Podcast Episodes
Back to Search84. Christof Koch — The Feeling of Life Itself: Why Consciousness is Widespread but Can't Be Computed
Episode 84
In this fascinating discussion of one of the hardest problems in all of science — the hard problem of consciousness, that is, explaining how the feel…
6 years, 11 months ago
83. Peter Boghossian — How to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide
Episode 83
In our current political climate, it seems impossible to have a reasonable conversation with anyone who has a different opinion. Whether you're onlin…
6 years, 11 months ago
82. Phil Zuckerman — What it Means to be Moral: Why Religion is Not Necessary for Living an Ethical Life
Episode 82
In What It Means to Be Moral: Why Religion Is Not Necessary for Living an Ethical Life, Phil Zuckerman argues that morality does not come from God. R…
6 years, 11 months ago
81. Bruce Hood — Possessed: Why We Want More Than We Need
Episode 81
You may not believe it, but there is a link between our current political instability and your childhood attachment to teddy bears. There's also a re…
7 years ago
80. Bryan Walsh — End Times: A Brief Guide to the End of the World
Episode 80
End Times: A Brief Guide to the End of the World is a compelling work of skilled reportage that peels back the layers of complexity around the unthin…
7 years ago
79. Anthony Kronman — The Assault on American Excellence
Episode 79
The former dean of Yale Law School argues that the feverish egalitarianism gripping college campuses today is out of place at institutions whose job …
7 years ago
78. Dr. Donald Hoffman — The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth From Our Eyes
Episode 78
In his new book, The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth From Our Eyes, the U.C. Irvine cognitive scientist Dr. Donald Hoffman challeng…
7 years ago
77. Dr. Lee McIntyre — The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience
Episode 77
In this engaging conversation on the nature of science, Dr. McIntyre and Dr. Shermer get deep into the weeds of where to draw the line between scienc…
7 years, 1 month ago
76. William Poundstone — The Doomsday Calculation: How an Equation that Predicts the Future is Transforming Everything We Know About Life and the Universe
Episode 76
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 unive…
7 years, 1 month ago
75. Charles Fishman — One Giant Leap: The Impossible Mission that Flew us to the Moon
Episode 75
On this July 16th, the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, Michael Shermer speaks with veteran space reporter Charles Fishman who has been writing about N…
7 years, 1 month ago