Michael Shermer on Truth and Conspiracy

Michael Shermer on Truth and Conspiracy

From The Good Fight by Yascha Mounk

April 18, 2026 · 57 min

About this episode

Yascha Mounk and Michael Shermer discuss the challenges of debunking conspiracy theories while preserving free speech.

Yascha Mounk and Michael Shermer delve into the art of debunking dangerous ideas without silencing free speech. Michael Shermer is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine and the host of the podcast The Michael Shermer Show. His new book is Truth: What it is, How to Find it, Why it Still Matters. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Michael Shermer discuss conspiracy theories from the plausible to the wild, how to assess whether a conspiracy theory is accurate, and discovering the truth in a convoluted world. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following ⁠this link on your phone⁠. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Apple⁠ | ⁠Google⁠ X: ⁠@Yascha_Mounk⁠ & ⁠@JoinPersuasion⁠ YouTube: ⁠Yascha Mounk⁠, ⁠Persuasion⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Yascha Mounk

Guest: Michael Shermer

Topics covered

  • conspiracy theories
  • truth
  • free speech
  • debunking ideas
  • critical thinking

Keywords

  • conspiracy theories
  • truth
  • free speech
  • debunking
  • Skeptic magazine
  • Michael Shermer
  • Yascha Mounk

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Skeptic magazine, The Michael Shermer Show

Books & works: Truth: What it is, How to Find it, Why it Still Matters

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