James Altucher interviews the world's leading peak performers in every area of life. But instead of giving you the typical success story, James digs deeper to find the "Choose Yourself" story - these are the moments we relate to... when someone rises up from personal struggle to reinvent themselves. The James Altucher Show brings you into the lives of peak-performers: billionaires, best-selling authors, rappers, astronauts, athletes, comedians, actors, and the world champions in every field, all who forged their own paths, found financial freedom and harnessed the power to create more meaningful and fulfilling lives.
James brings back astrophysicist Brian Keating for a practical takedown of moon-landing conspiracy claims—and a wider lesson in how to reason when everyone has a microphone. From the Van Allen belts to “the flag waving,” Keating separates physics from folklore, explains what evidence actually looks like (hello, laser retroreflectors), and gives a playbook for engaging friends who’ve gone down the rabbit hole—without losing your mind.
MAKE SURE TO WATCH: Brian Keating's Video Debunking the Moon Landing Conspiracy Theory
What You’ll Learn:
- A simple framework for arguing well: define the claim, demand specific evidence, check physics and history, and compare against competing explanations.
- Why the Van Allen belts don’t “fry” astronauts and how Apollo minimized exposure (trajectory + speed + shielding).
- How we still verify Apollo today (lunar laser ranging off Apollo-placed mirrors).
- How to spot trope-based arguments (appeals to vibes, selective papers, “we haven’t gone back, therefore it never happened”).
Timestamped Chapters:
- [00:00] Opening: “What’s up with Candace Owens?” Setting the table: Bart Sibrel, viral platforms, and why this matters.
- [02:30] Rogan, Jesse Michels, and the megaphone effect. Platforms amplify doubt; why it sticks.
- [04:20] Thiel salons & the culture wars around ‘science.’ Belief, institutions, and physics “stagnation.”
- [06:15] The debate that never happened. Why Sibrel refused; what counts as a real debate.
- [15:45] Physics 101: Van Allen belts. Charged particles, trajectories, dose vs. time.
- [23:10] “We haven’t gone back” ≠ “we never went.” South Pole analogy; politics, cost, and program shifts.
- [30:00] Flag shadows, cameras, and remote control. Why the photo/camera myths fail basic engineering.
- [35:05] Apollo 1, the ‘lemon,’ and what actually happened. Tragedy, design fixes, and conspiratorial leaps.
- [44:10] Keating’s NASA work. Aviation safety, non-destructive evaluation, and why ‘NASA is useless’ is unserious.
- [57:10] Hard evidence you can measure: Apollo retroreflectors, seismographs, and international confirmations.
Core references:
- Van Allen radiation belts — NASA overview. NASA Science
- Lunar laser retroreflectors (Apollo 11/14/15) — NASA & background. NASA
- Soviet Luna 15 crashed during Apollo 11 (context on USSR verification/competition). NASA
People, platforms, and episodes mentioned:
- Buzz Aldrin vs. Bart Sibrel (2002 incident) — background. HISTORY
- Bart Sibrel — Danny Jones episode featuring Charles Duke (context). YouTube
- Jesse Michels on The Joe Rogan Experience (recent appearance). YouTube
Historical context:
- Apollo 1 fire & the “lemon” (hung on a simulator, not the flight capsule). Space
Cultural notes referenced in-episode:
- Celebrity moon-hoax chatter (recent coverage of the Kardashians’ comments). People.com
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