The Michael Shermer Show Archives

Gad Saad – Suicidal Empathy

Dying to Be Kind

The Michael Shermer Show | 26 May 2026 | 1h 30m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Gad Saad about his book Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind. Argues that many Western institutions have learned to treat compassion as a substitute for judgment. In practice, he argues, this can mean extending sympathy toward the wrong targets (for example, criminals over victims), excusing destructive behaviour, rewarding ideological conformity over truth, or denying uncomfortable facts in the name of kindness. The result is a moral framework that feels humane in the moment but can produce outcomes that are unfair, irrational, or even dangerous.

Majid Fotuhi – The Invincible Brain

The Michael Shermer Show | 14 April 2026 | 0h 58m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Majid Fotuhi about his book The Invincible Brain: The Clinically Proven Plan to Age-Proof Your Brain and Stay Sharp for Life. Discusses dementia, Alzheimer’s, memory loss, ADHD, the difference between ordinary forgetfulness and something more serious, the everyday habits that shape brain health over time, and why some people remain mentally sharp into old age. Argues that there is often more room to protect brain function than most of us realize and explains what the evidence says about exercise, sleep, diet, stress, and cognitive activity.

Matt Kaplan – I Told You So!

The Michael Shermer Show | 12 March 2026 | 1h 02m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Matt Kaplan about his book I Told You So! Scientists Who Were Ridiculed, Exiled, and Imprisoned for Being Right. Discusses the scientists who got there first and paid the price; why institutions resist new ideas, why careers can depend on defending the status quo, and why being right is often not enough. Covers Katalin Karikó, whose work on mRNA was dismissed long before it helped transform modern medicine, and Oliver Wendell Holmes, who faced fierce backlash for arguing that doctors themselves were spreading deadly infections. Looks at what happens when evidence collides with ego, reputation, and scientific orthodoxy.

This episode has current science correspondent for The Economist, Matt Kaplan, talking about how badly institutions treat scientists who are heretical, but right. I also recommend past science correspondent for The Economist, Matt Ridley, on how institutions lionise those who are consistently wrong: Ehrlich’s Anti-Human Legacy.

Eric Kaufmann – The Third Awokening

The Michael Shermer Show | 28 December 2025 | 1h 29m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Eric Kaufmann about his book The Third Awokening: A 12-Point Plan for Rolling Back Progressive Extremism. Defines woke as the sacralization of marginalized groups and identifies three historical awokenings since the 1960s, driven by cultural socialism and white guilt rather than radical Marxism. Discusses how emotional safety stifles free speech and how the pursuit of equal outcomes has replaced meritocracy. Advocates for political intervention and institutional transparency to restore viewpoint diversity, reason, and objective truth in society.

Simon Winchester – The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind

The Michael Shermer Show | 22 November 2025 | 1h 21m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Simon Winchester about his book The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind. Discusses the science and history of wind: why eastbound flights are usually faster than flying west; how the discovery of the jet stream was almost missed because the original research was published in Esperanto; the debate over the Great Terrestrial Stilling – the idea that global wind speeds may be decreasing – and why newer measurements suggest the trend may be reversing; the increasing frequency of clear-air turbulence (the kind that causes sudden drops during flights), the techniques used by Polynesian navigators to cross vast stretches of ocean without instruments, and the challenges faced by early wartime pilots who unintentionally flew into the jet stream.

See also other interviews with Simon Winchester.

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

The Michael Shermer Show | 23 September 2025 | 1h 38m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Steven Pinker about his book When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life. Discusses how the hidden logic of common knowledge can make sense of many of life’s enigmas: financial bubbles and crashes, revolutions that come out of nowhere, the posturing and pretense of diplomacy, the eruption of social media shaming mobs and academic cancel culture, the awkwardness of a first date.

How Foreign Governments Influence U.S. Universities

The Michael Shermer Show | 19 August 2025 | 1h 09m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Sarah McLaughlin about her book Authoritarians in the Academy: How the Internationalization of Higher Education and Borderless Censorship Threaten Free Speech. Reveals how higher education institutions – long considered bastions of free thought – are compromising their values for financial gain and international partnerships.

Is Nuclear Energy Our Best Shot at Saving the Planet?

The Michael Shermer Show | 12 August 2025 | 1h 14m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Isabelle Boemeke about her book Rad Future: The Untold Story of Nuclear Electricity and How it Will Save the World. Explains how nuclear energy is our best option for ensuring the future of the planet – it can power cities, desalinate water, create carbon-free fertilizer, and heat homes, all with the smallest environmental footprint of any energy source. Discusses common objections to nuclear energy, including safety concerns and waste management, the potential of microreactors, and the importance of nuclear energy in space exploration.