Dr. Calum Matheson, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication, was recently featured on the podcast Saving the World from Bad Ideas in a conversation with journalist and activist Mark Lynas. The episode focused on the growing influence of conspiracy theories and their corrosive effects on democratic life.
In the discussion, Matheson explained why conspiracy thinking is so psychologically appealing, how it thrives on partial truths, and why traditional fact-checking often fails to change minds. He argued that conspiracy theories function as closed systems that offer certainty and a sense of superiority at a time when uncertainty is increasingly difficult to tolerate. Rather than attempting to “debunk” conspiracies point by point, Matheson advocates for teaching probabilistic thinking and a deeper understanding of how scientific and expert knowledge actually works.
The episode, titled “Conspiracy Theories with Calum Matheson,” is available on multiple platforms: