Uploaded March 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Send us a text (buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/244372/open_sms)
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 (bit.ly/RSIC-Journal) from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD.
Sources/Links/Notes:
• David Marchese, "Steven Pinker Thinks Your Sense of Imminent Doom Is Wrong" (nytimes.com/interactive/2021/09/06/magazine/steven-pinker-interview.html) in The New York Times Magazine (2021).
• The Work that Reconnects Network (workthatreconnects.org/)
• Good Grief Network (goodgriefnetwork.org/)
• 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" (theguardian.com/books/1999/nov/06/1) in The Guardian (1999).
• Robert Wright, "The 2004 Time 100" (content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1970858_1970909_1971671,00.html) in Time Magazine (2004).
• Nick Gillespie, "Steven Pinker Loves the Enlightenment" (reason.com/2018/05/21/steven-pinker-loves-the-enligh/) in Reason Magazine (2018).
• David A. Bell, "Waiting for Steven Pinker’s enlightenment" (thenation.com/article/archive/waiting-for-steven-pinkers-enlightenment/) in The Nation (2018).
• Emile Torres, "Steven Pinker’s fake enlightenment" (salon.com/2019/01/26/steven-pinkers-fake-enlightenment-his-book-is-full-of-misleading-claims-and-false-assertions/) in Salon (2019).
• Robert Epstein, "Book Review: The Better Angels of Our Nature" (scientificamerican.com/article/bookreview-steven-pinker-the-better-angels-of-our-nature-why-violence-has-declined/) in Scientific American (2011).
• Tyler Cowen, "Steven Pinker on Language, Reason, and the Future of Violence," (medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/steven-pinker-language-instinct-evolutionary-psychology-darwin-chomsky-linguistics-b792d7cd2a05) Mercatus Center (2016).
• Mike Freiheit and Lyta Gold, "Comic: Steven Pinker--Certified Grief Counselor" (currentaffairs.org/2018/08/comic-steven-pinker-certified-grief-counselor) in Current Affairs 2018).
• George Monbiot, "Contrary to Reason" (monbiot.com/2018/03/09/contrary-to-reason/) in The Guardian (2018).
• Alex Blasdel, "Pinker's progress: the celebrity scientist at the centre of the culture wars" (theguardian.com/science/2021/sep/28/steven-pinker-celebrity-scientist-at-the-centre-of-the-culture-wars) in The Guardian (2021).
Support the show (postcarbon.org/supportcrazytown/)
Send us a text (buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/244372/open_sms)
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 (bit.ly/RSIC-Journal) from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD.
Sources/Links/Notes:
• David Marchese, "Steven Pinker Thinks Your Sense of Imminent Doom Is Wrong" (nytimes.com/interactive/2021/09/06/magazine/steven-pinker-interview.html) in The New York Times Magazine (2021).
• The Work that Reconnects Network (workthatreconnects.org/)
• Good Grief Network (goodgriefnetwork.org/)
• 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" (theguardian.com/books/1999/nov/06/1) in The Guardian (1999).
• Robert Wright, "The 2004 Time 100" (content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1970858_1970909_1971671,00.html) in Time Magazine (2004).
• Nick Gillespie, "Steven Pinker Loves the Enlightenment" (reason.com/2018/05/21/steven-pinker-loves-the-enligh/) in Reason Magazine (2018).
• David A. Bell, "Waiting for Steven Pinker’s enlightenment" (thenation.com/article/archive/waiting-for-steven-pinkers-enlightenment/) in The Nation (2018).
• Emile Torres, "Steven Pinker’s fake enlightenment" (salon.com/2019/01/26/steven-pinkers-fake-enlightenment-his-book-is-full-of-misleading-claims-and-false-assertions/) in Salon (2019).
• Robert Epstein, "Book Review: The Better Angels of Our Nature" (scientificamerican.com/article/bookreview-steven-pinker-the-better-angels-of-our-nature-why-violence-has-declined/) in Scientific American (2011).
• Tyler Cowen, "Steven Pinker on Language, Reason, and the Future of Violence," (medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/steven-pinker-language-instinct-evolutionary-psychology-darwin-chomsky-linguistics-b792d7cd2a05) Mercatus Center (2016).
• Mike Freiheit and Lyta Gold, "Comic: Steven Pinker--Certified Grief Counselor" (currentaffairs.org/2018/08/comic-steven-pinker-certified-grief-counselor) in Current Affairs 2018).
• George Monbiot, "Contrary to Reason" (monbiot.com/2018/03/09/contrary-to-reason/) in The Guardian (2018).
• Alex Blasdel, "Pinker's progress: the celebrity scientist at the centre of the culture wars" (theguardian.com/science/2021/sep/28/steven-pinker-celebrity-scientist-at-the-centre-of-the-culture-wars) in The Guardian (2021).
Support the show (postcarbon.org/supportcrazytown/)
