Michael Shermer

Dr. Michael Shermer is the Founder of the Skeptic Society and the Editor in Chief of Skeptic Magazine. He serves as the Executive Director of the Skeptics Society and hosts the Skeptics Distinguished Science Lecture Series at Caltech. Additionally, Shermer is an Adjunct Professor of Economics at Claremont Graduate University. He is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, the host of the "Science Salon" Podcast, and a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University where he teaches Skepticism 101. For 18 years, he was a monthly columnist for Scientific American and continues to contribute to the publication.

Shermer is the author of several influential books, including New York Times bestsellers "Why People Believe Weird Things," "The Believing Brain," "Why Darwin Matters," "The Science of Good and Evil," "The Moral Arc," "Heavens on Earth," and his latest work, "The Mind of the Market," which discusses evolutionary economics. He has also authored "Giving the Devil His Due: Reflections of a Scientific Humanist." His writings have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, Science, Nature, and other prestigious publications.

Dr. Shermer has appeared on numerous television programs such as "The Colbert Report," "20/20," "Dateline," "Charlie Rose," "Oprah," and "Larry King Live," contributing his expertise in various scientific and historical topics. He co-hosted and co-produced the 13-hour Family Channel television series "Exploring the Unknown." His appearances in documentaries have been broadcast on PBS, A&E, Discovery, The History Channel, The Science Channel, and The Learning Channel. Shermer’s two TED talks, seen by millions, were voted in the top 100. He received his B.A. in psychology from Pepperdine University, M.A. in experimental psychology from California State University, Fullerton, and his Ph.D. in the history of science from Claremont Graduate University. Shermer has been a college professor since 1979, teaching at institutions such as Occidental College, Glendale College, and Claremont Graduate University.