In this week's episode of State of Conspiracy Prof. Olmsted is joined by Jon Ronson. Jon is a journalist and filmmaker whose own passion for studying conspiracies has inspired him to infiltrate secret societies and come face to face with some of the most prominent conspiracy theorists. They discuss what inspires conspiracy theorists and whether those at the top know how much damage they are doing.

What happens when a conspiracy theory turns out to be true? This week on State of Conspiracy, Professor Kathryn Olmsted is joined by Kevin Kruse, professor of history at Princeton University. Together, they explore the ways the media and historical events of the 60s onwards contributed to an increasing mistrust in both government and media. They explore some of the most absurd cases of government conspiracies that ended up being true and how those revelations changed the trajectory of how Americans and politicians question the truth today.

Are lizard people real? Was 9/11 an inside job? Is the government really out to get you? We can't conclusively answer those questions, but we will be exploring these topics in September's series, State of Conspiracy. State of Conspiracy is hosted by Professor Kathryn Olmsted a professor of History at UC Davis and scholar of conspiracy theories. This week, Professor Olmsted sits down with author Anna Merlan to discuss how Donald Trump successfully used conspiracy theories to gain national attention and get elected and why the surge in government conspiracy theories today may less funny and more insidious than we think.

In the final episode of Rigging North Carolina, Shaniqua McClendon is joined by Dan McCready. He shares what was going through his mind as the news of election fraud broke and a new election was called. We hear more about his platform, what he believes his opponent Dan Bishop stands for and what's at stake in this upcoming election.

In February of 2019 the North Carolina State Board of Elections heard testimony from many of the people who played a key role in the election fraud that tainted Dan McCready and Mark Harris's historic midterm election. The three day hearing ended with a surprise turn of events that led Republican Mark Harris to finally call for a new election. Shaniqua McClendon talks to two people who were in the room. Marc Elias represented Dan McCready throughout the election and argued on behalf of the Democratic nominee. Reporter Joe Bruno also shares some of the most shocking moments on the stand.

North Carolina has a long history of silencing African American voters, more recently sustained by Republicans in the state that have passed laws with the sole purpose of eliminating their votes. In this episode, Shaniqua McClendon discusses the Republicans' blatant voter suppression efforts with State Representative Pricey Harrison, who’s been trying to find common ground with Republicans, and Marc Elias, a Democratic lawyer who’s spent a lot of his career fighting for voting rights in North Carolina. Together, they search for the root cause of the Republican Party’s chokehold on North Carolina.

Leslie McCrae Dowless is a Republican consultant desperate to win. So he did what no one would do: he stole ballots for GOP congressional candidate Mark Harris, creating a scandal in North Carolina's 9th district and one of the biggest election fraud cases in American politics. Shaniqua McClendon, North Carolina native and Crooked's Political Director, speaks with Joe Bruno, the local reporter who broke the story, to walk us through exactly what happened and why it matters.

In the final episode of the series, Ken Harbaugh explores the role of service in our understanding of patriotism. He sits down with Mayor Pete Buttigieg to explore what service means to him and the responsibilities that elected officials have to individuals who sign up for military service. But first, Ken talks to Becky Margiotta, a veteran of an elite special operations unit and founder of the social advocacy group The Billions Institute. Ken talks to Becky Margiotta about the importance of inclusivity in service.

This week, Ken Harbaugh sits down with two people who have had to reckon with both the historical and personal implications of patriotism. His first guest, Mike Washington, has had to make sense of his patriotism as both a veteran and as a father who lost his son to the war in Afghanistan. Then, he talks to retired four-star General Stanley McChrystal about reckoning with the impact of both his decisions and the missions he was assigned while leading US and international forces in Afghanistan.

In the second episode of Reclaiming Patriotism Ken Harbaugh reflects on the role of dissent in our understanding of patriotism. Ken talks to Representative Barbara Lee who was the sole vote against the Authorization for Use of Military Force after the attacks on September 11th. Together they reflect on her decision and the courage that it took to be the only opposing vote. But first, Ken sits down with Congressman Max Rose to talk about the lessons he took away from dissenters that came before him while serving in both the military and Congress.