Podcasts about Skeptic Society

* Trochlea Challenge to Any Evolutionist: (Update: After PZ Myers took a shot at RSR, we renamed the sketch below to the PZ Myers Trochlea Challenge.) Real Science Radio asks any evolutionist to view this anatomical image of the human eye Trochlea and take the KGOV.com challenge. On this radio program, Bob Enyart and RSR co-host Fred Williams discuss the debate over at Theology Online on Entropy and Evolution which led the BEL staff to commission this diagram of the muscles of the eye and the Trochlea sling, to disseminate this challenge. The image shows that the Superior Oblique muscle attached to the top of the eye is threaded through a sling, the Trochlea, for functionality (angle of torque, space requirements, etc.) and the strap-like muscle narrows to a cord to slide through. Darwin's natural selection could not choose this configuration until if functioned minimally. How many generations of offspring with random mutations modifying the design of the various tissue types like bone, nerve, cartilage, and muscle, happening simultaneously do you estimate would have to pass before this most simple of design features of the eye happened upon by chance in order for natural selection to choose it? Now estimate the generations of offspring for a complex feature of the eye... * A Very Encouraging RSR Listener: wrote about our March 28, 2008 program Real Science Radio- Caterpillar Kills Atheism: "I cannot emphasize how much I love this stuff....it is simplicity and truth at its finest -- I thrive on it..I crave it... just two guys talking about the miracle of creation. After listening to this short audio, it should be obvious and self-evident to everyone that God is the Creator of all. Check it out -- it's a great listen. Bob Enyart and Fred Williams tell a great story and put on display the staggering brilliance, genius and beauty of our living God." "Wow, that's humbling. You equally encourage us! Thanks so much! In Christ, -Bob and Fred * The "Bigger Picture" Vision Challenge to Evolutionists: Check out the RSR Vision Challenge to atheists and Darwinists at KGOV.com/atheists#vision! For our Real Science Radio friends, in case you miss other BEL programs, here are some of the: Atheists Bob Enyart has debated... - ABC's Reginald Finley, called The Infidel Guy, from ABC's Wife Swap program; 3-26-07; - Freedom from Religion Foundation's Dan Barker (a founder of the group that put the atheist sign near the Nativity at the capitol in Seattle) who as a teen was involved with the ministry of Kathryn Kuhlman, one of a group of so-called faith healers. (See a BEL listener who initially compared Bob to Benny Hinn until...) The BEL show was on 12-11-08; - TheologyOnline's psychologist Zakath in a 10-round moderated written online debate, also available in soft cover; - TOL's member who calls himself Fool; 3-28-06; - John Henderson who wrote the book God.com 6-15-2006; and, - Michael Shermer, an editor with Scientific American and the Skeptic Society who in in this famous 73-second excerpt on BEL denied that the Bible was correct when it stated that the sun should not be worshipped because it is not a god, but rather, that the sun is a light. Illustrating the difficulty debating atheists when they're hesitant to admit to even the most obvious common ground, Schermer famously replied, "The sun is not a light." 8-28-03 BEL Indiana Seminars: Bob Enyart is coming to Indiana, Goshen in the evening of Jan. 29th and Indianapolis on Saturday January 31st, to present a brand new BEL Seminar titled Hermeneutics: Tools for Studying the Bible. Learn how to use tools of interpretation as you study the Bible. And as importantly, Bob will discuss the principles involved for prioritizing these hermeneutics and how to decide which tool to use in which instance. You'll love it! Click for more info and to register please call 1-800-8Enyart! Today's Three Resources: 1.  You might enjoy reading Bob's book-length debate, Does God Exist? Remember, unlike virtually any other publisher, BEL offers a money-back guarantee if not satisfied! However, we're usually perfectly satisfied with your money :) Actually, if YOU are not satisfied, you can return any particular BEL resource for a full refund! 2. Do you hope to move someone from unbelief to trusting in Christ? That typically involves breaking down both pride and misconceptions. You do NOT need anything from BEL to accomplish this! You can use prayer and the Scriptures. But if you would like some help from BEL, you could consider how the five powerful titles in the BEL Evangelism Pack can help someone decide to convert to Christianity! 3. Also through January 2009, please request our thank you Walt Brown gift set for a donation of $100 or more to BEL (online or by calling 1-800-8Enyart), and we will send you: - the BRAND NEW hardcopy 8th Edition of Walt's watershed book, In The Beginning (for you to keep) - the hardcopy 7th Edition of Walt's book (for you to give as a gift to someone, it's FABULOUS TOO) - and the Walt Brown Week CD so you can hear Dr. Brown talk through the key concepts of creation!

Why do conspiracy theories seduce the minds of so many? Michael Shermer is a historian of science, best-selling author, founder of the Skeptic Society, and the host of a popular science podcast, Michael Shermer Show. His most recent book, Conspiracy, explores the causes and consequences of human gullibility regarding conspiracies. Ilari and Dr Shermer discuss the psychological reasons behind conspiracy theories, and what to do about them. This discussion touches upon topics from QAnon to flat earth, and from the 2020 election to the war in Ukraine. All of this does raise a question, though. What if we are both wrong? What if it is the conspiracists who have the truth? How would we know? Beyond just conspiracies, this discussion touches upon the very promise and danger of scientific scepticism. In the end, Ilari and Dr Shermer explore the very limits of the territory, in which we should use science as our guide. This is a discussion that ultimately relates to the role that science can play in moral progress - a topic explored by Shermer in his 2015 book, The Moral Arc. Referenced works Whitson and Galinsky's experiment on pattern recognition See also: A meta-analysis of similar experiments, which is critical of the original findings, but does find some similar effects Princeton study on rejection and conspiratorial tendencies Poll on 33% of Americans believing in 5G Dakota Crash is from work by Chrisopher Bader Ivan Krastev's interview with Ezra Klein Referenced conspiracy theories and related terms JFK Assassination January 6th Insurrection and the claim that the 2020 election was rigged The claim that Emmy Awards in 2004 and 2005 were rigged when the Apprentice lost against Amazing Race. QAnon OJ Simpson trials Flat earth -theories Holocaust denials 5G Dakota Crash Other technical terms: Bayesian thinking Type II and Type I errors (in statistics) Theraplay Is-ought gap (similar to the naturalistic fallacy) Other names mentioned: Edward Snowden Carl Sagan Bill Bar Deepak Chopra Thomas Sowell

It's telethon month! If you enjoy Real Science Radio, The Dominic Enyart Show, Theology Thursday, and Bob Enyart Live, consider assisting financially to keep us around! Help us reach our $30,000 goal by purchasing any KGOV product, especially those listed here. Note that all recurring monthly support is multiplied by ten towards our telethon goal. Thank you for your support! Check out the show summary below! Sponsor a Show! Click here to help keep us broadcasting! If you would like to help support our KGOV.com shows, consider sponsoring a broadcast! Monthly sponsorships are the very best way to help us stay on air. Want a Shout Out? Most of our sponsors prefer to remain anonymous. But if you'd like a shout-out from one of the guys, please let us know in the "comments" section of your order. Or feel free to email us, service@kgov.com. Note: We will have to get in touch via phone before fully processing your subscription. Please expect a call from our friendly KGOV staff after signing up. :) The Plot: 2nd Edition A year after his passing, we have made available Bob's 2nd edition of "The Plot!" Currently, the only way to get your hands on a copy is by signing up for a monthly sponsorship (of any level- full, half, or 1/3). We want to thank our sponsors with this special offer. To get the book, sign up for a monthly sponsorship and let us know in the "comments" section of your order. If you've already signed up to sponsor a show and would like a copy, please email service@kgov.com. Why it Matters Bob Enyart Live (BEL) The ministries of so many Godly leaders, authors & preachers have been magnified tenfold, or even a hundredfold after their passing. Think of C.S. Lewis, and how he still, today has such an impact on millions. We have no doubt Bob Enyart could have a similar impact, and your sponsorship of just one show a month will be a massive force to magnify this ministry and the Gospel. Bob Enyart Live Broadcast Classics still air every Monday, at 3 pm on KGOV.com! See more by clicking here. * Comes Now Atheist Dan Barker: the media has been quoting atheist Dan Barker regarding the atheist plaque set up in the capitol in Seattle near the nativity scene. When Dan Barker was a teenager, he was involved with the ministry of Kathryn Kuhlman, one of a group of so-called faith healers. (See a BEL listener, TOL's Crow, who initially compared Bob to Benny Hinn until...) After interviewing atheists including: - ABC's Reginald Finley, called The Infidel Guy, from ABC's Wife Swap program; - TheologyOnline's psychologist Zakath; - TOL's member who calls himself Fool; - John Henderson who wrote the book God.com; and, - Michael Shermer, an editor with Scientific American and the Skeptic Society who in in this famous 73-second excerpt on BEL denied that the sun is a light, illustrating that it's tough debating atheists when they're hesitant to admit to even the most obvious common ground; now comes Dan Barker, a director with the Freedom from Religion Foundation.* Truth, the Senses, the Universe, Sun and Moon: Acknowledging the difficulty in proving a negative, Bob Enyart stipulates at the outset that atheist Dan Barker would not have to worry about whether God was out on a star in a galaxy far, far away, but rather, Bob and Dan could discuss the evidence before us all, right here and right now. Bob then asks Dan Barker whether or not objective Truth exists. The atheists who will acknowledge that objective truth exists often give so many qualifiers that it can be hard to know if they believe in objective reality. Dan stressed, with Bob's concurrence, that "the word truth is not a thing;" that is, truth is not a physical object. After Bob and Dan seemed to agree that Truth and objective reality exists, later in the discussion Dan seemed to backtrack, and suggest that everything could be an illusion including Barker's very own existence. Yikes! With this Bob blew up in frustration. Not really. Actually, Bob simply reminded Dan of Descartes' "I think, therefore I am" and when Dan said that perhaps everything was an illusion, Bob replied, "Dan, you can assert that you think that I am an illusion, perhaps you think I'm in a dream you are having; but no, you cannot assert that you are an illusion; that YOU do not exist." And Bob indicated Dan's toying with the possibility that perhaps he didn't exist was further evidence that he was equivocating earlier regarding the existence of truth. In the end, Bob was thankful that he and Dan could once again agree that Dan existed, so that the show could proceed. Dan then acknowledged that knowledge can come from sources other than one's own five senses. Bob pointed out that some atheists assert that "only your five senses provide real knowledge," about which he typically asks: "says which of the five?" It wasn't until he was off air that Bob noticed that at 13 minutes into the program Dan seemed to backslide by saying that we should "assume" that "there's an objective reality." (Bob also would be thankful if Dan could email a clarification as to whether he agrees that "reason and logic" are a source, quite apart from the five senses, of knowledge.) Bob and Dan also talked about whether the universe had a beginning, and Bob quoted Hawking: "This argument about whether or not the universe had a beginning, persisted into the 19th and 20th centuries. It was conducted mainly on the basis of theology and philosophy... But if your theory disagrees with the Second Law of Thermodynamics, it is in bad trouble. In fact, the theory that the universe has existed forever is in serious difficulty with the Second Law of Thermodynamics. The Second Law states that disorder always increases with time. ...it indicates that there must have been a beginning. Otherwise, the universe would be in a state of complete disorder by now, and everything would be at the same temperature." -Stephen Hawking To which Dan stated that Hawking has had to correct himself in the past, to which Bob Enyart replied, "Yes, but not about this." Dan tried to explain the continued existence of the universe by claiming that there could be many universes. (Please note, as Bob demonstrated in his 10-round moderated debate with TOL's Zakath, atheists often rationalize "complexity by... introducing even more complexity," completely apart from any empirical evidence, wildly increasing complexity in order to explain it; if an atheist has a problem in that he cannot explain by the laws of science the continued existence of the universe, he merely posits infinite parallel or successive universes. The cover of Discover magazine July 2008 states "Parallel Universes, Infinite Yous" and they ask a physicist, "Can you explain parallel universes?" and Max Tegmark replies, "Three [parallel universes] have been proposed by other people, and I've added a fourth... go far enough out and you will find another Earth with another version of yourself." Yes, attempting to get rid of the Creator requires extraordinary creativity.) Bob argued that there is no empirical evidence for parallel universes, and that if a succession of universes gave rise to one another, that entire process would be a perpetual motion machine that would have run out of useable energy long ago. Bob argued that people should not believe that the Big Bang theory can actually explain the existence of the universe because: - since big bangers don't know "which objects came first, stars or galaxies? Theoretical science offers no clear guidance..." according to 23-year Nature magazine editor John Maddox, p. 48, What Remains to be Discovered; - in the universe's supposed 15 billion years there's insufficient time for its temperature to even out to 2.7 K; - the natural formation of a solar system precludes gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn; - 99% of the solar system mass is in the Sun, yet the planets have 99% of the angular momentum (spin); and, - after $20 billion spent on the U.S. Apollo and lunar program to determine how the moon got there, the only theories simply can't account for the evidence. Dan countered that science always increases in knowledge. And Bob agreed, and then asked if scientific evidence might preclude certain possibilities (like millions of flies spontaneously generating daily out of carcasses, or the solar system forming from a condensing gas cloud). Bob brought up that the supposed Big Bang would have been an event that does not even comply with the laws of physics and which atheists accept on faith. (One tiny example is the so-called Inflationary Period which supposedly began shortly after the explosion and saw a wild and virtually instantaneous acceleration of the speed of the expansion of the universe with a subsequent virtually instantaneous deceleration, none of this having any correlation to the physical laws and hardly qualifying even as a scientific proposition.) Bob concluded that people should not be tricked into thinking that atheistic cosmology has proven how the universe could exist apart from a Creator, when they can't explain the temperature of the universe, the formation of stars or galaxies, gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn, the spin of the Sun vs. the planets, nor even the moon, our very closest outer-space neighbor! Dan closed by agreeing to Bob's suggestion that they trade materials: - Bob's DVD on the Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and - Dan's book, Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists, which has a chapter arguing against the resurrection, and that they schedule a debate on Christ's resurrection. A BEL staffer put Dan's DVD in the mail right after today's program. Stay tuned...

Today (which is the one-year mark since losing the late, great, pastor Bob Enyart- more on that tomorrow) we're going back to Bob's debate with atheist Hemant Mehta, author of "I Sold My Soul on eBay". * Atheist Author of I Sold My Soul on eBay: Hemant Mehta talks to Bob Enyart. Part I of II. And in case you're interested in further discussion with atheists, Bob has also talked to: - ABC's Reginald Finley, called The Infidel Guy, from ABC's Wife Swap program; 3-26-07; - TheologyOnLine's psychologist Zakath in a moderated written online debate, also in soft cover; - John Henderson who wrote the book God.com 6-15-2006; - Carlos Morales, Fox News, Huffington Post, etc. reports on U of Texas atheists Bible-turn in program, president of Atheist Agenda 7-14-10 - Freedom from Religion Foundation founder Dan Barker (put the atheist sign near the Nativity at the capitol in Seattle) who was involved with the ministry of Kathryn Kuhlman, one of a group of so-called faith healers. (See a BEL listener who initially compared Bob to Benny Hinn until...) The BEL show was on 12-11-08; - Eugenie Scott, leading anti-evolutionist Ph.D. with the Nat'l Center for Science Education, exhumed 5-6-05; - Michael Shermer, an editor with Scientific American and the Skeptic Society who in this famous 73-second excerpt on BEL denied that the sun is a light, illustrating that it's tough debating atheists when they're hesitant to admit to even the most obvious common ground. 8-28-03 * Special Editions of BEL's Real Science Radio programs: - BEL's famous List of Not-So-Old Things - Bob's debate with Christian Darwinist British author James Hannam - PZ Myers blogs against Real Science Radio so Bob hits back with the Trochlea Challenge - Waiting for Darwin's Other Shoe: Evolution mag's cover story Darwin Was Wrong on the Tree of Life - Microbiologist in Studio: Bob talks with the Creation Research Society Quarterly editor about new genetic findings - Caterpillar Kills Atheism: describe how a bug could evolve to liquefy itself and then build itself into a flying creature - And see the RSR Offer of $2,000 to get 16 letters of the alphabet in their correct places; $500 paid in 1998; $1,500 in 2010... Today's Resource: Give a science Christmas Gift and get free shipping! Have you browsed through our Science Department in the KGOV Store? Check out especially Walt Brown's In the Beginning! And you can order the Darwin's Dilemma DVD by calling BEL at 1-800-8Enyart.

art is joined by dr. michael shermer, science writer, founder of Skeptic Magazine, and director of the Skeptic Society - dr. shermer talks about his work investigating and debunking various conspiracies and pseudoscientific claims like 9/11, the moon landing hoax conspiracy, and spoon-bending psychics. plus an entertaining open lines with caller questions

Michael Shermer is one of the world's most prominent skeptics - founder of The Skeptic Society and editor of its magazine Skeptic. Once a fundamentalist Christian, Michael has spent his career uncovering the workings and causes of our 'Believing Brain'.“Our brains are wired to think more like lawyers than scientists - to win arguments, to bolster what we already believe...”We evolved to discern patterns in the world around us. When our ancestors ate the wrong mushroom, they very quickly learnt to link it to their upset stomach. Discovering patterns is the way humans learn. But humans are sometimes too good at it: we ‘discern' patterns where none exist, and we infuse them with agency.Listen to Michael and Turi discuss the two key evolutionary drivers of belief:Patternicity - our tendency to find patterns in both meaningful and meaningless data.Agenticity - our tendency to infuse patterns with meaning, intention, and agency.And learn more about:The evolutionary origins of beliefWhere conspiracy theories come fromDopamine: the belief drugWhat Twin Studies teach us about the Heritability of beliefHow to keep a healthy mindAnd B.F Skinner's famous pigeon experiment, which shows all animals exist on the belief spectrum.“Belief comes quickly and naturally, skepticism is slow and unnatural, and most people have a low tolerance for ambiguity.”Michael ShermerMichael Shermer is a science writer, historian of science, founder of The Skeptics Society, and editor-in-chief of its magazine Skeptic. He's also the author of The Believing Brain and most recently, Giving the Devil his Due on the free speech wars raging across the West.More on this episodeLearn all about the Parlia Podcast here.Meet Turi Munthe: https://www.parlia.com/u/TuriLearn more about the Parlia project here: https://www.parlia.com/aboutAnd visit us at: https://www.parlia.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In a special live Rationally Speaking, taped at NECSS 2013, Julia Galef moderates a lively discussion between Massimo and Michael Shermer, head of the Skeptic Society and founding publisher of Skeptic Magazine. The topic: Can science tell us what is "moral"? This discussion comes after both men have tackled the question separately in books (Massimo's Answers for Aristotle and Michael's The Science of Good and Evil), and jointly in a recent debate on the Rationally Speaking blog. Questions under debate include: Does "natural" = "morally right"? How do we make tradeoffs between different people's happiness? And what role should science and philosophy play in making these decisions? Sped up the speakers by ['1.0', '1.17']

Daniele Bolelli is an Italian-born professor, martial artist, podcaster, and author of several books including On the Warrior's Path and Not Afraid. He's appeared as a guest on popular podcasts such as Joe Rogan's, Adam Carolla's, and Skepticality, the official podcast of the Skeptic Society. We opened up our conversation by touching on the tragic death of Anthony Bourdain, then got a bit into Daniele's experience in losing his wife and having to raise his daughter on his own. We then went onto critically break down "The Intellectual Dark Web" and this new culture of niche tribes, and we closed with speaking about how important it is to not get caught in this spiral of focusing on problems we're against, but rather focus on what we're for, and the tangible solutions we need to create to move forward. Follow Daniele on Twitter at @DBolelli Order his most recent book "Not Afraid" here: amzn.to/2y0FRUH

In this episode, I talk to Gregory Hickok: cognitive neuroscientist at UC Irvine, specialized in the neuroanatomy of language. Greg’s book: The Myth of Mirror Neurons, dispels with the mainstream interpretation of mirror neurons. We discuss the discovery of mirror neurons, why Greg doesn’t buy the theory, everyday mind reading, theory of mind, split brain patients, and how humans justify their actions. *** -Greg’s book: The Myth of Mirror Neurons: https://amzn.to/2LZVjVT -Greg’s 2014 talk at the Skeptic Society: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twS9dZXBql4&t=330s -Greg on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GregoryHickok *** CRYPTO.COM -The Syndicate: https://crypto.com/exchange/syndicate -Crypto VISA card, $50, and 2% CASHBACK on all purchases here: https://platinum.crypto.com/r/asger Ref code: asger NOTE: You need to stake 50 MCO (easily done in the app) to get the free $50 and 2% cashback. *** Receive future videos directly in your inbox: http://eepurl.com/dcFGiD *** -My audiobook, Spiritual Capitalism, (on entrepreneurship): https://www.audible.com/pd/B07MJMBLN8/?source_code=AUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-ACX0-139755&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_139755_rh_us -Paperback version: https://amzn.to/2R46eSf *** Meta Quest on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7n78EaJQLH5xOs5q9i1OlK *** Tired of Facebook? Hit me up on SoMee.Social: https://somee.social/profile/asger *** MetaQuest on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Asger_Folmann *** Reach me at: metaquestcontact@gmail.com *** #metaquest #mirrorneurons #gregoryhickok

Welcome back for another episode of Nick's Non-fiction! For July 2019 we have The Mind of the Market by Michael Shermer. Michael Shermer is a highly published author and wrangler of masters degrees but is best known for starting The Skeptic Society magazine and website. His third party view of the American economy leaves us with countless free money tips to integrate into your life during this months show! Press Play! Free nightly memes @hairysh1t on Instagram, where we’ll be celebrating 10k this month, don't miss it! I’ll see you first thing in August for a brand new episode! 0:00:00 Introduction 0:03:15 About the Author 0:09:40 Prologue: Economics for Everyone 0:19:20 Chapter 1: The Great Leap Forward 0:33:00 Chapter 2: Our Folk Economics 0:53:25 Chapter 3: Bottoms Up Capitalisms 0:59:20 Internet tax 1:06:00 Walmart Welfare 1:09:00 Chapter 4: Market as a Living Organism 1:17:00 Bichael Shermer & 7/11 1:20:30 Chapter 5: Minding Our Money 1:24:20 Finding Blindspots 1:29:00 Iraq, 4th Times a Charm 1:32:15 Chapter 6: Spending Habits 1:36:00 Chapter 7: Moral Math 1:39:10 Imprinting Styles 1:42:20 My Masters Thesis 1:47:00 Chapter 8: Why Money Cant Buy You Happiness 1:53:00 Hamster Wheels/Durability Bias 1:56:20 Happiness Hacks 2:00:30 Chapter 9: Cowboy Ethic 2:07:55 Chapter 10: The Science of Good Rules 2:13:10 Chapter 11: Don’t Be Evil 2:16:30 Google Good Guy Program 2:19:00 Chapter 12: Free to Choose? 2:23:00 Libertarian Paternalism 2:30:00 Epilogue: To Open The World 2:33:00 State of Nature & Price of Freedom 2:39:00 Conclusion & Goodbye! Youtube: https://youtu.be/3exWvMHqCIg iTunes: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nick…on/id1450771426 Thanks for stopping by!

In this episode, we join up with historian of science Dr. Michael Shermer to investigate the cross-fertilization between science and free speech. Michael Shermer is a prolific writer on science, philosophy and morality and has appeared in numerous documentaries, talk shows, and TED talks.  Among the topics discussed are: When did scientific freedom make its decisive breakthrough? What comes first: Science or free inquiry? How did both Islam and Christianity affect science? What is the relationship between science and free speech as such? Can science be used to suppress free speech? How did Benjamin Franklin infuse the Declaration of Independence with Newtonian science? Dr. Michael Shermer is a Historian of science, Presidential Fellow at Chapman University, founder of Skeptic Society and the Skeptic Magazine and author of Heavens on Earth: The Scientific Search for the Afterlife, Immortality & Utopia, Why People Believe Weird Things, Why Darwin Matters, The Science of Good and Evil, and The Moral Arc. You can subscribe and listen to Clear and Present Danger on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, YouTube, TuneIn and Stitcher, or download episodes directly from SoundCloud. Stay up to date with Clear and Present Danger on the show’s Facebook and Twitter pages, or visit the podcast’s website at freespeechhistory.com. Email us feedback at freespeechhistory@gmail.com.

Michael Shermer is the founder of the Skeptic Society, which boasts over 55,000 members today. He is also the editor-in-chief of Skeptic Magazine.  Skepticism means viewing the world through a rational eye, always looking for scientific evidence to support or refute new claims, and always beginning with the null hypothesis (assuming it's false and putting the onus on the claimant to prove that it's true). In this episode, we talk a little bit about the philosophies of being a skeptic, we talk about conspiracy theories, and we talk about Michael's brand new book 'Heavens On Earth', which took a look at the scientific evidence of the afterlife, heaven, utopia and so on.    Check out Michael here: http://michaelshermer.com/  Check out Skeptic magazine here: http://skeptic.com/ 

  On this episode, we tackle that special breed of whacko known as the conspiracy theorist.  You've probably encountered them at a cocktail party or on your social media.  They're the ones who are always carrying on about the JFK assassination or Obama's birth certificate and they say things like "that's exactly what THEY want you to believe" or "you have to connect the dots."  The problem is that in most instances they're connecting "dots" that aren't there and fueling ignorance, irrationality and paranoia. My guest today is an expert at dispelling such nonsense.  He's Dr. Michael Shermer, founder & publisher of Skeptic Magazine.  He also writes a monthly column for Scientific American and he's published 14 books about debunking conspiracy theories, the paranormal and pseudoscience including his newest book SKEPTIC: VIEWING THE WORLD WITH A RATIONAL EYE. Today Dr. Michael Shermer will talk about the type of person who falls for conspiracy theories, the psychology behind conspiracy beliefs, how media figures like Alex Jones and Jesse Ventura are willing accomplices to the spreading ignorance and paranoia, and the danger of conspiratorial thinking infecting our politics.  Plus he'll debunk popular conspiracies surrounding the JFK assassination, 9/11, the moon landing, vaccinations, Area 51, the death of Princess Diana, secret societies, the Denver Airport, the Sandy Hook massacre, Elvis, Obama's birth certificate, and much more. If you enjoyed this episode, then you can follow Dr. Michael Shermer on Twitter at @michaelshermer or at www.michaelshermer.com.  You can also learn more, subscribe to Skeptic Magazine and even join the Skeptic Society by visiting www.skeptic.com.  You can order SKEPTIC: VIEWING THE WORLD WITH A RATIONAL EYE or any of Dr. Michael Shermer's books on Amazon. Please subscribe to KickAss Politics on iTunes and leave us a review. You can also help us reach our fundraising goal for this year and donate at www.gofundme.com/kickasspolitics. Or go to the website for the show at www.kickasspolitics.com and click on the donate button. Thanks for listening!

Guests - Brett Loudermilk / Scott Nery / Rob the Balloon Guy

This round of Skepticality features a Skeptic Society sponsored talk which was given by the well known science communicator Bill Nye. Nye talks about the topics covered in his latest book, 'Undeniable', then afterwards sits down with Dr. Michael Shermer to talk one on one about how Nye got into science communication and the interesting journey he took on his way to become 'The Science Guy' most know him as today.

In a special live Rationally Speaking, taped at NECSS 2013, Julia Galef moderates a lively discussion between Massimo and Michael Shermer, head of the Skeptic Society and founding publisher of Skeptic Magazine. The topic: Can science tell us what is "moral"? This discussion comes after both men have tackled the question separately in books (Massimo's Answers for Aristotle and Michael's The Science of Good and Evil), and jointly in a recent debate on the Rationally Speaking blog. Questions under debate include: Does "natural" = "morally right"? How do we make tradeoffs between different people's happiness? And what role should science and philosophy play in making these decisions?

What if you could travel the world to ask scientists, artists, spiritual leaders, gurus, and everyday people why we exist? Documentary film-maker Roger Nygard (best known for his films about Star Trek fandom, Trekkies 1 and 2) did just that, conducting over 170 interviews to explore The Nature of Existence. This week on Skepticality, Swoopy talks with Roger about his journey across the globe, and what he discovered during his compelling conversations with people of faith and science (including Richard Dawkins, Leonard Susskind, and Skeptic Society founder Michael Shermer).

"Watch out for gorillas!"  "Don't trade with strangers."  "Buy this now!"  Our brains are constantly bombarded with messages about how to behave, what to buy, and whom to trust.  How do we parse these messages, and how do our choices affect the world economy?   This week on Skepticality, Derek & Swoopy discuss how economic and evolutionary theory speak the same language, and how our hardwired human biology affects modern economics, with Skeptic Society founder Dr. Michael Shermer author of The Mind of the Market: Compassionate Apes, Competitive Humans and Other Tales from Evolutionary Economics.