How Conspiracy Thinking Starts: A Conversation with Michael Shermer, PhD

Though the new Presidential administration in America offers a possible return to normalcy, it’s clear that from the past four years, our sense of truth, and how to communicate with one another, may be forever changed. Conspiracy theorists, driven by inflammatory rhetoric online, have made their presence known in American politics, and we are now forced to try to understand their line of thinking. What emotions drive conspiracy thinking? What creates “filter bubbles” of people who believe this or that truth? Dr. Michael Shermer has long been searching for the roots of group thinking, and when it tips over into group delusion. With Rabbi Mitelman, he discusses how we can approach these viewpoints with understanding and compassion, without getting pulled in.

This episode was originally published as a video on February 11, 2021.