Meet Steven Pinker whose denial of limits increases the likelihood of his worst fear: the end of the Enlightenment. Please share this episode with your friends and start a conversation.

For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD.

Sources/Links/Notes:

David Marchese, "Steven Pinker Thinks Your Sense of Imminent Doom Is Wrong" in The New York Times Magazine (2021).
The Work that Reconnects Network
Good Grief Network
Three relevant past episodes of Crazy Town are episode 39 on the myth of progress, episode 35 on self-domestication, and episode 34 on terror management theory.
"Steven Pinker: The Mind Reader" in The Guardian (1999).
Robert Wright, "The 2004 Time 100" in Time Magazine (2004).
Nick Gillespie, "Steven Pinker Loves the Enlightenment" in Reason Magazine (2018).
David A. Bell, "Waiting for Steven Pinker’s enlightenment" in The Nation (2018).
Emile Torres, "Steven Pinker’s fake enlightenment" in Salon (2019).
Robert Epstein, "Book Review: The Better Angels of Our Nature" in Scientific American (2011).
Tyler Cowen, "Steven Pinker on Language, Reason, and the Future of Violence," Mercatus Center (2016).
Mike Freiheit and Lyta Gold, "Comic: Steven Pinker--Certified Grief Counselor" in Current Affairs 2018).
George Monbiot, "Contrary to Reason" in The Guardian (2018).
Alex Blasdel, "Pinker's progress: the celebrity scientist at the centre of the culture wars" in The Guardian (2021).

Support the show

Crazy Town