In this episode, we dive deep into one of the most striking features of our cultural moment: the explosive rise of conspiracy thinking—and why the digital environment is the perfect greenhouse for its growth. The internet doesn’t just expose us to conspiracy theories. It disposes us toward conspiratorial thinking. From the Charlie Kirk assassination narrative to the viral success of commentators like Candice Owens, it’s clear that conspiratorial frameworks resonate powerfully in today’s networked world. But the real question is why. I argue that the structure of the digital environment itself is subtly reshaping our cognitive habits. The constant flood of chaotic, unfiltered information pressures us to seek coherence. And the most natural, efficient organizing tool we have is narrative. But when narrative begins to substitute for evidence—when coherence replaces correspondence—we fall into what I call narrativism: the intellectual vice of mistaking a compelling story for a justified explanation. In this episode, we explore:

• Why humans, overwhelmed by digital information overload, instinctively rely on narrative
• How narrativism turns conspiracy theories into cognitively “easy” explanations
• Why the internet provides endless raw material for increasingly complex, seductive conspiracies
• How algorithms reward dramatic, agent-centered content over careful reasoning
• Why our feeds create the illusion of meaningful patterns that don’t actually exist
• How the “information superhighway” has fractured rather than unified our understanding of reality

Imagine looking at the night sky with the naked eye—you can draw a few simple constellations. Now imagine looking through the Hubble Telescope. The more points of light you see, the more elaborate your constellations become. That’s the digital environment: an infinite starfield of data encouraging ever more intricate, and often illusory, explanations. This episode examines how digital technology subtly cultivates the intellectual conditions for conspiracy thinking, not just by offering access to theories but by habituating our minds toward patterns of thought that make conspiratorial narratives feel intuitive, emotionally satisfying, and rationally compelling—even when they aren’t.

If you’re interested in the intersection of technology, psychology, philosophy, and culture, this is an episode worth your time. 👍 If you find this helpful, hit Like and Subscribe. 🧠 Share your thoughts below: Has digital technology changed the way you interpret information?

Dr. Brian Kemple of the Lyceum Institute joins Anthony Alberino for a discussion on digital technology and its relation to the human soul. Together they reflect philosophically on:

• the nature of technology
• the way in which technology psychologically attunes and structures us
• the prevalence of conspiratorial thinking in the digital environment
• the technologically mediated fragmentation of the human soul
• the impact of artificial intelligence
• the way to resist the malformation of the human soul in the digital age

See related episodes here: - https://youtu.be/jM3Vm6apEPk - https://youtu.be/1GxM-MqL3og

Link to the Lyceum Institute: https://lyceum.institute

In this second episode of The Dangers of the Digital Age, we reflect philosophically on how digital technology poses a profound threat to our humanity. What does it mean to be human in an age when our perceptions, desires, and attention are absorbed by screens? To illuminate this question, we turn to one of the most powerful allegories in the history of philosophy: Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave.” By revisiting Plato’s image through the lens of our digital condition, we uncover how the modern technological environment is not merely like Plato’s cave—it is, in many ways, its technological embodiment. In the Digital Cave, we see how: - Screens replace sunlight as our source of illumination. - Algorithms act as unseen puppeteers shaping what we perceive. - Habit and addiction become the chains that bind our wills. - Shadows—digital representations—replace real human encounters. But Plato also shows us a way out: the liberation of the soul through true education—a turning away from the glow of illusion toward the light of the real, the true, and the good.