Ep. 235: Conspiracy Theories & The Women Who Love Them w/ Author Noelle Cook
EQ: To what extent can the lure of belonging created by conspiracies and extremism, especially for women, be counteracted and what tools, resources, and community support are needed to make it possible?
Today we are joined by ethnographer and author of The Conspiracists: Women, Extremism, and the Lure of Belonging Noelle Cook. She is also the researcher for and associate producer of The Conspiracists, a documentary film by Page 75 Production. In this slightly over an hour long conversation, we explore the social and emotional forces that can pull people toward increasingly extreme beliefs, with a particular focus on the experiences of women over fifty and the J-six women at the center of Cook’s research. Our conversation examines the relationship between identity, community, spirituality, media literacy, and misinformation, as well as the challenges families face when loved ones become immersed in conspiratorial thinking. Cook distinguishes having empathy with a person or group from being sympathetic towards problematic ideologies. We discuss why belonging can sometimes matter more than facts, how seemingly harmless wellness or spiritual interests can intersect with more radical worldviews, how one click on a supplements website can lead you to starseeds, and what it might take to bridge divides in an era where trust, truth, and community are all being renegotiated.
Do Your Fudging Homework:
Annie: Please pick up a copy of The Conspiracists by Noelle Cook and don’t let anyone tell you that it’s “not that deep.” It is that deep. It’s deeper, actually. Violent and dangerous beliefs can and do cause real harm.
Hope: QAA podcast conversation w/ Noelle and Andrew Callahan’s “Dear Kelly”, middle-age man’s radicalization (white lives matter) and his family trying to pull him out of it. And of course check out Page 75 Production’s Site.
Noelle: Use your critical thinking skills before you share anything online