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Show 523: Michael Shermer: Skeptic

Michael Shermer: Skeptic

From a 10-step “Baloney Detection” guide to investigations into alien abductions, 9/11 conspiracy theories,  Creationism, therapeutic magnetism, and Bigfoot, Dr. Michael Shermer has made it his life’s work to think critically about — well — everything! His new book, Skeptic, presents readers with the tools necessary to do the same concerning a variety of innocent but misguided assumptions, baloney, bunkum, balderdash, and bullsh*t.

Host Matthew LaClair interviews Dr. Shermer, founding publisher of Skeptic Magazine, founder of the Skeptics Society, and author of over 15 books including Why Darwin Matters, The Believing Brain, The Moral Arc, and the subject of our discussion, Skeptic: Viewing the World with a Rational Eye.

In addition to Dr. Shermer’s books and magazine, he is also a monthly columnist for Scientific American, a regular contributor to Time.com and a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University.

Audio can be found here!

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Show 442: Climate Change, Revisited w/ Bill McKibben

Climate Change, Revisited w/ Bill McKibben

Audio here!

Our guest this week is Bill McKibben, a widely recognized leading environmental author, journalist and activist.  Mr. McKibben’s many books include New York Times Bestsellers The End of Nature and Earth, as well as Deep Economy, The Age of Missing Information, and his new book coming out this Tuesday, Sept 17th, Oil and Honey: The Education of an Unlikely Activist. He is also the founder of the grassroots climate campaign, 350.org. We will discuss his upcoming book, his history and experience in the climate change movement, and the steps human beings must take in order to preserve our very existence.

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Show 321: The Transition Town Movement!

Audio here!

The Transition Town Movement!

With a “volcano of oil” plaguing the Gulf Coast and this week’s speech from President Obama stating that “we have known for decades that the days of easily accessible oil are numbered”, how can we imagine a society without cheap fossil fuels?

The Transition Town movement, founded in the UK and growing in America, offers a solution to meet our needs and increase community resilience. Applying lessons from permaculture and sustainable design to towns and cities, “Transition” maps out the positive changes needed from households to urban infrastructure to reduce our consumption and create real value at every opportunity. At the same time, the Transition movement aims to empower communities through innovative collective brainstorming and decision-making systems.

In the face of Peak Oil and Climate Change, do we have an opportunity to refashion society at a more *human* scale, with a higher quality of life, than transnational consumerism could ever provide? Michael ONeil will talk to Tina Clarke, a Transition Town educator, to find out what humanity will have to re-learn to overcome the challenges ahead.