How the Greatest Investors Win in Life and Markets
Release Date: 12/21/2024
Free Speech Under Fire? From Campus Protests to Deportations
The Michael Shermer Show
Jacob Mchangama, author of Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media, joins Michael to examine the evolving landscape of free expression amid rising political and cultural tensions. They discuss how far governments, universities, and tech platforms should go in regulating speech, and what’s at stake when they do. In this episode: Should non-citizens have the same speech protections as citizens? Social media, mental health, radicalization, and the “moderation dilemma” The global shift toward stricter regulation of speech How today’s most divisive issues test the limits of...
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Is It Possible to Change Your Entire Personality?
The Michael Shermer Show
Is it really possible to change your entire personality in a year? An award-winning journalist experiments with her own personality to find out—and reveals the science behind lasting change. Research shows that you can alter your personality traits by behaving in ways that align with the kind of person you’d like to be—a process that can make you happier, healthier, and more successful. Olga embarked on an “experiment” to see whether it’s possible to go from dwelling in dread to radiating joy. For one year, she clicked “yes” on a bucket list of new experiences—from meditation...
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The Trouble with Economic Data: Flawed Metrics, Flawed Decisions
The Michael Shermer Show
The ways that statisticians and governments measure the economy were developed in the 1940s, when the urgent economic problems were entirely different from those of today. Diane Coyle argues that the framework underpinning today’s economic statistics is so outdated that it functions as a distorting lens, or even a set of blinkers. When policymakers rely on such an antiquated conceptual tool, how can they measure, understand, and respond with any precision to what is happening in today’s digital economy? Coyle argues that to understand the current economy, we need different data collected...
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Did Shutting Down Schools Help or Hurt? A COVID-19 Postmortem
The Michael Shermer Show
David Zweig’s new book An Abundance of Caution (MIT Press) is an account of the decision-making process behind the extended closures of public schools during the pandemic. In fascinating and meticulously reported detail, Zweig shows how some of the most trusted members of society—from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists to eminent health officials—repeatedly made fundamental errors in their assessment and presentation of evidence. By fall 2020, many students in Europe were already back in classrooms—and so were their peers in private schools in America and in public schools across...
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What’s Holding You Back? Scott Barry Kaufman on Resilience in the Age of Fragility
The Michael Shermer Show
It’s tempting to see ourselves as damaged or powerless—defined by past traumas, overwhelming emotions, and daily struggles. But is that really the most helpful way to understand ourselves? Does seeing ourselves as victims lead to growth? Psychologist and author Scott Barry Kaufman joins us to examine how popular narratives around sensitivity, self-esteem, and emotional regulation may be holding us back. He unpacks the psychological costs of coddling (vs. empowerment), the rise of risk aversion, and how modern parenting, education, and therapy shape our sense of self. With insight, empathy,...
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Why We Follow Orders: The Neuroscience of Compliance and Control
The Michael Shermer Show
Why do ordinary people carry out extraordinary harm when simply told to do so? From the Holocaust to the genocides in Rwanda, Bosnia, and Cambodia, history shows how obedience to authority can lead to unimaginable acts. But what’s happening in the brain when we follow orders—even ones that conflict with our morals? In this episode, we speak with neuroscientist Emilie Caspar, whose groundbreaking research explores how authority influences cognition and behavior. Drawing from real-life accounts of genocide perpetrators and cutting-edge neuroscience, Caspar reveals how obedience can...
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Amanda Knox: Life After the Crime That Wasn’t Hers
The Michael Shermer Show
Amanda Knox spent nearly four years in prison and eight years on trial for a murder she didn’t commit—and became a notorious tabloid story in the process. Though she was exonerated, it’s taken more than a decade for her to reclaim her identity and truly feel free. Amanda’s new book, Free recounts how she survived prison, the mistakes she made and misadventures she had reintegrating into society, culminating in the untold story of her return to Italy and the extraordinary relationship she’s built with the man who sent her to prison. Amanda tells the story of her personal growth and...
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What Einstein Meant by God: Science, Spirituality, and the Search for Meaning
The Michael Shermer Show
Albert Einstein remains renowned around the world for revolutionizing our understanding of the cosmos, but very few realize that the celebrated scientist had a deep spiritual side. Einstein believed that one wondrous force was woven through all things everywhere—and this sense of the pervasive sacred influenced every aspect of his existence, from his marvelous science to his passionate pacifism. Kieran Fox studied medicine at Stanford University and holds a doctorate in cognitive neuroscience from the University of British Columbia. He is a physician-scientist at the The University of...
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What Happened to the Intellectual Dark Web?
The Michael Shermer Show
Outside of the academics and activists whose ideology came to dominate the West in the second decade of the twenty-first century, arguably no group influenced public discourse as much as the Intellectual Dark Web. Challenging the intellectual and cultural orthodoxies that engulfed universities, the media, and big tech, this group—a loose collective of politically diverse intellectuals, commentators, and scholars critical of political correctness, identity politics, and cancel culture—relied on alternative platforms like podcasts, digital magazines, and YouTube to promote free speech,...
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Sex and Beauty: The Extraordinary Implications of Darwin’s Strangest Idea (Matt Ridley)
The Michael Shermer Show
In all animals, mating is a deal. But few creatures behave as if sex is a simple, even mutually beneficial, transaction. Many more treat it with reverence, suspicion, angst, and violence. Matt Ridley revisits Darwin’s revelatory theory of mate choice through the close study of the peculiar rituals of birds, and considers how this mating process complicates our own view of human evolution. Ridley also explores the scientific research into the evolution of bright colors, exotic ornaments, and elaborate displays in birds around the world. Charles Darwin thought the purpose of such displays was...
info_outlineWilliam Green delves into the lives of iconic investors like Buffett, Munger, and Templeton, unraveling how their approaches extend beyond financial success. These super-investors possess unique skills such as rigorous thinking, resilience, and intuition. Through years of interviews, Green reveals how their principles can improve decision-making, manage risks, and help us thrive in uncertain environments.
William Green has written for top publications like Time, Forbes, and The Economist, and edited Time’s Asian and European editions. He coauthored several books, including Guy Spier’s The Education of a Value Investor. Born in London, he studied English at Oxford and earned a journalism master’s at Columbia. Now based in New York, he lives with his family. His latest book is Richer, Wiser, Happier: How the World’s Greatest Investors Win in Markets and Life.
Shermer and Green discuss the financial literacy of Americans, the mechanics of wealth creation, and the psychology behind investment decisions. They cover the stock market, the importance of resilience, and the relationship between money, happiness, and luck. The conversation includes wisdom from legendary investors, the power of compound interest, and practical strategies for financial independence.