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Conspiracies & Conspiracy Theories
- What We Should and Shouldn't Believe - and Why
- Narrated by: Michael Shermer
- Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins
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Conspiracies & Conspiracy Theories
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Publisher's Summary
Millions of Americans buy into conspiracy theories. Did you know that...
- 81 percent of Americans believe more than one person was responsible for the assassination of John F. Kennedy?
- 1/3 of this country thinks 9/11 was an “inside job” by the Bush administration?
- 21 percent believes aliens crash-landed in Roswell and are being hidden in Area 51?
- 7 percent are convinced that the moon landing was faked?
What causes some people to advocate these unfounded—often disproven—ideas as reality? And why is the power of conspiracies so compelling that they can motivate people to act, some even participating in acts of violence?
In this eye-opening Audible Original, Professor Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine and the host of the Science Salon podcast, takes you through some of the most prevalent conspiracy theories in history, giving you a clear understanding of how and why they came about, who was likely to believe and perpetuate them, and the reality behind these beliefs.
Whether you are looking for the truth regarding popular conspiracy theories; are fascinated by the psychology of why people buy into them; or are interested in how they shaped and were shaped by history, this course will provide you all the tools you need to better understand the pervasiveness of conspiracy theories.
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What listeners say about Conspiracies & Conspiracy Theories
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Richard
- 2020-01-13
A couple of problems
This recording was, overall, informative and kept my interest throughout. However, it is very American-centred and left me wondering throughout how much of it applied to us in Canada. Also, having made the assertion that conspiracy theories no longer require facts or evidence, Shermer makes the optimistic statement that the arc will eventually bend toward truth and justice. He gives no facts and makes no argument to back up his theory. Like the modern-day conspiracy theorists he just expects us to take his word for it. I'm not so optimistic, and he has given me no reason to think otherwise.
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11 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jon (Tech4Now)
- 2020-03-16
Warning! Beware what you believe.
The author makes no attempt to convert hardcore believers of any ConT. Instead he present either what is publicly available or the most probable explanation to challenge popular beliefs. Unfortunately, the research is not exhaustive enough. Rising hot button topics like anti-vaxing etc remained untouched.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Robert Dawson Link
- 2022-03-22
interesting but errors
He said that there is no evidence of a advanced culture 10+ years old. There 100% is, he isn't fact checking himself. That was just the last one that annoyed me. There are some other concepts he seems to be reinventing or renaming to make them his creation.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Brad Cain
- 2021-06-08
Useful but lacking
Too grandparent where much more common or straightforward wording would have been more effective. Presentation seemed stilted or bland.
Useful information and insight with good examples to illustrate concepts.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2020-01-11
Just x files
Clears up a lot of stupid believes that people have about UFOs, government hidings and world corruption within their and our governments
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Stanley Jones
- 2023-08-08
Informative and well presented
Contained good examples of conspiracy theories and the background stories! Provide insight on why people go down the rabbit hole.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Phil Spottiswood
- 2023-07-20
Interesting but dated.
Not a bad listen but the author dispenses “facts” that I guess since the release of this book have been proven wrong. And puts conspiracies to rest that have been proven true. All and all it’s a good book with some useful thought experiments.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Errol
- 2023-05-27
Excellent book
Perhaps the arguments in this book will help convince a friend who believes in conspiracies but to date he always has an answer.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Mark 45
- 2023-05-13
Biased closed-minded
Michael spends more time labeling and dividing people who believe in or interested in conspiracy theories than the theories holes or contradicting explanations. At times out right sneering at large groups of people. Great course? Nope. Great nut picking? Yes.
PS:
I believe that the world is a globe. We landed on the moon, and nobody's in possession of alien technology.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Darryl O'Neill
- 2023-04-11
Informative and relevant
The information is becoming more relevant as conspiracies thrive online. Covering how to tell between real and fake conspiracies is needed in today's world
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nomad of the World
- 2019-09-21
No chapter titles!!???
I find it unbelievable that Audible would make a special contract with Great Courses to provide exclusive content but get lazy about putting in chapter titles. Without chapter titles, we can’t go from chapter to chapter depending on the topic we want to read about, which is the whole point of the great courses. Please fix this failure.
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115 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
- Brandon Sholund
- 2020-01-25
Unconvincing take on conspiracies and conspiracy theories
This Audible Original course from the usually excellent The Great Courses would have better been titled 'The psychology of conspiracy theories', since that is the main focus of this course. The first handful of lectures deal with a breakdown of what makes a conspiracy theorist tick but I found the argument unconvincing. In this era where conspiracy theories have become common fodder on cable news and talk radio, fills up the shelves of our bookstores and is swamping the internet I think we have moved beyond the concept of a loony tune ranging away in a crowded room. Conspiracy Theories have almost become part of pop culture and group think than one man shouting loudly from the fringe. Unfortunetly, this premise is not explored at all even though the most popular theories - such as UFO or 911 - involve numerous people spouting theories over decades. The psychology used is solid but not related to the topic and, thus, I found it to be unconvincing. This short series of lectures was interesting but, in the end, unrewarding.
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43 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- David
- 2019-10-02
Over sensationalization
Why does he find it necessary to use a rough voice when speaking as a conspiracy theorist and why does he need to picture them in dark rooms? Make your point without the artificial drama ~ I'm out.
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33 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Mathew D.
- 2019-10-31
Lost me when he mocked creationists
1st he seemed like he would give a fair unbiased perspective.
next he used a belittling tone to anyone who believes in some level of conspiracy.
Then he related creationists to the people he had mocked before.
I was done.
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28 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Lynn
- 2019-10-03
Wanted More Substance
Perhaps the nature of the subject makes it difficult for a scholar/author to judge accurately how far to get into the weeds of conspiracies that have influenced history. For instance, the generalist audience members would have to know a lot about history to put long-ago successful conspiracies and unsuccessful conspiracies into context. I found the lack of detail frustrating, However, I took away a better understanding of why people believe rumors, false narratives, and even preposterous ideas. Most of us have trouble understanding our increasingly complicated world from day to day. Groping around for SOME explanation of big events, it's oddly comforting to be certain of something, even if it's something patently untrue, than to accept the sad fact that most of what happens defies explanation and/or moral grounding.
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24 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Shawn H.
- 2019-10-16
Not what I was expecting!
I got this thinking they’d be explaining all major conspiracy theories. Instead, you get education into the minds of conspiracies and those who believe them. It’s a very interesting listen to learn about why certain theories take off and the hardcore believers of that theory very seldom waiver. Great stuff here!!
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20 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2020-05-17
Leftist Rant
If you are a leftist you may enjoy this book. Otherwise don't waste your time.
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19 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Jeff M.
- 2020-04-20
not what I was hoping for
I was hoping for more about what makes people susceptible to this sort of thinking, and how to effectively argue against conspiracists.
The lectures touched on those, but spent far more time giving historical accounts of known conspiracies that failed, succeeded, or never were.
it might be a great series if you are more interested in the history end than the psychological one.
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16 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
- Leo Felis
- 2020-06-08
Irrekevant
immorally biased, irrelevant examples, short in perspective, narrow scope, pompous introduction, poorly written and read, a waste of time and money.
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11 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- sanslos
- 2019-10-25
Really good review of conspiracy theories topic
Very interesting topic with many good examples including analysis of how/ why/ who around conspiracies.
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11 people found this helpful