This week, we have a conversation between contributor Matt Ruby and his guest, Rex Sorgatz, author of The Encyclopedia of Misinformation, which is described as a compendium of fakes, conspiracies, and self-delusions through time. They discuss the book and how it relates to history and current events. We’re also joined by new contributor Winston Cook-Wilson to discuss the recently released movie, The Death Of Stalin. Along the way, we’ll also hear from Radio Dispatch’s Molly Knefel with her thoughts on Cynthia Nixon and other politicians getting into politics; we’ll hear from a woman named Yanelli, who told us about seeing her estranged father after ten years; and we’ll take an exclusive early listen to a performance by Los Angeles band Cheekface, from an episode of BTR Live Studio set to be released next week.

Music composed by and show edited by Hansdale Hsu.

00:00 - Intro

01:12 - START /// Matt Ruby interviews Rex Sorgatz

01:57 - Passage from ‘The Encyclopedia of Misinformation’

03:27 - Evidence-based people

05:01 - Misinfo predates the internet

06:33 - How did the book come to be?

08:15 - Midwestern sense of authenticity?

10:10 - Childhood intuitions lead to sense of trust or doubt

11:05 - Why the encyclopedia format?

13:15 - Deciding what to include…

14:19 - Religion…

16:45 - “The Noble Lie”

19:05 - Deep fakes

21:29 - Are we getting better or worse at spotting misinfo?

22:55 - Should misinfo be combatted or ignored? / crisis actors, etc.

26:15 - Emma Gonzalez’s “We Call BS!” speech / media literacy

29:16 - Virtue signalling

31:24 - K fab / wrestling / Trump / blurred lines

34:25 - Avoiding Trump / “John Barron” / Huey Long

36:43 - Ray’s Pizza (Famous, Original, Not, etc)

37:49 - Flat Earth theory /// END

41:19 - 1st Person: Yanelli // Seeing Her Estranged Father

44:19 - Movie Review: ‘The Death Of Stalin’ w/ Winston Cook-Wilson

45:55 - Movie Chat: ‘The Death Of Stalin’ (spoiler alert)

70:26 - Molly Knefel // The Rise Of Celebrity Politics

73:03 - “Dry Heat (Nice Town)” (BTR Live Studio, 2018) - Cheekface

76:33 - Outro / Credits

77:23 - Finish.