Why do so many cultures and faiths teach some version of an afterlife? Monday, skeptic Michael Shermer joins us to talk about our obsession with immortality and what it means for life here and now.

You probably won’t be surprised that a Pew Forum survey found 95% of Mormons believe in heaven. But get this: Another study learned that 32% with no religious affiliation believe in some sort of life after death. Michael Shermer is editor of Skeptic Magazine, and he’s just written a book that asks what it is that makes belief in an afterlife so … human. Shermer joins us Monday to talk about our ongoing obsession with immortality and what it means for our life here on earth.

Michael Shermer is the publisher of Skeptic magazine, a monthly columnist for Scientific American, and a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University. His book is called Heavens on Earth: The Scientific Search for the Afterlife, Immortality, and Utopia [Indie bookstores|Amazon|Audible]