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Topic
Scientific Skepticism
Last discussed
3mo ago
Aug 1, 2026
4 tagged in 12 months
Finally, The Truth with Michael Shermer
StarTalk·Aug 1, 2026
All time
7
episodes
On record
3
took a position
Where they standWhere they stand
Talking pointsNot enough disagreement in the transcripts to form camps. These are the positions taken by people with demonstrated expertise on this topic first, then by how many people heard them on it, then by VoiceRank. Positions are extracted from transcripts by a model and may misattribute who said what. Every quote links to the episode it came from.
A truly skeptical approach involves being willing to doubt claims until evidence is provided and then accepting that conclusion as provisionally true.
“So there's some people who don't know that boundary between when the skepticism is healthy and when it's just wrong.”
StarTalk · Aug 2026 · 4 episodes · 1.1M views on this topic
Neil deGrasse Tyson rejects the notion of a government cover-up regarding aliens, noting that such a large-scale secret would likely have been leaked by now.
“So many people who are sure that the US government is a big bloated inefficient bureaucracy simultaneously will declare that it's masterminding a major coverup when thousands of people are in on it and keeping a secret.”
Piers Morgan Uncensored · Feb 2026 · 3 episodes · 2.6M views on this topic
Researchers must rigorously test their hypotheses by actively trying to prove them wrong rather than seeking only evidence that confirms them.
“your assumption should be that you're wrong that somehow your equipment is fooling yourself and now you try and go out to demonstrate that's true and you do everything you can to prove it”
The Peter Attia Drive · Jun 2021 · 1 episode · 102K views on this topicExtracted by a model; may misattribute who said what.
In the transcripts
Episodes discussing this topic
Over time
Share of episodesThis topic's episodes as a share of every episode we analysed, in each complete month. We analyse more episodes every month, so a raw count would mostly show that growth. Recent months fill in as transcripts are analysed.
Complete months · first on record Jun 2021