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0:00 The crisis of belief and the crisis of speech
4:30 Michael: Deport the criminals, leave the gardeners
10:37 Michael’s list of the biggest, craziest, and most dangerous conspiracy theories
15:47 When trust in institutions breaks down
22:06 Why well-meaning people make absurd claims
26:01 Is Trump uniquely dangerous to American institutions?
29:04 Where Michael gets his news
31:49 How liberal institutions lost the plot
36:15 The roots and appeal of QAnon
41:06 Down the Jeffrey Epstein rabbit hole
44:47 Michael’s definition of truth
51:23 The stakes of religious belief
58:47 Can we live with “I don’t know” as the answer to the big questions?
Recorded January 19, 2026
Links and Readings
Skeptic magazine
Michael’s new book, Truth: What It Is, How to Find It, and Why It Still Matters
Michael’s book, Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational
Michael’s book, Denying History: Who Says the Holocaust Never Happened and Why Do They Say It?
The Free Press
Glenn’s most recent conversation with Charles Murray
Murray’s book, Taking Religion Seriously
Martin Rees’s book, Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces that Shape the Universe
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