Person
Every book Michael Shermer recommended on podcasts
Michael Shermer is a science writer, historian of science, and frequent podcast guest whose appearances on platforms like StarTalk Radio, The Joe Rogan Experience, and The Rubin Report reflect a deep engagement with skepticism, evolutionary psychology, historical analysis, and cultural critique. Throughout these discussions, Shermer frequently references and recommends foundational books that challenge conventional narratives or unpack complex scientific phenomena. When discussing historical controversies and criminal investigations, he pointed listeners to Gerald Posner's Case Closed as crucial evidence supporting the conclusion regarding the JFK assassination. Delving into neuroscience and altered states of consciousness, Shermer expressed fascination with Rick Strassman's DMT: The Spirit Molecule, highlighting its role in early federally approved clinical trials. His interests also extend to comparative religion and anthropology, where he frequently discusses John Marco Allegro's controversial text The sacred mushroom and the cross to examine theories surrounding the origins of Christianity. To support biological and psychological claims, Shermer recommended Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint for dietary discussions and Paul Bloom's Just Babies to illustrate the innate moral foundations of infants. Finally, he nodded to Carl Sagan's classic The Demon-Haunted World to explore comparative scientific methods and social experiments.
Books recommended by Michael Shermer
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Case Closed
Gerald Posner's Case Closed is a detailed examination of the John F.
Discussed“and then i read gerald posner's book the case closed about the life of lee harvey oswald and why all the evidence points to him”
Where to get it
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The sacred mushroom and the cross
The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross by John Marco Allegro is a controversial historical study that proposes Christianity and ancient religious rituals originated from fertility cults centered around the sacramental use of psychedelic mushrooms.
Discussed“well you know that is also John Marco allegro's thoughts oh right The Sacred Mushroom in the cross”
Where to get it
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The Open Society and Its Enemies
Karl Popper's seminal work, The Open Society and Its Enemies, presents a powerful critique of totalitarianism and examines the philosophical roots of authoritarian ideologies.
Discussed“I'm a big pro free speech idea and tolerance, is Carl Poppers "Open Society."”
Where to get it
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The Selfish Gene
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins is a landmark popular science book that presents a gene-centric view of evolution and introduced the concept of the meme.
Discussed“so this is Dawkins argument in The Selfish Gene that that the gene is the is this is the thing we should be focused on not the body”
Where to get it
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Why Buddhism is True
Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright is a compelling exploration of evolutionary psychology and Buddhist philosophy that examines how ancient meditative practices align with modern scientific understandings of the mind.
Discussed“you know there's other people like sam harris at bob right has a new book out called why buddhism is true”
Where to get it
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DMT: The Spirit Molecule
DMT: The Spirit Molecule by Rick Strassman is a groundbreaking non-fiction book that details the author's pioneering, FDA-approved clinical studies on dimethyltryptamine at the University of New Mexico during the 1990s.
Recommended“dr. rich Rick Strassman who was the guy who wrote the book DMT two-spirit male and it's an amazing book really really fascinating”
Where to get it
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Just Babies
Just Babies by Paul Bloom is a thought-provoking exploration of the moral lives of infants, investigating what science reveals about the origins of human good and evil.
Recommended“then also read Paul Bloom's book just babies so they show that like these little things with the infant they can't speak yet”
Where to get it
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Primal Blueprint
Mark Sisson's The Primal Blueprint is a foundational health and fitness guide advocating for an ancestral lifestyle, low-carbohydrate nutrition, and functional movement patterns to optimize human longevity.
Recommended“or Mark Sisson calls it primal primal blueprint you're essentially just eating vegetables and fish and meat”
Where to get it
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The Demon-Haunted World
The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan is a passionate defense of scientific skepticism and critical thinking against the rising tides of pseudoscience and superstition.
Recommended“our mutual friend the late great carl sagan has a great chapter in the demon hunter world on these kinds of experiments”
Where to get it
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12 Rules for Life
12 Rules for Life by Jordan B.
Discussed“you know in Jordan has this book here's the 12 things you got to do”
Where to get it
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A Savage Order
A Savage Order by Rachel Kleinfeld is a non-fiction book that examines failed states, systemic violence, and the methods governments use to restore order and establish functional security.
Discussed“she has this a new book called a savage order and it's about failed states and what happens to them”
Where to get it
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Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow is a comprehensive and acclaimed biographical work detailing the life, political career, and legacy of one of America's foundational leaders.
Discussed“and I was just we were just talking about the Hamilton biography and what a genius this guy was”
Where to get it
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Atlas Shrugged
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand is a sprawling philosophical novel that presents the author's objectivist worldview through a dystopian story about society's most productive individuals going on strike.
Discussed“Gerald Ford came to speak and Edward Teller came and gave his mutual assured destruction speech, and everyone was, Ayn Rand, "Atlas Shrugged" and all that, pretty much what you'd expect.”
Where to get it
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Culture Of Honor
Discussed“Now you mentioned the south there's interesting research Richard Nisbett and his colleagues on the culture of Honor that's more common in the south than in the north”
Where to get it
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Dianetics
Dianetics by L.
Discussed“and then he went out and wrote dianetics and that became the founding document of scientology”
Where to get it
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DOOMSDAY MACHINE
Discussed“and you know I just read Daniel Ellsberg's new book the doomsday machine this is on nuclear deterrence”
Where to get it
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Evil
Discussed“I mean my my friend and colleague Roy Baumeister wrote that great book on evil in which he actually went and interviewed serial killers and rapists in prison and said you know why'd you do it”
Where to get it
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Final Charade
Discussed“that's funny man did you ever read david lifton's novel or a book about it rather yeah best evidence best evidence”
Where to get it
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God Is Not Great
God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens is a prominent polemic that presents a sustained critique of organized religion, arguing that religion poisons everything and fails to provide a reliable foundation for morality.
Discussed“well hitch still dealt with this in his book God is not great”
Where to get it
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Going Clear
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright is a deeply researched expose that investigates the origins, inner workings, and controversial practices of the Church of Scientology.
Discussed“lawrence wright wrote the book all these things are happening and now leah is coming in”
Where to get it
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Heavens on Earth
Heavens on Earth by Michael Shermer is a thought-provoking exploration of the scientific search for the afterlife, immortality, and utopia, examining various secular and technological approaches to cheating death.
Discussed“and I wondered if it was on point Heavens on Earth 2018. right so that was my book about um the afterlife”
Where to get it
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Hitler
Ian Kershaw's biographical work on the German dictator is widely recognized by historians and commentators as a definitive and monumental study of the era.
Discussed“but just but just in general I mean a good Hitler biography like by Ian Kershaw is the definitive biography it's two massive volumes each were like 600 pages long”
Where to get it
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Holy Blood, Holy Grail
Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln is a controversial non-fiction exploration proposing that Jesus Christ survived the crucifixion, married Mary Magdalene, and established a royal bloodline that continues through European history.
Discussed“Before Dan Brown, there was a book called "Holy Blood, Holy Grail."”
Where to get it
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Into Thin Air
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer is a gripping account of the disastrous 1996 Mount Everest expedition written by a participant journalist.
Discussed“This is the guy the the mountain climber that did into thin air and and and the the one about the Alaskan kid anyway he wrote this book called under the banner of asking kid who died”
Where to get it
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Irreversible Damage
Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier is a nonfiction book that investigates the sudden, sharp rise in teenage girls identifying as transgender, framing the phenomenon largely through the lens of social contagion and peer influence.
Discussed“and that's abigail schreier's work right the irreversible damage”
Where to get it
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Lord of Flies
Lord of Flies by William Golding is a novel that examines human nature and civilization through the descent into savagery of a group of British boys stranded on an uninhabited island.
Discussed“the idea that we could learn that children are born with a a strong moral sense uh I mean you've read Lord of the Flies I think that's far more accurate”
Where to get it
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Not Born Yesterday
Not Born Yesterday by Hugo Mercier is a cognitive science book that argues humans are far less gullible than commonly assumed, possessing sophisticated mechanisms to evaluate information and resist outside persuasion.
Discussed“and nicely summarized in Hugo Mercier's book called not born yesterday”
Where to get it
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On Liberty
On Liberty by John Stuart Mill is an 1859 philosophical essay widely regarded as one of the most powerful and foundational defenses of free speech and individual liberty.
Discussed“I do think if you apply the principles of free speech as originally laid out by John Stuart Mill in 1859 his book on Liberty where he said okay look you might be completely right”
Where to get it
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Papers on the War
Papers on the War is a collection of writings and analyses by Daniel Ellsberg that addresses the mechanisms and moral implications of American military intervention, particularly regarding the Vietnam War.
Discussed“and I just read Daniel Ellsberg's new book the doomsday machine this is on nuclear deterrence”
Where to get it
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Proof of Heaven
Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander is a memoir detailing a neurosurgeon's near-death experience and his subsequent journey into a spiritual realm while he was in a coma from severe bacterial meningitis.
Discussed“so first of all I discuss the most famous example is even Alexander's trip to heaven he wrote a book called proof of heaven”
Where to get it
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Reclaiming History
Discussed“and then uh vincent billiosi's book uh reclaiming history which is like 1500 pages long and it dissects every one of the hundreds of conspiracy theories”
Where to get it
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Rule Makers, Rule Breakers
Discussed“i just started this book called rule makers and rule breakers uh it's a by a woman who is a cultural psychologist”
Where to get it
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Scale
Discussed“there's that book that physicist west jeff g-e-o-f-f west i think is his name wrote that book”
Where to get it
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Sham
Discussed“and um there was a guy wrote a book called sham s-h-a-m self-help actualization movement and he was the head book guy for rodale press that publishes these self-help books um and so his takeaway on in this book was that the number one predictor of people who will buy self-help books are people who already bought self-help books and”
Where to get it
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The Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon by Joseph Smith is a foundational religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which Smith purported to translate from golden plates.
Discussed“and this is the the first page of the Book of Mormon is an affidavit”
Where to get it
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The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Christian Myth
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Christian Myth by John Marco Allegro is a controversial theological study examining the connections between ancient religious texts, secret societies, and the sacramental use of psychedelic plants in early Christianity.
Discussed“then John Marko Allegro wrote a second book called the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Christian myth after they bought out his first book”
Where to get it
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The doors of perception
The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley is a classic exploration of consciousness and psychedelic experiences that details the author's experiments with mescaline.
Discussed“you know Aldous Huxley's book the doors of perception s which supposedly is where the doors got their name”
Where to get it
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The Internationalists
Discussed“there's a new database i've just been reading about in this book called the internationalist 500 war um statements by nations”
Where to get it
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The Murderer Next Door
The Murderer Next Door by David M.
Discussed“so this is David bus's research on he wrote a book on murders who the murderer next door it's called”
Where to get it
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The Open Society and Its Enemies (1+2)
The Open Society and Its Enemies by Karl Popper is a classic 1945 philosophical and political work that defends liberal democracy and open society while offering a profound critique of historicism and totalitarian ideologies.
Discussed“I think an explanation might come from Karl Popper's, the great philosopher of science, Karl Popper's book, "The Open Society."”
Where to get it
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The Paranoid Style in American Politics
Discussed“Richard hofstetter's you know the paranoid style and American politics kind of put that on the map”
Where to get it
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The Prose Works of Jonathan Swift: Gulliver's travels
The Prose Works of Jonathan Swift: Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift is a classic satirical novel that critiques human nature and the political institutions of the eighteenth century through fantastical voyages.
Discussed“i mean i'm reading jonathan hates book the the two books that uh i've been reading recently but the other one is the cobbling of the american mind”
Where to get it
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The Square and the Tower
Discussed“I was just reading Neil Ferguson's new book the tower and the square it's about the tension throughout all of human history civilization”
Where to get it
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The Virtue of Nationalism
The Virtue of Nationalism by Yoram Hazony offers a robust defense of the nation-state, arguing that strong, self-determining democratic nations are essential for fostering global stability and peace.
Discussed“The book that I reference in the chapter, "The Virtue of Nationalism" by Yoram Hazony his whole argument is that every nation should be able to set it's own laws”
Where to get it
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UFOs
UFOs by Leslie Kean is a comprehensive examination of unidentified flying objects that compiles documented accounts and firsthand testimonies from credible figures.
Discussed“so i take leslie keane's a book on ufo's and you know pilots in generals go on the record and so on”
Where to get it
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UFOs : Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record
UFOs : Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record by Leslie Kean and Heather Henderson is a thorough investigation into unidentified flying object phenomena utilizing reports and testimonies from authoritative sources.
Discussed“so i take leslie keane's a book on ufo's and you know pilots in generals go on the record and so on”
Where to get it
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Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe is an influential anti-slavery novel published in 1852 that profoundly shaped public attitudes toward slavery in the United States prior to the Civil War.
Discussed“so you know here Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin was the first time most White's had ever read anything about what it was like to be a slave”
Where to get it
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Under the Banner of Heaven
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer is a non-fiction investigative book examining religious extremism, the history of the Latter Day Saint movement, and fundamentalist Mormon murders.
Discussed“I don't know if you ever read John Jon Krakauer's book under the banner of heaven this is the guy the the mountain climber that did into thin air”
Where to get it
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Unlimited Power
Unlimited Power by Tony Robbins is a well-known self-help book focused on personal achievement and neuro-linguistic programming.
Discussed“because he did me some good when i was uh 21 years old i used to listen to his i think it was called unlimited power i think that was the name of the book”
Where to get it
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Waking Up
Waking Up by Sam Harris is a book and meditation guide that explores spirituality, mindfulness, and the nature of consciousness from a secular perspective.
Discussed“and I quote from Sam Harris's the opening pages of waking up you know I took ecstasy and I'm sitting there on the couch with my buddy”
Where to get it
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When bad things happen to good people
Discussed“other than like Rabbi Kushner's famous book, "When Bad Things Happen to Good People." His conclusion was God simply can't do anything about it.”
Where to get it
Books Michael Shermer wrote
- The Moral Arc
- Why People Believe Weird Things
- Don't Burn This Book
- Giving the Devil his Due
- Heavens on Earth
- Conspiracy
- The Science of Good and Evil
- The Science of Good and Evil
Appearances
Other mentions (15: passing, ad reads, own books)
“taking my previous book the moral arc or steve baker's books you know talking about the shift in norms”
“yeah carl sagan had a great line that i i quoted in my first book why people believe were things on the the kind of healthy skepticism”
“Hi everybody, Michael Shermer here talking to Dave Rubin about his new book, "Don't Burn This Book."”
“You know, at the end of the moral arch I sort of speculate about a future, a world without borders. ... Unfortunately since I wrote that in 2015 we've kind of gone the other direction...”
“Well those were all the right answers so I'm not gonna burn your book after all.”
“This was of course Dan Brown's novel. That was a real book, actually.”
“who I was when I was working on giving the devil is do I had this was kind of a challenge to me because I feel like there's so much fake news”
“neil i think in the last chapter the moral arc i speculated on us becoming a multi-planetary spacefaring civilization”
“the moral arc uh heavens on earth look at you skeptic magazine”
“he wrote a series of essays for vanity fair his column uh which you can get as a book now i think it's called mortality or something like that anyway”
“you know Aldous Huxley's book the doors of perception s which supposedly is where the doors got their name”
“particularly when I was writing the moral arc and now I'm getting ready to teach this honors course at Chapman on morality and ethics and evolution”
“you know Buddhism has quite a resurgence now there's a number of books you know Bob Wright's book Buddhism is true and so on”
“this is subject of my next book Heavens on Earth that you know so I talk about the idea of of uploading the Mind into a computer”
“and and what is it that actually happens This is subject of my next book Heavens on Earth that you know”