Michael Shermer is the founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, host of The Michael Shermer Show and author of Truth and Conspiracy. He joins Peter to ask whether we are really living in a post-truth world and how we can distinguish genuine conspiracies from stories that stretch a small element of truth far beyond the evidence.
Michael explains why real conspiracies such as MKUltra and COINTELPRO make institutional distrust harder to dismiss, how political beliefs become tribal packages and why technology may be making the search for truth both easier and more exhausting. They discuss media bias, AI fact-checking, Covid, immigration, climate change, free markets, religion and the point at which people begin acting on unsupported beliefs.
They also explore the stranger questions: simulation theory, DMT, UFOs, unexplained coincidences and the broken radio that suddenly began playing during Michael’s wedding. Michael argues that scepticism should not mean dismissing everything, it should mean demanding evidence while remaining humble enough to admit that some mysteries are still unresolved.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:58 - Are We in a War on Truth?
00:05:37 - Truth Versus Political Preference
00:08:52 - Which Conspiracies Are Real?
00:13:06 - Did Technology Break the News?
00:16:24 - Can AI Help Us Find the Truth?
00:19:15 - Fact-Checking Politicians With AI
00:22:06 - Why Political Beliefs Come as a Package
00:28:23 - Why People Believe Weird Things
00:35:18 - Science, Religion and the Need for Meaning
00:42:03 - Are We Living in a Simulation?
00:49:18 - DMT, Lasers and Hidden Code
00:51:26 - The Radio Michael Cannot Explain
00:54:42 - Why UFO Belief Resembles Religion
00:59:02 - Should We Fear Artificial Intelligence?
01:02:01 - Britain, Immigration and Shared Truth
01:12:22 - Climate Change, Consensus and the Media
01:22:18 - The UAP Cases Shermer Cannot Explain
01:25:04 - What Will Future Generations Think of Us?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
CONTACT PETE
› Website – https://www.petermccormack.com/
› Feedback – https://www.petermccormack.com/contact
› Email – me@petermccormack.com
› Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/mccormack555/
› X/Twitter – https://x.com/petermccormack/
CONNECT WITH MICHAEL SHERMER
› Website – https://michaelshermer.com/
› Michael’s Books – https://michaelshermer.com/books/
› The Michael Shermer Show – https://www.skeptic.com/michael-shermer-show/
› X/Twitter – https://x.com/michaelshermer
SPONSORS
› IREN – https://www.iren.com/
› Arch Public – https://archpublic.com/peter
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE
› Apple Podcasts – https://apple.co/40ruY9K
› Spotify – https://spoti.fi/3Wc94Vu
› Fountain – https://bit.ly/FountainPM
› YouTube – https://bit.ly/YouTube_PM
› Rumble – https://bit.ly/RumblePM
FILMED BY CURTIS TAYLOR
› https://www.curttaylor.co.uk/
EDITED BY CONOR MCCORMACK
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
","author_name":"Peter McCormack"}