How to Identify a Bad Argument | Warren Smith

This episode will premiere on Sept. 29, 2026 at 9 p.m. ET.

Modern culture often treats popular consensus and media narratives as settled truth. Warren Smith, author of the new book “A Mind of Your Own: Independent Thinking in the Age of Misinformation,” argues that our society is increasingly convinced by misleading narratives rather than objective reality.

He is the creator of the Secret Scholars Society channel on YouTube, and he’s become known for using the Socratic method to introduce people to different viewpoints.

He argues that allowing ideas to conflict is essential to intellectual growth.

“We recoil often from conflict,” he said, “but that’s where growth occurs.”

Smith walked me through a host of questions: How do narrative manipulation and herd psychology compel people to abandon logic? How can one learn to identify fallacious arguments? And why does our culture so easily mistake emotional consensus for moral authority?

Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.