The Skeptics Society & Skeptic magazine

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.

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.

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.

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.

Shermer and Ruse discuss Ruse’s early life growing up as a Quaker in England and how this influenced his thinking about religion • why he is a bulldog against creationism but has a soft spot in his heart for religion • why we should not read religious texts literally, but allegorically • his beef with the New Atheists • how Darwinism is a religion, and more…

In Science Salon # 67, Atheist Overreach, Christian Smith explains why we ought to be skeptical of the increasingly vociferous and confident claims of atheist apologists about morality, science, and human nature.

In Science Salon # 66 Dr. Michael Shermer speaks with Dr. Christian List about his new book Why Free Will is Real which defies scientific orthodoxy and presents a bold new defense of free will in the same naturalistic terms that are usually deployed against it.

In a special edition of the Science Salon Podcast Dr. Shermer brought a camera crew to Jared Diamond’s home in Los Angeles for an especially intimate portrait of the man and his theories. You won’t want to miss this conversation, one of the best we’ve yet recorded, with one of the most interesting minds of our time, perhaps of all time.

In this fascinating conversation with the evolutionary anthropologist Michael Tomasello, the Max Planck Institute scientist presents his new theory of how humans became such a distinctive species.

In Science Salon # 63, through the lens of evolutionary science, Dr. Hector A. Garcia offers a novel perspective on why we hold our political ideas, and why they are so often in conflict. Drawing on examples from across the animal kingdom, Garcia reveals how even the most complex political processes can be influenced by our basic drives to survive and reproduce.

In this AMA special, Dr. Michael Shermer conducts a postmortem on his debate with the evangelical Christian theologian Luuk van de Weghe, elaborating on his notes from the debate, and suggesting ways to think about miracles from a scientific or naturalistic perspective.

In Science Salon # 62, Dr. Shermer has a riveting conversation with Dr. Mark Moffett, biologist (Ph.D. Harvard, under E. O. Wilson), wildlife photographer for National Geographic, cave explorer, and world traveler about his new book, The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall, on the nature of societies from a biologist’s perspective.

Richard Wrangham offers a startlingly original theory of how, in the last 250 million years, humankind became an increasingly peaceful species in daily interactions even as its capacity for coolly planned and devastating violence remains undiminished. In tracing the evolutionary histories of reactive and proactive aggression, biological anthropologist Richard Wrangham forcefully and persuasively argues for the necessity of social tolerance and the control of savage divisiveness still haunting us today.

In Science Salon # 60 — an exceptionally important conversation — Dr. Shermer discusses at length the background to and research of Dr. Nicholas Christakis, a physician and evolutionary sociologist famous for his study of social networks in humans and other animals.

Cass Sunstein asks us to rethink freedom. He shows that freedom of choice isn’t nearly enough. Drawing on perspectives from the humanities, religion, and the arts, as well as social science and the law, Sunstein explores a crucial dimension of the human condition that philosophers and economists have long missed — and shows what it would take to make freedom real.

In Science Salon # 58, Michael Shermer and noted conservative political commentator and public intellectual Ben Shapiro discuss and debate “what made the West great” in this wide ranging conversation.

In Science Salon # 57, Dr. Shermer speaks with legendary biologist and primatologist Dr. Frans de Waal about his empirical and theoretical work on animal societies, politics, intelligence, sentience, consciousness and, now, feelings and emotions. His latest book is called Mama’s Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves.

Shermer and Cowen discuss: the meaning of “on the margin” and “marginal utility” • trade wars and tariffs • Is Trump a savvy economist? • why capitalism is a moral system as well as an economic system • income inequality • universal basic income • regulating financial markets • immigration • libertarian paternalism • social media • governmental regulation • Jordan Peterson • governing mars and more…

In Science Salon Ask Me Anything # 4, Dr. Shermer performs a postmortem on his debate/dialogue on with Dr. Brian Huffling at the Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday February 23, 2019. The specific topic was: “Is the Reality of Evil Good Evidence Against the Christian God?”

Shermer speaks with evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson about: the Darwinian Revolution • solving “is-ought” and “naturalistic fallacy” problems • dispelling the myth of social darwinism • the evolutionary origins of good and evil • group selection • multi-level selection • why nationalism is like religion • how a biologist thinks about immigration and nuclear deterrence • the rise of nationalism and what to do about it…