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In Episode 278 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Michael Shermer. Michael is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine. He hosts his own podcast, \\u201cThe Michael Shermer Show,\\u201d and is the best-selling author of books like \\u201cThe Believing Brain, \\u201cGiving the Devil His Due,\\u201d \\u201cThe Moral Arch,\\u201d \\u201cThe Mind of the Market,\\u201d and many more. Shermer\'s latest book titled "Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational" presents an overarching review of conspiracy theories\\u2014who believes them, why, which ones are real, and what we should do about them.

Long a fringe part of the American political landscape, conspiracy theories are now mainstream: 147 members of Congress voted in favor of objections to the 2020 presidential election based on an unproven theory about a rigged electoral process promoted by the mysterious group QAnon. But this is only the latest example in a long history of ideas that include the satanic panics of the 1980s, the New World Order and Vatican conspiracy theories, fears about fluoridated water, speculations about President John F. Kennedy\'s assassination, and the notions that the Sandy Hook massacre was a false flag operation and 9/11 was an inside job.

The purpose of today\\u2019s conversation is to provide you with a framework for thinking about conspiracies\\u2014what they are, the different types of conspiracies that exist, and why we believe in them. You will also learn how to distinguish between real conspiracies and imagined ones and what we can do as a society to tilt the information landscape toward producing more accurate models of the world without resorting to censorship or the policing of thought and information.

You can access the full episode, transcript, and intelligence report to this week\\u2019s conversation by going directly to the episode page at HiddenForces.io and clicking on "premium extras." All subscribers gain access to our premium feed, which can be easily added to your favorite podcast application.

If you want access to our Hidden Forces genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can learn more at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. feel free to send an email to info@hiddenforces.io and I or someone from our team will right back to you. If you have further questions, feel free to send an email to info@hiddenforces.io, and Demetri or someone else from our team will get right back to you.

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Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas

Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou

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Episode Recorded on 10/21/2022