Delusional beliefs can sometimes be helpful, but not always. Some people craft rationalizations to defend their delusions, no matter what evidence says, but Is it possible that self-delusion can have a positive effect? We might leverage delusion to solve big problems—even climate change.

Click above to hear part 3 of Skeptic Check: Useful Delusions, featuring Shankar Vendantam, host of the Hidden Brain podcast and radio show, and co-author of “Useful Delusions: The Power & Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain.”

Skeptic Check: Useful Delusions:
Part 1: Steven Novella / Illogical Impetus
Part 2: Shankar Vedantam / Fooling Ourselves
Part 3: Shankar Vedantam / Using Delusion

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2026 Webby Award Nominee
for our three part series on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

Big Picture Science is an immersive radio show and podcast that reveals the unexpected connections in science.

Our Skeptic Check episodes take a critical look at extraordinary science claims and pseudoscience.

Don’t settle for a science snapshot. Get the big picture. 

Hosted By

Molly Bentley Executive Producer and Co-Host, Big Picture Science  

Seth Shostak Producer and Co-Host, Big Picture Science
Senior Astronomer, SETI Institute

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