In this episode, we explore the conspiracy theories surrounding the July 13 assassination attempt on President Donald Trump. Despite the evidence suggesting the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, acted alone, numerous theories have emerged. These include claims that the Secret Service staged the event, foreign governments were involved, and the shooter was part of Antifa or backed by Never-Trumper Republicans. We delve into why such theories gain traction, examining cognitive and emotional factors like event magnitude, proportionality bias, anomaly hunting, personal incredulity, hindsight bias, patternicity, agenticity, uncertainty bias, and teleological thinking. While some legitimate questions remain unanswered, we emphasize the importance of applying the Conspiracism Principle: never attribute to malice what can be explained by randomness or incompetence. Tune in to understand why rational people often believe in irrational conspiracies.
Division and Polarization in American Politics: Balancing Majority Rule and Minority Rights
Thinking Critically About COVID: Conspiracies vs. Nuance and Facts (Jay Bhattacharya)
From Hippie to Whole Foods Mogul
Aella — From a Christian Upbringing to Sex Work
Hong Kong’s Turmoil: Insights from an Exiled Political Leader
Living Constitutionally: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution’s Original Meaning
Lemuria: A True Story of a Fake Place
Born into a Cult (Michelle Dowd)
UFOs: What We Know (And Don’t Know)
Religion as Make-Believe: A Theory of Belief, Imagination, and Group Identity
Vulnerable Minds: The Harm of Childhood Trauma and the Hope of Resilience
How to Achieve Peace in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
How Likely Is War Over Taiwan?
Neuroscientist Explains Selective Memory (Charan Ranganath)
Metaracism: How Systemic Racism Devastates Black Lives
How to Think About Social Justice
Sean Carroll Explains Quantum Field Theory
Co-Founder of The Free Press reports on the Culture Wars (Nellie Bowles)
The Latest Research on Consciousness (Christof Koch)
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