Ep 44: Dr. Daniel Jolley on Why Conspiracy Theories Are Harmful

Adam Ruins Everything

MaximumFun.org

Comedy

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 24 January 2018

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What once seemed like a fringe movement, conspiracy theories appear more pervasive than ever. Our guest Dr. Daniel Jolley points out, conspiracy theories have been around for centuries; social media, however, has given them a wider platform and megaphone. Believing in such theories can seem like harmless speculation. But if enough people accept ideas like the faking of the moon landing or 9/11 being a government inside job, they'll feel they have no agency. This can lead to very dangerous effects like lower voter turnout and less civic engagement at large. Daniel, who appeared on Adam Ruins Conspiracy Theories, explains why people believe in conspiracy theories in the first place, how people can believe in two contradictory conspiracy theories, and how we can combat these theories to create a healthier democracy. He studies conspiracy theories at Staffordshire University in the United Kingdom. Adam is on Twitter @AdamConover and you can find past episodes and bonus content from the TruTV show at AdamRuinsEverything.com. Produced by Shara Morris for MaximumFun.org.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:13.2	Hello and you might also know me as the host of Adam Ruins
0:15.4	Everything on True TV.
0:17.5	And you might also know me as the host of Adam Ruins
0:19.5	Everything on True TV.
0:20.8	And you can find clips and full episodes of that show at true TV.com
0:24.6	slash Adam Ruins Everything and the Watch True TV app and I am also very
0:28.7	happy to announce that in March we have six all new all animated Adam Ruins Everything episodes coming out for you
0:35.1	It's a little mini series we're calling reanimated history where I take you on a whirlwind animated tour and
0:40.4	Correct all the mistakes in every history story you've ever heard.
0:44.4	It's going to be really fun.
0:45.4	So watch for that starting March 20th on True TV.
0:48.4	But on this podcast, I talk to researchers, academics, and experts from around the world of human knowledge about the work they do and why it is so important and a mind-blowing.
0:59.0	Today's guest is Professor Daniel Jolly who appeared on Adam Newin's conspiracy theories.
1:05.0	And look, there are so many conspiracy theories out there.
1:07.5	There's the 9-11 conspiracy theory and the JFK conspiracy theory and the conspiracy that my mom thinks
1:12.3	that the grocery store is trying to
1:13.6	screw her by never stocking vanilla ice cream. I swear that that is very real.
1:18.1	She really believes it and she believes it is an actual conspiracy. They're all around us and also in recent years it seems
1:24.8	that they have become more and more pervasive and frankly mainstream. But despite
1:30.2	that there has not been very much actual research done on conspiracy theories until recently.
1:35.3	And Professor Daniel Jolly is one of the people who is leading this emerging field.
1:39.6	He is a psychology professor at Staffordshire University where he researches.
	...

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