Jared Diamond: How Much Can One Person Change History?

The Michael Shermer Show by Michael Shermer

Sep 15, 202601:29:25Science & Medicine

Would World War II have happened without Hitler? Would someone else have built Apple without Steve Jobs? Jared Diamond joins Michael Shermer to ask how much history depends on particular people. From Darwin's discoveries...

Related Episodes

Continue listening to more episodes from The Michael Shermer Show.

Would You Want to Know If You Were Wrong?

Sep 28, 2026 - 01:38:27

What do you make of an experience you can't explain? A strange light in the sky, a book flying off a desk...

Does Consciousness Break the Laws of Physics?

Sep 22, 2026 - 46:07

If we could explain everything happening in your brain, would there still be something left to explain ab...

Why America Failed to Stop 9/11 Gerald Posner & Michael Shermer

Sep 11, 2026 - 42:49

How did 19 hijackers evade the world's most advanced intelligence apparatus despite years of warnings? Tw...

Why Be Honest When Cheating Pays?

Sep 9, 2026 - 01:45:08

Most of us think of ourselves as honest. But would we still tell the truth if lying got us what we wanted...

Is the Future Unknowable? Uncertainty, Free Will, and the Limits of Science

Sep 1, 2026 - 01:23:41

What if uncertainty isn't a temporary problem science will eventually solve, but a fundamental feature of...

Why We Want to Believe in Aliens and Why We Still Haven't Found Them

Aug 25, 2026 - 01:13:53

UFOs were once the stuff of tabloids and conspiracy theories. Today they're the subject of congressional...

Is There a Second Arrow of Time? A New Law of Evolution, Information, and Complexity

Aug 18, 2026 - 01:18:04

Why does the universe produce ever more elaborate forms, from atoms and minerals to cells, organisms, bra...

Why Good People Disagree About Right and Wrong

Aug 11, 2026 - 01:57:21

Why do reasonable people disagree so strongly about right and wrong? And why are we so quick to assume th...