Jessica Schab speaks with physicist and skeptic, Holm Hemmler on various topics including “Quantum Healing” and Conspiracy Theories.
Audio can be found HERE!
Show 583: Matt Berkowitz
Matt Berkowitz: The the creator of the “Science Literacy” video series, a YouTube video project dedicated to improving public science literacy. A key focus is giving people the tool set to think skeptically and be able to competently evaluate scientific claims. Topics explored include science denialism and conspiracy theories, and the cognitive biases that fuel them, as well as how to think about evidence, and principles of rational thought.
Listen to Show HERE!
Show 558: David Neiwert on the Rise of the Alt-Right
David Neiwert on the Rise of the Alt-Right
Matthew LaClair speaks with journalist and author David Neiwert on his new book, Alt-America; The Rise of the Radical Right in the Age of Trump. Growing up in rural Idaho, Neiwert lived alongside a culture that included right-wing nationalists and white supremacists, which gave him first-hand experience on the belief system and thought process that makes them tick. In this book, Neiwert lays out a vivid history of the changing radical-right as it evolved to include not only the poorly educated, but also the highly educated people who are susceptible to believing almost anything, so long as it fits their world view. Why do so many people think this way? How did they help Trump, and how did Trump fuel their growth? Are these people “stupid?”
Audio can be found here!
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!