Incredibly insightful conversation and very refreshing to hear you both talk about these topics in a way that is not overly self righteous. Great work!
1:02:05 "Without Twitter, no Trump, right?" It is indeterminable whether Donald Trump would have lost the 2016 election had Twitter never existed. If Twitter hadn't been invented, the Twitter social media platform would not have been available to the benefit or the detriment of *any* political candidate.
@@jeffersonianideal no thats not inplausible or improveable. the social media extremists pushed the hunter story off the web. it would have changed, polls have proven, enough votes to change the outcome, had people known of it. of course, unless further "fortification" would have ensued... which, in turn, wouldnt be happening without the extremist politicisation of the climate as a result of the extremists at the social media companeis
@@jeffersonianideal huh? as i said, its already been proved. you say this as if its not beyond proven, common knowledge... considering how politicised you are, how do you not know that enormous of a fact, that your electio was stolen as a result of your politicised, extremist, clown media sites ran by ter-ts? that doesnt speak well for your credibillity
@@drgeorgek Dave Rubin is a charlatan out to make money. He has no true ideology. It was amusing watching him prostrate himself to his overlords over the adoption.
Well i get small movies that play in my mind that foretell of peoples deaths. They're 100% accurate. And I hate them. But I can't stop them. I've been right next to 50 people who either got murdered or were the murderer and i sensed it at the time. Cause people are constant liars I've let them all get murdered or kill off the other person. I warned Benji Venuman a few times and he got spooked by it but ultimately didn't listen. He told his girlfriend though. I saw the car and I saw who was driving it and I know he's not supposed to be driving it so I pointed my fingers at him instantly and showed what was going to happen to him. I saw the car days later and instantly I pointed my fingers at him and pulled the trigger again. He was really unnerved by it. But he never bothered to stop the car and find out what I know. The next time I saw the car he waved hello to me. I waved back and as he was driving to the restaurant i pulled the trigger again at his back as he drove away from me. I imitated firing 2 shots into the back of him. He got shot in the back in that restaurant 2 weeks later.
@@dreyn7780 that's really interesting and sounds like it'd be highly traumatic, if true. The skeptical position (nor the OP) doesn't say the default position is to disbelieve any claim - that's 'cynicism'. Skepticism just requires that belief in any claim is supported by appropriate evidence.
Rationalism is illogical if you assume logic is a priori. Because this then collapses laws of logic on themselves, if logic can be arbitrarily true, then equally so untruth can be arbitrary as well. It collapses possibility for knowledge/epistemology, and therefore you reduce into absurdity and relativism. Only way to ground logic is transcendental appeal, and beyond that appeal in order to avoid an ad infinitum scenario is you appeal to a final self satiating self actualizing point in God. Therefore if you reject omnipotence, omnibenevolence, omniscience you reject the possibility of coherence itself. Therefore skepticism of God is illogical.
Jimmy Savile: Yes he did a mix of things, some good, a lot bad. But the good things were camouflage for the bad things. They enabled him to appear legitimate and get close to powerful people who could protect him. He is not the only one who used such a strategy. Clement Freud comes to mind. And curiously as far as I recall he shared an office with another politician, Cyril Smith, who also slipped below the radar while alive. So carefully consider the reasons why a bad person does good things.
Yeah I didn’t really agree at all when Shermer was trying to say it’s acceptable to take a nuanced on view on Savile because he did good things too. He did these good things as a way of gaining an unprecedented level of access to children, and to shield himself from the potential of facing any justice in his lifetime. It’s really not comparable to Bill Clinton at all. But, I’ll leave that down to Shermer probably just not being fully clued up on Savile and the horrendous magnitude and depravity of his crimes (considering he mispronounced his surname after Louis already said it 😂).
I'd say it's one of the most commonly used (and effective) strategies of subterfuge used by psychopaths and people in power for centuries. It's been used by groups and individuals in positions of authority forever and it's still going on. Nothing new.
I'm an atheist who worked in a synagogue for 15 years (everyone knew I was an atheist... I never tried to hide it). It always struck me as strange that I was around people who believed that their god is real and the Old Testament is true, yet they would be very logical about everything else. In my 15 years there I heard lots of crazy stuff and it always threw me for a loop, but afterwards they were back to reality again about everything else. Very strange.
I'm a religious person who worked a job for 15 years (everyone knew I was a religious person.. I never tried to hide it). It always struck me as strange that I was around people who believed that their particular worldview and morality is real and true, yet they would be very logical about everything else. In my 15 years there I heard lots of crazy stuff and it always threw me for a loop, but afterwards they were back to reality again about everything else. Very strange.
@@tayzk5929 -- Two things: 1st) You gave yourself a thumbs up. Yes, you know you did. 2nd) How exactly is a revealed religion based on faith (after all, it wasn't revealed to you but allegedly revealed to someone you never met who lived several thousand years ago) and impossible to believe stories equal in your mind to a scientific, evidence-based worldview? You are pathetic.
@@tayzk5929 The determining factor is whether a human being refrains from depriving another person of life, liberty or property through the use of force. The government is certainly no arbiter of morality.
@@jeffersonianideal I know what Libertarian morality says. I disagree with it. Yes, the government is a tool that can be used(or not) for good or evil, the government isn't an arbiter of morality. That's true.
From what I've seen, people who call themselves libertarian only want things for themselves and do not care about others . They demand their "rights" while trampling on the rights of others. To me "libertarian" is synonymous with "inconsiderate assshole"
@@tayzk5929 What is "Libertarian morality"? When is it permissible for you to use force, against and otherwise, peaceable human being, to either, coerce that person to do something he/she doesn't want to do, or use violence against an otherwise peaceable human being to prevent such a person from engaging in an activity they voluntarily choose to participate in?
Was in a church once and had an evangelical snake oil guy be a guest speaker. Promised to heal a guy with a cane. After service needed it again. Same service he guessed someone was hard of hearing some people volunteered me knowing I was half deaf. The guy literally smacked my head than backed away and asked me something. I responded “What”?! Hahahahaha The Whole church was laughing.
Why do you like him? While I can see why some of his work is entertaining and might fool people, he's emblematic of dishonest monopolized left-wing journalism.
@@tayzk5929 , "Why do you like him?" - again, I like him because of "a depth of skill & content which is a welcome alternative to slickly-presented vacuous TV". Isn't there enough media nonsense to permit an alternative view?
@@tayzk5929 he's getting at something more human than concept or ideal, for instance, watching doors slam on Mike Wallace from old 60 mins shows was fun for a season but Theroux gets thru the front door. & as far as dishonest, ok, he lets people (potential marks) believe what they want about his intent without correcting them, like Borat, so it is entertainment, which is monetized. would u say Sacha Cohen is more honest becuz he in later years broke character & speaks about his stance on issues as a person? also, like Jon Ronson, maybe Theroux is open in a way, ok with not being so certain, with admitting & saying " i don't know" ?
Never come across this channel before & I'm sure it was recommended bc of Louis Theroux. He is one of my favorite documentarions. Actually I'm currently reading his book!
I have followed Mr Shermers work for years, and have concluded that the problem with being a professional sceptic is that you end up being sceptical of EVERYTHING including the truth. Good interview though.
This was a great interview. Louis is an absolute legend, and I don't think you should wait until next year to have him on, he was obviously pressed for time in this one, so couldn't fully expand the topics he was speaking on with you in the way that he could've. I'm not joking when I say I could've listened to this for twice the length of time it lasted, and I wouldn't feel bored.
It's super weird how these two speak as if they are perfectly rational and there's no possibility they could be wrong about any of their perceptions. They both seem to have this incredibly strong compulsion to enforce what normality is and that they be the normal ones.
1:10:29 The extremely rewarding context of being at play, that something is really afoot… the social reinforcement that we are really up to something! Allusive in group concepts and language allow members to hear that their own hopes and dream are what’s at stake.
Just have to say that at one point it sounded a little bad, like "Back in my days we fought these important problems, but these kids today are just bored and jealous of us, so the struggle with these lesser problems they can come up with. Nothing wrong with that, let the kids play."
The Self-Help Movement is aptly named. The gurus in it sure do walk the talk: They self-help themselves to other peoples' money. Very closely tied to the Get Rich Quick By Duping Other People Movement. One way they self-help themselves to riches is to write a self-help book. Of course if in such a book they illustrated how they met their own success (ie by writing a self-help book), they would give the game away. So that's the one self-help strategy that might actually work, but the very one they can't mention. If they did, it would become apparent that it is a recursive approach, like an MLM.
I'm Australian. I remember seeing another Aussie guy in a documentary who was at Waco with David Koresh, and in an interview decades later, he said he _still_ believed Koresh had divine powers.
To me it is very simple and fundamental as a Citizen that all Police Services ARE REQUIRED TO - Use the Minimum Force Necessary to Secure a Situation - Then to Become Completely Responsible and Obligated to Protect the Welfare and Well Being of the Citizen that they have arrested. No confusion Here - That is Their Duty to Serve and Protect!!!
Thoughts are at the end of a process. A few things need to happen before the thoughts become possible. If those few things don't happen the thoughts don't occur. No healthy body, No healthy thoughts.
Louis Theroux is a true hero, he is always calm, polite, gentle and most of all he does not judge and gives a fair report about the "subject" of the mather.
I think I know why I enjoy the Docs that Louis has created ... He can draw people out, he is non judgmental, he brings us through his docs into what is happening and the people involved ... say Hello. However, having listened to him discuss his observations and more interestingly his conclusions on what he has experienced ... he does not have any. He is a sponge and has an exceptional ability to draw people out ..... however, he has no deep or notable conclusions about human nature ... either innate human nature or human practice. His fathers books are much more interesting.
I had a job back in the fifties delivering drugs and chemicals to mental asylums I was only there for about 30 mins but picked up the atmosphere of the place and carried it for a while after I left. I seemed to be more aware of my own mental state
happens to me every time I visit my grandma (she is 90 and in a home for eldeders). Once I leave I can't avoid to think death is so close to all of us. Everyone looks so young outside that home. Even after a short visit I remind myself we all are finite.
Michael's explanation of pizzagate (the basement) doesn't mention the pizza/pasta codewords used in the Podesta emails, which are all searchable on Wikileaks site. Why does everyone focus on the Comet Ping Pong thing and not the weird codewords in the emails?
it goes so deep.. massive amounts of data and dark creepy shit surrounding all of it. It's really obnoxious hearing people comment so dismissively about it when they don't even know what they're talking about.
Did he stop shaving halfway and gave up? Just wondering why his beard is super neat on one side and the other is wild 😃 Superb guest and I’ve seen all his documentaries
I'll never forget the Louis Theroux documentary when he followed Sir Jimmy around. He stood and watched Saville , in the very busy Flying Pizza restaurant, grope a woman and her daughter right in front of his, other customers and a film crews eyes. Everyone watched. Most laughed. No one commented. Saville was a genius con man. Almost hypnotic. He knew the educated upper middle classes were the easiest people to have over.
Theroux has this gift to be sincere. And you feel safe with him. Often can intelligence makes you feel uncomfortably. But Lois seems to indulge empathy. I’m a bit disagreeable! Because I often feel I’m in opposition to the ordinary people. And I suggest what I think people should do for a better world. But naively I thought people would agree. But instead I might continue my fight but using more intelligence than I am used to. Need to learn the hole life
I love Louis. But I must say that I rarely see a Michael Shermer episode where he does not cite either Dawkins, Dennett, Sam Harris, or Stephen Hawking. I seldom see episodes where he cites anyone else. And this episode is particularly impressive because he manges to cite two of them (as a strange aside) within the first five minutes of the interview. Wow. Very rational!
I used to watch and enjoy Theroux's documentaries way back, but in more recent years found them increasingly disingenuous and Theroux himself more and more smug and unlikable. He's completely incapable of abstaining from injecting his hamfisted lefty opinions into everything he does and the quality of his presentations are invariably the worse for it. It can't JUST be an evenhanded documentary on xyz topic, it has to be a documentary on xyz topic plus 'look at all these stupid customs/opinions/ideas of these poor naive and benighted people who think and do everything wrongly'. It's gotten really tedious.
This is the problem. With both the "elite left" (so, basically Clintonites) and public intellectuals/skeptics in general. They think they're better than everyone else; and anyone who thinks differently to them, are poor benighted savages. It's a kind of cultural imperialism, which, when it comes to elections,.does NOT go down well at the ballot box. This is what neolibs and Clintonite FAIL to "get". Incidentally: people who appear to have "eccentric" beliefs, aka Newton, are often using *an older model*, to base their ideas on. Or they are combining different models. Probably because they are living at a time or in a society *where the now dominant paradigm has not yet been established*. Ergo, it is not "taboo" to think as they think. Which it obviously is, to modern skeptics!.😏 Read C S Lewis' The Discarded Image, for a start; then move on to Thomas Kuhn..
hundreds of thousands of uncertifiable ghost voters in the only audit thats been allowed thus far in AZ... 98% voting ratio in old folks homes... supreme court ruling the blatantly unsecure joke crowbarred in mailin system unconstitutional and thus, all swing states where the politicised biased lunatics illegally changed the rules weeks before the electio were, obviously, illegitimate... after all this time for these activist clowns, it must hurt to find out that they were in fact the cultist insurr-sts all along...
A nice balance between Shermer's professional analytic take and Theroux's wider experiential familiarity with the weird and run-of-the-mill world of human irrationality.
It's difficult to believe his documentaries are, in his words, in "good faith" when he engages in the same "selective" editing (antagonizing someone and editing out the antagonization in order to make good entertainment TV) that Shermer decries in the Guru documentary.
There most certainly are lawyers, doctors and other "educated" people among conspiracy theorists, but that´s simply because not every well educated person gain succcess. I dare to say that most of those well educated idiots are the ones who have failed, and embittered in their business or private lifes. Their failure must be fault of something or someone else, than themselves.
'Conspiracy theory' is the very successful term coined by the CIA to demonise everyone who questioned the findings of the, now totally discredited, Warren Commission Report on the JFK assassination. Thanks to the 'freedom of information act', many so-called 'conspiracy theories' have turned out to be true. For example, the Gulf of Tonkin incident on August 2, 1964, was faked to provoke American support for the Vietnam War; Operation Northwoods, the 1960s government plan to fake terrorist attacks on the U.S. and blame them on Cuba to justify an invasion of Cuba; MKULTRA. The government tested the effects of LSD on unwitting US and Canadian citizens; Etc., etc. The successful media cover-up of the facts about the conspiracy which killed JFK was the green-light for all of the other successful conspiracies, like nine-eleven. Conspiracies work because the conspirators i.e. the ruling elites, own and control mainstream media.
Notice how when Michael starts talking about the insanity going on inside many universities, Louis automatically shifts and brings up January 6 lol. Ridiculous
Probably because a bunch of armed yahoos marching on the the seat of democracy because their horse didn't come in is a far more important issue. It's like something you see in the third world.
I think for some people, believing what they say is not as important as it is to most people. This notion that conmen believe their own stories I think is false. It is just that what is true does not matter to them.
To understand all is to forgive all... And if you do understand that 'logic' and 'rationality' are complex, in human minds, and we understand everyone is on good faith and self deceived, then how can we get anyone out, or help them in a constructive way to not do harm... If we don't have a shared 'logic', way of assessing and elaborating information, is there any way to minimise the harm that is done through many dangerous convictions? Leaving aside that it might be 'wrong' to even disagree with them at all, that the majority may be the more brainwashed side, who's to say? And after all it's just a simulation anyway 🤣🤣
Love Louis and though I've been unimpressed with Shermer thus far I thought he deserved another go. Dude couldn't even be bothered to learn how to pronounce Louis' surname though - didn't even pick up on it when he was butchering his book titles. Did he really think the pun was "throw the keyhole" or "gotta get throw this"? 😂
I've counted three different ones in the first half hour and they all sound very natural to me as a Canadian. He's a real Daniel Day-Therouxis with the accents. Hah bet you haven't heard that one before Louis you fffffuck!
Revolutionary momentum is a result of or response to boredom? Sounds like a Tweet in the abscence of any serious contemplation or reading on the subject, not a coherrent theory.
social logic is a big part of irrationality for sure (and in that sense not irrationality at all) , all those acts and roles we play for others . mass histeria and colective delusions
Louis Theroux: he has some interesting documentaries...... I really like his exposes ......... and didn't he do a great one on the cult in the U.S. ........ Scientology ? Yeah. I always look for his............ Micheal - keep up the great work; your discussions and interviews are really well done. You go good research before your interviews, and ask great questions based on your knowledge. Thanks for the intellectual content ! I.Q. ENHANCING material.
Louis is seriously my favorite person to watch and hear talk he’s so damn intelligent and his shows are the best
Louis is the best documentary maker ever
Wow! Louis is probably the most reasonable documentary film maker I have ever heard! Very good guest Michael!
57:42 "Sensitivity training" - really!? Now thats one subject that should warrant a high amount of scepticism.
Incredibly insightful conversation and very refreshing to hear you both talk about these topics in a way that is not overly self righteous. Great work!
Great to see that Louis is completely relaxed and then speaks freely. Michael, you are a great communicator.
1:02:05
"Without Twitter, no Trump, right?"
It is indeterminable whether Donald Trump would have lost the 2016 election had Twitter never existed. If Twitter hadn't been invented, the Twitter social media platform would not have been available to the benefit or the detriment of *any* political candidate.
Without Twitter, no Biden. Twitter banned the Hunter Biden laptop as Russian propaganda because it would have seriously damaged Biden.
@@patm6704
"Without Twitter, no Biden."
Just as implausible and improvable.
@@jeffersonianideal no thats not inplausible or improveable.
the social media extremists pushed the hunter story off the web. it would have changed, polls have proven, enough votes to change the outcome, had people known of it.
of course, unless further "fortification" would have ensued... which, in turn, wouldnt be happening without the extremist politicisation of the climate as a result of the extremists at the social media companeis
@@wasdwasdedsf
Ok then, prove it.
@@jeffersonianideal huh? as i said, its already been proved. you say this as if its not beyond proven, common knowledge...
considering how politicised you are, how do you not know that enormous of a fact, that your electio was stolen as a result of your politicised, extremist, clown media sites ran by ter-ts?
that doesnt speak well for your credibillity
Wow! You managed to get a great guest, Michael. This makes up for subjecting us to Dave Rubin.
You dont have to watch it
Pretty unfair. Any criticism of Wokeism gladly received …
...your two cents is irrelevant
@@drgeorgek Dave Rubin is a charlatan out to make money. He has no true ideology. It was amusing watching him prostrate himself to his overlords over the adoption.
@@infinitemonkey917 nothing wrong with making some coin
1:17:15
"Imaginez Dieu sans les prisons. Quelle solitude!"
The French use the same word for "loneliness" and "solitude".
I could listen to you 2 all day.
So much more to unpack
Damn, you got Monsieur Theroux !?
What a treat. He truly is one of my favorite humanoids on this planet.
Two tumbs up from me to the Skeptic!
Always enjoy listening to Louie.
The gift of skepticism teaches us not to believe everything we think.
It also gives us a rational approach to claims we don't yet believe, which is crucial.
@@MarksMindBox
Agreed.
Well i get small movies that play in my mind that foretell of peoples deaths.
They're 100% accurate. And I hate them. But I can't stop them.
I've been right next to 50 people who either got murdered or were the murderer and i sensed it at the time.
Cause people are constant liars I've let them all get murdered or kill off the other person.
I warned Benji Venuman a few times and he got spooked by it but ultimately didn't listen.
He told his girlfriend though.
I saw the car and I saw who was driving it and I know he's not supposed to be driving it so I pointed my fingers at him instantly and showed what was going to happen to him.
I saw the car days later and instantly I pointed my fingers at him and pulled the trigger again.
He was really unnerved by it. But he never bothered to stop the car and find out what I know.
The next time I saw the car he waved hello to me. I waved back and as he was driving to the restaurant i pulled the trigger again at his back as he drove away from me.
I imitated firing 2 shots into the back of him.
He got shot in the back in that restaurant 2 weeks later.
@@dreyn7780 that's really interesting and sounds like it'd be highly traumatic, if true.
The skeptical position (nor the OP) doesn't say the default position is to disbelieve any claim - that's 'cynicism'. Skepticism just requires that belief in any claim is supported by appropriate evidence.
Rationalism is illogical if you assume logic is a priori. Because this then collapses laws of logic on themselves, if logic can be arbitrarily true, then equally so untruth can be arbitrary as well. It collapses possibility for knowledge/epistemology, and therefore you reduce into absurdity and relativism. Only way to ground logic is transcendental appeal, and beyond that appeal in order to avoid an ad infinitum scenario is you appeal to a final self satiating self actualizing point in God. Therefore if you reject omnipotence, omnibenevolence, omniscience you reject the possibility of coherence itself. Therefore skepticism of God is illogical.
Thank you for this top interview, the back and forth was excellent.
Louis Louis…oh, baby! London legend. Love his work and his whole shtick. He’s so good.
Been waiting for this for a while. Excellent discussion.
1:17:22
A god that does not exist is also a god never to be angry at or disappointed by.
@liam nicklin
How do you account for rhinoplasty?
This is how psychopaths think .
@@alisonhilll4317
Please elaborate.
Jimmy Savile: Yes he did a mix of things, some good, a lot bad. But the good things were camouflage for the bad things. They enabled him to appear legitimate and get close to powerful people who could protect him. He is not the only one who used such a strategy. Clement Freud comes to mind. And curiously as far as I recall he shared an office with another politician, Cyril Smith, who also slipped below the radar while alive. So carefully consider the reasons why a bad person does good things.
Yeah I didn’t really agree at all when Shermer was trying to say it’s acceptable to take a nuanced on view on Savile because he did good things too. He did these good things as a way of gaining an unprecedented level of access to children, and to shield himself from the potential of facing any justice in his lifetime. It’s really not comparable to Bill Clinton at all.
But, I’ll leave that down to Shermer probably just not being fully clued up on Savile and the horrendous magnitude and depravity of his crimes (considering he mispronounced his surname after Louis already said it 😂).
Exactly - the 'good' things being motivated to manipulate and groom victims and their families
@@rsb8380 exactly. Some people don't deserve a pass of any kind even if some of their actions benefitted some people. Dude was a monster.
I'd say it's one of the most commonly used (and effective) strategies of subterfuge used by psychopaths and people in power for centuries. It's been used by groups and individuals in positions of authority forever and it's still going on. Nothing new.
where's the other 2 replies?
I like how he just lets his guest speaks
I'm an atheist who worked in a synagogue for 15 years (everyone knew I was an atheist... I never tried to hide it). It always struck me as strange that I was around people who believed that their god is real and the Old Testament is true, yet they would be very logical about everything else. In my 15 years there I heard lots of crazy stuff and it always threw me for a loop, but afterwards they were back to reality again about everything else. Very strange.
Maybe you aren’t as logical as you like to think you are?
I'm a religious person who worked a job for 15 years (everyone knew I was a religious person.. I never tried to hide it). It always struck me as strange that I was around people who believed that their particular worldview and morality is real and true, yet they would be very logical about everything else. In my 15 years there I heard lots of crazy stuff and it always threw me for a loop, but afterwards they were back to reality again about everything else. Very strange.
@@tayzk5929 -- Two things: 1st) You gave yourself a thumbs up. Yes, you know you did. 2nd) How exactly is a revealed religion based on faith (after all, it wasn't revealed to you but allegedly revealed to someone you never met who lived several thousand years ago) and impossible to believe stories equal in your mind to a scientific, evidence-based worldview? You are pathetic.
@@tayzk5929 funny
@@mvubu6823 sure a lot better than a 50 comment exchange that ends on the same note . . . without all the aggravations
45:47
A significant aspect of Libertarianism is wanting for someone else what they want for themselves.
A lot of the time, what people want for themselves is harmful and immoral in respect to themselves and others.
@@tayzk5929
The determining factor is whether a human being refrains from depriving another person of life, liberty or property through the use of force.
The government is certainly no arbiter of morality.
@@jeffersonianideal I know what Libertarian morality says. I disagree with it.
Yes, the government is a tool that can be used(or not) for good or evil, the government isn't an arbiter of morality. That's true.
From what I've seen, people who call themselves libertarian only want things for themselves and do not care about others . They demand their "rights" while trampling on the rights of others. To me "libertarian" is synonymous with "inconsiderate assshole"
@@tayzk5929
What is "Libertarian morality"?
When is it permissible for you to use force, against and otherwise, peaceable human being, to either, coerce that person to do something he/she doesn't want to do, or use violence against an otherwise peaceable human being to prevent such a person from engaging in an activity they voluntarily choose to participate in?
Was in a church once and had an evangelical snake oil guy be a guest speaker. Promised to heal a guy with a cane. After service needed it again. Same service he guessed someone was hard of hearing some people volunteered me knowing I was half deaf. The guy literally smacked my head than backed away and asked me something. I responded “What”?! Hahahahaha The Whole church was laughing.
Great to see Louis, thanks. His simple-looking style hides a depth of skill & content which is a welcome alternative to slickly-presented vacuous TV.
Why do you like him? While I can see why some of his work is entertaining and might fool people, he's emblematic of dishonest monopolized left-wing journalism.
@@tayzk5929 , "Why do you like him?" - again, I like him because of "a depth of skill & content which is a welcome alternative to slickly-presented vacuous TV". Isn't there enough media nonsense to permit an alternative view?
@@tayzk5929 he's getting at something more human than concept or ideal,
for instance, watching doors slam on Mike Wallace from old 60 mins shows was fun for a season but Theroux gets thru the front door.
& as far as dishonest, ok, he lets people (potential marks) believe what they want about his intent without correcting them, like Borat, so it is entertainment, which is monetized.
would u say Sacha Cohen is more honest becuz he in later years broke character & speaks about his stance on issues as a person?
also, like Jon Ronson, maybe Theroux is open in a way, ok with not being so certain, with admitting & saying " i don't know" ?
@@mindsigh4 Sacha Cohen is another example of someone who is extremely dishonest and immoral, to make money and distort reality.
@@mindsigh4 he sure didnt treat the jan6 people honestly or fairly
Never come across this channel before & I'm sure it was recommended bc of Louis Theroux. He is one of my favorite documentarions. Actually I'm currently reading his book!
There's more than one book and they're both worth the read!
@BigDiggerNicks jealous?
I love his American accent
❤ Your work and attitude.
Great episode. One of my favourite podcasts
Now that Ive seen it, it amazes me you guys took so long to encounter each other! Glad you finally did.
"It's not a lie, if you believe it." -- The Immortal Teachings of George Costanza
Happy Festivus!
Good interview
I have followed Mr Shermers work for years, and have concluded that the problem with being a professional sceptic is that you end up being sceptical of EVERYTHING including the truth.
Good interview though.
Shermer isn't very skeptical about Left wing ideology that has murdered 100 million people
His skepticism is very selective
This was a great interview. Louis is an absolute legend, and I don't think you should wait until next year to have him on, he was obviously pressed for time in this one, so couldn't fully expand the topics he was speaking on with you in the way that he could've. I'm not joking when I say I could've listened to this for twice the length of time it lasted, and I wouldn't feel bored.
A great interview :)
Incredible conversation, mind blown!
Jre brought me here his humility and willing to admit mistake i loved that
Great guest 💯
y is it the 'most replayed' is always bang on?
It's super weird how these two speak as if they are perfectly rational and there's no possibility they could be wrong about any of their perceptions.
They both seem to have this incredibly strong compulsion to enforce what normality is and that they be the normal ones.
I noticed that as well
Huh? What's wrong with dignity and respect? You realize that is their gospel or what?😏
Identifying bullshit, a life’s work.
Outside of the norm is abnormal.
I think Louis at points conceded his openness to the possibility he's wrong.
Love Louis' films. This is a great show!
1:10:29 The extremely rewarding context of being at play, that something is really afoot… the social reinforcement that we are really up to something!
Allusive in group concepts and language allow members to hear that their own hopes and dream are what’s at stake.
louis (and sacha baron cohen) have an amazing skill of asking questions that seem neutral but force the interviewee to expose their true beliefs
Phase 1 of life: believing everything
Phase 2: Being skeptic of everything
Phase 3: Being skeptic of everything, including your own skepticism.
Just have to say that at one point it sounded a little bad, like "Back in my days we fought these important problems, but these kids today are just bored and jealous of us, so the struggle with these lesser problems they can come up with. Nothing wrong with that, let the kids play."
Him talking about Westboro Baptist Church is interesting.
The Self-Help Movement is aptly named. The gurus in it sure do walk the talk: They self-help themselves to other peoples' money. Very closely tied to the Get Rich Quick By Duping Other People Movement.
One way they self-help themselves to riches is to write a self-help book. Of course if in such a book they illustrated how they met their own success (ie by writing a self-help book), they would give the game away.
So that's the one self-help strategy that might actually work, but the very one they can't mention. If they did, it would become apparent that it is a recursive approach, like an MLM.
Brilliant show
I'm Australian. I remember seeing another Aussie guy in a documentary who was at Waco with David Koresh, and in an interview decades later, he said he _still_ believed Koresh had divine powers.
Maybe Koresh did have divine powers? How do you know he didn't?
Love Louis! Thank you! 🌸
Amazon Prime took down the interview with Savile, I wonder why??
To me it is very simple and fundamental as a Citizen that all Police Services ARE REQUIRED TO - Use the Minimum Force Necessary to Secure a Situation - Then to Become Completely Responsible and Obligated to Protect the Welfare and Well Being of the Citizen that they have arrested. No confusion Here - That is Their Duty to Serve and Protect!!!
A rational mind, being necessary for a reasoned thinking process, the importance of a well-calibrated crap detector shall not be underrated.
Thoughts are at the end of a process.
A few things need to happen before the thoughts become possible.
If those few things don't happen the thoughts don't occur.
No healthy body, No healthy thoughts.
@@dreyn7780
Did Dr. Stephen Hawking have a "healthy body"?
@@jeffersonianideal if you’re not in a conversation yet, do you get to ask questions?
@@dreyn7780
Who wrote the OP?
@@dreyn7780 if you're not in a conversation yet, do you get to make stupid statements without realising who posted the original comment? 🤔
Louis Theroux is a true hero, he is always calm, polite, gentle and most of all he does not judge and gives a fair report about the "subject" of the mather.
Not anymore he doesn’t. Well then I guess it depends on your definition of “fair”
Listening to Michael Shermer muse about sexual assault is fascinating given the allegations that have followed him for years.
Looks good I'll watch this at some point this week..fan of both..
Superb interview. Mr Theroux has seen some interesting things.
Good stuff Chaps ☘️
I think I know why I enjoy the Docs that Louis has created ... He can draw people out, he is non judgmental, he brings us through his docs into what is happening and the people involved ... say Hello. However, having listened to him discuss his observations and more interestingly his conclusions on what he has experienced ... he does not have any. He is a sponge and has an exceptional ability to draw people out ..... however, he has no deep or notable conclusions about human nature ... either innate human nature or human practice. His fathers books are much more interesting.
Looking forward to this one during my workout today
where's the reply?
TV Nation was a great show.
What a great find Prof Shermer: Theroux is a smart, creative and fascinating guy on all fronts. Thx! D.A., J.D., NYC
Louis is on Counterpunch author list and has a lot of interesting stuff and always interesting
- This was a very interesting and entertaining interview / conversation : 👍 👍 👍
Excellent thank you!
I had a job back in the fifties delivering drugs and chemicals to mental asylums I was only there for about 30 mins but picked up the atmosphere of the place and carried it for a while after I left. I seemed to be more aware of my own mental state
happens to me every time I visit my grandma (she is 90 and in a home for eldeders). Once I leave I can't avoid to think death is so close to all of us. Everyone looks so young outside that home. Even after a short visit I remind myself we all are finite.
Michael's explanation of pizzagate (the basement) doesn't mention the pizza/pasta codewords used in the Podesta emails, which are all searchable on Wikileaks site. Why does everyone focus on the Comet Ping Pong thing and not the weird codewords in the emails?
And there is a basement !
it goes so deep.. massive amounts of data and dark creepy shit surrounding all of it. It's really obnoxious hearing people comment so dismissively about it when they don't even know what they're talking about.
Yes it's tragic
Did he stop shaving halfway and gave up? Just wondering why his beard is super neat on one side and the other is wild 😃
Superb guest and I’ve seen all his documentaries
Every race has a right to be its own
You are a bad propagandist
I'll never forget the Louis Theroux documentary when he followed Sir Jimmy around. He stood and watched Saville , in the very busy Flying Pizza restaurant, grope a woman and her daughter right in front of his, other customers and a film crews eyes. Everyone watched. Most laughed. No one commented. Saville was a genius con man. Almost hypnotic. He knew the educated upper middle classes were the easiest people to have over.
People like him use people like this to get away with what they do for years.
Theroux has this gift to be sincere. And you feel safe with him. Often can intelligence makes you feel uncomfortably. But Lois seems to indulge empathy. I’m a bit disagreeable! Because I often feel I’m in opposition to the ordinary people. And I suggest what I think people should do for a better world. But naively I thought people would agree. But instead I might continue my fight but using more intelligence than I am used to. Need to learn the hole life
At 1, 18, 35, Harlan Ellison is quoted as being present for the invention of Scientology.
Harlan is the Forrest Gump of the sci-fi world.
Why does Shermer insist on pronouncing surnames wrong? Savile and Theroux. It's Sav-el and Ther-roo not Sav-ille or Ther-row
Many of the far right assumes I'm Jewish.. after Shermer assumed he was jewish... hahahaha
Yeah that one backfired, Louie is such a dishonest pos.
can't see the reply
I love Louis. But I must say that I rarely see a Michael Shermer episode where he does not cite either Dawkins, Dennett, Sam Harris, or Stephen Hawking. I seldom see episodes where he cites anyone else. And this episode is particularly impressive because he manges to cite two of them (as a strange aside) within the first five minutes of the interview. Wow. Very rational!
Just thank God he's not citing the Bible
And I'm pretty sure he cites a good few phycologists/sociologists in this pod alone... The names don't stick like one of the horsemen though.
I used to watch and enjoy Theroux's documentaries way back, but in more recent years found them increasingly disingenuous and Theroux himself more and more smug and unlikable. He's completely incapable of abstaining from injecting his hamfisted lefty opinions into everything he does and the quality of his presentations are invariably the worse for it. It can't JUST be an evenhanded documentary on xyz topic, it has to be a documentary on xyz topic plus 'look at all these stupid customs/opinions/ideas of these poor naive and benighted people who think and do everything wrongly'. It's gotten really tedious.
Tend to agree. Though he hasn’t reached the lofty pinnacles of arrogance where Shermer resides.
This is the problem. With both the "elite left" (so, basically Clintonites) and public intellectuals/skeptics in general. They think they're better than everyone else; and anyone who thinks differently to them, are poor benighted savages. It's a kind of cultural imperialism, which, when it comes to elections,.does NOT go down well at the ballot box. This is what neolibs and Clintonite FAIL to "get".
Incidentally: people who appear to have "eccentric" beliefs, aka Newton, are often using *an older model*, to base their ideas on. Or they are combining different models. Probably because they are living at a time or in a society *where the now dominant paradigm has not yet been established*. Ergo, it is not "taboo" to think as they think. Which it obviously is, to modern skeptics!.😏
Read C S Lewis' The Discarded Image, for a start; then move on to Thomas Kuhn..
Yep, Theroux is not the neutral party he used to be. It’s awful that we cannot get a true in-biased look into any topic these days.
When is he going to do a doc on antifa and blm?
Oh that's right, never.
hundreds of thousands of uncertifiable ghost voters in the only audit thats been allowed thus far in AZ... 98% voting ratio in old folks homes... supreme court ruling the blatantly unsecure joke crowbarred in mailin system unconstitutional and thus, all swing states where the politicised biased lunatics illegally changed the rules weeks before the electio were, obviously, illegitimate...
after all this time for these activist clowns, it must hurt to find out that they were in fact the cultist insurr-sts all along...
The comments that Musk buying twitter wont have any measurable effect aged quite interestingly
Right!
What is a platform where I can find Loius' stuff? Last time I looked I couldn't find it
nvm they answered my question it's amazon prime!
Louis is secretly Clarke Kent.
A nice balance between Shermer's professional analytic take and Theroux's wider experiential familiarity with the weird and run-of-the-mill world of human irrationality.
I don't think guilt re Savile, more a fear of being judged, in this life or the next.
It's difficult to believe his documentaries are, in his words, in "good faith" when he engages in the same "selective" editing (antagonizing someone and editing out the antagonization in order to make good entertainment TV) that Shermer decries in the Guru documentary.
Very true. He's literally just a propaganda agent for hire.
At this point Theroux is just as biased as any other ‘journalist’.. it pains me to say that as I loved his work in the past
There most certainly are lawyers, doctors and other "educated" people among conspiracy theorists, but that´s simply because not every well educated person gain succcess. I dare to say that most of those well educated idiots are the ones who have failed, and embittered in their business or private lifes. Their failure must be fault of something or someone else, than themselves.
'Conspiracy theory' is the very successful term coined by the CIA to demonise everyone who questioned the findings of the, now totally discredited, Warren Commission Report on the JFK assassination. Thanks to the 'freedom of information act', many so-called 'conspiracy theories' have turned out to be true. For example, the Gulf of Tonkin incident on August 2, 1964, was faked to provoke American support for the Vietnam War; Operation Northwoods, the 1960s government plan to fake terrorist attacks on the U.S. and blame them on Cuba to justify an invasion of Cuba; MKULTRA. The government tested the effects of LSD on unwitting US and Canadian citizens; Etc., etc. The successful media cover-up of the facts about the conspiracy which killed JFK was the green-light for all of the other successful conspiracies, like nine-eleven. Conspiracies work because the conspirators i.e. the ruling elites, own and control mainstream media.
He made sure to scrub the Saville doc from youtube cause you can clearly see he was fanboying in it.
I love you Louis❤
🎵My money doesn't giggle giggle it fold.😳👌💨💨💨🎵
Louis started talking about 'global warming' like it was the 90's. It's 'climate change' now Louis.
Isn’t it now ‘climate emergency’?
Global warming is part of climate change, smarty pants.
Notice how when Michael starts talking about the insanity going on inside many universities, Louis automatically shifts and brings up January 6 lol. Ridiculous
Probably because a bunch of armed yahoos marching on the the seat of democracy because their horse didn't come in is a far more important issue. It's like something you see in the third world.
I think for some people, believing what they say is not as important as it is to most people. This notion that conmen believe their own stories I think is false. It is just that what is true does not matter to them.
Brilliant 👍
To understand all is to forgive all... And if you do understand that 'logic' and 'rationality' are complex, in human minds, and we understand everyone is on good faith and self deceived, then how can we get anyone out, or help them in a constructive way to not do harm... If we don't have a shared 'logic', way of assessing and elaborating information, is there any way to minimise the harm that is done through many dangerous convictions?
Leaving aside that it might be 'wrong' to even disagree with them at all, that the majority may be the more brainwashed side, who's to say? And after all it's just a simulation anyway 🤣🤣
Louis please look into the cult of art school. There’s so many parallels yet no one to my knowledge has investigated into the culture.
Love Louis and though I've been unimpressed with Shermer thus far I thought he deserved another go. Dude couldn't even be bothered to learn how to pronounce Louis' surname though - didn't even pick up on it when he was butchering his book titles.
Did he really think the pun was "throw the keyhole" or "gotta get throw this"? 😂
A septic sceptic.
What’s a person of Louis’s character and calibre doing on your channel…. Are ya gonna try and debunk him??
Love his American accent, don't know if it's accurate or offensive, but he rarely seems to use it when he respects their views. :D
I've counted three different ones in the first half hour and they all sound very natural to me as a Canadian. He's a real Daniel Day-Therouxis with the accents.
Hah bet you haven't heard that one before Louis you fffffuck!
I didn't know his dad is Paul Theroux! fuck yeah
Revolutionary momentum is a result of or response to boredom? Sounds like a Tweet in the abscence of any serious contemplation or reading on the subject, not a coherrent theory.
As much as I love his programmes I'm very disappointed in his lack of articulation (without a "script") here.
social logic is a big part of irrationality for sure (and in that sense not irrationality at all) , all those acts and roles we play for others . mass histeria and colective delusions
Wow. Just wow.
Love podcast
Louis Theroux: he has some interesting documentaries...... I really like his exposes ......... and didn't he do a great one on the cult in the U.S. ........ Scientology ? Yeah.
I always look for his............
Micheal - keep up the great work; your discussions and interviews are really well done.
You go good research before your interviews, and ask great questions based on your knowledge.
Thanks for the intellectual content ! I.Q. ENHANCING material.
Theroux is a thousand times more thoughtful and less reactionary than Shermer.