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

Charles Fort, a maverick writer, fascinated by bizarre occurrences like flying saucers, Bigfoot, and frogs raining from the sky, scanned newspapers and magazines for reports of anomalies, advancing a philosophy that saw science as a small part of a larger system where truth and falsehood constantly transformed. His work found a following of skeptics who questioned not only science but also the press, medicine, and politics, led by the adman and writer Tiffany Thayer, who founded the Fortean Society. Joshua Blu Buhs argues in Think to New Worlds that the Fortean movement provided tools to expand the imagination, explore the social order, and demonstrate power dynamics, inspiring science fiction writers, avant-garde modernists, and post-World War II flying saucer enthusiasts to uncover the hidden structures of reality in an ever-expanding universe filled with unexplained occurrences and visionary possibilities. Joshua Blu Buhs is a scholar of the overlap of politics, biology, and ecology in twentieth-century America and has written articles that have appeared in Isis, Environmental History, The World of Genetics, and Journal of the History of Biology. His PhD is in the history of science from Penn State. He is the author of Bigfoot: The Life and Times of a Legend and The Fire Ant Wars: Nature, Science, and Public Policy in Twentieth-Century America, both published by the University of Chicago Press. His new book is Think to New Worlds: The Cultural History of Charles Fort and His Followers. Shermer and Buhs discuss his research and writing on weird phenomena like Bigfoot, Charles Fort, Fortean followers, anomaly hunting, science fiction, UFOs, skeptics, and the cultural impact of Fortean ideas that blurred the boundaries between truth and falsehood, undermining expert authority and fueling conspiracies.

25 Aug 20241h 17min

As if 2024 couldn't get any weirder, tensions in the Middle East have escalated with the United States sending one of our nuclear submarines to the Mediterranean as a deterrent signal to Iran that they better think twice about attacking Israel. That sub, the Ohio-class USS Georgia, carries non-nuclear cruise missiles. But 14 of our 18 Ohio-class submarines have nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles—each sub has in its belly the nuclear equivalent of all the bombs dropped in World War II. Multiply that by 14 and let your imagination be properly staggered. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces have pushed into Russian territory and Putin is outraged at the invasion. How far can Ukraine go before Putin uses his battlefield tactical nukes in response? In this solo episode, Michael Shermer discusses the threat of nuclear annihilation and explores the evolutionary origins of our moral emotions and logic of deterrence based on game theory. Focus of the analysis: the need to reduce nuclear stockpiles and shifting the taboo from using to owning nuclear weapons.

23 Aug 202443min

In his book Of Boys and Men and through his work at the American Institute for Boys and Men, Richard V. Reeves addresses the growing crisis facing boys and men in modern society. He argues that economic and social changes have left many males struggling in education, work, and family life, while institutions and laws have failed to adapt. Reeves criticizes both conservative and progressive politicians for their inability to provide effective solutions. He emphasizes that addressing these issues doesn’t undermine gender equality; rather, it’s possible to support both men and women simultaneously. Reeves highlights that while women still face disadvantages in areas like pay and leadership, men—especially those from minority or low-income backgrounds—are falling behind in other aspects of life. His approach aims to provide innovative solutions to these complex challenges without compromising the goal of gender equality. Richard Reeves is the founding president of the American Institute for Boys and Men (AIBM). Before this, he was a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, focusing on economic inequality, racial justice, social mobility, and issues affecting boys and men. He authored several books, including Of Boys and Men and Dream Hoarders. Reeves founded AIBM in 2023 to address challenges facing boys and men. Recently, Melinda French Gates announced a $20 million donation to AIBM as part of her $1 billion pledge to support women’s rights. Shermer and Reeves discuss the gender gap in higher education, which has reversed since 1972, with men now earning only 42 percent of degrees. They explore boys lagging in English, higher male suicide rates, and premature deaths. They note lower employment rates for Black men and societal preferences for daughters. The conversation covers conflicting messages about masculinity and critiques of “boy culture.” They examine how these issues intersect with various ideologies and societal problems, affecting boys’ development and challenging traditional views on gender roles and expectations.

20 Aug 20241h 31min

In her autobiographical book On the Warpath, archaeologist Elizabeth Weiss recounts her battles on the front lines of the culture war in academia. Her opposition to the reburial of Native American remains, her insistence that indigenous knowledge is not science, and her fight against political correctness have exposed her to numerous controversies, including a court case, cancel culture campaigns, and the university shutting her out of its collection over a photograph of her holding a skull. Weiss tells the story of her fight for science against superstition and her attempts to promote free speech and academic freedom, while examining the current challenges facing universities through her battles against absurdities such as attempts to bar “menstruating personnel” (formerly known as women) from curation facilities and plans to declare X-rays sacred for repatriation to Native Americans. Elizabeth Weiss is a controversial and world-renowned anthropology professor, specializing in the analysis of human skeletal remains. For much of her career she was based at San Jose State University, where she curated one of the largest collections of skeletal remains in the U.S. She is the author of numerous books and articles, and she played an essential role in bringing the Smithsonian’s traveling exhibition “What Does it Mean to be Human?” to the San Francisco Bay Area. She’s been featured in The New York Times, Science and USA Today, and has been interviewed on Fox News and Newsmax. She currently lives in New York City, where she holds a visiting fellowship with Heterodox Academy. Shermer and Weiss discuss the politicization of archaeology, covering Weiss’s experiences in the field, including controversies like the Kennewick Man, the binary nature of sex in bone studies, and the impact of “wokeness” on anthropology. They also explore issues like the connection between modern tribes and ancient remains, the peopling of the Americas, and Weiss’s discrimination experiences, including her lawsuit against San Jose State University.

17 Aug 20241h 23min

Life as No One Knows It by Sara Imari Walker tackles the challenging question of defining life, a problem as complex as understanding consciousness or matter’s existence. Walker argues that current definitions are inadequate for comprehending life’s origins or potential extraterrestrial forms. She proposes that solving this puzzle requires revolutionary thinking and an experimentally verifiable theory. This is crucial for both creating life in laboratories and searching for it on other planets. Walker suggests a new paradigm for understanding physics and life, exploring the work of innovative scientists who are reframing fundamental questions about the universe. The book concludes with a bold theory for identifying and classifying life, applicable beyond Earth. It’s a rigorous yet accessible work that celebrates life’s mystery while demonstrating physics’ explanatory power. Sara Imari Walker is an astrobiologist and theoretical physicist focused on the origin and discovery of life. She's a professor at Arizona State University and deputy director of the Beyond Center. Walker is also affiliated with the Berggruen Institute and Santa Fe Institute. Her award-winning research on life's origins has gained international recognition and media attention. Shermer and Walker explore diverse topics including defining life, self, and organisms; philosophical concepts like materialism and idealism; origins of life research; assembly theory; consciousness; free will; symbiogenesis; exoplanet biosignatures; alien civilizations; and the intersection of extraterrestrial search with religion. They discuss paradigm shifts in understanding life’s origins, potential alien characteristics, and the Kardashev scale.

13 Aug 20241h 46min

As cryptocurrency surged in popularity during the pandemic, many were drawn by the promise of wealth and revolutionizing sectors like finance, art, and politics. Figures like FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried became emblematic of this new era, but his meteoric rise was marred by scandal as his aggressive, profit-driven tactics led to one of the biggest financial fraud cases in U.S. history. Unlike idealists like Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin, Bankman-Fried’s approach mirrored the risky financial practices that triggered the 2008 crisis. Cryptomania delves into the crypto industry’s tumultuous 20 months, exposing its male-dominated, overhyped world, and chronicling the clash between profiteers and visionaries, the creation of speculative bubbles, and the human toll of its inevitable collapse. Andrew R. Chow is a correspondent for Time who covers technology, culture, and business. He has written four Time cover stories, including about the impacts of the AI corporate arms race and a prescient profile of Vitalik Buterin months before the 2022 crypto crash. He has previously written for The New York Times, Pitchfork, and NBC News. His first book is Cryptomania: Hype, Hope and the Fall of a Billion-Dollar Fintech Empire. Shermer and Chow discuss a comprehensive overview of money's evolving landscape and future potential. They trace its progression from fiat currencies to cryptocurrencies, exploring Bitcoin's rise and crypto's utopian ideals. The conversation examines NFTs' role in crypto's popularity and downfall, Sam Bankman-Fried's controversial career, and how crypto's crash mirrored the 2008 financial crisis, revealing similar systemic issues despite promises of revolution.

10 Aug 202452min

Evolutionary biologist and author, Richard Dawkins, explores how the body, behavior, and genes of every living creature serve as a record of their ancestors’ worlds, similar to how a lizard’s skin reflects its desert origins. In his new book, Dawkins shows that these genetic “books of the dead” offer insights into the history of life, revealing how animals have adapted to challenges over time. He argues that understanding these evolutionary patterns unlocks a vivid and nuanced view of the past, allowing us to see the remarkable continuity in how life overcomes obstacles. Richard Dawkins was the inaugural Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. He is best known for The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, and The God Delusion. Dawkins has made significant contributions to evolutionary theory and popular science, emphasizing the gene-centered view of evolution. His latest book, The Genetic Book of the Dead, explores how genes serve as an archive of ancestral history. Dawkins continues to write and lecture on science and reason. Shermer and Dawkins discuss Dawkins’ new book, The Genetic Book of the Dead, exploring how an animal’s genes can be interpreted as a record of its ancestral history. They delve into the interdisciplinary nature of evolutionary studies, linking archaeology, biology, and geology. The conversation clarifies the difference between genetic and phenotypic records, using the metaphor of QR codes to explain how genetic information encodes environmental history. They also touch on the future implications of this research for understanding evolution.

6 Aug 20241h 15min

After the Flying Saucers Came explores the global fascination with UFOs, tracing its origins to the summer of 1947 when a pilot’s sighting in Washington State sparked widespread reports of “flying saucers.” This phenomenon, fueled by Cold War anxieties and space age aspirations, captivated the world, leading to disputed government inquiries, sensational news stories, and a fervent community of ufologists. Author Greg Eghigian delves into how UFO sightings and alien encounters have shaped cultural and scientific debates, influenced by fears of conspiracies, hoaxes, and the allure of extraterrestrial life. He chronicles the evolution of UFO discourse across the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Russia, examining the impact of these mysteries on our perceptions of science, technology, and humanity. Through the lens of history, media, and personal testimonies, the book offers a comprehensive look at how UFOs have captured both the imagination and skepticism of society. Michael Shermer and Greg Eghigian explore the intriguing questions of extraterrestrial life and UFO phenomena in this podcast episode. They delve into the distinction between the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) and the scientific study of UFOs and UAPs (unidentified aerial phenomena). By examining these two questions—Are they out there? and Have they come here?—they shed light on how each area approaches the evidence and implications differently. Additionally, they discuss Bayesian reasoning as a method to assess the likelihood and credibility of UFO sightings and claims. Whether you’re a skeptic or a believer, this discussion will challenge your perceptions and deepen your understanding of the ongoing debate about extraterrestrial visitation.

3 Aug 20241h 48min