The Michael Shermer Show

By the summer of 1945, Japan's cities were burning, its people were starving, and its military leaders were preparing for a final battle on home soil. Even the destruction of Hiroshima did not bring an immediate surrender. Historian James Scott, author of Empire of Ashes, talks with Michael Shermer about why Japan kept fighting and why he believes Nagasaki was decisi...

We tend to explain success by looking at what people did right, while overlooking everyone who made the same choices and failed.

Philosopher Duncan Pritchard joins Michael Shermer to discuss his book, Tempting Fate: A Philosophical Guide to Risk, Luck, and a Meaningful Life, and how to make decisions when even the best preparation can't guarantee a good outcom...

Why does being alive feel like something? Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio argues that the answer begins with the body's need to stay alive. Hunger, thirst, pain, and pleasure tell us how we're doing and push us to act. These basic feelings, he says, are the foundation of consciousness.

Damasio returns to the show to discuss his new book, Natural Intelligence and the...