Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The Michael Shermer Show # 594
Michael Shermer sits down with novelist and essayist Lionel Shriver for a wide-ranging conversation about what happens when old political labels stop making sense. Shriver reflects on the strange moral and political confusions that now shape debates over immigration, identity, religion, and the meaning of tolerance.
They discuss why immigration has become, in Shriver’s view, the central political issue of this century; why support for illiberal ideas is often framed as compassion; why the culture of fiction and publishing has grown more timid; and how writers can still engage seriously with divisive subjects without surrendering either honesty or nuance.
The conversation also turns personal: Shriver’s religious upbringing, her own personal experiences with immigration, and reflections on the diminishing cultural authority of the novelist.
Lionel Shriver is an author and journalist, a graduate of Columbia University, and a columnist for The Spectator. Her fiction confronts some of the defining issues of modern life: school shootings in "We Need to Talk About Kevin," the cost of healthcare in "So Much for That," economic instability in "The Mandibles," aging and suicide in "Should We Stay or Should We Go," and low intelligence and DEI in "Mania." Her latest novel, "A Better Life," takes up immigration from the perspective of the host.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
If you enjoy the podcast, please show your support by making a $5 or $10 monthly donation.
skeptic.com/donate
#michaelshermer
#skeptic
Listen to The Michael Shermer Show or subscribe directly on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
skeptic.com/michael-shermer-show
The Michael Shermer Show # 594
Michael Shermer sits down with novelist and essayist Lionel Shriver for a wide-ranging conversation about what happens when old political labels stop making sense. Shriver reflects on the strange moral and political confusions that now shape debates over immigration, identity, religion, and the meaning of tolerance.
They discuss why immigration has become, in Shriver’s view, the central political issue of this century; why support for illiberal ideas is often framed as compassion; why the culture of fiction and publishing has grown more timid; and how writers can still engage seriously with divisive subjects without surrendering either honesty or nuance.
The conversation also turns personal: Shriver’s religious upbringing, her own personal experiences with immigration, and reflections on the diminishing cultural authority of the novelist.
Lionel Shriver is an author and journalist, a graduate of Columbia University, and a columnist for The Spectator. Her fiction confronts some of the defining issues of modern life: school shootings in "We Need to Talk About Kevin," the cost of healthcare in "So Much for That," economic instability in "The Mandibles," aging and suicide in "Should We Stay or Should We Go," and low intelligence and DEI in "Mania." Her latest novel, "A Better Life," takes up immigration from the perspective of the host.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
If you enjoy the podcast, please show your support by making a $5 or $10 monthly donation.
skeptic.com/donate
#michaelshermer
#skeptic
Listen to The Michael Shermer Show or subscribe directly on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
skeptic.com/michael-shermer-show
