Jesse Walker is the author of The United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory, a book that explores the history of American conspiracy theories going all the way back to the first colonies.

Walker argues that conspiratorial thinking is not a feature of the fringe, but a fundamental way of looking at the world that is very much mainstream.

Listen as Walker explains why we love conspiracy theories, how they flourish, how they harm, and what they say about a culture.

Show notes at: http://youarenotsosmart.com

SPONSORS:

• The Great Courses - http://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/sosmart
• EXO Protein - http://exoprotein.com/sosmart

Patreon: http://patreon.com/youarenotsosmart

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.