian Keating.

Dr. Barbara Tversky — Mind in Motion: How Action Shapes Thought

In Science Salon # 69 eminent psychologist Dr. Barbara Tversky offers a major new theory of human cognition: movement, not language, is the foundation of thought.

The Skeptics Society & Skeptic magazine