Dr. Elise Wang - Conspiracy Theories from Medieval Times to Today

Effective storytelling holds a powerful place in our culture. Almost like magic, a well-crafted story can inspire and influence an audience. From Medieval Literature to reality TV, humans just seem to be predisposed to consume stories. But what happens when someone decides to use that against us? Modern day conspiracy theories tap into some of the same power of the imagination as great storytellers like Chaucer and Shakespeare, but with bad intentions. Our guest this episode has applied her years of study into Medieval literature, and applied that knowledge to unraveling the conspiracy theory. How do they spread, why do people believe them, and what can we do to combat them?