Sep 26, 2022
Ideas. Ideology. Theories. Conspiracy theories. What we believe. That’s the focus for this episode. We’ll talk about a new book, with its roots in Oregon, about how ideology has shaped America’s history, as well as the world’s, even up to today. And, a new documentary series, called "Shadowland." It’s about conspiracy theories. They have grown and become more mainstream during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a filmmaker who’s gone across the country to investigate them. I talked to Joe Berlinger about why more people are embracing extreme, and false beliefs, even to the point that they’re tearing their own families apart. Berlinger specializes in documentaries about true crime and social justice. His latest documentary traces how conspiracy theories have moved from the margins to the mainstream, and the danger they pose.
Then, continuing the theme of what people believe, this week also brought the launch of a new book, after years of work starting in Oregon. The book is "Ideology in U.S. Foreign Relations - New Histories." At the launch, co-editor David Milne talked about starting the project in Oregon along with Dr. Christopher Nichols. This book traces the ideological struggle, over competing visions of democracy, and of American democracy’s place in the world and in history. Co-editor Dr. Christopher McKnight Nichols tells us how he began the project at Oregon State University. He also comments on the rival ideologies clashing, as Russia plans to start what it calls referendums in Ukraine, while Ukraine and its western allies call that illegal annexation. Dr. Nichols is a former Oregon State University Professor, now at The Ohio State University.