Shermer Says 7 Responding To Fan Mail Who Was Jesus
March 8, 2026
Michael Shermer frames religious claims, including the resurrection of Jesus, as mythic or literary truths about the human condition rather than literal, scientific facts, urging his student audience to seek deeper meaning over empirical verification.
Why the Same Childhood Doesn't Affect Everyone the Same Way
March 6, 2026
Developmental plasticity—how susceptible a child is to environmental shaping—is not uniform across individuals and may follow a bell curve, meaning the most vulnerable children under harsh conditions are also the most likely to flourish under improved conditions.
Who Gets to Edit Culture? Sensitivity Readers & Censorship in Book Publishing
February 26, 2026
Literary study has shifted from appreciating aesthetic beauty and the human condition to a 'hermeneutics of critique' focused on unpacking and challenging oppressive ideologies, often informed by Marxism.
Filming Corey Feldman Corey S Angels The Weird World Behind The Curtain
February 21, 2026
Documentary filmmaking, particularly in the verité style, is driven by the filmmaker's gut instinct to explore and understand complex human behavior and the narratives people construct under pressure.
Can a Skeptic Believe in God?
February 15, 2026
Christopher Beha argues that true skepticism, rooted in radical doubt about human knowledge, is consistent with metaphysical belief, contrasting this with the certainty displayed by figures like Richard Dawkins.
Shermer Says 6: Jeffrey Epstein and Me
February 7, 2026
Michael Shermer discovered his name in the Jeffrey Epstein files because Epstein attended a 2017 Skeptic Magazine 25th-anniversary event featuring Shermer and Deepak Chopra.
The Evolutionary Roots of Love, Sex, and Jealousy
February 3, 2026
Satisfaction rates are statistically similar between monogamous and consensually non-monogamous relationships, challenging moral arguments for the superiority of either structure.
Truth Still Matters (And Here's Why)
January 27, 2026
The search for truth is a necessity, as evidenced by the real-world consequences of believing falsehoods, such as the January 6th Capitol storming.
Shermer Says 5: What Went Wrong in Minnesota? Protests, Panic, and Personal Responsibility
January 26, 2026
Michael Shermer argues that while the shooting of Alex Pretty was tragic and warrants investigation, the deceased contributed to his demise by choosing to place himself in a high-risk, emotionally charged situation while armed with extra ammunition.
Government Transparency & UFOs: Inside Military Programs and Classified Briefings
January 21, 2026
The core of the discussion revolves around the concept of "catastrophic disclosure," which guest Kent Heckenlively suggests involves the revelation of advanced, potentially world-disrupting technology (like free energy) currently being hidden, rather than just alien visitation.
The Hardest UFO Cases to Dismiss: Something Is Flying Around and We Don't Know What It Is
January 18, 2026
Filmmaker James Fox, the guest on *
Why Survival Isn't Enough: The Deep Human Need to Matter
January 14, 2026
The fundamental human drive, which underpins both our greatest achievements and darkest conflicts, is the instinct to matter, rather than merely survival or happiness.
Shermer Says 4: Venezuela, ICE in Minnesota, UFOs & UAPs, and Social Norms Around Single-Sex Spaces
January 12, 2026
Michael Shermer expresses skepticism regarding the success of exporting democracy, citing historical failures like Vietnam, Iraq, and the complexity of dismantling deeply entrenched corruption in regimes like Venezuela's.
Mental Health: More Diagnoses, Fewer Answers?
January 10, 2026
The expansion of mental health diagnoses, like ADHD and Autism, is driven by subjective definitions that lack empirical anchors, leading to the inclusion of ordinary human distress rather than reflecting genuine scientific discovery.
What Makes You You When Everything Is Just Atoms
January 6, 2026
The feeling of 'specialness' in human existence, consciousness, and life itself stems from emergent properties and specific configurations of matter, not from a mysterious, non-physical force.
Rethinking the Discovery of DNA
January 3, 2026
Francis Crick's discovery of the double helix was contingent on luck and circumstance, as he and Watson were not originally assigned to work on DNA.
How One Black Man Dismantled the KKK, One Conversation at a Time
December 30, 2025
Daryl Davis's method for dismantling prejudice relies on creating cognitive dissonance in extremists by applying core human values (love, respect, fairness) during direct conversation, which plants a seed for change.
The Collapse of Open Inquiry: Sacred Victims and Forbidden Questions
December 28, 2025
The core concept of "woke" discussed in this episode of The Michael Shermer Show is defined as the "making sacred of historically marginalized race, gender, and sexual identity groups," which Eric Kaufmann argues undermines open inquiry.
The Future of Brain Implants: Restoring Speech, Regaining Mobility, Treating Pain
December 23, 2025
Paradromics' Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) platform has achieved the world's highest data rate at 200 bits per second, significantly surpassing competitors like Neuralink, which is crucial because progress in neuroscience is currently limited by data transfer speed, not biology.
The Original Alien Craze: When People Believed in Martians
December 20, 2025
The turn-of-the-century belief in intelligent Martians, fueled by Percival Lowell's observations of 'canali' and amplified by mass media, served a cultural need by providing a utopian, moral counterpoint to the perceived social decay and scientific undermining of traditional religion on Earth.
How AI Sees Science Differently Than We Do
December 16, 2025
Chris Edwards argues that AI may redefine human genius by focusing on interpreting artificial intelligence's scientific findings, similar to how the concept of the religious prophet has evolved.
Can You Spot a Killer? The Dangerous Fantasy of Criminal Profiling
December 13, 2025
Empirical evidence suggests criminal profiling, particularly the FBI Behavioral Science Unit's methods, is often inaccurate, with studies showing profiles rarely lead to capture and sometimes being less accurate than predictions by non-experts.
Why Wars Last Longer Than Experts Predict
December 8, 2025
The traditional "great power paradigm," which equates power primarily with military strength, fails to predict war outcomes, as evidenced by the US losing wars despite being a superpower and the initial underestimation of Ukrainian power.
The Emergent Mind: From Ant Colonies to Human Thought to Artificial Intelligence
December 6, 2025
The mind is conceived of as an emergent phenomenon, where complex properties arise from the interaction of simple, non-conscious units, a concept illustrated by ant colonies and modeled by neural networks.
Are We Meant to Leave Earth? Why Humanity May Have No Choice but to Go to Space
December 2, 2025
Human expansion into space may be an inevitable evolutionary momentum, driven by the species' historical pattern of expanding into new, extreme environments, despite the qualitatively different challenges space presents compared to terrestrial expansion.
Cosmology, Creation, and the Evidence for God
November 29, 2025
Michel-Yves Bolloré argues that the evidence from cosmology and the origin of life, while not constituting absolute proof, strongly suggests the existence of a creator God, leading to a conclusion beyond reasonable doubt.
Why Eastbound Flights Are Faster, and Other Strange Things About Wind (Simon Winchester)
November 22, 2025
The discovery of the jet stream by Japanese researcher Mr. Oishi in the 1930s was initially ignored by the meteorological community because his research papers were published in Esperanto rather than English.
Logic, Creativity, and the Limits of AI: How Humans Think in Ways Machines Never Will
November 18, 2025
The human brain functions fundamentally as a "storytelling machine" whose primary purpose is to initiate and chain actions into narratives (plans), which is distinct from the computational goal of identifying patterns in large datasets.
The Psychology of War: Could YOU Make a Moral Choice in Wartime?
November 16, 2025
Societies like the US and Britain are unusually stable due to deliberate structures that harness human capacities for restraint and self-reflection, counteracting inherent human tendencies toward violence.
Tribes, Teams, and Cults: How Groups Shape What We Believe
November 11, 2025
Group coordination, whether in jazz improvisation or orchestras, relies on underlying structures and grammars, with formal conductors emerging only when ensembles grew large enough to suffer from sound delay and complex start/stop coordination.
Shermer Says 3: Weird Experiences, the Meaning of Dreams, and What Mark Twain Knew About Reality
November 8, 2025
The central theme of this segment of *
A Former Spy Explains How AI is Changing Espionage
November 4, 2025
The history of American intelligence is defined by three major revolutions, with the current, fourth revolution being driven by the rise of Artificial Intelligence and the geopolitical focus shifting toward China.
Did Lost Civilizations Really Exist? An Archaeologist Explains
November 2, 2025
Archaeological interpretation of rock art relies on converging evidence, including oral traditions from descendants, contextual clues like the presence of horses, and external historical records, rather than singular definitive proof.
Charles Murray: Why I’m Taking Religion Seriously
October 25, 2025
Charles Murray has shifted from lifelong agnosticism to holding a Bayesian belief that the existence of an afterlife is slightly over 50% likely, based on evidence like the fine-tuning of the universe.
The Myth of Human Exceptionalism: Why Humans Aren’t as Special as We Think
October 21, 2025
The concept of human exceptionalism, which posits human superiority over other life forms, is repeatedly challenged by scientific findings that show cognitive and behavioral traits once thought unique to humans exist across many species.
Shermer Says: Why Secularists Are Turning to Religion, The Substitution Hypothesis, Sleep Paralysis
October 18, 2025
Michael Shermer explores the possibility of a "Fifth Great Awakening" in American history, prompted by a recent influx of books suggesting a religious comeback after years of documented decline in religiosity.
The Serial Killer Era of the 70s/80s: Lore, Patterns, and Plausible Explanations
October 15, 2025
The central hypothesis explored in *
Shermer Says: Debate Skills, 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, Autism, Vaccines, ANTIFA, Bari Weiss & CBS News
October 13, 2025
The new 'Shermer Says' segment on *
When Rationality Becomes Irrational
October 11, 2025
The traditional economic framework of Rational Choice Theory, which assumes quantifiable and comparable values lead to the 'most rational' choice, is a gross oversimplification that fails to describe or improve real-world decision-making, especially for important life choices.
The Science of Revenge: Why Getting Even Feels So Good
October 7, 2025
Grievances, such as jealousy or humiliation, activate the brain's physical pain network, which the brain attempts to rebalance by activating the pleasure and reward circuitry associated with addiction, leading to a craving for retaliation.
Why No One Thinks They’re in a Cult
October 5, 2025
Scholars lack a single agreed-upon definition for a cult, which is often characterized by excessive devotion, manipulative techniques, and the promotion of total dependency on the group to the detriment of members.
Was Benjamin Franklin America’s First Scientist?
September 30, 2025
Benjamin Franklin's legacy is characterized by his versatility across numerous careers and his modern, rational approach to science and politics, exemplified by his editing of the Declaration of Independence to favor "self-evident" truths over religious assertions.
COVID-19: What We Learned (and Didn’t) About Masks, Lockdowns, and Vaccines
September 27, 2025
The COVID-19 pandemic was not "The Big One," as future deadly pandemics could have significantly higher fatality rates (e.g., 25% compared to COVID-19's 1.5%).
The Power of Common Knowledge: Steven Pinker on Language, Norms, and Punishment
September 23, 2025
Common knowledge, the state of knowing something and knowing that everyone else knows it, is a fundamental driver of human coordination, social relationships, and the enforcement of norms, often operating through subtle signals and indirect communication to avoid direct confrontation or the disruption of established social structures.
Jim Lampley on Hosting the Super Bowl, Calling Tyson’s Fights, and His Friendship with O.J.
September 20, 2025
Jim Lampley's memoir, "It Happened," was deeply influenced by his mother and grandmother's storytelling, leading him to adopt a naturalistic writing method where he felt their voices guiding the narrative.
The Assassination of Charlie Kirk: Shermer Reflects on Political Violence
September 17, 2025
Political violence, while shocking in its immediacy, has historical precedents and is often fueled by deeply held, albeit incorrect, beliefs about reality.
The Fate of Nations: Why Ignoring Human Nature Dooms Politics
September 13, 2025
Scientific journals and institutions have become politicized by adopting 'woke' ideologies, compromising their neutrality and credibility.
How to Protect Children from Social Media and AI
September 9, 2025
The pervasive use of smartphones and social media among adolescents is strongly linked to a significant rise in mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, due to mechanisms like displacement of healthy activities, social comparison, and sleep deprivation.
The Future of Space Exploration Amid NASA Mission Shutdowns
September 6, 2025
Commercial space activities now significantly dwarf government spending and innovation in the space sector, driving a new era of space economy and exploration.
Why Do Humans Speak?
September 2, 2025
The evolution of human language is a complex interplay of genetic "flukes," morphological changes like a descended larynx, and the selective pressures of raising highly dependent, premature infants within a social structure.
Depopulation: The Silent Global Emergency
August 30, 2025
Global population growth has historically been driven by increased survival rates, not necessarily higher birth rates, and birth rates have been steadily declining for centuries, leading to a projected global depopulation.
Brainwashing, Mind Control, and Hyper-Persuasion
August 26, 2025
The history of concepts like brainwashing and mind control reveals a persistent human fascination with understanding how individuals can be influenced to act against their perceived self-interest, a phenomenon that continues to be relevant in contemporary discussions of persuasion and manipulation.
How Foreign Governments Influence U.S. Universities
August 19, 2025
Authoritarian governments are increasingly engaging in transnational repression, extending censorship beyond their borders into areas like higher education and technology, impacting global free speech.
Can We Prevent Aging? Eric Topol on Genes, Lifestyle, and AI in Healthcare
August 18, 2025
The future of medicine lies in leveraging AI and personalized data to prevent age-related diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer's, rather than solely focusing on treatment.
Is Nuclear Energy Our Best Shot at Saving the Planet?
August 12, 2025
The historical association of nuclear technology with atomic bombs and accidents like Chernobyl and Fukushima has created a deep-seated, often irrational, public fear that hinders its adoption as a clean energy solution.
Why the Left Needs Its Own Reckoning
August 11, 2025
The left's critical analysis of Western history, while valuable, has failed to apply the same rigorous self-critique to its own historical support of authoritarian regimes, leading to a "purity narrative" that sanitizes its past.
Is Traditional Religion Doomed?
August 5, 2025
The decline of traditional religion in the US is a well-established fact driven by generational displacement and a cultural shift towards obsolescence, rather than a single cause.
Drowning in Decisions: Do We Have Too Many Choices?
July 29, 2025
The concept of 'choice' as a fundamental aspect of human freedom and identity is a relatively modern invention, evolving significantly from the 17th century onwards, driven by commercial, religious, and political shifts.
Are We Alone? Martin Rees on Aliens, The Fermi Paradox & The Fate of Humanity
July 22, 2025
Scientific understanding of the universe progresses through piecemeal advances and fitting together fragmentary data, rather than direct assaults on great problems.
The True Cost of Conviction
July 15, 2025
Sacred values, which are deeply held beliefs about actions rather than outcomes, can lead to decision-making that bypasses rational consequentialist analysis, often resulting in polarization and conflict.
Debra Soh and Michael Shermer at FreedomFest 2025
July 14, 2025
The pervasive exposure of children to pornography, starting as young as age 10, is a significant concern with potential negative impacts on their sexual development and views of relationships.
Douglas Murray on Hamas, Iran, and the Collapse of the Two-State Solution
July 8, 2025
The glorification of death and a desire for an afterlife reward for dying are core tenets of ideologies like Hamas and Hezbollah, making them fundamentally different from rational actors in Western political thought.
Can Politics and Truth Coexist?
July 1, 2025
Democratic politics inherently creates 'political fog' by politicizing everything, making rational discussion and truth-seeking difficult, yet democracy fundamentally requires truth and evidence for its legitimacy.
Michael Egnor X Christof Koch X Michael Shermer | A Debate on the Mind, Soul, and the Afterlife
June 25, 2025
Neuroscience, while revealing the brain's role in emotions, sensations, and memory, does not fully explain abstract thought or consciousness, suggesting the potential for immaterial aspects of the mind or soul.
The Science Behind Menopause
June 17, 2025
A significant portion of medical care, particularly concerning perimenopause and menopause, lacks adequate scientific evidence, leading to patient mistreatment and misunderstanding.
Andrew Doyle: Trapped Between Woke Dogma and Right-Wing Populism
June 10, 2025
The term "woke" has evolved from its origins as a call to awareness of racial injustice to become a pejorative shorthand for an authoritarian, identity-obsessed, and illiberal movement that seeks equity through group identity by authoritarian means.
The Myths of American Capitalism Explained
May 31, 2025
Economic prosperity and opportunity in America are driven by capitalism, freedom, and entrepreneurial innovation, not government intervention, which can often hinder progress and create dependency.