What the fuck is up with the widespread proliferation (and acceptance) of conspiracy theories? Where once the caritcature of a conspiracy theorist was a Doritos-eating, basement-dwelling white guy pushed to the margins of society precisely because of his nutty-ass beliefs, it's now become clear that conspiracy thinking has permeated the mainstream American psyche. Or...has it always been that way? Maybe the tendency to conspiracy theorize is more deeply embedded in our national DNA than we'd like to admit. And what gives rise to conspiracy thinking anyway? Our emotions? Our ideologies? Our identities themselves? In part 1 of the Now That You Mention It podcast's first ever 2-part episode, Dane and Kevin argue about the forces that shape conspiracy thinking and the social contexts out of which they arise.

Before all that: Dane's a fake audio engineer, Bill Maher is...aight, and Roc Marciano lyrics are back under the microscope.

Intro and break music courtesy of Chris Giuliano.

Works Cited:

Joseph M. Parent and Joseph E. Uscinski: American Conspiracy Theories