Truth Unrestricted

Send us a textThe Western Canadian separatist movement emanates outward from Alberta. And within Alberta the movement finds its roots in the oil and gas sector. Making this economic engine run is the primary goal of every Alberta government and it has progressed to the point where this goal foresakes all others. That's where we are now. Make the oil flow, or they leave.But it doesn't have to be that way. Over the next year many arguments will be had on shop floors and dinner tables about why people should want to separate. And if you don't want that but aren't looking forward to dealing with these conversations then maybe you need a little primer on the reasons why Alberta should stay.

Send us a textPascal's Wager is about how to make an existential decision. Should we or shouldn't we change our behavior now in case something turns out to be true? This isn't so useful for converting people to Christianity but it does apply directly to climate change.Linkshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaise_Pascalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal%27s_wagerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change

Send us a textThe idea that Western Canada should separate from the rest of Canada is now rising in popularity so I thought we should go over it.Linkshttps://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/programs/federal-transfers/equalization.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equalization_payments_in_Canadahttps://enr.elections.ca/National.aspx?lang=ehttps://x.com/TheBreakdownAB/status/1919906263485329823https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys80Xc-esrU

Send us a textWhat would Pierre Poilievre do as Prime Minister? How could Poilievre resolve his Trump-like rhetoric with a political need to oppose an expansionist Trump agenda? And what will Poilievre's most enthusiastic supporters do if he loses?

Send us a textBlendr News is a Canadian online alternate media outlet striving to become the next major interpreter of the world for those dissatisfied with the Liberal Party of Canada. In this episode, I check in with one of their videos to see how it compares with reality.Linkshttps://www.facebook.com/reel/1371346464021477Fried Kemper's Obituaryhttps://beechwoodottawa.ca/en/services/john-joachim-kemperVerlie Kemper's marrige announcementhttps://www.newspapers.com/article/the-province-verlie-margaret-kemper-marr/64281628/

Send us a textIs the left creating their own populist movement to counter the right? Is it possible that it's happening by happenstance rather than by design? Do we need to be aware of the shape of our resistance lest it create bigger problems?

Send us a textDo you want Canada to join the US? If so, why? And if you won't say, why not?

Send us a textPoker as Life: BluffingThere can exist a situation in information logic where a person knows something (usually that they themselves are lying) that they imagine no one else could possibly know. And in this way they manufacture a high level of confidence when asserting that a specific thing is true. It might be very interesting to examine this situation as a direct comparison to the "bluff" as used as a strategy in poker.Bluffing might be the single best known part of the game of poker. Everyone knows it happens there a lot but I wonder if we imagine it happening there to a larger degree than in practice. The images people get about poker are often from some Hollywood movie in which a tense moment has an uncertain outcome and when the conclusion happens it comes out in the hero's favor. In this way we will be very likely to assume that bluffing is the entirety of poker when in actuality this is merely the part that is easiest to tell a visual story about.Humans lie to each other all the time. Humans also tend to know that other people are lying to them and attempt to discover other people's lies. We do this on an intuitive level and attempts to describe this process with words very often leads to people being very visibly wrong. But when you don't know that other people have at least *some* skill in this, have temporarily forgotten, or have convinced yourself that you have covered it up in some way, this can greatly increase the likelihood of someone finding an opportunity to lie. Usually this is done for some imagined gain (which doesn't have to be monetary).Pam Hemphill Lyinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWlaW3aOl2Y

Send us a textIs AI conscious? How could we tell? Is AI dangerous? Can we trust AI? Could AI come to trust us?Stephen Mather is the co-host of the Matter Over Mind podcast which discusses quantum physics and psychology by turns.https://open.spotify.com/show/3MfsQEbW0lvHic5UHYOREthttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/matter-over-mind/id1788940184

Send us a textWhat level of political compromise should politicians on the left be comfortable with when attempting to curb the excesses of the right? Can the less extreme participants trust the more extreme and, if so, to what extent?

Send us a textCan football be rigged? Could the Super Bowl have been rigged? Why? Why not? What would it take for it to have been rigged? What would it take for someone to believe it had been rigged?This episode was made for youtube and contains video clips that are described verbally in the episode. For the full visual experience you can find the YouTube version of this episode here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OKP1wzkWvgFollow me on:YouTube @spencergwatsonTwitter @spencergwatsonBluesky @spencerwatson@bsky.social

Send us a textDoes science slowly "eat away" at spiritual ideas? Does the exactness and thoroughness of modern science stifle spiritual belief? Do people attempt to re-engage with spiritual beliefs by first casting themselves and their ideas against science?Linkshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disenchantment

Send us a textTruth UnrestrictedBuilding language for the Disinformation Age.Evidence Aversion is about the propensity or likelihood that a person who engages with unreal beliefs will work to avoid being exposed to evidence and ideas that would contradict their beliefs. But the fact that they know what to avoid tells us something about where they think reality divides. They aren't simply discovering the world. They are actively working to manufacture it in their minds and they consciously avoid ideas that could shatter their illusions.

Send us a textYou may have heard it said that "every accusation is a confession." But what does that really mean? Why do we think it's true? Are we looking at it in the world right now?

Send us a textThe USA has been pushing its culture outward past its borders for a very long time. This is the beginning of a series of episodes dedicated to looking at what that cultural aggression looks like from the perspective of people that experience it. Joel Hill is on of the hosts of the Conditional Release Program podcast and he joins me to discuss the effects of American Cultural Aggression on Australia.Linkshttps://torontosun.com/news/national/convoy-plans-to-replace-canadas-elected-government-the-stuff-of-fantasyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_convoy_protesthttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-conditional-release-program/id1535321136

Send us a textThe Gish gallop is a technique employed to skip away from the current topic and toward other supposedly related topics so as to confuse and overcomplicate a discussion and make it much more difficult to debunk or oppose. Finding ways to dismantle or circumvent the Gish gallop is one of several primary concerns among people who want to find ways to reach the people who are lost in conspiracy thinking. Proof By Association is one logical fallacy that can be pointed to as a resource for doing exactly that.

Send us a textJim Stewartson is an online influencer who pushes disinformation to people on the left. He espouses extreme views which work to radicalize those who pay attention. In this episode, I speak to Robin Eriksson about the nature of the problem with Stewartson and how Stewartson's content compares to Joseph McCarthy.Linkshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Denverhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_FlynnStewartson claims that he is fighting a "mind war."Source: https://www.mind-war.com/p/cdf?utm_source=publication-searchStewartson intends to use disinformation to push his agenda.Source: https://x.com/Ankh_Morporkian/status/1725631884959363425Stewartson claims that mind control is real.Source: https://x.com/jimstewartson/status/1683225770041438208An actual resource for convincing people to give up an unreal set of ideas:https://www.patreon.com/posts/45159246Stewartson claims that Qanon was a psy op perpetrated on the world and that it was lead by Mike Flynn.Source: https://x.com/jimstewartson/status/1733647234066244038Jim Stewartson held Shayan Sardarizadeh in high regard on Aug 29, 2020.Source: https://x.com/jimstewartson/status/1299513405485662210Jim Stewartson turned on Shayan later after being fact checked on Oct 3, 2023.Source: https://x.com/jimstewartson/status/1709298214065860959And again on Sep 16, 2024.Source: https://x.com/jimstewartson/status/1835751803377635729

Send us a textThis episode is long. We also swear a lot. Enjoy.Linkshttps://www.nbcwashington.com/decision-2024/2024-voter-turnout-election-demographics-trump-harris/3762138/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/after-victory-the-path-ahead-trump-legal-cases_n_672540ade4b00acf55d9d96a?5zjhttps://www.statista.com/statistics/1535043/percent-change-number-young-voters-state-us/

Send us a textFascism attempts to weaponize human selfishness and hatred. It encourages the worst parts of people on a grand scale. How can we recognize it? How can we counter it? What can we, as individuals, do against something that subverts entire nations?

Send us a textTruth and Reconciliation Day is a relatively new Canadian holiday that recognizes the struggle of indigenous peoples in Canada and the world while also working on healing rifts and countering racial hate. Len Morissette is a co-founder of C.I.A. Solutions, a majority Indigenous owned film and advertising company, and a former president of the Alberta Native Friendship Centre Association. This conversation was done in recognition and in the spirit of Truth and Reconciliation to appropriately honour the day.Linkshttps://www.youtube.com/@CIASOLUTIONS1https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=NgvG_QEbWqMhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Day_for_Truth_and_Reconciliationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver_Warshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Years%27_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_Broncos_bus_crash

Send us a textIt is obvious that Trump plans to use fear about immigrant crime as a wedge issue in the upcoming election. The current focal point for this effort is on Haitian migrants in Springfield, OH. Is anything about this factual?Linkshttps://www.cnn.com/2024/09/15/politics/video/sotu-bash-vance-haitian-immigrants-full-interviewhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springfield,_Ohio,_cat-eating_hoaxhttps://www.cnn.com/2024/09/10/politics/jd-vance-haitian-immigrants/index.htmlhttps://www.fairus.org/news/congress/angel-moms-detail-horrific-consequences-open-borders-congresshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_intentional_homicide_rate#Homicide_rates_by_year._CDChttps://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/canton/ohio-woman-eat-cat-canton-police-bodycam-footage-arrest-springfield/95-204df879-5de1-4a07-9aab-10d19aca3ba4https://reason.com/2021/09/02/jd-vance-surrenders-to-the-politics-of-hate/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_meat

Send us a textThe first (and likely only) debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump is over. All of Trump's pending legal issues and have been delayed until after the election. And Taylor Swift has given her endorsement. Are we almost out of election stuff to talk about?Linkshttps://abcnews.go.com/Politics/walzs-military-record-vances-accusations-stolen-valor/story?id=112618991https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2024/03/07/lawmaker-who-claims-to-be-a-retired-rear-admiral-was-actually-demoted/https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2024/jd-vance-school-shootings-fact-of-life/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-sundown-town-rally-racism-b2605946.htmlhttps://azluminaria.org/2024/09/13/standing-ovation-from-tucsons-trump-supporters-a-do-or-die-election/https://www.tiktok.com/@geekynerdbitchcarmen/video/7413550942223666462https://apnews.com/article/trump-vance-north-carolina-60de08931c1a964e8e1fb21d3778d35e

Send us a textWhen a lone gunman attempted to assassinate Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13th, we saw online the birth of a new conspiracy belief. It has heavily influenced a large number of people on the left to participate in conspiracism. In this episode we take a closer look at the events with an eye to examine some of the ways people engaged poorly with the facts in order to support conspiracy beliefs that have become damaging to the prospect of a shared reality.LinksPeter Gabriel Family Picturehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_0y23xlMSwhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roswell_incidenthttps://www.digitalcameraworld.com/news/can-doug-mills-photo-of-a-bullet-and-president-trump-be-real-yes-heres-howJeff Ostroff July 20 in-depth explanation video (good)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7PdhHC2zr0Jeff Ostroff follow-up video. Corrects a few mistakes, more info (good)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLRKpMxtW6Ahttps://www.cnn.com/2019/10/10/politics/trump-campaign-rallies-outstanding-invoices/index.htmlTrump's wrestling experiencehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NsrwH9I9vEhttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/23/obama-chef-died-drowned-accident-marthas-vineyardhttps://www.cbc.ca/news/world/sicily-ship-investigation-lynch-1.7304159

Send us a textNotesDaniel Loxton is an author and science communicator. He has published books about skepticism and was previously the editor of Junior Skeptic magazine. Daniel, David Bloomberg and I discuss skepticism, its importance, and how we can promote its presence in our information world in this episode.Linkshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Loxtonhttps://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/product-liability/roundup-lawsuit-update/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Hotezhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Festingerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mick_West

Send us a Text Message.Topics covered in brief:DemocratsWalz is VP. How is that going?Harris and Walz have been doing rallies that are *packed* and very high energy.Polls: many polls now show Harris as climbing and leading, though still by a small margin. Even now almost 4 full weeks after Biden dropped out of the race there are still left-leaning influencers who threaten each other semi-casually over their stance on whether Biden should have or shouldn't have dropped out of the race.RepublicansTrump has had very few events. Almost no live events since the RNC.For those concerned about a Trump presidency the influence of TikTok must not be under reported.Conspiracy beliefs continue to abound in the wake of the shooting in Pennsylvania on July 13.Among the speculation about Trump's smaller number of appearances is a lot of conspiracy talk about how maybe Trump doesn't feel the need to try so hard because he's already planning to cheat in Nov.JD Vance has continued to underwhelm in both the polls and at rallies.We're not doing a full recap of all the court cases against Trump this time around. Just the one: the hush money trial. RFK JrRFK Jr is not a serious candidate.Linkshttps://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/brief-project-2025-bloodless-couphttps://www.reuters.com/world/us/donald-trump-joins-tiktok-video-platform-he-once-sought-ban-2024-06-02/https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-rfk-jr-ballot-new-york-residency-states-f96d46318524fad967271fed292aa212

My take on the Imane Khelif debacle.

TBD

Zealotry in a single person is characterized as the amplification of the importance of one single subject to the point that all other subjects have little or no relative importance. Anyone can engage in zealotry and it can lead to many negative consequences for the zealot. How this manifests in social scenarios is discussed in this episode.Linkshttps://www.newsweek.com/los-angeles-synagogue-attack-everything-we-know-1916345

No notes for this episode. David and I sat down to record on a completely different topic and then decided very suddenly to do this conversation instead. Was it the right decision? Would this impulsiveness be good in other situations? 

Jordan Peterson is a right wing polemicist who shouldn't have any measure of celebrity. The fact he does is due to some deeply flawed ideas that were not properly debunked in the moment when he was gaining popularity. I say better late than never.LinksPrevious Truth Unrestricted episodes mentioned in this episode:The Two Selveshttps://www.buzzsprout.com/1947369/10973742-the-two-selvesGender Yin-Yangism https://www.buzzsprout.com/1947369/13315113-gender-yin-yangism-with-lydia-greeneSchrodinger's Meaninghttps://www.buzzsprout.com/1947369/15033732-schrodinger-s-meaningContent directly mentioned in this episode:Decoding the Gurus ep 19 - Bret Weinstein & Jordan Peterson: Two Gargantuan intellects stare into the abysshttps://decoding-the-gurus.captivate.fm/episode/two-gargantuan-intellects-stare-into-the-abyssBritish GQ Helen Lewis Oct 30, 2018https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZYQpge1W5sSome Dare Call It Conspiracy ep 2 - Cultural Marxism & Great Replacement Theories (Brian Kurvie)https://open.spotify.com/episode/466Ye8QTwZqpyZQNZj9F8SWaking Up ep 62 - What is True? (with Jordan B Peterson)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lO6WJ9rfs4https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_elkCathy Newman Channel 4 Interview - Jan 2018https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMcjxSThD54The Google Memohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google%27s_Ideological_Echo_ChamberVice Interview re makeup in the workplacehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9dZSlUjVlsTwitter credits@jordanbpeterson@GurusPod@somedarepodcast

Game theory gives us terminology to understand the fundamentals of the games we play. How inforation is hidden and/or discovered is a big part of how we play games and why we think some of them are fun. David Bloomberg and I explore how it is that information affects the strategies used in the games we play and watch.Linkshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_theoryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_information

Content warning: this episode of the Truth Unrestricted podcast contains graphic descriptions of drug addiction and some of the ways that people suffer from drug addiction. Listener discretion is advised.Conspiracism as compared directly to drug addiction. What does it mean to be so pulled into the idea that conspiracies surround us that giving it up would take an intervention or rehab? The habits that make us feel good encourage us to do them again but what about the habits and situations that make us feel bad? How do those factor into how we choose to shape our lives?These questions and more are explored in this episode of Truth Unrestricted.Linkshttps://www.healthline.com/health/dopamine-addictionhttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11939075/Zombieland-continues-Philadelphia-dealers-addicts-seen-sleepwalking-street.htmlhttps://www.phs.ca/the-insite-story/https://twitter.com/Ankh_Morporkian/status/1795555393029931093

David and Spencer breakdown the current state of the 2024 Us election. This is recorded one day after the Manhattan verdict of 34 guilty counts involving hush money payments made by Trump to hide affairs.LinksTimelinehttps://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/trump-stormy-daniels-hush-money-payments-timeline-of-events/5462838/List of witnesseshttps://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-hush-money-trial-05-21-24/h_15e34ea2c68ae046a5738937ff53dd94

Crowdsourcing is the process of using a lot of different people all adding a little bit of effort to accomplish a large task.  Crowdsourced Storytelling is about the way in which we tell stories online in an attempt to understand the world but also in a way that can go terribly wrong. All feedback for this episode can be sent to truthunrestricted@gmail.com.

Schrodinger's Cat is a thought experiment which is meant to illustrate some of the absurdity of what is happening with Quantum Mechanics. In the thought experiment the life of a cat is directly related to the state of a particle. Quantum Mechanics says that without observing the state of the particle it could be in either state. Erwin Schrodinger was attempting to show how ridiculous this was by attaching the particle state to a mechanism inside a box which would kill a cat trapped inside. The state of the particle then would have a non-quantum event that was consequential and non-reversible. The cat obviously could not be both dead and alive at the same time and therefore we should question why we think that a particle might be in two separate states simultaneously.This experiment works fine for an attempt to understand one of the many nonintuitive findings in Quantum Mechanics but we often use the story of Schrodinger's Cat in other contexts when something has contradictory states. This episode is about Schrodinger's Meaning. Some people attempt willfully to obtain two separate (and often opposite) meanings from the things they say. This goes beyond simple double entendre and into fully realized and conflicting narratives which cannot coexist or both be correct at the same time.Linkshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cathttps://www.npr.org/2021/04/26/990274685/how-extremists-weaponize-irony-to-spread-hate

Reality Inversion is a psychological concept seen among conspiracists wherein evidence that should show them the truth instead reinforces their fantasies. Stephanie Kemmerer joins me for a discussion about the topic with many relevant examples.LinksThe Collapse of World Trade Center - The Complete Physicshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NkBfLBov5QRobbie Parker (Sandy Hook parent) press conference (full)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fr1-YejnY4https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_voice_phenomenonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bizarro_Worldhttps://www.wired.com/author/david-gilbert/https://twitter.com/Shayan86https://twitter.com/jaredlholthttps://twitter.com/PokerPolitics/status/1511535745252708355

Audience Capture has a second meaning! It describes when a person is stuck having to perform for their audience. David Bloomberg and Spencer discuss this aspect in an addendum to the previous episode about Audience Capture.

This episode might upset some people. If what is said here offends you, I want to hear about it. Send all feedback to truthunrestricted@gmail.com. If you agree with what I've said I also want to hear from you, even if it's only a score out of ten.

These US Election Update episodes are an attempt to chronicle the twisting tale of history as it is happening for an event that we are certain will affect the future. We discuss each of the major candidates and what is currently affecting their progress toward the title of president.Linkshttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/28/marianne-williamson-presidential-campaignhttps://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4544764-robert-f-kennedy-jr-rfk-jr-aaron-rodgers-nicole-shanahan-andrew-yang-jesse-ventura/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Results_of_the_2024_Democratic_Party_presidential_primarieshttps://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/the-trump-docket-the-very-puzzling-problem-in-florida-and-the-strange-possibility-of-a-trial-and-election-all-at-once/

Why are there people who believe the Earth is flat? How is it possible to get so far turned around about something so basic? I sit down with Reds Rhetoric, a person who has been pushing back against Flatearthers for a very long time, to discuss it.Linkshttps://www.youtube.com/@RedsRhetoric1998 Space Shuttle Endeavour launch videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNdaUMND_Yw

How do we talk about transgenderism? Why should we talk about transgenderism? What is going on with pronouns? Are there really 52 new pronouns that we need to learn? How do we have these conversations without insulting trans people or their experiences? Grace Leder joins me for a meta conversation about how to have the Transgender Conversation.Linkshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_dysmorphic_disorderhttps://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/trans-adults-united-states/Neil deGrasse Tyson and Shapiro talking transgenderhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w89etN8QqNQhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TERF_(acronym)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_people_in_sportshttps://www.twitch.tv/dmfillyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Judgement_of_Paris_(Rubens)

Audience Capture is the process of mimicking another influencer's strategy and messaging so as to gain some or all of their audience share. What does this mean for the US political situation and how should this shape our decisions?Linkshttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/26/ron-desantis-texas-border-mexico/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteen_Wordshttps://newrepublic.com/post/177373/watch-vivek-ramaswamy-embrace-every-disgusting-right-wing-conspiracy-theory-can-think

In what ways are conspiracy beliefs psychologically addictive?  Can a person get a "good feeling" from a turn down the rabbit hole that they would want to experience a second time?Linkshttps://news.uchicago.edu/story/scientists-studied-brains-more-800-prisoners-heres-what-they-foundhttps://www.jta.org/2020/04/07/ny/memory-plays-tricks-about-mengelehttps://www.dailydot.com/debug/amanda-moore-undercover-far-right/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Buffalo_shootinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizzagate_conspiracy_theory#Frazzledriphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wachowskishttps://culteducation.com/group/1289-general-information/35734-anti-trump-cult-expert-mistakes-porn-for-highly-sophisticated-mind-control.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_CampbellStephanie Kemmerer's List of LinksDOUBTIsTheWayOut@proton.meAmerican Information Integrity AlliancePodcasts: Escaping the Rabbit Hole podcast: “How a Former Conspiracy Theorist Escaped the Rabbit Hole.” Conspirituality podcast: “Recovering from Conspiracy Theories”The Q Dropped podcast: “I Escaped the Rabbit Hole”Pursuing Truth podcast: Ep 29 “Conspiracy Theories” Recovering from Religion: Ep 146: “Exiting the Rabbit Hole: From Red Pill to Recovery” True Crimespiracy podcastThe Doug Stanhope podcast Ep. 440: “Tim Dillon's Underpants and Other Conspiracy Theories” Point of Inquiry: “Behind The Mind of a Conspiracy Theorist” Adventures In HellWQrld Ep 43: “Cuba, Tuck, France and Audits with Existential Dread Locks” "Found Money" Poker & Politics and Steph's series debunking, "Loose Change." D.O.U.B.T. - Discussing Our Unusual Beliefs Together - video podcast with former QAnon follower, Jitarth Jadeja and former conspiracy theorist Brent Lee Articles: Chatting "Even the Podcast Is Afraid" with Jared Ordis - Rue MorgueThe Unexplained Files - WikipediaSteph's Patreon articlesSteph's AIPT Comics author page and articlesSteph's Free Inquiry author page and article Steph's Skeptical Inquirer author page, articles and presentation “I'm a Former Sandy Hook Truther, Believe Me When I Say Alex Jones is Dangerous”IMDBPresentations and Panels: Presentation for the Humanist Society of Greater Phoenix: "What Conspiracy Theories Steal from Us." Panel: Secular AZ - Secular Summit 2022: “When Reason Prevails” Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science A Very QAnon Christmas - New York City Skeptics

LinksDr Dan Wilson - Is there DNA contamination in COVID vaccines? No.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q61OPhZ3eO8https://www.floridahealth.gov/newsroom/2024/01/20240103-halt-use-covid19-mrna-vaccines.pr.htmlhttps://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/24/florida-surgeon-general-covid-vaccine-00093510https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/rfk-jr-hires-del-bigtree-anti-vaccine-activist-communications-director-rcna131859RFK Jr gets confronted about antivax claims in interviewhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4vP4GdHhoA

The human mind creates models and symbols to represent everything that it "knows". When these are models of tangible items it is clear what the mind is doing. But when it comes time to represent intangible things it is a little less clear. Very often we use comparisons between tangible and intangible things to assist in communicating to each other what we think of the intangible things. In this way, it is possible that there is a bridge that can be built in the mind between the tangible and intangible. I call this Pseudotangibility. In this episode I discuss with Stephen Mather the possibility that pseudotangibility might be assisting people to believe in unreal things. This is a continuation of our previous conversation from episode 66 of this podcast.

What does it mean to be a zealot? How do we measure a person's zealotry? Do we exaggerate ideas when they support the things we are zealous about? Do some of us openly and knowingly lie about things simply because it supports our ideas?

What is Magical Thinking? Why do humans think magical things are real? How does this occur? Why is it that a person who leaves behind a magical belief is often more likely to start believing a new one? Is a soul an intangible vessel for your life essence? Or is a soul merely an illusion of consciousness?

Do we want to live in a world where politicians can freely fake images and videos without regard for consequences? If we don't, what could we possibly do about it? The American Information Integrity Alliance (AIIA) is attempting to create a set of social norms for how public officials should treat the ability to create fake video content. The "No Fakes" Pledge is an initial step that could help avoid some of the worst outcomes available to us in the foreseeable future.Linkshttps://infointegrity.us/https://infointegrity.us/the-%E2%80%9Cno-fakes%E2%80%9D-pledgehttps://prismmetanews.substack.com/https://www.bellingcat.com/https://www.axios.com/2023/05/25/desantis-super-pac-adds-fake-fighter-jets-launch-video