25 Comments

Congratulations on being shortlisted.

I'm interested in reading Doppelganger now, having read your review.

I hadn't heard of the people you refer to, apart from the two Rachels of course, but I hope to explore further.

What I find intriguing about conspiracy theories is how the people who promulgate them believe themselves to be immune, which means in effect that THEY are members of an elite! How ironic, and rather a pity that the irony is lost on them

Expand full comment
Nov 8Liked by Dr Victoria Powell

Congratulations on the podcast being shortlisted!

Expand full comment

Many congratulations, Victoria!

Expand full comment
Nov 3Liked by Dr Victoria Powell

"There is a desperation in all certainty" is such a shrewd observation. I always think of the old lyric "the only people I fear are those who never have doubts" (from a Billy Joel song called Shades of Grey). It's also a kind of deep immaturity, wanting to know someone is in control of all the bad things and if they are stopped all will be well, as opposed to accepting life is messy and taking personal responsibility.

Expand full comment

A thought about democracy and information/conspiracy theories, etc. Maybe it's more an observation. Much of what was labeled conspiracy theory regarding covid and the vaccines has proven to not be. I tend to take the position of "wait a while" to see how things pan out. I advise this with all "news" media, aka, narrative control.

That said, I'm a big free speech advocate. Especially, including, speech I don't like. Or agree with. I believe in actual democracies (where I live is not a democracy), free speech is a keystone value. You cannot have democracy without free speech.

As for information versus misinformation and other types of speech, who decides what speech is information and what speech is disinformation or conspiracy theory?

It becomes a slippery slope rather quickly. All one has to do is look to the larger social media platforms to see what happens to free speech. I'd rather be the one deciding what I get to listen to, who I get to read or watch or listen to, than those who are currently doing the deciding, aka, censoring.

Expand full comment

I was just listening to a Naomi Klein interview! I have been thinking about this topic quite a bit recently, once again you have given me even more to think about.

Congratulations on the podcast recognition!

Expand full comment

Such a thought provoking topic. I hadn’t considered art’s role in exposing and investigating conspiracy theories. The Klein video is quite powerful as well. There’s a lot of Freud’s Uncanny in this post.

Congrats on the award shortlist! Such a huge accomplishment. 🎉

Expand full comment

Thank you. This might be the nudge i needed to buy Naomi Klein's book. Will watch the videos on a bigger screen. And fully agree with the conclusion about uncertainty.

Expand full comment
Nov 2Liked by Dr Victoria Powell

Congratulations Victoria! That’s really awesome!

Expand full comment