The Art of the Pardon: How The Dept. of Justice Became a Favor Bank (with Liz Oyer)

Former U.S. Pardon Attorney Liz Oyer was fired by Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche after she refused to recommend giving a domestic abuser back his gun. That criminal was Trump’s “Ambassador to Hollywood” Mel Gibson. Oyer explains how presidential pardons and clemency is supposed to work. With Trump’s De…

The Midterm Power Grab (w/ Will Sommer)

Will Sommer (of The Bulwark) returns to unpack threats to federalize elections to renewed efforts to “prove” 2020 was stolen. We also diagnose the strange incentives and rivalries inside MAGA world — the influencers, grifters, true believers, and opportunists. Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube:…

What Ghislaine Maxwell Knows and Why She’s Being Protected (with Tara Palmeri & Adam Davidson)

Tara breaks down what Ghislaine Maxwell’s current treatment, legal positioning, and pardon speculation actually signal. They describe the difference between the public narrative and the private reality journalists encounter inside the MAGA ecosystem. From pardon strategy to media pressure to the su…

The Hawaiian Cult that raised Tulsi Gabbard (with Christine Gralow)

Our current Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was born into The Science of Identity Foundation, a secretive, authoritarian religious group led by guru Chris Butler. What are the beliefs of The SIF and how did they influence Gabbard's political career? Some believe that she's still und…

Alex Jones and the Conspiracy Economy (with Jordan Holmes)

The co-host of the Knowledge Fight podcast knows too much about Alex Jones. How are conspiracy ecosystems built, monetized, and sustained? From cult psychology and propaganda laundering to Sandy Hook, supplement grifting, and political power, what are the conditions that keep figures like Jones ali…

Eating Bugs, Shooting Bobby Kennedy, The Deadly Double: Conspiracy Theory Grey Areas (with Adam Tod Brown)

The host of CONSPIRACY! THE SHOW has insights on  why people believe wild things and how grifters and media personalities turn paranoia into profit. With questions about his own conspiracy theories:    - Was an ad in The New Yorker for a board game a tipoff about Pearl Harbor?   - Did the CIA want …

The Overlooked Radicalization Crisis: How Women Become Extremists (with Leah Sottile)

Investigative journalist Leah Sottile, author of Blazing Eye Sees All, draws on years of direct reporting on anti-government movements, Christian nationalism, New Age spirituality, death cults and online radicalization to explains how fringe belief systems gain power amongst women in America. It’s …

From Hollywood to Human Rights: The Real Cost of Conspiracy Thinking (with Stephanie March)

Drawing on her leadership roles with Planned Parenthood Global and humanitarian organizations in Africa, actor & activist Stephanie March (ADA Alex Cabot on Law & Order: SVU) describes how ill-conceived policy decisions —particularly the dismantling of USAID programs — have immediate, devastating c…

Wellness to Weaponization: How Women Are Drawn into Conspiracy Extremism (with Noelle Cook)

From wellness culture and yoga influencers to QAnon forums and January 6, the pathways into conspiracy extremism aren’t always obvious — especially for women. Identity and meaning can quietly turn misinformation into ideology. Author and researcher Noelle Cook discuss did direct fieldwork with wome…

What Fresh Hell: 2025 in Conspiracy Theories and Disinformation

Our team gives their analysis of a disturbingly familiar year in power and politics, normalization and surprises. Much of it was predictable, some was worse, and some was worse that worse. Yet conspiratorial thinking cuts both ways, and 2025 illuminated some “theories” as being actual conspiracies.…