Podcast Episodes

COVID-19: What We Learned (and Didn't) About Masks, Lockdowns, and Vaccines

Episode 548

The COVID-19 pandemic was a devastating global event, killing more than seven million people, straining the fabric of societies, and shaking the foundations of the world economy. And yet, as horrifyi…

Published on 1 month ago

The Power of Common Knowledge: Steven Pinker on Language, Norms, and Punishment

Episode 547

Common knowledge is necessary for coordination, for making arbitrary but complementary choices like driving on the right, using paper currency, and coalescing behind a political leader or movement. I…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

Jim Lampley on Hosting the Super Bowl, Calling Tyson's Fights, and His Friendship with O.J.

Episode 546

Jim Lampley's story is a 50-year travelog of an unlikely career that catalogs the evolution of sports television—from his emergence as the first sideline reporter, through hosting and covering 14 Oly…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

The Assassination of Charlie Kirk: Shermer Reflects on Political Violence

Episode 545

In this solo commentary, Michael Shermer reflects on the assassination of Charlie Kirk and places it in the larger context of political violence, the psychology of radicalization, the dangers of fals…

Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago

The Fate of Nations: Why Ignoring Human Nature Dooms Politics

Episode 544

Science writer Nicholas Wade explains how human nature continues to shape—and sometimes destabilize—modern civilization, and argues that ignoring the effects of human nature on politics is one of soc…

Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago

How to Protect Children from Social Media and AI

Episode 543

Parenting today often feels like an uphill battle, with technology invading every corner of our kids' lives. From the rise of social media addiction to the growing mental health crisis among children…

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago

The Future of Space Exploration Amid NASA Mission Shutdowns

Episode 542

In this episode of The Michael Shermer Show, Michael Shermer interviews Alan Stern, a prominent planetary scientist and astronaut. Stern discusses his recent suborbital flight, the differences betwee…

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago

Why Do Humans Speak?

Episode 541

In a radical new story about the birth of our species, evolutionary biologist Madeleine Beekman argues that it was not hunting, fighting, or tool-making that forced early humans to speak, but the ine…

Published on 2 months ago

Depopulation: The Silent Global Emergency

Episode 540

Economist Dean Spears explains the forces driving global population change, from past fears of overpopulation to today's concerns about declining birth rates.

He contrasts the perspectives of biologi…

Published on 2 months ago

Brainwashing, Mind Control, and Hyper-Persuasion

Episode 539

Because brainwashing affects both the world and our observation of the world, we often don't recognize it while it's happening―unless we know where to look. As Rebecca Lemov writes in her new book Th…

Published on 2 months, 1 week ago