315. David Bernstein — Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America
Shermer and Bernstein discuss: the SCOTUS case on affirmative action and race preferences at Harvard and elsewhere • Elizabeth Warren (Cherokee ancestry — Bureau of Indian Affairs rejects?) • Tiger Wo...
14 Jan 20231h 39min
314. Martin Rees — Can Science Save Us?
Shermer and Rees discuss: existential threats • overpopulation • biodiversity loss • climate change • AI and self-driving cars, robots, and unemployment • his bet with Steven Pinker • his disagreement...
3 Jan 20231h 39min
313. Matthew Cobb — As Gods: A Moral History of the Genetic Age
Shermer and Cobb discuss: objections to genetic engineering (political, religious, cultural) • selective breeding • recombinant DNA • the ethics of genetics • patenting life • gene therapy • gene edit...
27 Dec 20222h
312. Louise Perry — The Case Against the Sexual Revolution: A New Guide to Sex in the 21st Century
Ditching the stuffy hang-ups and benighted sexual traditionalism of the past is an unambiguously positive thing. The sexual revolution has liberated us to enjoy a heady mixture of erotic freedom and p...
24 Dec 20221h 32min
311. Meghan Daum — The Problem With Everything: My Journey Through the New Culture Wars
Shermer and Daum discuss: unauthorized autobiography • Feminism (first, second, third wave, and beyond) • Was the sexual revolution good or bad (or both) for women? • badassery, problematica, wokescen...
20 Dec 20221h 38min
310. Todd Kashdan — The Art of Insubordination: How to Dissent and Defy Effectively
For too long, the term insubordination has evoked negative feelings and mental images. But for ideas to evolve and societies to progress, it's vital to cultivate rebels who are committed to challengin...
13 Dec 20221h 57min
309. India Thusi on Sex Work, Critical Race Theory, and Moral Progress
Shermer and Thusi discuss: how she gained access to police and sex workers in Johannesburg • what it was like patrolling brothels in Johannesburg • what sex work is, exactly (street-based, brothel-bas...
6 Dec 20221h 25min
308. Iris Berent — The Blind Storyteller: How We Reason About Human Nature
The Blind Storyteller is an intellectual journey that draws on philosophy, anthropology, linguistics, cognitive science, and Berent's own cutting-edge research. It grapples with a host of provocative ...
29 Nov 20221h 23min
