Conspiracy Theory - Exclusive audiobook excerpt

Origin Story

Podmasters

Society & Culture, News, News Commentary, History

4.8 • 655 Ratings

🗓️ 9 November 2024

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

It can seem like conspiracy theories have travelled at warp speed from the eccentric margins to the heart of modern politics. But in fact conspiracism has always been one of history’s darkest forces, from the witch hunts to the Holocaust. In this exclusive audiobook extract from the prologue to Conspiracy Theory: The Story of an Idea, Ian explains how conspiracy theories exploit the human brain’s craving for simple explanations in a chaotic and unpredictable world to spin bogus narratives of evil cliques, shadowy plots and do-or-die conflicts between Us and Them. Why are conspiracy theories so alluring, how have they shaped history and how can liberal democracy survive if its citizens no longer inhabit a shared reality? Featuring JFK, David Icke, Princess Diana and the Wu-Tang Clan, this is our introduction to a weird and wild story. You can listen to Ian and Dorian read Conspiracy Theory: The Story of an Idea, along with its sister Origin Story publications Fascism and Centrism, on Audible, Spotify or your favourite audiobook platform. Or buy the physical books on Fascism, Centrism and Conspiracy Theory. Get exclusive extras like supporter-only Q&A editions when you back Origin Story on Patreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello, listeners. As you know, we have co-authored three origin story books spun off from the series.
0:15.3	They are on fascism, censorship and conspiracy theory. And we've decided to give you an excerpt from the audiobook,
0:22.6	which is the prologue for conspiracy theory book, written by both of us, but read for some
0:29.3	reason only by Ian. Please do enjoy his dulcet tones, in bed, bath, or wherever you like to listen to Ian Dunt.
0:39.6	The full audio book, we heard through all the usual providers, including Audible and Spotify.
0:45.1	There's a link in the show notes.
0:53.7	Not so long ago, conspiracy theories felt almost cozy.
0:58.2	Back in the 1990s, audiences would settle down to watch the X-Files on a Thursday night.
1:03.4	Stoner friends would stick posters of UFOs to their bedroom walls.
1:07.7	Rappers like the Wutan clan would spin thrilling webs of hidden connections and secret
1:12.7	codes. Even long-running conspiracy theories about the assassination of John F. Kennedy were introduced
1:18.8	to a new generation by the reassuring all-American Kevin Costner in Oliver Stone's movie, JFK.
1:25.7	How could anything featuring Kevin Costner be dangerous?
1:29.2	Now, though, this way of thinking has metastasized into something corrosive, vicious and deadly.
1:36.7	Donald Trump used a conspiracy theory to try and overturn an election, inspiring a mob assault
1:42.7	on the US Capitol.
1:49.7	Deranged internet subcultures concerned with non-existent satanic pedophile rings sparked terrorist violence in the real world. Worldwide protests against COVID-19 restrictions
1:56.0	threatened to turn the worst public health emergency of our lifetime into something even more severe.
2:02.6	By the early 2020s, the fringe had colonised the mainstream.
2:07.6	Conspiracism had become a psychological addiction, a political strategy, and a booming industry.
2:13.9	It took in the world's richest man, Elon Musk, its most successful public intellectual, Jordan B. Peterson, its most popular podcaster, Joe Rogan, and its most powerful man, Donald Trump again.
2:26.7	Leading US politicians like Marjorie Taylor Green amplified the most outlandish, far-right conspiracy theories available online, and far from being ostracized,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Podmasters, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Podmasters and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.