Michael Shermer on Conspiracy
b"In Conspiracy, Michael Shermer presents an overarching review of conspiracy theories\\u2014who believes them and why, which ones are real, and what we should do about them. Trust in conspiracy theories, he writes, cuts across gender, age, race, income, education level, occupational status\\u2014and even political affiliation. \\n\\nOne reason that people believe these conspiracies, Shermer argues, is that enough of them are real that we should be constructively conspiratorial: elections have been rigged (LBJ's 1948 Senate race); medical professionals have intentionally harmed patients in their care (Tuskegee); your government does lie to you (Watergate, Iran-Contra, and Afghanistan); and, tragically, some adults do conspire to sexually abuse children. But Shermer reveals that other factors are also in play: anxiety and a sense of loss of control play a role in conspiratorial cognition patterns, as do certain personality traits.\\n\\nJoin us when Best-selling author Michael Shermer presents an overarching theory of conspiracy theories\\u2014who believes them and why, which ones are real, and what we should do about them, on this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large."