Michael Shermer

Dr. Michael Shermer 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. He is the author of New York Times bestsellers "Why People Believe Weird Things" and "The Believing Brain," "Why Darwin Matters," "The Science of Good and Evil," "The Moral Arc," and "Heavens on Earth." His new book is "Giving the Devil His Due: Reflections of a Scientific Humanist."

Shermer regularly contributes opinion editorials, essays, and reviews to: the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, Science, Nature, and other publications. He wrote 214 consecutive monthly columns for Scientific American. He appeared on such shows as "The Colbert Report," "20/20," "Dateline," "Charlie Rose," "Oprah," and "Larry King Live." He has been interviewed in countless documentaries aired on PBS, A&E, Discovery, The History Channel, The Science Channel, and The Learning Channel. Shermer was the co-host and co-producer of the 13-hour Family Channel television series, Exploring the Unknown. His two TED talks, seen by millions, were voted in the top 100.

Dr. Shermer 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. He has been a college professor since 1979, also teaching at Occidental College, Glendale College, and Claremont Graduate University, where he taught a transdisciplinary course for Ph.D. students on Evolution, Economics, and the Brain.