YANSS 151 – What we can learn about our own beliefs, biases, and motivated reasoning from the community of people who are certain the Earth is flat

In this episode we sit down with the director and producers of the documentary film, Behind the Curve, an exploration of motivated reasoning and conspiratorial thinking told through the lives of people who have formed a community around the belief that the Earth is flat.

Also in this episode, we spend time with political scientist Joseph E. Uscinski who researches conspiracy theories and the people who believe in them.

In the show, you hear from these conversations that, like most conspiracy theorists, Flat Earthers are usually reasonable, intelligent, scientifically curious people. They love their families, they hold down jobs, they pay their bills and so on. In other words, they aren’t crazy or stupid.

So, what leads reasonable, intelligent, scientifically curious people into fringe beliefs such as these? What makes a smart person susceptible to conspiratorial thinking? Why doesn’t counterevidence seem to sway them? You will learn all that and more in the episode.

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