The mind doesn't need reality to feel convinced

This episode examines how belief takes shape, why certainty can endure even when the supporting evidence weakens, and how truth shifts when preference begins to guide interpretation. It looks at the systems societies developed—science, journalism, education—to create shared standards for testing reality, and it considers the pressures eroding those systems through defunding, censorship, and strategic discrediting. These vulnerabilities allow comforting narratives to spread more quickly than accurate ones, and they pull communities toward explanations that satisfy identity rather than inquiry. The result is an information environment where commitment to a group can overshadow engagement with facts, and where doubt becomes a tool for influencing perception rather than a path to understanding. In other words, the mind doesn't need reality to feel convinced.