13 episodes
Marianna in Conspiracyland BBC Radio 4
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- Society & Culture
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3.8 • 263 Ratings
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What happened to the people who fell down the rabbit hole into a world of conspiracy theories during the pandemic?
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Introducing Marianna in Conspiracyland
What happened to the people who fell down the rabbit hole into a world of conspiracy theories? How far have they fallen – and how far will they go? In this 10-part series, the BBC’s Disinformation and Social Media Correspondent Marianna Spring investigates the legacy left by the rise in conspiracy movements in the UK and the media machine at its heart. She exposes how radical they have become and how action is spilling offline. At the extreme end, we’ve seen conspiracy-theory driven riots at the US Capitol and a coup-attempt foiled in Germany. But what’s happening in the UK?
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1. Entering Conspiracyland
What’s happening in the Devon town of Totnes? The small town of Totnes in Devon is known for its warmth and open-mindedness, gong baths and healing crystals, but a fault line has emerged between the minority who’ve been drawn in by disinformation laced with hate and those who are fighting against it. Some in the town were drawn into a conspiracy theory movement during the pandemic, one whose monthly marches and rallies persist to this day. A conspiracy theory newspaper called The Light seems to have played a key part in the division there. BBC disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring investigates how the theories that dominate its pages are changing the town.
Host: Marianna Spring
Producers: Philip Marzouk and Olivia Lace-Evans
Producer for BBC Radio 4 podcasts: Nathan Jones
Technical Producer: Alex Portfelix
Series producer: Emma Close
Senior news editor: Sam Bonham
Commissioner: Rhian Roberts
New episodes released every few days. If you're in the UK, listen to the whole series first on BBC Sounds bbc.in/42x5sO5
And please get in touch with Marianna by emailing at: mariannainconspiracyland@bbc.co.uk. -
2. Down The Rabbit Hole
What do those in the movement believe? And why? BBC disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring continues her investigation into Totnes’ conspiracy theory movement after hearing about one of its prominent members: an artist named Jason Liosatos. Meeting him in his gallery she learns more about some of his beliefs and what that indicates about the movement.
Host: Marianna Spring
Producers: Philip Marzouk and Olivia Lace-Evans
Producer for BBC Radio 4 podcasts: Nathan Jones
Technical Producer: Alex Portfelix
Series producer: Emma Close
Senior news editor: Sam Bonham
Commissioner: Rhian Roberts
New episodes released every few days. If you're in the UK, listen to the whole series first on BBC Sounds bbc.in/42x5sO5
And please get in touch with Marianna by emailing at: mariannainconspiracyland@bbc.co.uk. -
3. Trestle Tables for Truth
Where does all the anger come from? As Marianna delves further down the rabbit-hole, she finds herself in the alternative medicine clinic of one of Totnes’ movement’s figureheads. He is one of the people behind a conspiracy-theory group in the town called the New World Alliance who are key to organising monthly rallies in the town and distributing The Light. Curiously Marianna finds herself invited along to one of the rallies to learn more about it and the people within it.
Host: Marianna Spring
Producers: Philip Marzouk and Olivia Lace-Evans
Producer for BBC Radio 4 podcasts: Nathan Jones
Technical Producer: Alex Portfelix
Series producer: Emma Close
Senior news editor: Sam Bonham
Commissioner: Rhian Roberts
New episodes released every few days. If you're in the UK, listen to the whole series first on BBC Sounds bbc.in/42x5sO5
And please get in touch with Marianna by emailing at: mariannainconspiracyland@bbc.co.uk. -
4. The Conspiracy Theory Newspaper
Who is the man behind The Light? BBC disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring tracks down the editor of the conspiracy theory newspaper, The Light. His name is Darren and he agrees to meet Marianna in a pub just outside Manchester for a dual interview in which she interviews him for the podcast and he interviews her. What answers will she get about the paper and the man at its helm?
Host: Marianna Spring
Producers: Philip Marzouk and Olivia Lace-Evans
Producer for BBC Radio 4 podcasts: Nathan Jones
Technical Producer: Alex Portfelix
Series producer: Emma Close
Senior news editor: Sam Bonham
Commissioner: Rhian Roberts
New episodes released every few days. If you're in the UK, listen to the whole series first on BBC Sounds bbc.in/42x5sO5
And please get in touch with Marianna by emailing at: mariannainconspiracyland@bbc.co.uk. -
5. Follow the Money
Who is funding this UK conspiracy theory newspaper? Flicking through the pages of The Light, Marianna is drawn to the adverts that populate its back pages. After the face-to-face encounter with the paper’s editor Darren she has more questions for the people involved in funding the paper. The advertisers. She manages to track down one: Iain, a property developer in Glastonbury. The two of them discuss wizards, goddesses, capital punishment and what motivates him to promote his business in The Light.
Host: Marianna Spring
Producers: Philip Marzouk and Olivia Lace-Evans
Producer for BBC Radio 4 podcasts: Nathan Jones
Technical Producer: Alex Portfelix
Series producer: Emma Close
Senior news editor: Sam Bonham
New episodes released every few days. If you're in the UK, listen to the whole series first on BBC Sounds bbc.in/42x5sO5
And please get in touch with Marianna by emailing at: mariannainconspiracyland@bbc.co.uk.
Customer Reviews
M@rkie boy’s review is right
But i suppose its difficult to uncover motivations when the culprits ignore requests for comment or respond with threats and abuse.
The Irish episode hinted at motivations in that case (the far right exploiting anger stemming from a housing crisis, the culprit’s personal circumstances) and revealed some threads that the curious could pull on.
In other cases the conspiracy theories are so intimately connected with the mental state of the person spreading them that there seems little hope of getting a truly satisfactory answer short of subjecting these people to a forcible psychiatric examination.
But the overall pattern in the series seems pretty clear
Person/people with obsession + economic or political circumstances creating an audience for that obsession
And yes the episodes are too short.
Still it’s an important topic and Marianna evidently has the bravery, patience and determination to withstand the inevitable backlash from her reporting and I thank her and her team for their work and I commend the podcast
Great podcast
Makes me feel I’m not alone feeling shocked by a few life long friends who believe and get obsessed with the many conspiracy theories 🤯
Fascinating, invaluable and somewhat alarming!
A thoroughly engrossing topic discussed and articulated very well. I’d be intrigued to learn if ‘authorities’ make use of the journalists observations at all.