Wake up, Sheeple!: Conspiracy theories and their effect on politics

Guests: Mark Potok, Jesse Walker, Mike Wood

Tomorrow, the annual meeting of influential bankers, politicians, and academics called The Bilderberg Group convenes in Dresden, Germany.  The shadowy summit has long been fodder for the paranoid who claim the participants are attempting to form what is called “A New World Order.”  This is just one of many conspiracy theories that have been disseminated over the years, causing the suspicious and fearful to look for clues about how the powerful seek to control the world. Newer conspiracies such as Obama’s plan to take away Americans’ guns or vaccines as a cause of autism have infiltrated the mainstream.  Today, we’ll discuss the more pervasive conspiracies, why people believe them, and how they are affecting this election cycle and the political system in general. We’ll talk to MARK POTOK, Senior Fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center and to JESSE WALKER, author of The United States of Paranoia. Also joining us will be MIKE WOOD, lecturer of psychology at University of Winchester.