
The Certainty Illusion
What You Don't Know and Why It Matters
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $23.36
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Timothy Caulfield
-
Tyrone Savage
About this listen
In a world where there is so much conflicting information about how we are supposed to live, what can we really know?
Knowing the truth, what’s real from what’s fake, should be easy. In today’s world, that’s far from the case. In The Certainty Illusion, Timothy Caulfield lifts the curtain on the forces contributing to our information chaos and unpacks why it’s so difficult—sometimes even for experts—to escape the fake.
Whether it’s science, our own desire to be good and do the right thing, or the stories and opinions of others, there’s more to sussing out the truth than simply tracking down what feels like an authoritative source. Caulfield argues that these major forces—science, goodness, and opinion—drive beliefs and behaviour, but the ways that they can be corrupted, or worse, used to nefarious ends by bad actors, are endless.
While it may feel, at times, as though we are circling the drain of truth, especially as new technologies make it even easier to spread dangerous fictions, Caulfield pulls us out of the vortex and keeps us afloat, helping us recognize and combat the forces that threaten to pull us under.
©2025 Timothy Caulfield (P)2025 Allen LaneCritic reviews
“The Certainty Illusion is a brilliant and accessible deep dive into the complexities of our modern misinformation crisis. Caulfield masterfully unpacks how we often confuse data with knowledge, offering readers a clear, actionable guide to discerning fact from fiction in a world overflowing with conflicting information. Whether navigating health advice, social issues, or daily news, this essential read empowers you to think critically and avoid the traps of certainty. It's a must-have for anyone looking to sharpen their understanding in an age of confusion.”—Dr. Jen Gunter, bestselling author of The Menopause Manifesto
“Caulfield has written the antidote for the chaos that has overwhelmed any attempt to understand what is news and what is fiction, and how to approach the very creation and apprehension of Knowledge. An indispensable book for anyone who wants to avoid believing things that just ain't so.”—Daniel J. Levitin, neuroscientist and bestselling author of A Field Guide to Lies and The Organized Mind
“Timothy Caulfield, already a master at unmasking misinformation and bunk, explores one of the great paradoxes of the information age: we have more access to knowledge than at any time in history, yet less certainty than ever about what’s real and true. In The Certainty Illusion, he offers readers—and social media users—a searing analysis of this post-truth quagmire, and practical and timely tips for forging a path out of the noise-filled chaos.”—André Picard, Globe and Mail health columnist and bestselling author of Neglected No More
Related to this topic
-
Take Control of Your Life
- How to Silence Fear and Win the Mental Game
- By: Mel Robbins
- Narrated by: Mel Robbins
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mel Robbins is back! The international bestselling phenomenon and creator of The Five Second Rule and Kick Ass with Mel Robbins returns to help you tackle the single biggest obstacle you face: fear. This life-changing Audible Original features a powerful mix of one-on-one life-coaching sessions and a personal narrative with vital take-aways that you can start using immediately.
-
-
Stop living in fear
- By Nike7 on 02-08-19
By: Mel Robbins
-
Hack your Body, Heal your Mind
- By: BBC Studios
- Narrated by: Kimberley Wilson
- Length: 2 hrs and 41 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Have you ever noticed that when you do something positive to your body, your mood lifts too? Our minds and bodies are more connected than you could ever imagine and the latest science is proving just that. In this podcast, Psychologist Kimberley Wilson explores a range of activities that can help to boost your focus, energy and overall mental wellbeing. And she’ll reveal her easy take-home tips and tricks that you can add to your daily routine to help you get started right away - whether you want to reboot with a nap, take a cold water splash, or reap the benefits of a burst of morning sun.
-
-
General advice in an entertaining format
- By Sergio Pérez Llanos on 02-22-25
By: BBC Studios
-
Self Help
- This Is Your Chance to Change Your Life
- By: Gabrielle Bernstein, Richard C. Schwartz - foreword
- Narrated by: Gabrielle Bernstein, Richard C. Schwartz - foreword
- Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Are you ready to unlock the greatest resource of your life? Gabby Bernstein has written the ultimate self-help guide, offering a revolutionary practice to radically shift your core beliefs and connect you to an infallible inner guidance system: the energy of Self within you. In this groundbreaking book, Gabby demystifies the power of Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy, taking its life-changing teachings out of the therapist’s office and into your everyday life.
-
-
Self Serving
- By pricefreund on 01-14-25
By: Gabrielle Bernstein, and others
-
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
- A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed
- By: Lori Gottlieb
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One day, Lori Gottlieb is a therapist who helps patients in her Los Angeles practice. The next, a crisis causes her world to come crashing down. Enter Wendell, the quirky but seasoned therapist in whose office she suddenly lands. With his balding head, cardigan, and khakis, he seems to have come straight from Therapist Central Casting. Yet he will turn out to be anything but.
-
-
It was like a hallmark movie being waterboarded into my ears for 15 hours
- By Amazon Customer on 10-01-19
By: Lori Gottlieb
-
The Obesity Code
- Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss
- By: Dr. Jason Fung
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this highly listenable and provocative book, Dr. Jason Fung sets out an original, robust theory of obesity that provides startling insights into proper nutrition. In addition to his five basic steps - a set of lifelong habits that will improve your health and control your insulin levels - Dr. Fung explains how to use intermittent fasting to break the cycle of insulin resistance and reach a healthy weight - for good.
-
-
There is a PDF, Folks
- By Cynthia on 06-27-17
By: Dr. Jason Fung
-
How to Train Your Mind
- Exploring the Productivity Benefits of Meditation
- By: Chris Bailey
- Narrated by: Chris Bailey
- Length: 3 hrs and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meditation makes you more productive because it lets you earn back time. For each minute you spend meditating, you'll earn around nine minutes back, as Chris Bailey - author of The Productivity Project and Hyperfocus - will show in this candid and counter-intuitive guide to the productivity benefits of meditation.
-
-
Started Listening By Accident
- By T.D.Willis on 01-17-21
By: Chris Bailey
-
Take Control of Your Life
- How to Silence Fear and Win the Mental Game
- By: Mel Robbins
- Narrated by: Mel Robbins
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mel Robbins is back! The international bestselling phenomenon and creator of The Five Second Rule and Kick Ass with Mel Robbins returns to help you tackle the single biggest obstacle you face: fear. This life-changing Audible Original features a powerful mix of one-on-one life-coaching sessions and a personal narrative with vital take-aways that you can start using immediately.
-
-
Stop living in fear
- By Nike7 on 02-08-19
By: Mel Robbins
-
Hack your Body, Heal your Mind
- By: BBC Studios
- Narrated by: Kimberley Wilson
- Length: 2 hrs and 41 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Have you ever noticed that when you do something positive to your body, your mood lifts too? Our minds and bodies are more connected than you could ever imagine and the latest science is proving just that. In this podcast, Psychologist Kimberley Wilson explores a range of activities that can help to boost your focus, energy and overall mental wellbeing. And she’ll reveal her easy take-home tips and tricks that you can add to your daily routine to help you get started right away - whether you want to reboot with a nap, take a cold water splash, or reap the benefits of a burst of morning sun.
-
-
General advice in an entertaining format
- By Sergio Pérez Llanos on 02-22-25
By: BBC Studios
-
Self Help
- This Is Your Chance to Change Your Life
- By: Gabrielle Bernstein, Richard C. Schwartz - foreword
- Narrated by: Gabrielle Bernstein, Richard C. Schwartz - foreword
- Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Are you ready to unlock the greatest resource of your life? Gabby Bernstein has written the ultimate self-help guide, offering a revolutionary practice to radically shift your core beliefs and connect you to an infallible inner guidance system: the energy of Self within you. In this groundbreaking book, Gabby demystifies the power of Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy, taking its life-changing teachings out of the therapist’s office and into your everyday life.
-
-
Self Serving
- By pricefreund on 01-14-25
By: Gabrielle Bernstein, and others
-
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
- A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed
- By: Lori Gottlieb
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One day, Lori Gottlieb is a therapist who helps patients in her Los Angeles practice. The next, a crisis causes her world to come crashing down. Enter Wendell, the quirky but seasoned therapist in whose office she suddenly lands. With his balding head, cardigan, and khakis, he seems to have come straight from Therapist Central Casting. Yet he will turn out to be anything but.
-
-
It was like a hallmark movie being waterboarded into my ears for 15 hours
- By Amazon Customer on 10-01-19
By: Lori Gottlieb
-
The Obesity Code
- Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss
- By: Dr. Jason Fung
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this highly listenable and provocative book, Dr. Jason Fung sets out an original, robust theory of obesity that provides startling insights into proper nutrition. In addition to his five basic steps - a set of lifelong habits that will improve your health and control your insulin levels - Dr. Fung explains how to use intermittent fasting to break the cycle of insulin resistance and reach a healthy weight - for good.
-
-
There is a PDF, Folks
- By Cynthia on 06-27-17
By: Dr. Jason Fung
-
How to Train Your Mind
- Exploring the Productivity Benefits of Meditation
- By: Chris Bailey
- Narrated by: Chris Bailey
- Length: 3 hrs and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meditation makes you more productive because it lets you earn back time. For each minute you spend meditating, you'll earn around nine minutes back, as Chris Bailey - author of The Productivity Project and Hyperfocus - will show in this candid and counter-intuitive guide to the productivity benefits of meditation.
-
-
Started Listening By Accident
- By T.D.Willis on 01-17-21
By: Chris Bailey
-
The Secret to Healing Anxiety
- By: Kelly Vincent, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Kelly Vincent
- Length: 3 hrs and 14 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Discover a holistic approach to mental health with The Secret to Healing Anxiety. In six compassionate and accessible lessons, clinical psychologist Dr. Kelly Vincent will teach you perspectives and strategies that can help you develop physical, emotional, and spiritual resilience.
-
-
Excellent information
- By sparky on 01-30-25
By: Kelly Vincent, and others
-
Lies My Doctor Told Me
- Medical Myths That Can Harm Your Health
- By: Dr. Ken Berry
- Narrated by: Geoff Sugiyama
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This updated and expanded edition of Dr. Berry’s best seller Lies My Doctor Told Me exposes the truth behind all kinds of “lies” told by well-meaning but misinformed medical practitioners. Nutritional therapy is often overlooked in medical school, and the information provided to physicians is often outdated. However, the negative consequences on your health remain the same. Advice to avoid healthy fats and stay out of the sun has been proven to be detrimental to longevity and can wreak havoc on your system.
-
-
Weak Narrator
- By Josh Cecil on 10-10-19
By: Dr. Ken Berry
-
Natural Rapid Weight Loss, Lose Weight Faster with Hypnosis, Meditation, and Affirmations
- The Sleep Learning System
- By: Joel Thielke
- Narrated by: Joel Thielke
- Length: 2 hrs and 47 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Naturally lose weight fast and get the body you've been wanting. Stop old habits in their tracks, shed pounds now, and feel amazing. Rapid weight loss is yours today with this powerful guided meditation program from the Sleep Learning System and world-renowned hypnotherapist Joel Thielke.
-
-
My new favorite hypnosis audio!
- By Penny on 04-03-16
By: Joel Thielke
-
Happy Days
- By: Gabrielle Bernstein
- Narrated by: Gabrielle Bernstein
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What if you could wake up every day without anxiety? View your past with purpose, not regret? Live happy, peaceful, and free from fear? You can - and Gabrielle Bernstein will show you the way. Gabby has long been loved by her listeners as a spiritual teacher, motivational speaker, and catalyst for profound inner change. Her new book presents her most powerful teaching yet: a plan for transforming the pain of your past, whatever that may be, into newfound strength and freedom.
-
-
Healing is privileged
- By Tina Clayton on 02-26-22
-
Brain Energy
- A Revolutionary Breakthrough in Understanding Mental Health—and Improving Treatment for Anxiety, Depression, OCD, PTSD, and More
- By: Christopher M. Palmer MD
- Narrated by: Christopher M. Palmer MD
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We are in the midst of a global mental health crisis, and mental illnesses are on the rise. But what causes mental illness? And why are mental health problems so hard to treat? Drawing on decades of research, Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Chris Palmer outlines a revolutionary new understanding that for the first time unites our existing knowledge about mental illness within a single framework: mental disorders are metabolic disorders of the brain. Brain Energy will transform the field of mental health, and the lives of countless people around the world.
-
-
Arguing brain health theory to medical profession
- By Maya H Saric on 03-10-23
-
The Complete Guide to Fasting
- Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting
- By: Jimmy Moore, Dr. Jason Fung
- Narrated by: Jimmy Moore
- Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thousands of books have been written about the latest and greatest diets that will help people lose weight and improve health. But a key element in any successful nutritional health program is a tried-and-true method that most people haven't thought about - yet it could be revolutionary for taking health to the next level. This ancient secret is fasting.
-
-
Hard to get through
- By MCT on 06-03-17
By: Jimmy Moore, and others
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Cure for Everything!
- Untangling The Twisted Messages About Health Fitness and Happiness
- By: Timothy Caulfield
- Narrated by: Jeremy Arthur
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We all want to be healthy. But somehow the good information about how to get healthy keeps getting twisted. In The Cure for Everything! health and law expert Timothy Caulfield sets out to find the truth about what it takes to achieve a healthy lifestyle, even testing out many of the health claims on himself. He signs up for circuit training with a Hollywood trainer. He tackles a diet that really works with the help of his own Food Advisory Team (FAT). He also sends a test tube of warm spit to a genetics laboratory.
-
Against Platforms
- Surviving Digital Utopia (Activist Citizens Library)
- By: Mike Pepi
- Narrated by: Tim Andres Pabon
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the turn of the millennium, digital technologies seemed to have immense promise for transforming our society. With these powerful new tools, the thinking went, we would be free to live our best lives, connected to our communities in ways full of infinite potential. A quarter of a century on, this form of utopianism seems like a cruel mirage. So what happened? In Against Platforms, technologist and creator Mike Pepi lays out an explanation of what went wrong—and a manifesto for putting it right.
By: Mike Pepi
-
How to Be Enough
- Self-Acceptance for Self-Critics and Perfectionists
- By: Ellen Hendriksen
- Narrated by: Ellen Hendriksen
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dr. Ellen Hendriksen—clinical psychologist, anxiety specialist, and author of How to Be Yourself—charts a flexible, forgiving, and freeing path, all without giving up the excellence your high standards and hard work have gotten you. She delivers seven shifts—including from self-criticism to kindness, control to authenticity, procrastination to productivity, comparison to contentment—to find self-acceptance, rewrite the Inner Rulebook, and most of all, cultivate the authentic human connections we’re all craving.
-
-
Super helpful tools to use immediately
- By Leigha Heydt on 02-09-25
By: Ellen Hendriksen
-
Mayo Clinic Guide to Better Sleep
- Find Relief from Insomnia, Sleep Apnea and Other Sleep Disorders
- By: Timothy I. Morgenthaler, Bhanu Prakash Kolla
- Narrated by: Ron Butler
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If there’s one thing a century or more of sleep science has established, it’s that sleep deserves to be a priority. It's not. We hear much about the importance of exercise to our long-term well-being, and how diet and health are inextricably linked. Sleep, however, is typically an afterthought. Whether you’re desperately seeking a solution to your sleep woes or are simply curious if there’s more that you can do to improve your sleep and, ultimately, your health, this book has the answers you seek.
By: Timothy I. Morgenthaler, and others
-
Beyond Stoicism
- A Guide to the Good Life with Stoics, Skeptics, Epicureans, and Other Ancient Philosophers
- By: Gregory Lopez, Massimo Pigliucci, Meredith Alexander Kunz
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What is a good life? And how can we create that life in a world filled with uncertainty? Beyond Stoicism invites you to find your own answers to these big questions with help from thirteen of the most prominent Greco-Roman philosophers―many of whom inspired, or were inspired by, the Stoics.
-
-
Doubt, Uncertainty and Scepticism
- By Kindle Customer on 02-06-25
By: Gregory Lopez, and others
-
Mindmasters
- The Data-Driven Science of Predicting and Changing Human Behavior
- By: Sandra Matz
- Narrated by: Anna Caputo
- Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Columbia Business School professor Sandra Matz reveals in fascinating detail how big data offers insights into the most intimate aspects of our psyches and how these insights empower an external influence over the choices we make. This can be creepy, manipulative, and downright harmful, with scandals like that of British consulting firm Cambridge Analytica being merely the tip of the iceberg.
-
-
boring redundant
- By Linda Mueller on 02-21-25
By: Sandra Matz
-
The Cure for Everything!
- Untangling The Twisted Messages About Health Fitness and Happiness
- By: Timothy Caulfield
- Narrated by: Jeremy Arthur
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We all want to be healthy. But somehow the good information about how to get healthy keeps getting twisted. In The Cure for Everything! health and law expert Timothy Caulfield sets out to find the truth about what it takes to achieve a healthy lifestyle, even testing out many of the health claims on himself. He signs up for circuit training with a Hollywood trainer. He tackles a diet that really works with the help of his own Food Advisory Team (FAT). He also sends a test tube of warm spit to a genetics laboratory.
-
Against Platforms
- Surviving Digital Utopia (Activist Citizens Library)
- By: Mike Pepi
- Narrated by: Tim Andres Pabon
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the turn of the millennium, digital technologies seemed to have immense promise for transforming our society. With these powerful new tools, the thinking went, we would be free to live our best lives, connected to our communities in ways full of infinite potential. A quarter of a century on, this form of utopianism seems like a cruel mirage. So what happened? In Against Platforms, technologist and creator Mike Pepi lays out an explanation of what went wrong—and a manifesto for putting it right.
By: Mike Pepi
-
How to Be Enough
- Self-Acceptance for Self-Critics and Perfectionists
- By: Ellen Hendriksen
- Narrated by: Ellen Hendriksen
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dr. Ellen Hendriksen—clinical psychologist, anxiety specialist, and author of How to Be Yourself—charts a flexible, forgiving, and freeing path, all without giving up the excellence your high standards and hard work have gotten you. She delivers seven shifts—including from self-criticism to kindness, control to authenticity, procrastination to productivity, comparison to contentment—to find self-acceptance, rewrite the Inner Rulebook, and most of all, cultivate the authentic human connections we’re all craving.
-
-
Super helpful tools to use immediately
- By Leigha Heydt on 02-09-25
By: Ellen Hendriksen
-
Mayo Clinic Guide to Better Sleep
- Find Relief from Insomnia, Sleep Apnea and Other Sleep Disorders
- By: Timothy I. Morgenthaler, Bhanu Prakash Kolla
- Narrated by: Ron Butler
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If there’s one thing a century or more of sleep science has established, it’s that sleep deserves to be a priority. It's not. We hear much about the importance of exercise to our long-term well-being, and how diet and health are inextricably linked. Sleep, however, is typically an afterthought. Whether you’re desperately seeking a solution to your sleep woes or are simply curious if there’s more that you can do to improve your sleep and, ultimately, your health, this book has the answers you seek.
By: Timothy I. Morgenthaler, and others
-
Beyond Stoicism
- A Guide to the Good Life with Stoics, Skeptics, Epicureans, and Other Ancient Philosophers
- By: Gregory Lopez, Massimo Pigliucci, Meredith Alexander Kunz
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What is a good life? And how can we create that life in a world filled with uncertainty? Beyond Stoicism invites you to find your own answers to these big questions with help from thirteen of the most prominent Greco-Roman philosophers―many of whom inspired, or were inspired by, the Stoics.
-
-
Doubt, Uncertainty and Scepticism
- By Kindle Customer on 02-06-25
By: Gregory Lopez, and others
-
Mindmasters
- The Data-Driven Science of Predicting and Changing Human Behavior
- By: Sandra Matz
- Narrated by: Anna Caputo
- Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Columbia Business School professor Sandra Matz reveals in fascinating detail how big data offers insights into the most intimate aspects of our psyches and how these insights empower an external influence over the choices we make. This can be creepy, manipulative, and downright harmful, with scandals like that of British consulting firm Cambridge Analytica being merely the tip of the iceberg.
-
-
boring redundant
- By Linda Mueller on 02-21-25
By: Sandra Matz
What listeners say about The Certainty Illusion
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- BiLL
- 01-27-25
Truth is still important
The author offers problems and solutions to the everyday distortions of truth. The more your know.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!