Michael Shermer

Michael Shermer (born September 8, 1954) is an American science writer, historian of science, and prominent skeptical activist who founded The Skeptics Society and serves as the editor-in-chief of its publication, Skeptic magazine. Originally trained in psychology and the history of science (earning his Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University), Shermer spent decades investigating pseudoscientific, paranormal, and fringe beliefs, authoring bestselling books such as Why People Believe Weird Things (1997), The Believing Brain (2011), and The Moral Arc (2015), as well as penning a long-running column for Scientific American. A visible public intellectual and advocate for scientific rationalism, secular humanism, and free speech, he regularly participates in public debates against creationists, Holocaust deniers, and conspiracy theorists, while exploring cognitive biases and the evolution of human belief systems on his podcast, The Michael Shermer Show.