What do vision boards and Princess Diana conspiracy theories have in common? They both rely on a kind of magical thinking called proportionality bias. It's one of many cognitive biases that Sounds Like a Cult host Amanda Montell demystifies in her book, The Age of Magical Overthinking. From the sunk cost fallacy of toxic relationships to the halo effect of female celebs to the declinism of everyday doomsday speak, Amanda makes even the most mindboggling and brainrotting realities of today's misinformation overload more bearable.

Originally aired on Unladylike in 2024.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What did last year's drone mystery have to do with an antisemitic myth that won't die? Medievalist and conspiracy scholar Elise Wang connects the dots between the West’s 900-year-old conspiracy theory playbook and the UFO psyops flooding TikTok today. She and Cristen also unravel the Battle of Los Angeles, hypersexual alien abduction tropes, and how conspiracy theories serve the powerful—not the paranoid.

(00:53) Drone Fever and Dior Bags

(02:02) Introduction to Elise Wong and Conspiracy Theories

(04:46) Medieval Origins of Conspiracy Theories

(11:36) A Medievalist POV on Alien and UFO Conspiracies

(17:54) The Battle of Los Angeles

(23:14) Race, Sex and Alien Invasions

(25:49) Gender and Power in Conspiracy Theories

(27:34) Who Started It?

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Inbox: conspiracyshewrote@gmail.com

Instagram: @unladylikemedia

Website: conspiracyshewrote.com

Patreon: The Cabal

Conspiracy, She Wrote is an Unladylike Media production created, hosted and written by Cristen Conger. Music is from Blue Dot Sessions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before alien abduction became pop culture cliché, there was Betty and Barney Hill. Why did this couple's 1961 roadtrip define the abduction narrative for generations, and what did their biracial marriage have to do with it - or not? Historian Matt Bowman retraces the Hills' journey from the liberal mainstream to UFO microstardom, and Cristen has questions for Betty. Find out how identity, memory and one woman’s obsession helped shape the myth of the greys in part 2 (of 3) of the Paranormal Women miniseries.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction: Abduction Beyond Aliens

(00:38) The Hills' Abduction Story

(01:24) The Cold War and UFOs

(04:40) Betty and Barney Hill: Background

(09:35) The Fateful Night in 1961

(13:37) Reporting the Incident

(20:50) Hypnosis and Recovered Memories

(28:47) Betty and Barney Become Famous

(35:10) Betty's Psychophysics Attempt

(37:35) Marjorie Fish and Conspiracy Road

(42:18) Betty's Alien Optimism

. . .

Inbox: conspiracyshewrote@gmail.com

Instagram: @unladylikemedia

Website: conspiracyshewrote.com

Patreon: The Cabal

Conspiracy, She Wrote is an Unladylike Media production created, hosted and written by Cristen Conger. Music is from Blue Dot Sessions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.