Why You Believe Weird Things (Michael Shermer)

Why You Believe Weird Things (Michael Shermer)

Author: Knox Robinson Productions March 24, 2026 Duration: 1:22:53
What is truth, and why does finding it actually matter? Amanda sits down with Dr. Michael Shermer, founding publisher of Skeptic Magazine, longtime Scientific American columnist, and author of Truth: What It Is, How to Find It, and Why It Still Matters, for a conversation that starts with epistemology and ends in a full-throated debate about free will. They talk about why our brains evolved more like lawyers than scientists — to win arguments, not find facts. They get into the hard problem of consciousness, what meditation might reveal that neuroscience can't yet measure, and whether the legal system could ever be redesigned around actual truth-seeking. And then Amanda makes the case for hard determinism and nearly talks Shermer into it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's a particular kind of confinement that has nothing to do with physical walls, a feeling Amanda Knox understands in a way few others do. In Hard Knox with Amanda Knox, she moves beyond the headlines of her own story to examine the universal prisons we all inhabit-those of expectation, trauma, fear, and our own minds. This isn't a true-crime podcast; it's a series of conversations about the path out. Through candid talks with writers, artists, philosophers, and everyday people who've faced their own hard truths, the show digs into the raw materials of a resilient life. Listeners will hear explorations of mental fortitude, the messy pursuit of physical well-being, and how culture shapes our understanding of justice and personal freedom. Each episode feels like a deep, meandering walk with a curious friend, tackling how we rebuild after life fractures us. Produced by Knox Robinson Productions, the podcast creates a space where struggle is acknowledged not as a failure, but as a catalyst for becoming more grounded and authentic. For those who subscribe, there's an added layer of direct dialogue with Amanda herself in regular segments where she answers listener questions with remarkable candor. It’s ultimately about finding agency, the kind that can’t be taken away.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Hard Knox with Amanda Knox
Podcast Episodes
Old School: Protect Your Heart (Jason Baldwin) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:43
By the time he was sixteen, Jason Baldwin had already felt the sting of prejudice from his community in West Memphis, Arkansas. Kids at the trailer park where he lived had long been shunned by more well off residents of…
Who's Right? - Excuses [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:54
Amanda and Chris return for another round of Who’s Right? Up for debate today: excuses and disrespect. Does offering an excuse ever make things better? Why do we care about motive? Do we want apologies with "no excuses,"…
Why Shame Makes the Best Punchlines (Youngmi Mayer) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:35
Youngmi Mayer is a comedian, writer, and podcaster whose work blends dark humor with deeply personal stories about trauma, identity, and immigrant family dynamics. In this conversation, Amanda and Youngmi explore how hum…
How Fear Distorts Our View of Climate Solutions (Isabelle Boemeke) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:42
Isabelle Boemeke is a former fashion model turned climate activist, author and the world’s first “nuclear energy influencer,” known for making one of the most complex and controversial climate solutions both accessible a…
Old School: Love and Justice (Anna Vasquez) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:34
Anna Vasquez was just nineteen when she and three of her friends were accused of a horrific crime that they were completely innocent of. Their case was swept up in the mass hysteria about satanic cults that had seized th…
Who's Right? - Gratitude [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:36
Amanda and Chris return for another round of Who’s Right? This time debating the meaning and future of Thanksgiving. Together they ask how the holiday’s mythology became so cringe, and why rethinking its stories, rituals…
How the Genius Myth Misleads Us (Helen Lewis) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:36
Helen Lewis is a journalist and author whose new book The Genius Myth dismantles how achievement really works. In this conversation, Amanda and Helen ask how the stories we tell about brilliance shape our culture and why…
Who's Right? - Can You Fake It Till You Make It? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:18
In this playful and revealing back-and-forth, Amanda and Chris debate the ethics, psychology, and survival-value of improvising your way through life. They touch on careers, creativity, parenting, identity, and confidenc…
How to Discover What You Really Want (Aella) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:14
In this weeks wide-ranging conversation, Amanda Knox and Aella, a writer, sex worker, and self-taught researcher, explore the art of questioning everything. They talk about status, desire, fear, and freedom. And it’s a d…
Old School: The Why of the Why (Dylan Marron) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:29
Most people are pretty bad at having difficult conversations. We don't get much practice--the internet makes sure that we mostly see content from people we agree with. When we do see opposing viewpoints, it's usually in…