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515 - Why People Become Conspiracy Theorists: Quillette Editor Jonathan Kay Explains How People Get Persuaded to Cross the Line of Logic

The James Altucher Show
The James Altucher Show
Episode • Dec 17, 2019 • 37m

Who makes you think what? So many people come on my podcast and say, "Freewill is a myth." We've heard this from Yuval Harari who wrote "Sapiens." We heard it from Robert Greene, author of "The Laws of Human Nature." And now we're learning about it from a different perspective... Jonathan Kay wrote a book in 2011 called, "Among the Truthers: A Journey Through America's Growing Conspiracist Underground." He studied 9/11 conspiracy theorists, people who believe in UFOs, secret societies running the world and more. I wanted to know what makes someone cross the border from skeptical to radical. And he told me it has to do with a lot of elements... fear, control, desire to create hope and fight evil in the world. I was surprised to learn the psychology behind it. AND to learn how you can avoid the trap.

I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltucher.com/podcast.

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