Academic Perspectives on Conspiracism

Ep. 6 - Agency panic, conspiracy, and paranoia in literature – with Timothy Melley

In this final episode in the current run of the podcast, my guest is someone who was a strong influence on my own research – I’ll be talking with Timothy Melley about his research on depictions of paranoia and conspiracy in literature and film. We discuss the idea of ‘agency panic’, how it can help us to interpret films like The Manchurian Candidate, Oliver Stone’s JFK, and we also touch on Donald Trump’s use of conspiracist language.
Tim Melley is Professor of English and Geoffrion Family Director of the Miami University Humanities Center. He writes on the cultural politics of security, and is the author of Empire of Conspiracy: The Culture of Paranoia in Postwar America, as well as The Covert Sphere: Secrecy, Fiction, and the National Security State.
The views expressed in this series are solely those of the presenter or guest and do not reflect the opinions of WISERD or Cardiff University.
 
For Tim's work on this topic, see:
Empire of Conspiracy by Timothy Melley | eBook | Cornell University Press
Brainwashed! Conspiracy Theory and Ideology in the Postwar United States

Ep. 5 - Conspiracy narratives in Côte d’Ivoire – with Margaret Gamberton

How are conspiracy theories, and narratives about those conspiracy theories, used in times of war? This week, I am speaking with Margaret Gamberton about her research on the role that narratives about conspiracies played on both sides of the civil wars in Côte d’Ivoire.
Dr Margaret Gamberton is the co-ordinator of the Narrative Warfare Research Network. Her PhD thesis was on the narrative war surrounding military interventions in Cote d’Ivoire. She is also a fellow alumnus of the University of York! Her thesis has been published as a book, titled Waging Peace: The Narrative War for Cote d’Ivoire.
The views expressed in this series are solely those of the presenter or guest and do not reflect the opinions of WISERD or Cardiff University.
 
To read Margaret's thesis on this topic, see: Waging Peace: The Narrative War for Côte d’Ivoire 2002 - 2017 - White Rose eTheses Online

Ep. 4 - How have online platforms changed conspiracy theorising? With Tommaso Venturini

This week, I will be speaking with Tommaso Venturini about how the internet and social media platforms can influence conspiracy theorising. Tommaso’s research uses the concept of ‘secondary orality’ to better understand how conspiracy theories emerge online, and how the structure of sites like 4chan can influence the kind of conspiracy theories we encounter today.
Tommaso Venturini is a researcher at the Centre for Internet and Society at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) in France, and an associate professor at the Medi@lab at the University of Geneva.
The views expressed in this series are solely those of the presenter or guest and do not reflect the opinions of WISERD or Cardiff University.
 
For Tommaso's article discusses in this episode, see: Online Conspiracy Theories, Digital Platforms and Secondary Orality: Toward a Sociology of Online Monsters - Tommaso Venturini, 2022 (sagepub.com)

Ep. 3 - Conspiracy theories in Turkish politics – with Türkay Salim Nefes

Much research on conspiracism focuses either on the United States or Western Europe, while other national or regional contexts are overlooked. However, recent years have seen the growth of a fascinating body of research on the case of conspiracy theories in Turkey. To get a better understanding of the Turkish case, I spoke with Dr Türkay Salim Nefes about his research on topics such as antisemitism and the idea of the deep state, and their function in Turkish politics and society.
Dr Türkay Salim Nefes is a Ramón y Cajal Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Goods and Policies of the Spanish National Research Council. He is a sociologist who has studied conspiracy theories about the covid-19 pandemic, the idea of the deep state, and anti-Semitism in Turkey. He is also the author of the book Online Anti-Semitism in Turkey.
The views expressed in this series are solely those of the presenter or guest and do not reflect the opinions of WISERD or Cardiff University.
 
For Türkay's chapter discussed in this episode, see: The function of secrecy in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories: the case of Dönmes in Turkey (researchgate.net)

Ep. 2 - Spirituality, conspiracy beliefs, and the Goop jade egg – with Susannah Crockford

This week, we’re talking about the relationship between some kinds of spirituality and conspiracy theory. We’ll be touching on the elitism of the wellness industry, the QAnon shaman, and the infamous Goop jade egg.
Dr Susannah Crockford is a lecturer in anthropology at the University of Exeter. She has written on manifestation, spirituality, and their connection to neoliberalism, as well conducting ethnographic research on the politics of religion in America. Her book, Ripples of the Universe: Spirituality in Sedona, Arizona, was published in 2021 by the University of Chicago Press.
The views expressed in this series are solely those of the presenter or guest and do not reflect the opinions of WISERD or Cardiff University.
 
For Susannah's chapter on this topic, see: What Do Jade Eggs Tell Us about the Category “Esotericism”? Spirituality, Neoliberalism, Secrecy, and Commodities
Susannah has her own podcast, Miss Information, be sure to give it a listen: Miss Information - Axis Mundi Media

Ep. 1 - Distrust, democracy, and conspiracy politics – with Alfred Moore

In this first episode, I speak with Dr Alfred Moore (Senior Lecturer, University of York), about his idea of ‘conspiracy politics’, and how it can help us to understand the use of conspiracy narratives by politicians. We also talk about why distrust is a necessary (but often volatile) part of democracy, and the complicated influence of Richard Hofstadter on research on conspiracism.
Dr Alfred Moore is a political theorist from the University of York, whose research covers topics including expertise and democracy, deliberative democracy – and of course, the politics of conspiracy theories. He is the author of the 2017 book, Critical Elitism: Deliberation, Democracy, and the Politics of Expertise, and previously worked at Cambridge University, where he was part of the Leverhulme Trust project ‘Conspiracy and Democracy’.
The views expressed in this series are solely those of the presenter or guest and do not reflect the opinions of WISERD or Cardiff University.
 
For Alfred's chapter on this topic, see: On the Democratic Problem of Conspiracy Politics | Conspiracy Theories and the People Who Believe Them | Oxford Academic (oup.com)