Does Consciousness Break the Laws of Physics?
If we could explain everything happening in your brain, would there still be something left to explain about you? Physicist Avshalom Elitzur thinks so—and argues that accounting for consciousness may ...
22 Sep 46min
Jared Diamond: How Much Can One Person Change History?
Would World War II have happened without Hitler? Would someone else have built Apple without Steve Jobs? Jared Diamond joins Michael Shermer to ask how much history depends on particular people. From ...
15 Sep 1h 29min
Why America Failed to Stop 9/11 | Gerald Posner & Michael Shermer
How did 19 hijackers evade the world's most advanced intelligence apparatus despite years of warnings? Twenty-five years after 9/11, journalist Gerald Posner joins Michael Shermer to explain the secur...
11 Sep 42min
Why Be Honest When Cheating Pays?
Most of us think of ourselves as honest. But would we still tell the truth if lying got us what we wanted—and nobody would ever find out? Philosopher Christian Miller joins Michael Shermer to discuss ...
9 Sep 1h 45min
Is the Future Unknowable? Uncertainty, Free Will, and the Limits of Science
What if uncertainty isn't a temporary problem science will eventually solve, but a fundamental feature of reality? Neuroscientist Stuart Firestein joins Michael Shermer to make the case that the unive...
1 Sep 1h 23min
Why We Want to Believe in Aliens and Why We Still Haven't Found Them
UFOs were once the stuff of tabloids and conspiracy theories. Today they're the subject of congressional hearings, Pentagon investigations, mainstream news coverage, and a new wave of claims about gov...
25 Aug 1h 13min
Is There a Second Arrow of Time? A New Law of Evolution, Information, and Complexity
Why does the universe produce ever more elaborate forms, from atoms and minerals to cells, organisms, brains, technology, and civilization? The familiar laws of physics can explain much of what happen...
18 Aug 1h 18min
Why Good People Disagree About Right and Wrong
Why do reasonable people disagree so strongly about right and wrong? And why are we so quick to assume that people on the other side of a moral or political issue are irrational, selfish, ignorant, or...
11 Aug 1h 57min
