Conspiracy
A History of Boll*cks Theories, and How Not to Fall for Them
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Narrated by:
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Jonn Elledge
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Tom Phillips
About this listen
Tom Phillips (Humans; Truth) and Jonn Elledge (The Compendium of Not Quite Everything) team up to debunk the greatest conspiracy theories humans have ever espoused—to teach us how not to fall for them.
From the Satanic Panic to the anti-vaxx movement, it's always been human nature to believe we're being lied to by the powers that be (and sometimes, to be fair, we absolutely are).
But while it can be fun to indulge in a bit of Deep State banter on the family Whatsapp group, recent times have shown us that some of these theories have taken on a life of their own—and in our dogged quest for the truth, it appears we might actually be doing it some damage.
In Conspiracy, Tom Phillips and Jonn Elledge take us on a fascinating, insightful and often hilarious journey through conspiracy theories old and new, to try and answer an important question: how can we learn to log off the QAnon message boards, and start trusting hard evidence again?
©2022 Tom Phillips and Jonn Elledge (P)2022 Headline Publishing Group LtdListeners also enjoyed...
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Conspiracy theories are killing us. Once confined to the fringes of society, this worldview now has adherents numbering in the millions - extending right into the White House. This disturbing look at this alt-right threat to our democratic institutions offers guidance for counteracting the personal toll this destructive mindset can have on relationships and families. Author David Neiwert examines the growing appeal of conspiracy theories and the kind of personalities that are attracted to such paranoid, sociopathic messages.
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little basis in logic and reality
- By Alex Martin on 08-27-21
By: David Neiwert
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The Science of Fear
- Why We Fear the Things We Should Not - and Put Ourselves in Great Danger
- By: Daniel Gardner
- Narrated by: Scott Peterson
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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From terror attacks to the War on Terror, bursting real-estate bubbles to crystal meth epidemics, sexual predators to poisonous toys from China, our list of fears seems to be exploding. And yet, we are the safest and healthiest humans in history. Irrational fear is running amok, and often with tragic results. In the months after 9/11, when people decided to drive instead of fly - believing they were avoiding risk - road deaths rose by 1,595. Those lives were lost to fear.
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A rational assessment of the world we live in
- By K Head on 08-29-09
By: Daniel Gardner
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How Democracy Ends
- By: David Runciman
- Narrated by: David Runciman
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Since the end of World War II, democracy's sweep across the globe seemed inexorable. Yet today, it seems radically imperiled, even in some of the world's most stable democracies. How bad could things get? In How Democracy Ends, David Runciman argues that we are trapped in outdated 20th-century ideas of democratic failure. By fixating on coups and violence, we are focusing on the wrong threats. Our societies are too affluent, too elderly, and too networked to fall apart as they did in the past. We need new ways of thinking the unthinkable....
By: David Runciman
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American Betrayal: The Secret Assault on Our Nation’s Character
- By: Diana West
- Narrated by: Diana West
- Length: 20 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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"Russian influence" may have entered our national pop-consciousness in Election 2016, but it is the shiny, deceptive, contested, and buried X-factor of a century of wars in Washington. In American Betrayal, Diana West digs deep to uncover a body of lies that Americans have been led to regard as the near-sacred history of World War II and its Cold War aftermath. Part real-life thriller, part national tragedy, American Betrayal lights up the massive, Moscow-directed penetration of America's most hallowed halls of power.
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True history of WWII &its consequences then & now
- By jac on 04-24-18
By: Diana West
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Humankind
- A Hopeful History
- By: Rutger Bregman, Erica Moore, Elizabeth Manton
- Narrated by: Rutger Bregman, Thomas Judd
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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If there is one belief that has united the left and the right, psychologists and philosophers, ancient thinkers and modern ones, it is the tacit assumption that humans are bad. It's a notion that drives newspaper headlines and guides the laws that shape our lives. From Machiavelli to Hobbes, Freud to Pinker, the roots of this belief have sunk deep into Western thought. Human beings, we're taught, are by nature selfish and governed primarily by self-interest.
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He’s correct but he misrepresented the data
- By Andrea Allen on 02-09-21
By: Rutger Bregman, and others
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Broadcast Hysteria
- Orson Welle's War of the Worlds and the Art of Fake News
- By: A. Brad Schwartz
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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In Broadcast Hysteria, A. Brad Schwartz examines the history behind the infamous radio play. Did it really spawn a wave of mass hysteria? Schwartz is the first to examine the hundreds of letters sent directly to Orson Welles after the broadcast. He draws upon them, and hundreds more sent to the FCC, to recapture the roiling emotions of a bygone era, and his findings challenge conventional wisdom. Relatively few listeners believed an actual attack was underway.
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Kinda interesting but incredibly repetitive
- By Lizz on 05-14-15
By: A. Brad Schwartz
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Lords of Chaos
- The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground
- By: Michael Moynihan, Didrik Soderlind
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Lords of Chaos focuses on the scene surrounding the extreme heavy metal subgenre black metal in Norway in the early 1990s, with a focus on the string of church burnings and murders that occurred in the country around 1993.
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Intentionally Misleading
- By Chris on 10-29-19
By: Michael Moynihan, and others
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The Story Paradox
- How Our Love of Storytelling Builds Societies and Tears Them Down
- By: Jonathan Gottschall
- Narrated by: Joshua Kane
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Humans are storytelling animals. Stories are what make our societies possible. Countless books celebrate their virtues. But Jonathan Gottschall, an expert on the science of stories, argues that there is a dark side to storytelling we can no longer ignore. Storytelling, the very tradition that built human civilization, may be the thing that destroys it.
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A bit of a mixed bag with some amazing discussion
- By Justin on 04-27-22
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The Death of Truth
- Notes on Falsehood in the Age of Trump
- By: Michiko Kakutani
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 3 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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We live in a time when the very idea of objective truth is mocked and discounted by the occupants of the White House. Discredited conspiracy theories and ideologies have resurfaced, proven science is once more up for debate, and Russian propaganda floods our screens. The wisdom of the crowd has usurped research and expertise, and we are each left clinging to the beliefs that best confirm our biases.
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Prescient Account of the Mechanics of Tyranny
- By Brian Price on 07-27-18
By: Michiko Kakutani
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Dark Star Rising
- Magick and Power in the Age of Trump
- By: Gary Lachman
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Within the concentric circles of Trump's regime lies an unseen culture of occultists, power-seekers, and mind-magicians whose influence is on the rise. In this unparalleled account, historian Gary Lachman examines the influence of occult and esoteric philosophy on the unexpected rise of the alt-right.
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Step Right This Way!
- By Brad on 06-03-18
By: Gary Lachman
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History Decoded
- The Ten Greatest Conspiracies of All Time
- By: Keith Ferrell, Brad Meltzer
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Adapted from Decoded, Meltzer's hit show on the History network, History Decoded explores many fascinating and unexplained questions. Is Fort Knox empty? Why was Hitler so intent on capturing the Roman "Spear of Destiny"? What's the government hiding in Area 51? Where did the Confederacy's $19 million in gold and silver go at the end of the Civil War? Did Lee Harvey Oswald really act alone?
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entertaining, but not much substance
- By Andy on 01-25-14
By: Keith Ferrell, and others
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True or False
- A CIA Analyst's Guide to Spotting Fake News
- By: Cindy L. Otis
- Narrated by: Erin Dion
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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In True or False, former CIA analyst Cindy Otis takes listeners through the history and impact of misinformation over the centuries, sharing stories from the past and insights that listeners today can gain from them. Then, she shares lessons learned in over a decade working for the CIA, including actionable tips on how to spot fake news, how to make sense of the information we receive each day, and, most importantly, how to understand and see past our own information biases so that we can think critically about important issues and put events happening around us into context.
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Good Introduction
- By Chima Onukwuru on 01-17-21
By: Cindy L. Otis
What listeners say about Conspiracy
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-03-23
Helpful
I have believed silly conspiracy theories before and this book was a great way to learn more about theories and their origins. I'm glad to say I no longer believe those theories and the tips at the end will help me from falling victim to anymore in the future. This was sorta like a fun history lesson.
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- Jack D
- 02-11-23
USING MSM FOR SOURCES IS NOT WISE.
I thought I knew where this book was going to go by listening to the sample. I decided to bite anyhow. I actually think the author could write a very good book if he didn't rely solely on using CNN propaganda for his sources of information. If we didn't have such a corrupt Judicial system, many of these topics would have been proven as facts and not conspiracy theories.
Truth relies on factual information, and that kind of information has all but disappeared in the last few years. The author proves it with this latest book.
I could have been brutal with my rating of this book, but hey, everyone should have the right to express their opinion. New facts are coming out everyday in the USA that are still proving the "Conspiracy Theorists" right once again.
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- kaveh
- 11-04-22
Excellent in form and content
History of conspiratorial thinking alternately narrated by the authors themselves who bring their already beautifully written text to life.
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