Episode 9: Squids on Mars! Attention Farming and the New Politics of Conspiracy

free speechpolitical violencenon-violent resistancewest adagun violencegun controlconspiracy theories

Nov 17

Listen on Apple Podcasts * Spotify * Amazon Music

In this episode, we dive into why conspiracy theories feel so irresistible and ubiquitous right now, and why they’re also so corrosive. We talk about motivated reasoning, media bias, and our crumbling trust in experts, from JFK and 9/11 truthers to lab-leak debates, QAnon, RFK Jr., and the evergreen “do your own research” refrain. We also unpack how the attention economy and social media reward rage-bait and fringe content, why weather modification and “chemtrails” became right-wing go-tos after the Texas floods, and how politicians from Trump to Marjorie Taylor Greene exploit conspiratorial thinking for power. Along the way, we make the case for real media literacy, intellectual humility, and learning to live with complex, less cinematic truths.

Segments & Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

2:38 Why Conspiracy Theories Stick

11:54 Motivated Reasoning, Expertise & Bias

23:40 The Attention Economy & “Do Your Own Research” Culture

38:41 Weather Modification, Chemtrails & Political Weaponization

57:03 Epstein, Elon vs. Trump & the New Politics of Conspiracy

1:15:56 Counter Argument Corner: Is Musk Sitting on Nuclear Info?

1:21:35 Outro

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