SKEPTIC RESEARCH CENTER REPORT (PCIS-006)

Conspiracy Theory Endorsement by Media Viewership

Sixth report in the Paranormal & Conspiratorial Ideation Study (PCIS)

Cable news media in the United States has been playing to partisan audiences since at least the 1990s (Hollander, 2008). If conspiratorial thinking is sometimes partisan — as it seems to be given our prior reports on this topic — it is worth investigating whether cable news media viewership is itself associated with conspiracy belief. To do so, we divided our sample into those who reported watching CNN only (a politically left-skewed cable news channel) and those who reported watching Fox News only (a politically right-skewed cable news channel) and then asked the question: “Does cable news viewership impact conspiracy belief?”

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The Skeptic Research Center (SRC), under the umbrella of the Skeptics Society, is currently accepting applications for two Skeptic Research Center Fellows.

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EPISODE # 267

Louis Theroux on Neo-Nazis, Jimmy Savile, UFO Cults, and Scientology

Shermer and Theroux discuss: how documentary films are made • religious fanaticism and why people believe • UFO cults, end-times sects, and cognitive dissonance • Scientology: religion or cult? • neo-Nazis and anti-Semitism • prisons, pornography, and prostitution • Jeffrey Epstein and Jimmy Savile • self-help movements and gurus • deception and self-deception • social proof and human conformity • are humans naturally rational, irrational, or both?

Louis Theroux is a genre-defining documentary filmmaker best known for his explorations of controversial and complex topics. Using a gentle questioning style and an informal approach, Louis has shone light on intriguing beliefs, behaviors, and institutions by getting to know the people at the heart of them — from the officers and inmates at San Quentin prison to the extreme believers of the Westboro Baptist Church; from male porn performers in California to young women with eating disorders in London.

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EPISODE # 266

Jesse Singal on Why Fad Psychology Can’t Cure Our Social Ills

Michael Shermer and Jesse Singal discuss: how social scientists determine causality • Primeworld: cognitive priming and how it works (and doesn’t work) • The Malcolm Gladwell-effect (named after the 10,000-hour effect, by Anders Ericsson) • the self-esteem and self-help personal-empowerment movements • power posing and positive psychology • New Age self-help movements • Grit (stick-to-itiveness) (Darwin’s “dogged as does it.”) • Persistence is task specific and context dependent • Big 5 personality as determiners: Grit = Conscientiousness • Implicit Association Test and racism, misogyny, and bigotry • the replication crisis, what caused it, and what to do about it • choice architecture and the nudging of human behavior • race, gender, class, I.Q. and other radioactive topics in group differences • free will and determinism • nature/nurture and how lives turn out • abortion • and U.S. foreign policy.

Jesse Singal is a contributing writer at New York and the former editor of the magazine’s Science of Us online vertical, as well as the cohost of the podcast Blocked and Reported. His work has appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Slate, The Daily Beast, The Boston Globe, and other publications. He is a former Robert Bosch Foundation fellow in Berlin and holds a master’s degree from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs.

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TRANSGENDER MATTERS

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AMERICA’S COMING EDUCATIONAL COLLAPSE

A Classroom Teacher Explains the Problem and Offers a Solution

by Chris Edwards

Everyone knows that the U.S. public education system is broken, but no one quite knows what to do about it. In this analysis the education reform researcher and advocate Chris Edwards explains the problem and considers possible solutions.

Chris Edwards, EdD, teaches AP world history and an English course on critical thinking at a public high school in the Midwest and is the author of To Explain it All: Everything You Wanted to Know about the Popularity of World History Today; Connecting the Dots in World History; Femocracy: How Educators Can Teach Democratic Ideals and Feminism; and Beyond Obsolete: How to Upgrade Classroom Practice and School Structure. He is a frequent contributor to Skeptic magazine.

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EPISODE # 265

Christopher Blattman on Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace

Shermer and Blattman discuss: Putin, Russia, and Ukraine • game theory and violent conflict • 5 Reasons for conflict and war • common elements of conflict in Medellin, Chicago, Sudan, Somalia, etc. • U.S. foreign policy in Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and elsewhere, and its consequences • human nature and conflict: are we wired to fight or do environments push us into conflicts? • cooperation vs. competition / selfish genes vs. collection action problems • inner demons and better angels • violence and wars in our paleolithic ancestors • why violence has declined over the centuries • Chicago as a test case for theories of conflict and peace • why gangs, groups, and even nations mostly avoid conflict and war because of its consequences • and whether international aid and economic development attenuate violence.

Dr. Christopher Blattman is the Ramalee E. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies (University of Chicago), where he coleads the Development Economics Center and directs the Obama Foundation Scholars program. His work on violence, crime, and poverty has been widely covered by the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Forbes, Slate, Vox, and NPR.

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SUBSTACK RECAP

TRANSGENDER MATTERS

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EPISODE # 264

Adam Levin on Identity Theft and How to Protect Yourself from Scammers, Phishers, and Fraudsters of All Types

Increasingly, identity theft is a fact of life: from fake companies selling “credit card insurance”; criminal, medical, and child identity theft; catphishers, tax fraud, fake debt collectors who threaten you with legal action; and much more. We might once have hoped to protect ourselves from hackers with airtight passwords and aggressive spam filters, and those are good ideas as far as they go. But with the breaches of huge organizations like Target, AshleyMadison.com, JPMorgan Chase, Sony, Anthem, and even the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, more than a billion personal records have already been stolen, and chances are good that you’re already in harm’s way. This doesn’t mean there’s no hope. Your identity may get stolen, but it doesn’t have to be a life-changing event. In this conversation, Shermer speaks with Adam Levin, a consumer advocate with more than 30 years’ experience in personal finance, privacy, real estate and government service. A former director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Levin is Chairman and founder of Identity Theft 911. A longtime consumer advocate and identity fraud expert, Levin provides a method to help you keep hackers, phishers, and spammers from becoming your problem. As Levin shows, these folks get a lot less scary if you see them coming.

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ALONG THE ANCIENT COAST OF TURKEY (OCTOBER 8–17, 2022)

A Voyage from Istanbul to Antalya with Archaeologists Dr. Nicolle Hirschfeld and Dr. Rebecca Ingram Aboard the Privately-Chartered 34-Guest Callisto

Dear Friends, I am pleased to invite you on a truly unique journey. Scheduled to operate in October 2022, the trip will hug the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts of Turkey, visiting several important sites that have helped establish the historical value of shipwreck archaeology. Starting in Istanbul, the fabled Constantinople, we will visit monuments from the city’s Byzantine and Ottoman periods, including Aghia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and Topkapı Palace. In Istanbul, we will board Callisto, and after sailing in the Sea of Marmara and entering the narrow strait of the Dardanelles, we will explore storied Troy, famed in antiquity for its wealth and as the site of the legendary Trojan War. Continuing along the Aegean Sea coast of Turkey, we will dock in Küşadası, our base for exploring the remains of Ephesus, undoubtedly one of the world’s great archaeological sites.

Next comes Bodrum, which is home to the superb Museum of Underwater Archaeology. We will visit both the Museum and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) Center, where we will get a behind-the-scenes tour of ongoing artifact conservation. From Bodrum we follow in the footsteps of the Knights of St. John to the Greek island of Rhodes with its awe-inspiring medieval fortifications. Returning to the Turkish coast, we will call at Fethiye for a visit to the great Lycian city of Xanthus, and then sail past Uluburun, where archaeologist Dr. Nicolle Hirschfeld helped excavate the dazzling royal cargo transported aboard a Late Bronze Age shipwreck. After lovely Kekova, a fjord-like waterway, the ship will navigate to the bustling port city of Antalya, where our journey will end. We are fortunate to have as lecturers two expert archaeologists, Dr. Nicolle Hirschfeld, Professor of Classical Studies at Trinity University, and Dr. Rebecca Ingram, Curator of Exhibits and Collections at the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History. Their archaeological field experience, lectures, and discussions will illuminate the history and significance of the places we will visit. I hope you will join this exciting adventure!

With warm regards, Dr. Michael Shermer

Executive Director, Skeptics Society

7% of your cruise fee will be a tax-deductible donation to The Skeptics Society — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

EXPEDITION GUEST LECTURERS

Dr. Nicolle Hirschfeld is a Professor of Classical Studies at Trinity University in San Antonio and an Institute oof Nautical Archaeology (INA) Affiliated Scholar. She has excavated at sites throughout the eastern Mediterranean, including the Late Bronze Age shipwreck at Uluburun, and dug through museum basements all over Europe, looking especially for material evidence of interactions among the different cultures of Late Bronze Age Greece, Anatolia, Cyprus, and Egypt. In 2010, she joined INA Founder George Bass to work at Cape Gelidonya, 50 years after the original season. Other special interests include potmarks (ancient barcodes), the scripts of ancient Cyprus, and seafaring in the ancient Mediterranean.

Dr. Rebecca Ingram is Curator of Exhibits and Collections at the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History in Texas and Editorial Assistant of the American Journal of Archaeology. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. from the Nautical Archaeology Program at Texas A&M University, and spent four years helping to excavate 8 of the 37 shipwrecks found in the Byzantine harbor at Yenikapı, Turkey. Rebecca also assisted with the recording of an Ottoman galley in the Istanbul Naval Museum. She has traveled and lectured widely around the eastern Mediterranean and is particularly interested in the development of shipbuilding technology during the first millennium A.D.

ITINERARY

DAY 1

Saturday, October 8, 2022 ARRIVE IN ISTANBUL

Founded by Greeks in the 7^th century BC and named Byzantion, in AD 324, Emperor Constantine made the city the capital of the Roman Empire and named it after himself, Constantinople. For over 1,000 years, it was the capital of the Byzantine Empire and the most resplendent city in Europe, and from the mid-15^th century, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Upon arrival in Istanbul, transfer to the historic Pera Palace Hotel. In the evening, enjoy a welcome dinner at a local restaurant. Meals: D

DAY 2

Sunday, October 9 ISTANBUL, Turkey

In the morning, tour Istanbul’s major monuments from the Byzantine period, including the fabled walls and the great palace of the emperors; the Hippodrome; the underground Basilica Cistern; and the incomparable Aghia Sophia, the Church of Divine Wisdom, built by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, visit the Blue Mosque and Ottoman galleys in the Naval Museum. Meals: B, L

DAY 3

Monday, October 10 ISTANBUL & EMBARKATION ON CALLISTO

Spend the morning at leisure to explore on your own the city’s colorful bazaars and other sites. In the afternoon, visit the Archaeological Museum, which houses important artifacts and other objects from ancient sites throughout Turkey. Also, visit the Topkapı Palace, the residence of the sultans for three centuries. Continue to the port to embark Callisto and sail in the Sea of Marmara. Meals: B, D

DAY 4

Tuesday, October 11 TROY

From the port of Canakkale, where we will arrive in the morning, travel to fabled Troy, which consists of nine cities superimposed in rings, on a massive mound rising above the “windswept” plain of Ilium. It was to one of these cities, between 1240 BC and 1200 BC, that the Trojan prince Paris abducted the beautiful Helen, igniting the Trojan War that was fought by Greeks and Trojans. The imposing city of King Priam, after ten years of fighting, finally fell to the Greeks on the clever ruse of Odysseus, the Trojan Horse. Meals: B, L, D

DAY 5

Wednesday, October 12 CLAROS & EPHESUS

Küşadası gives easy access to important ancient sites that we will explore. In the morning, drive to Claros. Settled by Greeks since at least the 10^th century BC, Claros was an important sanctuary and oracular center of Apollo that became particularly popular during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. In the afternoon, tour Ephesus, one of the most prominent cities of antiquity, now a magnificent archaeological site. Founded by Greeks around 1100 BC, and renowned as the center of worship of the mother-goddess Cybele, later identified with Artemis, Ephesus flourished between 600 BC and AD 500. The city was also central to the missionary work of St. Paul, who lived here from AD 52–54, preaching Christianity. See the stunning fa ade of the Library of Celsus, the Temple of Hadrian, the large Theater, and other buildings. Excavations continue and archaeologists have restored the Terrace Houses, giving a glimpse of the daily lives of the Ephesians. Meals: B, L, D

DAY 6

Thursday, October 13 BODRUM

Founded by Peloponnesian Greeks, Bodrum, the ancient Halicarnassus, was the birthplace of Herodotus, the “father of history,” and the site of the Mausoleum, the grand funerary monument of Mausolus, the ruler of the city during the first half of the 4^th century BC, that was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Bodrum is dominated by the Castle of St. Peter, built in the 15^th century on a rocky promontory overlooking the harbor with stones from the Mausoleum. The castle houses the superb Museum of Underwater Archaeology, which features artifacts from shipwrecks excavated by the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA). On a hill outside the town is INA’s Bodrum Research Center, which we will also visit and be welcomed with a cocktail reception by the Center’s archaeologists, curators and conservators. Anchored near Bodrum is Virazon II, INA’s research ship, the first to be classed as an archaeological research vessel (ARV). Meals: B, L, D

DAY 7

Friday, October 14 RHODES

Spend the day at the Greek island of Rhodes. Inhabited since the Neolithic age, Rhodes flourished during the Classical and Hellenistic periods, when it became a powerful maritime and commercial center, founding colonies on the nearby coast of Asia Minor and and elsewhere in the Mediterranean. In the morning, tour Rhodes’ Old Town, one of the best-preserved walled medieval towns in Europe. The robust fortifications and other buildings were constructed by the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, who ruled Rhodes from 1309 to 1523. It was also the Knights of St. John who built the castle of St. Peter in Bodrum. Visit the imposing Palace of the Grand Master, and walk the celebrated Street of the Knights to the Archaeological Museum. In the afternoon, drive along the island’s east coast to the village of Lindos. With its white-washed houses built below the towering ancient Acropolis, Lindos presents one of the prettiest sights in the Aegean Sea. Meals: B, L, D

DAY 8

Saturday, October 15 XANTHOS & ULUBURUN

From the port town of Fethiye on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, visit Xanthos, ancient Lycia’s principal city, built on a great cliff overlooking the Xanthos River and the sea beyond. Xanthos boasts significant remains, including those on the Lycian Acropolis, the Nereid Monument, an exquisite Ionic building whose figured friezes are in the British Museum, the theater, and pillar-tombs with rock-cut facades. Later in the day, Callisto will sail by Uluburun, where INA archaeologists, under the direction of the late George Bass, carried out the world-famous excavation of a Late Bronze Age ship transporting raw materials and gifts exchanged between kings and pharaohs. Meals: B, L, D

DAY 9

Sunday, October 16 KEKOVA BAY & CAPE GELIDONYA

Sail into Kekova Bay, where the narrow island of Kekova, only five miles long, forms a series of beautiful bays and fjord-like waterways, which contain submerged remains of an ancient town, which we will view from the decks of local boats. Ashore, we will land at the pretty village of Kale, the site of ancient Simena, and may ascend to the medieval castle above the village. The view of Kekova from the castle is magnificent. In the afternoon, the ship will navigate near Cape Gelidonya, the place where, in 1960, George Bass, then a graduate student, directed the first ever scientific underwater excavation of an ancient shipwreck. Meals: B, L, D

DAY 10

Monday, October 17 ANTALYA / USA

Disembark in Antalya and transfer to the airport for the return flight home. Meals: B

The 34-Guest Yacht Callisto

In an era of mega cruise ships that carry thousands of passengers, Callisto is a delightful alternative. More like a private yacht than a cruise ship, Callisto accommodates a maximum of just 34 guests in 17 cabins that face outside. Unlike the formalities found on larger cruise ships, a relaxed and informal atmosphere prevails aboard. A well-trained English-speaking crew of 18 manages the ship and provides friendly and efficient service. The dining room, surrounded by large windows, accommodates all guests at one unassigned seating, while the adjoining lounge, which is also lined with windows, is a good place to meet and socialize with fellow travelers, and attend lectures. When the weather permits, meals will be served al fresco. A library faces the spacious Sun Deck. The 17 cabins range in size from 130 sq. ft. to 145 sq. ft. There are four different categories of cabins arranged on two decks, all of which feature either windows (Categories A & B), or portholes (Categories C & D); twin, double, or queen-size beds; individually controlled air-conditioning; flat-screen TV; mini fridge; wardrobe; safety deposit box; and telephone (internal use). Each cabin has a private bathroom with shower, marble sink countertop, hair dryer, and fine toiletries. Callisto is equipped with stabilizers that provide smoother sailing. Download the Expedition Brochure for complete details about the 34-Guest Yacht Callisto, including Rates and Deck Plan.

Rates

For rates, yacht & cabin descriptions, and deck plan, please download the Expedition Brochure.

Program Inclusions

• Two nights at the historic Pera Palace Hotel, Istanbul
• Welcome dinner in Istanbul at a local restaurant
• Full breakfast at the hotel
• Meals in Istanbul as indicated in the itinerary
• Cruise aboard the Callisto, as described in the itinerary
• All meals aboard ship, including wine, beer, and soft drinks with lunch and dinner
• Complete program of tours and excursions and other activities ashore, with professional English-speaking guides
• Program of lectures and discussions by Dr. Nicolle Hirschfeld and Dr. Rebecca Ingram
• Airport/hotel/pier transfers and handling of luggage abroad
• Open bar aboard ship throughout the voyage
• Port, embarkation, and all other local taxes
• Gratuities to guides, drivers and porters
• Experienced Thalassa Journeys trip director
• Comprehensive pre-departure material.

Illustration by James Bennett

EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY

Do You See What I See?

Learn how to engage with people and accounts of extraordinary claims without evoking anger in the current issue of SKEPTIC magazine (27.1), available now in print and digital editions.

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EPISODE # 263

Dave Rubin — Left, Right, and Woke, based on his book Don’t Burn This Country: Surviving and Thriving in Our Woke Dystopia

In this conversation, Shermer speaks with Dave Rubin: New York Times bestselling author, and creator and host of The Rubin Report.

According to Rubin, you don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to see that something dark is happening in America. Just look around: Massive corporations monitor our every move. The Thought Police stand ready to cancel any who dare think for themselves. Brainwashed activists openly attack the American experiment. The dystopian future we’ve been warned of is here.

Dave Rubin has been on the front lines of the culture wars for years. Now, in his book entitled Don’t Burn This Country: Surviving and Thriving in Our Woke Dystopia, he offers tactics you can use to protect yourself from today’s authoritarian rule — from resisting the grip of Big Tech to staying sane in a post-truth world. What’s more, he offers a vision for the next generation of patriots who will need to face the future head-on, holding fast to their values and creating a meaningful life no matter how frenzied and fabricated the news of the day is.

Rubin says that in order for free-thinking people to thrive in this era of woke lunacy, we need to step up and create freedom for ourselves. While exposing Progressive lies and offering practical advice you can employ right now, his book is a call for Americans to live the freest life possible — and a roadmap for saving the greatest country in the history of the world.

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If you enjoy the podcast, please show your support by making a $5 or $10 monthly donation.

Illustration by James Bennett

EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY

Do You See What I See?

Learn how to engage with people and accounts of extraordinary claims without evoking anger in the current issue of SKEPTIC magazine (27.1), available now in print and digital editions.

Buy now

EPISODE # 262

Oliver Stone on Ukraine, Putin, and the Military-Industrial Complex

In episode 262, Shermer speaks with Oliver Stone about: the relationship with truth in dramatic films vs. documentary films; how the world would be different if JFK were not assassinated; why diplomacy and trade agreements are necessary with Russia, even now after the invasion of Ukraine; the Cuban Missile Crisis, U.S. Jupiter missiles in Turkey, and Nikita Khrushchev’s response; Putin’s justifications for Soviet/Russian actions in Hungary, Afghanistan, Georgia, Chechnya, Syria, and Crimea; what he thinks Putin would say to justify the invasion of Ukraine; why he thinks we can’t trust Western media; U.S. foreign policy and how he thinks it is just as aggressive as Russia’s; and his moral equivalency argument for American vs. Russian aggression.

Oliver Stone studied at Yale University, taught English in South Vietnam, and served in the Vietnam War in the U.S. Army where he earned two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star. He then attended film school at NYU and studied under the acclaimed director Martin Scorsese. Stone won his first Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Midnight Express (1978) and won his second and third as Best Director for Platoon (1986) and Born on the Fourth of July (1989) respectively. Stone also wrote the screenplay for Scarface, which went on to become one of the most iconic films in history. His directed several documentary films, including Comandante (2003), the Putin Interviews (2017), and the controversial JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass (2021).

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WILD PSYCHOTHERAPY

The “Doctors” are in

But should you trust them? We have the answers in the current issue of SKEPTIC magazine (27.1), available now in print and digital editions: (Illustration by Ástor Alexander)

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SKEPTIC RESEARCH CENTER REPORT (PCIS-005)

Conspiracy Theory Endorsement by Generation

Fifth report in the Paranormal & Conspiratorial Ideation Study (PCIS)

Across the last four reports, we’ve tried to uncover which demographic groups in the United States most believe in a variety of conspiracies. In this report, we investigated how belief in conspiracy theories differs across generations. This is important because peoples’ tendency to endorse conspiracy theories might ebb and flow across time as public trust in institutions rises or falls. Consider the “Birds Aren’t Real” satire conspiracy, promulgated by those born in the mid-late 1990s and early 2000s (“Gen Z”) which insists that birds are not what we see flying above our heads, but rather, government drones designed to fool us (Byrne, 2021). The ridiculousness of this conspiracy is exactly the point — conspiratorialism, itself, is being critiqued. So, here, we ask: is there any indication that younger generations are becoming more conspiratorial?

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The Skeptic Research Center (SRC), under the umbrella of the Skeptics Society, is currently accepting applications for two Skeptic Research Center Fellows.

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EPISODE # 261

Jim Al-Khalili on the Joy of Science

In this conversation, quantum physicist, New York Times bestselling author, and BBC host Jim Al-Khalili reveals how 8 lessons from the heart of science can help us all get the most out of our lives.

Today’s world is unpredictable and full of contradictions, and navigating its complexities while trying to make the best decisions is far from easy. In this brief guide to leading a more rational life, acclaimed physicist Jim Al-Khalili invites readers to engage with the world as scientists have been trained to do. The scientific method has served humankind well in its quest to see things as they really are, and underpinning the scientific method are core principles that can help us all navigate modern life more confidently. Discussing the nature of truth and uncertainty, the role of doubt, the pros and cons of simplification, the value of guarding against bias, the importance of evidence-based thinking, and more, Al-Khalili shows how the powerful ideas at the heart of the scientific method are deeply relevant to the complicated times we live in and the difficult choices we make.

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WILD PSYCHOTHERAPY

The “Doctors” are in

But should you trust them? We have the answers in the current issue of SKEPTIC magazine (27.1), available now in print and digital editions: (Illustration by Ástor Alexander)

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EPISODE # 259

Batya Ungar-Sargon — Bad News: How Woke Media Is Undermining Democracy

Something is wrong with American journalism. Long before “fake news” became the calling card of the Right, Americans had lost faith in their news media. But lately, the feeling that something is off has become impossible to ignore. That’s because the majority of our mainstream news is no longer just liberal; it’s woke. Today’s newsrooms are propagating radical ideas that were fringe as recently as a decade ago, including “antiracism,” intersectionality, open borders, and critical race theory. How did this come to be? It all has to do with who our news media is written by — and who it is written for.

Michael Shermer speaks with Batya Ungar-Sargon about her new book Bad News: How Woke Media Is Undermining Democracy in which she reveals how American journalism underwent a status revolution over the twentieth century — from a blue-collar trade to an elite profession. As a result, journalists shifted their focus away from the working class and toward the concerns of their affluent, highly educated peers.

Ungar-Sargon avers that, in abandoning the working class by creating a culture war around identity, our national media is undermining American democracy.

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If you enjoy the podcast, please show your support by making a $5 or $10 monthly donation.

WILD PSYCHOTHERAPY

The “Doctors” are in

But should you trust them? We have the answers in the current issue of SKEPTIC magazine (27.1), available now in print and digital editions: (Illustration by Ástor Alexander)

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WiFi WOES

The Rollout of 5G Reawakens Wireless Fears

Not sure what to think of 5G? We have the answers in the current issue of SKEPTIC magazine (27.1), available now in print and digital editions: (Illustration by Izhar Cohen)

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EPISODE # 259

Ogi Ogas — Journey of the Mind: How Thinking Emerged from Chaos

Why do you exist? How did atoms and molecules transform into sentient creatures that experience longing, regret, compassion, and even marvel at their own existence? What does it truly mean to have a mind―to think? Science has offered few answers to these existential questions until now.

Michael Shermer speaks with computational neuroscientist, Ogi Ogas, about his unified account of the mind that explains how consciousness, language, self-awareness, and civilization arose incrementally out of chaos, and how leading cities and nation-states are developing “superminds,” and perhaps planting the seeds for even higher forms of consciousness.

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SUBSTACK RECAP

EPISODE # 258

Jacek Kugler — Putin & Power Transition Theory: China, Russia, and Ukraine

Michael Shermer speaks with Professor of International Relations, Dr. Jacek Kugler, about his Power Transition Theory which states that an even distribution of political, economic, and military capabilities between contending groups of states is likely to increase the probability of war; peace is preserved best when there is an imbalance of national capabilities between disadvantaged and advantaged nations; the aggressor will come from a small group of dissatisfied strong countries; and it is the weaker, rather than the stronger power that is most likely to be the aggressor.

Shermer and Kugler discuss: Power Transition Theory and how it applies to Putin and Russia today; the relationship between a nation’s economic strength and its political power; where China figures into the future of the new world order; what happens if Putin succeeds in Ukraine? What if he fails?; What should the U.S. should have done in response to the annexation of Crimea, intervention in Syria, the destruction of Georgia and Chechnya, the imprisonment and murder of Russian dissidents?; What should NATO do now or in the near future?; and more…

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TRANSGENDER MATTERS

Gender Dysphoria Rising

Celebrating 30 years in print! This issue is in full-color, cover-to-cover, for the first time ever. Available in print and digital editions. Buy the single back issue, or order a subscription today.

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SKEPTIC RESEARCH CENTER REPORT (PCIS-004)

Who Endorses Conspiracy Theories about Government Elites?

Fourth report in the Paranormal & Conspiratorial Ideation Study (PCIS)

In this report we delve into a new group of conspiracy theories, this time regarding the alleged nefarious influence of government elites. We focus here on QAnon, Deep State, and Jeffrey Epstein. QAnon has been branded a “viral, pro-Trump conspiracy theory” (Roose, 2021) that came to light after Hillary Clinton’s campaign chair, John Podesta, had his emails hacked. Proponents of the conspiracy theory insisted that hidden messages in the emails revealed an extensive network of Satan-worshipping pedophiles amongst the Democrat political elite. Deep State conspiracy theories are typically more general. Here, the contention is that elections only swap out public-facing political representatives, while the real political decision-making process takes place amongst an unelected secret group. Finally, we turn to a very specific conspiracy theory regarding the apparent suicide of convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Was Epstein murdered by his elite clientele to silence him? As with our other reports in this series, we ask: who in the United States most endorses these conspiracy theories?

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EPISODE # 257

Simon Conway Morris on Design in Evolution & the Possibility of Purpose in the Cosmos

If extraterrestrial intelligences exist, will look anything like us? Are we alone in the cosmos? If we reran the tape of life, would humans appear again? Is there purpose in the cosmos?

Shermer speaks with Cambridge evolutionary palaeobiologist Simon Conway Morris whose latest book challenges six assumptions that too often pass as unquestioned truths amongst the evolutionary orthodox. These include the idea that evolution is boundless in the kinds of biological systems it can produce. Not true, he says. The process is highly circumscribed and delimited. Nor is it random. This popular notion holds that evolution proceeds blindly, with no endgame. But Conway Morris suggests otherwise, pointing to evidence that the processes of evolution are “seeded with inevitabilities.”

Shermer and Morris also discuss: convergent evolution and directionality in evolution; chance, contingency, and law in evolution; theistic evolution and teleology in nature; why Morris is a Christian but rejects Intelligent Design creationism; free will and determinism; and whether there good arguments for God’s existence.

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EPISODE # 256

Imagining the Future with Reality Game Designer and Futurist Jane McGonigal

Shermer speaks with world-renowned future forecaster and game designer, Jane McGonigal, about her book Imaginable in which she draws on the latest scientific research in psychology and neuroscience to show us how to train our minds to think the unthinkable and imagine the unimaginable by inviting us to play with provocative thought experiments and future simulations.

Shermer and McGonigal discuss: what a futurist is and what they do; counterfactuals: predicting the past; how could the present moment be different?; how can you imagine the unimaginable, or think the unthinkable?; how to envision what our lives will look like ten years from now; how to to solve problems creatively; how to make decisions that will help shape the future we desire; how to simulate any future you want; simulations as thought experiments as counterfactual causality tests; gaming as simulation of problem solving; the 10,000-hour rule for success; your present self vs. your future self and why most of us discount the future too much.

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EPISODE # 255

David Chalmers — Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy

Shermer speaks with University Professor of Philosophy and Neural Science and codirector of the Center for Mind, Brain and Consciousness at New York University, Dr. David Chalmers, to discuss: the hard problem of consciousness; virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence; VR inside a VR, indistinguishable from Reality; Are we living in a simulation?; Can you live a good life in VR?; Can AI systems be conscious? and more…

How do we know that there’s an external world? What is the nature of reality? What’s the relation between mind and body? Virtual reality is genuine reality; that’s the central thesis of David Chalmers’ book: Reality+ — a highly original work of “technophilosophy” in which Chalmers gives a compelling analysis of our technological future. He argues that virtual worlds are not second-class worlds, and that we can live a meaningful life in virtual reality. He uses virtual reality technology to offer a new perspective on long-established philosophical questions. We may even be in a virtual world already.

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EPISODE # 254

Ravi Gupta on the Lost Debate: Whatever Happened to Reasoned Discussion and Respectable Disagreement?

Shermer speaks with Ravi Gupta, the Founder and CEO of Lost Debate, a new non-profit media company that launched in October 2021 to fight polarization and misinformation online. The company has seed funding of over $7 million dollars, with the largest investment coming from Netflix founder Reed Hastings. Before launching Lost Debate, Ravi founded Arena, where he led a team that helped elect over a hundred candidates and launched the largest campaign staffer training academy in the history of the Democratic Party — an effort that’s trained over 2500 political operatives over the past three years. He was a critical leader in Democrats’ efforts to retake the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018 and numerous state houses, including the New York State Senate and Virginia House of Delegates.

Shermer and Gupta discuss: growing up with a Democrat mother and a Republican father; the rise of polarized politics in association with political talk radio, TV, and social media; why Republicans supported (and still support) Trump; what’s in store for our democracy in 2022 and 2024; what it was like working on the Obama campaign from the inside; why freed felons should regain their right to vote after serving their time; education inequality; Joe Rogan, Whoopi Goldberg, and censorship; the moralization motivation behind cancel culture; Critical Race Theory and race relations in America.

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SKEPTIC RESEARCH CENTER REPORT (PCIS-003)

Who Endorses Election Conspiracies?

Third report in the Paranormal & Conspiratorial Ideation Study (PCIS)

In this report, we consider a new set of conspiracies related to the last two presidential elections. When Donald Trump was elected to the presidency in 2016, a chorus of Democrat journalists, academics and politicians insisted the election was fraudulent due to Russian interference (Adams, 2019). Then, when Joe Biden was elected to the presidency in 2020, a chorus of Republican journalists, academics and politicians insisted the election was fraudulent due to the interference of activist progressives (Yang, 2022). It would appear, then, that election conspiracies exist on both sides of the political aisle. Given this, a reasonable question to ask is: who in the US most doubts the legitimacy of elections?

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EPISODE # 253

Jennifer Sciubba on Putin, Russia, Ukraine, National & Global Security, and How Population Demographics Shape Our Future

Shermer speaks with political demographer, former demographics consultant to the United States Department of Defense, and author of The Future Faces of War, Jennifer Sciubba, about her new 8 Billion and Counting.

As the world nears 8 billion people, the countries that have led the global order since World War II are becoming the most aged societies in human history. At the same time, the world’s poorest and least powerful countries are suffocating under an imbalance of population and resources. In this conversation, based on her book 8 Billion and Counting, Jennifer Sciubba argues that the story of the twenty-first century is less a story about exponential population growth, as the previous century was, than it is a story about differential growth — marked by a stark divide between the world’s richest and poorest countries.

Drawing on decades of research and policy experience, Sciubba explains how demographic trends, like age structure and ethnic composition, are crucial signposts for future violence and peace, repression and democracy, poverty and prosperity. She explains the pitfalls of taking population numbers at face value and extrapolating from there, and argues that we must look at the forces in a society that amplify demographic trends and the forces that dilute them, particularly political institutions, or the rules of the game.

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SKEPTIC 27.1: TRANSGENDER MATTERS

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2022 marks SKEPTIC’s 30^th year in print, examining extraordinary claims and promoting science, since 1992. To celebrate this milestone, starting with issue 27.1, all issues going forward will be in full-colour, from cover-to-cover! Plus, Skeptic will now be printed on totally new paper stock, similar to National Geographic, Discover, and Scientific American. Though issue 27.1 is physically thinner than previous issues, it contains the same number of pages, with fewer ads, and therefore more content!

Here’s what you’ll find in Skeptic Magazine 27.1 (2022): A special section on transgender matters — an overview of the debate, research, and policies; supporting kids who identify as transgender or who are experiencing gender dysphoria (marked distress at an incongruence between gender identity and biological sex) • Trans Athletes and Conflicting Rights • Why Christians Should Accept the Theory of Evolution • 5G Rollout Reawakens Wireless Fear • Two Tributes to Edward O. Wilson • Eyewitness Testimony: Engaging with People and Accounts of Extraordinary Claims Without Evoking Anger • Mytho-history: The “Evolution” of Adam & Eve • Wild Psychotherapy: Questionable Advice • A review essay on The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity.

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EPISODE # 252

A Conversation with Political Scientist John Mueller on Putin’s War: Russia, Ukraine, and NATO

In this conversation with the renowned Ohio State University political scientist John Mueller, author of The Stupidity of War, Retreat from Doomsday: The Obsolescence of Major War, and The Remnants of War, we discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and what we might expect from Putin’s Russia in the coming weeks, months, and years, along with Dr. Mueller’s outline for how to end the current conflict and compromise with Putin. That seems unlikely at this point, but the prospects of the tragedy of millions of war refugees pouring out of Ukraine into neighboring nations, along with the number killed already and likely to be killed as the fighting escalates, why not give negotiation and compromise a chance?

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ABOVE: Cropped photo of Volodymyr Zelenskyy (center) by Ukrainian Presidential Press Service shared by manhhai under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0).

SUBSTACK RECAP

EPISODE # 251

Kelly Weill on Flat Earthers, Conspiracy Culture, and Why People Will Believe Anything

Since 2015, there has been a spectacular boom in a nearly 200-year-old delusion — the idea that we all live on a flat plane, under a solid dome, ringed by an impossible wall of ice. It is the ultimate in conspiracy theories, a wholesale rejection of everything we know to be true about the world in which we live. Where did this idea come from?

Michael Shermer speaks with journalist Kelly Weill whose work covers extremism, disinformation, and online conspiracy theories in current affairs. The conversation is based on her book Off the Edge which tells a powerful story about belief, polarized realities, and what needs to happen so that we might all return to the same spinning globe.

Shermer and Weill discuss: the binary/black-and-white thinking of conspiracy theorists; how Flat-Earthism is ultimately a conspiracy theory about how NASA and the government are covering up the biggest secret in history; how Flat-Earthism is a proxy for other conspiracy theories (i.e., 9/11 truth, QAnon, and anti-Semitic beliefs about nefarious Jewish organizations conspiring to achieve world domination); and the role of social media in propagating conspiracy theories.

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SKEPTIC RESEARCH CENTER REPORT (PCIS-002)

Who Endorses Race and Gender Conspiracies?

Second report in the Paranormal & Conspiratorial Ideation Study (PCIS)

In our last report, we examined rates of belief in various conspiracies related to COVID-19. In this report, we consider a new set of conspiracies related to particular demographic groups. We focus here on white people, men, and Jews — white people and men because both have recently been portrayed as coercive, powerful, and Machiavellian in popular mainstream journalism and academic scholarship (e.g., DiAngelo, 2018; Higgins, 2018; Kendi, 2016; Morris, 2022; and see Goldberg, 2020). We asked about Jews because of a rise in recent concerns about anti-Semitism (e.g., Rosenblatt, 2020). To explore how Americans are thinking about these issues, we report peoples’ level of agreement with the notion that white, male, or Jewish dominance exists in contemporary society.

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PUTIN’S PROBLEM

The outlawry of war has forced tyrants to concoct excuses for invading other countries. How should we respond? Evidence shows that outcasting in the form of economic sanctions beats armed conflict

Illustration copyright Platinum Studio. Used with permission.
Follow @platinum_fmd on Instagram.

After amassing nearly 200,000 troops and war materiel along the Ukrainian border and coastline the past few weeks—itself a follow-up to the 2014 annexation of Crimea—the former KGB officer and now President-for-Life Vladimir Putin on Monday (February 21) officially announced his recognition of the “independence” of two separatist groups in the eastern regions of that sovereign nation. They are the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic (not to be confused with the People’s Republic of Donetsk and the People’s Republic of Luhansk). U.S. intelligence announced that Putin was planning on staging “false-flag” operations as an excuse to launch a full-scale “defense” by his “police forces” of these poor beleaguered peoples being threatened by the West.

The Russian dissident and former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov recognized the ploy immediately and tweeted an old Soviet joke regarding Nazi forces massing on the Czechoslovakian border in 1938:

“Why are there so many troops?”
“In case of a provocation.”
“What if there’s no provocation?”
“How could there not be with so many troops?!”

It would be as if Mexico amassed troops along the U.S. southern border, then “recognized the independence” of the Tucson People’s Republic and the El Paso People’s Republic, followed by an invasion to protect those separatist’s territorial sovereignty against the encroaching states of Arizona and Texas engulfing them. It’s a cockamamie ruse only an Alex Jones-level conspiracist would believe, and everyone in the West knows it. And Putin knows that we know it. And we know that Putin knows that we know it. So what is going on here? Why did the Russian autocrat feel the need to concoct such a pretense to war?

The proximate answer involves geopolitics, the relationship of NATO and the West with Russia, the consequences of the fall of the Soviet Union, economic leverage, greed, and whatever else drives dictators to want to color in more of the map in their country’s hue. Putin and his oligarch billionaire buddies, in conjunction with the state coffers they control, could easily just buy whatever it is they want from Ukraine using the same method most other countries use—trade. But apparently Putin would rather be the seller than the buyer, and the revanchism that has driven autocrats from time immemorial has parasitized Putin’s brain, driving him to abandon any such utilitarian calculations.

The ultimate answer for Putin’s pretense is that ever since war was outlawed in 1928 despots have felt the need to justify their pugnaciousness. In their 2017 book of how this happened and why, The Internationalists: How a Radical Plan to Outlaw War Remade the World, Yale University legal scholars Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro begin with the contorted legal machinations of lawyers, legislators, and politicians in the 17^th century that made war, in the words of the Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz, “the continuation of politics by other means.” Those means included a license to kill other people, take their stuff, and occupy their land. Legally. How did this happen? [continued …]

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SUBSTACK RECAP

Cancel Culture & Independent Media: Some thoughts on how culture and media have changed dramatically in 30 years

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EPISODE # 249

Barbara F. Walter on How Civil Wars Start and How to Stop Them, including in the United States

Political violence rips apart several towns in southwest Texas. A far-right militia plots to kidnap the governor of Michigan and try her for treason. An armed mob of Trump supporters and conspiracy theorists storms the U.S. Capitol. Are these isolated incidents? Or is this the start of something bigger?

Barbara F. Walter is a professor of political science and an expert on international security, with an emphasis on civil wars. Her current research is on the behavior of rebel groups in civil wars, including inter-rebel group fighting, alliances and the strategic use of propaganda and extremism. She has spent her career studying civil conflict in places like Iraq and Sri Lanka, but now she has become increasingly worried about her own country.

Perhaps surprisingly, both autocracies and healthy democracies are largely immune from civil war; it’s the countries in the middle ground that are most vulnerable. And this is where more and more countries, including the United States, are finding themselves today. A civil war today won’t look like America in the 1860s, Russia in the 1920s, or Spain in the 1930s. It will begin with sporadic acts of violence and terror, accelerated by social media. It will sneak up on us and leave us wondering how we could have been so blind.

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Did Jesus Exist? (19.1)

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Drug Policy (20.2)

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SUBSTACK RECAP

EPISODE # 248

Elizabeth Weiss on Woke Archaeology and Erasing the Past

Shermer and anthropologist Elizabeth Weiss discuss: fossil ownership; how anthropologists draw conclusions about past peoples through their study of skeletons and mummies; why continued curation of human remains is important; why anthropologists should prioritize scientific research over other perspectives; the future of archaeology on its present trajectory toward the politicization of science; why the fossil remains of most Native American sites have tenuous or no connection whatsoever to modern tribal peoples living nearby; the consensus on how long ago migrations began; her lawsuit against San Jose State University for defaming her as a “racist” and blocking her from further scientific study of the fossil collection she has curated for 17 years, and much more…

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SKEPTIC RESEARCH CENTER REPORT (PCIS-001)

Who Endorses COVID-19 Conspiracies?

First report in the Paranormal & Conspiratorial Ideation Study (PCIS)

Institutional responses to COVID-19 have been global in scope and have impacted nearly every aspect of peoples’ lives, from travel to schooling to business. Before too long, a cacophony of opinions — informed, semi-informed and uninformed — soon took off and spread throughout our information ecosystem. In this report, we look at the prevalence of differing conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19, from the unconfirmed but possible to the highly unlikely. Based on the summary report of the US National Intelligence Council (2021), we here assume the “lab leak” and coverup conspiracy to be relatively possible and juxtapose this with two fringe conspiracies: (1) that the COVID vaccines contain computer chips that aid government surveillance and (2) that officials are hiding that the vaccine causes magnetic reactions.

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EPISODE # 247

Jacob Mchangama on Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media

Hailed as the “first freedom,” free speech is the bedrock of democracy, and it is subject to erosion in times of upheaval. Today, in democracies and authoritarian states around the world, it is on the retreat.

In this episode, based on the book Free Speech, Michael Shermer and Jacob Mchangama discuss the riveting legal, political, and cultural history of the principle, how much we have gained from it, and how much we stand to lose without it. Mchangama reveals how the free exchange of ideas underlies all intellectual achievement and has enabled the advancement of both freedom and equality worldwide. Yet the desire to restrict speech, too, is a constant.

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EPISODE # 246

Nick Pope on UAPs, UFOs, Conspiracies, and Cover-ups

Shermer speaks with author, journalist, and TV personality Nick Pope about: what it was like working for the Ministry of Defense as their UFO expert; The Believer’s Paradox; separating two questions: Are they out there? Have they come here?; SETI science vs. UFO/UAP science; Roswell; Bayesian reasoning about UFOs and UAPs; the quality of evidence in evaluating UFO claims; the US military UAP videos and what they really represent; The Disclosure Project; why we should keep an open mind; the odds of ETIs being out there vs. the odds of ETIs having visited here; an answer to Fermi’s Paradox: Where is everyone?; conspiracies and conspiracy theories, and more…

Nick Pope ran the British government’s UFO program for the Ministry of Defense, leading the media to call him the real Fox Mulder. He’s recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on UFOs, the unexplained, and conspiracy theories. Nick is the media’s go-to person for UFOs. He’s made appearances on numerous TV news shows and documentaries, including Good Morning America, Nightline, Tucker Carlson Tonight and Ancient Aliens. He’s also written for the New York Times, for the BBC News website and for NBC’s technology and science site, and has acted as consultant and spokesperson on numerous alien-themed movies, TV shows, and video games. Nick Pope gives talks and takes part in academic conferences, fan conventions, and debates all around the world. He’s spoken at the National Press Club, the Royal Albert Hall, the Science Museum and the Global Competitiveness Forum, and has debated at the Oxford Union and the Cambridge Union Society. Nick Pope lives in the US.

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EPISODE # 245

Frank Sulloway on How Lives Turn Out: Genes, Environment, Pluck, and Luck

Shermer and Sulloway discuss: relative roles of genes, environment, hard work, and luck in how lives turn out; 60s and 70s Harvard culture; his relationship and work with E. O. Wilson, who was recently defamed by Scientific American as a racist; measuring and studying personality; birth order and family dynamics in how personalities are formed; autocratic personality traits and why people follow and support Trump and other autocrats; why if you know a person’s stance on one issue (e.g., abortion) you can predict their stance on many other issues; and more…

American psychologist Dr. Frank J. Sulloway, author of Freud, Biologist of the Mind: Beyond the Psychoanalytic Legend (1979), provides a radical reanalysis of the origins and validity of psychoanalysis and received the Pfizer Award of the History of Science Society. For decades, Dr. Sulloway has employed evolutionary theory to understand how family dynamics affect personality development, including that of creative geniuses. He has a particular interest in the influence that birth order exerts on personality and behavior. In this connection, he is the author of Born to Rebel: Birth Order, Family Dynamics, and Creative Lives (1996).

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SUBSTACK RECAP

EPISODE # 244

Johnjoe McFadden on simplicity in science, based on his book Life is Simple: How Occam’s Razor Set Science Free and Shapes the Universe

Centuries ago, the principle of Ockham’s razor changed our world by showing simpler answers to be preferable and more often true. In Life Is Simple, scientist Johnjoe McFadden traces centuries of discoveries, taking us from a geocentric cosmos to quantum mechanics and DNA, arguing that simplicity has revealed profound answers to the greatest mysteries. In McFadden’s view, life could only have emerged by embracing maximal simplicity, making the fundamental law of the universe a cosmic form of natural selection that favors survival of the simplest.

Shermer and McFadden discuss: from what was science set free?; what William of Occam’s razor cut; Bayes’s probability razor; Ptolemaic vs. Tychonic vs. Copernican world systems in terms of simplicity; simplicity in math, physics, biology, medicine, and the social sciences; Einstein’s razor: how does relativity theory simplify the universe?; Postmodernism and the search for Truth; McFadden’s explanations for solving the hard problems of consciousness, free will, and determinism, and more …

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EPISODE # 243

Sally Satel on Addiction, the Opioid Crisis, Deaths of Despair, and How Psychiatry Has Gone Woke

Shermer and Satel discuss: how political correctness has corrupted medicine; how wokeness and social justice activism has corrupted psychiatry; what is social justice and who is really practicing it?; medical models of mental illness and addiction and why mental illness is so hard to treat; addictions to porn and social media; why some people are able to break free from their addictions while others are not; organ transplant markets, and more…

Dr. Sally Satel is a visiting professor of psychiatry at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a lecturer at Yale University School of Medicine, and a practicing psychiatrist. She holds an MD from Brown University and completed her residency in psychiatry at Yale University. Satel is the author of PC, MD: How Political Correctness is Corrupting Medicine, Brainwashed: The Seductive Appeal of Mindless Neuroscience (with Scott Lillienfeld), and One Nation Under Therapy: How the Helping Culture Is Eroding Self-Reliance (with Christina Hoff Sommers). Dr. Satel lives in Washington, DC.

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SUBSTACK RECAP