# 34:  Developing Critical Thinkers with Steve Pearlman

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/clear-the-air-6093986/34-developing-critical-thinkers-with-steve-pearlman
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/clear-the-air-6093986/34-developing-critical-thinkers-with-steve-pearlman.md
Podcast: [Clear the air](https://stenobird.com/podcast/clear-the-air-6093986)
Published: 2025-08-26T20:36:13+00:00
Episode link: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/34-developing-critical-thinkers-with-steve-pearlman--67471373
Audio file: https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/67471373/clear_the_air_webinar_40_steve_pearlman_audio.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/clear-the-air-6093986/episodes/34-developing-critical-thinkers-with-steve-pearlman
Duration seconds: 3702

## Resource

In an age overwhelmed by information, opinion, and polarization, the ability to think critically isn't just useful, it's essential. In this episode, we will learn how we can develop strategies to think critically and make smarter decisions, what it means to challenge assumptions, expose common thinking traps, and offer immediately usable strategies for clearer, more effective reasoning in everyday life. Steve’s biography: Steve Pearlman, Ph.D., is arguably the world’s foremost critical thinking expert. After founding the United States’ first academic department solely focused on researching critical thinking and how to teach people to do it, Steve subsequently shared his methods at educational institutions, conferences, and businesses. He is frequently featured in national and international media, and he’s the author of America’s Critical Thinking Crisis: The Failure and Promise of Education. In this episode, we dive deep into answering the following thorny questions: 00:00 – Introduction 02:00 – Steve’s journey to becoming an expert in critical thinking 04:00 – Critical thinking definition and how it is taught 07:00 – What are default modes of how our brain functions 10:00 – How to maintain critical thinking when there is an overload of information 12:30 – How to assess whether a source of information is credible 15:00 – How to ask the right question when you don’t know what you don’t know 17:15 – Why reassessing the information and refining your initial question is key in critical thinking 18:00 – Why critical thinking does not always need to take a lot of time 19:30 – How to teach kids critical thinking by prioritising reasoning over authority (parenting example) 25:30 – Why intellectual humility is the solution when two people are in disagreement 29:30 – How to dea…

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## Transcript

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