-
The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe
- How to Know What's Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fake
- Narrated by: Steven Novella
- Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $21.76
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
An entertaining and all-encompassing guide to skeptical thinking for the age of misinformation.
In this tie-in to their popular The Skeptics Guide to the Universe podcast, Steven Novella, along with 'Skeptical Rogues' Bob Novella, Cara Santa Maria, Jay Novella and Evan Bernstein, explain the tenets of skeptical thinking and debunk some of the biggest scientific myths, fallacies and conspiracy theories (anti-vaccines, homeopathy, UFO sightings and many more.) They'll help us try to make sense of what seems like an increasingly crazy world using powerful tools like science and philosophy.
The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is your guide through this maze of modern life. It covers essential critical thinking skills as well as giving insight into how your brain works and how to avoid common pitfalls in thinking. They discuss the difference between science and pseudoscience, how to recognise common science news tropes, how to discuss conspiracy theories with that crazy colleague of yours and how to apply all of this to everyday life.
As fascinating as it is entertaining, this enthralling audiobook is your essential guide to seeing through the fake news and media manipulation in our increasingly confusing world.
Critic reviews
"A fantastic compendium of skeptical thinking and the perfect primer for anyone who wants to separate fact from fiction." (Richard Wiseman, author 59 Seconds)
"Thorough, informative, and enlightening...If this book does not become required reading for us all, we may well see modern civilisation unravel before our eyes." (Neil deGrasse Tyson, author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry)
More from the same
Author
Related to this topic
-
The Book of Why
- The New Science of Cause and Effect
- By: Judea Pearl, Dana Mackenzie
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Correlation does not imply causation". This mantra has been invoked by scientists for decades and has led to a virtual prohibition on causal talk. But today, that taboo is dead. The causal revolution, sparked by Judea Pearl and his colleagues, has cut through a century of confusion and placed causality - the study of cause and effect - on a firm scientific basis.
-
-
Great book! Not a great audiobook.
- By rrwright on 05-30-18
By: Judea Pearl, and others
-
The Spiritual Brain
- A Neuroscientist's Case for the Existence of the Soul
- By: Mario Beauregard, Denyse O'Leary
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Does religious experience come from God, or is it just the random firing of neurons in the brain? Drawing on brain research on Carmelite nuns that has attracted major media attention and provocative new research in near-death experiences, The Spiritual Brain proves that genuine, life-changing spiritual events can be documented. The authors make a convincing case for what many in science are loathe to consider: that it is God who creates our spiritual experiences, not the brain.
-
-
interesting topic, but frustrating listen
- By Barry T on 08-27-08
By: Mario Beauregard, and others
-
Supernormal
- Science, Yoga, and the Evidence for Extraordinary Psychic Abilities
- By: Dean Radin PhD, Deepak Chopra MD
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Can yoga and meditation unleash our inherent supernormal mental powers, such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition? Is it really possible to perceive another person's thoughts and intentions? Influence objects with our minds? Envision future events? And is it possible that some of the superpowers described in ancient legends, science fiction, and comic books are actually real, and patiently waiting for us behind the scenes? Are we now poised for an evolutionary trigger to pull the switch and release our full potentials?
-
-
great balance of science and wisdom traditions
- By Jayne on 03-16-18
By: Dean Radin PhD, and others
-
Entangled Minds
- Extrasensory Experiences in a Quantum Reality
- By: Dean Radin PhD
- Narrated by: Al Kessel
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Is everything connected? Can we sense what's happening to loved ones thousands of miles away? Why are we sometimes certain of a caller's identity the instant the phone rings? Do intuitive hunches contain information about future events? Is it possible to perceive without the use of the ordinary senses? Many people believe that such "psychic phenomena" are rare talents or divine gifts. Others don't believe they exist at all. But the latest scientific research shows that these phenomena are both real and widespread.
-
-
Boring as all get out but…
- By rebekah higgins on 01-12-20
By: Dean Radin PhD
-
Breaking the Spell
- Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
- By: Daniel C. Dennett
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
- Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For all the thousands of books that have been written about religion, few until this one have attempted to examine it scientifically: to ask why - and how - it has shaped so many lives so strongly. Is religion a product of blind evolutionary instinct or rational choice? Is it truly the best way to live a moral life? Ranging through biology, history, and psychology, Daniel C. Dennett charts religion’s evolution from “wild” folk belief to “domesticated” dogma.
-
-
Great Reader Actually Enhances A Great Book!
- By Don Caliente on 07-14-14
-
Freedom Evolves
- By: Daniel C. Dennett
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Can there be freedom and free will in a deterministic world? Renowned philosopher Daniel Dennett emphatically answers "yes!" Using an array of provocative formulations, Dennett sets out to show how we alone among the animals have evolved minds that give us free will and morality. Weaving a richly detailed narrative, Dennett explains in a series of strikingly original arguments - drawing upon evolutionary biology, cognitive neuroscience, economics, and philosophy - that far from being an enemy of traditional explorations of freedom, morality, and meaning, the evolutionary perspective can be an indispensable ally.
-
-
I knew I was going to like this book
- By Gary on 05-30-14
-
The Book of Why
- The New Science of Cause and Effect
- By: Judea Pearl, Dana Mackenzie
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Correlation does not imply causation". This mantra has been invoked by scientists for decades and has led to a virtual prohibition on causal talk. But today, that taboo is dead. The causal revolution, sparked by Judea Pearl and his colleagues, has cut through a century of confusion and placed causality - the study of cause and effect - on a firm scientific basis.
-
-
Great book! Not a great audiobook.
- By rrwright on 05-30-18
By: Judea Pearl, and others
-
The Spiritual Brain
- A Neuroscientist's Case for the Existence of the Soul
- By: Mario Beauregard, Denyse O'Leary
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Does religious experience come from God, or is it just the random firing of neurons in the brain? Drawing on brain research on Carmelite nuns that has attracted major media attention and provocative new research in near-death experiences, The Spiritual Brain proves that genuine, life-changing spiritual events can be documented. The authors make a convincing case for what many in science are loathe to consider: that it is God who creates our spiritual experiences, not the brain.
-
-
interesting topic, but frustrating listen
- By Barry T on 08-27-08
By: Mario Beauregard, and others
-
Supernormal
- Science, Yoga, and the Evidence for Extraordinary Psychic Abilities
- By: Dean Radin PhD, Deepak Chopra MD
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Can yoga and meditation unleash our inherent supernormal mental powers, such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition? Is it really possible to perceive another person's thoughts and intentions? Influence objects with our minds? Envision future events? And is it possible that some of the superpowers described in ancient legends, science fiction, and comic books are actually real, and patiently waiting for us behind the scenes? Are we now poised for an evolutionary trigger to pull the switch and release our full potentials?
-
-
great balance of science and wisdom traditions
- By Jayne on 03-16-18
By: Dean Radin PhD, and others
-
Entangled Minds
- Extrasensory Experiences in a Quantum Reality
- By: Dean Radin PhD
- Narrated by: Al Kessel
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Is everything connected? Can we sense what's happening to loved ones thousands of miles away? Why are we sometimes certain of a caller's identity the instant the phone rings? Do intuitive hunches contain information about future events? Is it possible to perceive without the use of the ordinary senses? Many people believe that such "psychic phenomena" are rare talents or divine gifts. Others don't believe they exist at all. But the latest scientific research shows that these phenomena are both real and widespread.
-
-
Boring as all get out but…
- By rebekah higgins on 01-12-20
By: Dean Radin PhD
-
Breaking the Spell
- Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
- By: Daniel C. Dennett
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
- Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For all the thousands of books that have been written about religion, few until this one have attempted to examine it scientifically: to ask why - and how - it has shaped so many lives so strongly. Is religion a product of blind evolutionary instinct or rational choice? Is it truly the best way to live a moral life? Ranging through biology, history, and psychology, Daniel C. Dennett charts religion’s evolution from “wild” folk belief to “domesticated” dogma.
-
-
Great Reader Actually Enhances A Great Book!
- By Don Caliente on 07-14-14
-
Freedom Evolves
- By: Daniel C. Dennett
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Can there be freedom and free will in a deterministic world? Renowned philosopher Daniel Dennett emphatically answers "yes!" Using an array of provocative formulations, Dennett sets out to show how we alone among the animals have evolved minds that give us free will and morality. Weaving a richly detailed narrative, Dennett explains in a series of strikingly original arguments - drawing upon evolutionary biology, cognitive neuroscience, economics, and philosophy - that far from being an enemy of traditional explorations of freedom, morality, and meaning, the evolutionary perspective can be an indispensable ally.
-
-
I knew I was going to like this book
- By Gary on 05-30-14
-
Know This
- Today's Most Interesting and Important Scientific Ideas, Discoveries, and Developments
- By: John Brockman
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman, Dan John Miller
- Length: 14 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Scientific developments radically alter our understanding of the world. Whether it's technology, climate change, health research, or the latest revelations of neuroscience, physics, or psychology, science has, as Edge editor John Brockman says, "become a big story, if not the big story". In that spirit this new addition to Edge.org's fascinating series asks a powerful and provocative question: What do you consider the most interesting and important recent scientific news?
-
-
Pete and Repeat and Re-repeat
- By Daniel L on 02-25-18
By: John Brockman
-
The Great Mental Models
- General Thinking Concepts
- By: Shane Parrish
- Narrated by: Shane Parrish
- Length: 3 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Great Mental Models: General Thinking Concepts is the first book in The Great Mental Models series designed to upgrade your thinking with the best, most useful and powerful tools so you always have the right one on hand. This volume details nine of the most versatile all-purpose mental models you can use right away to improve your decision making, your productivity, and how clearly you see the world.
-
-
A dissapointing debut
- By Peter on 04-14-19
By: Shane Parrish
-
Riveted
- The Science of Why Jokes Make Us Laugh, Movies Make Us Cry, and Religion Makes Us Feel One with the Universe
- By: Jim Davies
- Narrated by: Matthew Josdal
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Professor Jim Davies's fascinating and highly accessible book, Riveted, reveals the evolutionary underpinnings of why we find things compelling. Drawing on work from philosophy, anthropology, religious studies, psychology, economics, computer science, and biology, Davies offers a comprehensive explanation to show that in spite of the differences between the many things that we find compelling, they have similar effects on our minds and brains.
-
-
Fun and excellent listen!
- By Alejandro Franco on 04-13-18
By: Jim Davies
-
50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True
- By: Guy P. Harrison
- Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Maybe you know someone who swears by the reliability of psychics or who is in regular contact with angels. Or perhaps you're trying to find a nice way of dissuading someone from wasting money on a homeopathy cure. How do you find a gently persuasive way of steering people away from unfounded beliefs, bogus cures, conspiracy theories, and the like? Longtime skeptic Guy P. Harrison shows you how in this down-to-earth, entertaining exploration of commonly held extraordinary claims.
-
-
Skepticism, so Dull & Condescending
- By Mr Conway on 03-11-13
By: Guy P. Harrison
-
Why Trust Science?
- The University Center for Human Values, Book 1
- By: Naomi Oreskes
- Narrated by: John Chancer, Kelly Burke, Kerry Shale, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Do doctors really know what they are talking about when they tell us vaccines are safe? Should we take climate experts at their word when they warn us about the perils of global warming? Why should we trust science when our own politicians don't? In this landmark book, Naomi Oreskes offers a bold and compelling defense of science, revealing why the social character of scientific knowledge is its greatest strength - and the greatest reason we can trust it.
-
-
Perfect Production of an Excellent Work
- By Andrew Mazibrada on 01-15-20
By: Naomi Oreskes
-
Mindware
- Tools for Smart Thinking
- By: Richard E. Nisbett
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many scientific and philosophical ideas are so powerful that they can be applied to our lives at home, work, and school to help us think smarter and more effectively about our behavior and the world around us. Surprisingly, many of these ideas remain unknown to most of us. In Mindware, the world-renowned psychologist Richard Nisbett presents these ideas in clear and accessible detail, offering a tool kit for better thinking and wiser decisions.
-
-
Sound scientific advice on how to live your life
- By Neuron on 08-26-15
-
Undeniable
- How Biology Confirms Our Intuition That Life Is Designed
- By: Douglas Axe
- Narrated by: Neil Hellegers
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Throughout his distinguished and unconventional career, engineer-turned-molecular-biologist Douglas Axe has been asking the questions that much of the scientific community would rather silence. Now, he presents his conclusions in this brave and pioneering book. Axe argues that the key to understanding our origin is the "design intuition" - the innate belief held by all humans that tasks we would need knowledge to accomplish can be accomplished only by someone who has that knowledge.
-
-
Seductively Challenge what are consider facts
- By Rafael Vila on 10-08-16
By: Douglas Axe
-
Brainwashed
- The Seductive Appeal of Mindless Neuroscience
- By: Sally Satel, Scott O. Lilienfeld
- Narrated by: Jean Barrett
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In recent years, the advent of MRI technology seems to have unlocked the secrets of the human mind, revealing the sources of our deepest desires, intentions, and fears. As renowned psychiatrist and scholar Sally Satel and psychologist Scott O. Lilienfeld demonstrate in Brainwashed, however, the explanatory power of brain scans in particular and neuroscience more generally has been vastly overestimated.
-
-
The Overall Message...
- By Douglas on 11-26-13
By: Sally Satel, and others
-
Blindspot
- By: Mahzarin R. Banaji, Anthony G. Greenwald
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
I know my own mind. I am able to assess others in a fair and accurate way. These self-perceptions are challenged by leading psychologists Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald as they explore the hidden biases we all carry from a lifetime of exposure to cultural attitudes about age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, social class, sexuality, disability status, and nationality. Blindspot is the authors’ metaphor for the portion of the mind that houses hidden biases.
-
-
Difficult to interpret.
- By Ryan Arnold on 12-21-15
By: Mahzarin R. Banaji, and others
-
The Belief Instinct
- The Psychology of Souls, Destiny, and the Meaning of Life
- By: Jesse Bering
- Narrated by: Jesse Bering
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why is belief so hard to shake? Despite our best attempts to embrace rational thought and reject superstition, we often find ourselves appealing to unseen forces that guide our destiny, wondering who might be watching us as we go about our lives, and imagining what might come after death. In this lively and masterfully argued new book, Jesse Bering unveils the psychological underpinnings of why we believe.
-
-
engaging and insightful
- By juliagee on 01-02-15
By: Jesse Bering
-
Rigor Mortis
- How Sloppy Science Creates Worthless Cures, Crushes Hope, and Wastes Billions
- By: Richard Harris
- Narrated by: Joe Delafield
- Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
American taxpayers spend $30 billion annually funding biomedical research, but over half of these studies can't be replicated due to poor experimental design, improper methods, and sloppy statistics. Bad science doesn't just hold back medical progress, it can sign the equivalent of a death sentence for terminal patients. In Rigor Mortis, Richard Harris explores these urgent issues with vivid anecdotes, personal stories, and interviews with the top biomedical researchers. We need to fix our dysfunctional biomedical system - before it's too late.
-
-
Eye opening introduction to biomedical R&D
- By Amazon Customer on 09-18-18
By: Richard Harris
-
At the Edge of Uncertainty
- 11 Discoveries Taking Science by Surprise
- By: Michael Brooks
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The atom, the big bang, DNA, natural selection - all are ideas that have revolutionized science; and all were dismissed out of hand when they first appeared. The surprises haven't stopped in recent years, and in At the Edge of Uncertainty, best-selling author Michael Brooks investigates the new wave of radical insights that are shaping the future of scientific discovery.
-
-
All smoke, no fire
- By Kenton on 07-25-15
By: Michael Brooks
Love Books? You'll Love Audible.
Transform your day
Replace endless scrolling with endless listening. Chores can be fun.
Listen everywhere
Download titles to listen offline, wherever you are in the world.
Carry your entire Library
Your stories go where you go. Audiobooks don’t weigh a thing.
Listen and learn
Discover stories that can change your mind, your well-being, and your life.
Reach your reading goals
You can’t turn pages while you drive—but you can press play.
Find your niche
WIth thousands of titles to explore, there’s something for everyone.
What listeners say about The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- R. Alexander
- 06-09-21
All in one introduction to scientific scepticism.
fifteen words required before to review this book from the skeptics guide to the universe
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 03-16-19
Your escape to reality
It was great and a pleasure to listen to. Steve Novella is a great reader and I always love to listen to the podcast as well. Long time listener and this book was long overdue.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- sheldon
- 08-17-22
Listen to it, Listen to it again,
This is one of the most accessible and well-framed books on skeptical and critical thinking that I have read/listened to, With practical and funny examples of everything from the fundamental flaws in our memory to conspiratorial thinking. Really a great book, enjoyed it thoroughly.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- taylor hernandez
- 10-19-18
awesome book.
This is an excellent guide to scientific skepticism. a lot of chapters covering all kinds of phenomena. Great listen.
Dosn't matter whether you're a skeptic or not.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sinikka
- 11-20-18
Concise and clear, but not much new for an SGU fan
Loved it, but couldn't help thinking that this is the book that OTHER people should read. Preaching to the choir a bit.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Csaba Turkosi
- 10-07-18
A great follow-up to Sagan's Demon-Haunted World
The members of the SGU have done an outstanding job summarizing their experience as skeptics and science enthusiasts. It is a useful and healthy habit to review one's most closely held beliefs and this audiobook provides example after example of misguided and self-deceiving individuals who fail to apply critical thinking to their assumptions. We could all use some skepticism in our lives to protect us from charlatans, conspiracy theorists and our own tendencies toward self-deception. I'm so glad to have this in my library and I hope it reaches a wide audience!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 03-20-19
A book everyone should read or listen
I first bought the book. Then I bought five more books so that I could give them away to my friends. Finally I bought this podcast so that I could recap some of the parts on my commute. It is great at presenting and sharpening your tools of sceptical thinking in a way that is educational and sometimes even humorous. It can be a bit harder to read than an average novel, since it really requires your focus. But when you're done, it also functions as a encyclopedia of sceptical thinking. I have more than once had to return to this book when picking apart an argument or constructing my own - verifying that the logic is sound and that the premise is known and agreed upon by both parties.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- LS
- 01-31-22
Lo releeré seguramente
Me encantó, y es un excelente recurso para entender las muchas formas en que podemos autoengañarnos y nos pueden engañar.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!