52. Michael Marshall on Compassionate Skepticism: Empowering Critical Thinking, Beyond Being Right

“Being a skeptic doesn’t make me smarter or infallible—it just means I’m trying to fail slightly less often.”Michael Marshall has spent more than 15 years investigating pseudoscience, conspiracy theories and the psychology that sustains them. As Project Director of the Good Thinking Society, President of the Merseyside Skeptics Society and Editor of The Skeptic, Marsh has gone undercover at flat-earth conventions, exposed fake psychics, and campaigned successfully to end NHS funding for homeopathy. In this conversation, he explores how “compassionate skepticism”, leading with empathy and curiosity rather than confrontation can help us counter misinformation and connect more deeply with one another.Connect with MichaelX – @MrMMarshSkeptics with a K PodcastThe Know Rogan podcastQED ConferenceTopics we cover ✔︎ Skepticism as practice, not a badge of superiority ✔︎ The ethics of “compassionate skepticism” ✔︎ How pseudoscience harms—and why empathy works better than ridicule ✔︎ What Flat Earth believers reveal about human psychology ✔︎ The legacy of QED and building communities grounded in reasonResources & further readingThe Skeptic – Marshall’s author archive: skeptic.org.uk/author/michaelWikipedia – Michael Marshall (skeptic)Skeptical Inquirer interview: “Marsh Interview”BBC News – “NHS homeopathy funding to end”: bbc.co.uk/news/health-43373817The Guardian – “The Universe is an Egg and the Moon Isn’t Real”: Read articlePBS Independent Lens – Exposing Peter Popoff (James Randi Investigation)Send us Fan MailSupport the showSupport Humanism Now & Join Our Community!Follow @HumanismNowPod | YouTube | TikTok | Instagram | Facebook | Threads | X.com | BlueSkyHumanism Now is produced by Humanise Live a podcast production agency based in London, serving charities, companies, and individuals across the globe.Contact us to get starting in podcasting today at humanise.live or [email protected]: Blossom by Light PrismPodcast transcripts are AI-generated and may contain errors or omissions. They are provided to make our content more accessible, but should not be considered a fully accurate record of the conversation.