Drowning in Decisions: Do We Have Too Many Choices?

The Michael Shermer Show

Michael Shermer

Dialogue, Science, Reason, Michaelshermer, Natural Sciences, Skeptic

4.4 • 921 Ratings

🗓️ 29 July 2025

⏱️ 86 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, Michael Shermer speaks with historian Sophia Rosenfeld about how modern notions of personal choice—from Amazon shopping to Tinder swipes—emerged from centuries of cultural, religious, political, and economic transformation. Was there ever a time when choice wasn’t synonymous with freedom? Why were early ideas of “common sense” and “free will” so limited? And what happens when choice itself becomes overwhelming?

From Enlightenment ideals to the sexual revolution and the abortion debate, Rosenfeld traces how our expanding range of options—and the meaning we attach to them—has shaped everything from our romantic lives to our political systems. A revealing look at the hidden history of freedom in a world that sometimes offers too much.

Sophia Rosenfeld is Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania. Her new book is The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to The Michael Shermer Show.
0:16.4	Here's the new book.
0:17.4	This came out, The Age of Choice, A History of Freedom in Modern Life.
0:22.8	You can see that, right? Yep, there we go. All right. Sophia, congratulations on the book.
0:27.5	We're recording this two days after your pub date, I see. That's so cool.
0:32.0	Thank you. It's a pleasure to be speaking with you, and yes, it is indeed two days after pub date.
0:37.3	You know, I have to say, I've published with both trade houses and university presses.
0:41.9	Yours is Princeton University Press.
0:44.2	The latter do, in my opinion, I hate to say this in case my regular trade publisher,
0:48.9	here's this, but the higher, the quality of the production and the, you know,
0:53.0	four-color photos and the typography layout, the, you know, the quality of the production and the, you know, four-color photos and the typography layout,
0:56.9	you know, the quality of the paper is so good.
1:00.4	Isn't it beautiful?
1:01.6	Yeah, they did a great job.
1:03.8	This comes out with the trade end of Princeton University Press, which has a trade end,
1:07.6	and I think they do some of the most beautiful books out there.
1:12.0	Yeah, they did a nice job. Okay, I always like to ask my guest that, you know, what's your story? So what's your story?
1:15.7	How did you get into history? Where are you from? Where'd you grow up? How'd you get into studying history and all that?
1:22.2	I was born in New York City, grew up right outside the city in Leonia, New Jersey, small town on the other side
1:28.4	of the George Washington Bridge. And I was lucky to have great history teachers at some critical
1:35.2	moments, high school, college, and I guess I got hooked early on and never stopped being hooked.
1:43.3	Obviously, the kinds of things I'm
	...

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