Did you know that President Joe Biden was bussing unauthorized immigrants to a hotel near Orlando, Florida and giving them pre-loaded credit cards, hotel rooms, and clothing—all on your dime?!? You say you didn’t know?

Good, because the story was a complete fabrication.

On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcastwe are joined by good friend of the show Jim Swift from The Bulwark to discuss the mechanics of how a modern conspiracy theory like this goes viral.

Swift covered this story over at The Bulwark in a piece titled, “The Bogus Protest, the House Race, and the MAGA Grocer.”

We talk about this viral conspiracy theory and more on this episode. Enjoy!

And don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter! It’s INSTANT and FREE!

The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions.

Episode Audio:
“Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (Free Music Archive)
“Star Blessed Night” by Ketsa (Free Music Archive)
“Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones)
"Crazy Lazy" by Ketsa (Free Music Archive)
“Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission)

Did you know that President Joe Biden was bussing unauthorized immigrants to a hotel near Orlando, Florida and giving them pre-loaded credit cards, hotel rooms, and clothing—all on your dime?!? You say you didn’t know?
Good, because the story was a complete fabrication.
On this episode of the <a href="https://www.connorsforum.org/">Utterly Moderate Podcast</a> we are joined by good friend of the show <a href="https://www.thebulwark.com/author/jimswift/">Jim Swift</a> from The Bulwark to discuss the mechanics of how a modern conspiracy theory like this goes viral.
Swift covered this story over at The Bulwark in a piece titled, <a href="https://www.thebulwark.com/the-bogus-protest-the-house-race-and-the-maga-grocer/">“The Bogus Protest, the House Race, and the MAGA Grocer.”</a> 
We talk about this viral conspiracy theory and more on this episode. Enjoy!
And don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter! <a href="https://connorsforum.substack.com/">It’s INSTANT and FREE!</a>
<hr>
The <a href="https://www.connorsforum.org/">Connors Forum</a> is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions.
<hr>
Episode Audio:
<ul>
<li>“Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (<a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/">Free Music Archive</a>)</li>
<li>“Star Blessed Night” by Ketsa (<a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/">Free Music Archive</a>)</li>
<li>“Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through <a href="https://taketones.com/">TakeTones</a>)</li>
<li>"Crazy Lazy" by Ketsa (<a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/">Free Music Archive</a>)</li>
<li>“Happy Trails (To You)” by <a href="https://www.ridersinthesky.com/">the Riders in the Sky</a> (used with artist’s permission)</li>
</ul>

The Utterly Moderate Podcast is the official podcast of Connors Institute for Nonpartisan Research and Civic Engagement at Shippensburg University.

The core mission of the Connors Institute is to disseminate high-quality nonpartisan information to the public.

Utterly Moderate is hosted by Lawrence Eppard, a researcher, university professor, and director of the Connors Institute. On each episode, Eppard is joined by a guest (or two or three!) who helps listeners understand important topics by focusing on just the weight of the empirical evidence and none of the unneeded opinions or political agendas. We are aggressively nonpartisan in our approach.

Be sure to visit us at ConnorsInstitute.org to learn more about all that we do!

The <a href="https://connorsinstitute.org/podcast">Utterly Moderate Podcast</a> is the official podcast of <a href="https://connorsinstitute.org/">Connors Institute for Nonpartisan Research and Civic Engagement at Shippensburg University</a>.
The core mission of the Connors Institute is to disseminate high-quality nonpartisan information to the public.
Utterly Moderate is hosted by Lawrence Eppard, a researcher, university professor, and director of the Connors Institute. On each episode, Eppard is joined by a guest (or two or three!) who helps listeners understand important topics by focusing on just the weight of the empirical evidence and none of the unneeded opinions or political agendas. We are aggressively nonpartisan in our approach.
Be sure to visit us at <a href="https://connorsinstitute.org/">ConnorsInstitute.org</a> to learn more about all that we do!

Utterly Moderate Podcast

The <a href="https://connorsinstitute.org/podcast">Utterly Moderate Podcast</a> is the official podcast of <a href="https://connorsinstitute.org/">Connors Institute for Nonpartisan Research and Civic Engagement at Shippensburg University</a>.
The core mission of the Connors Institute is to disseminate high-quality nonpartisan information to the public.
Utterly Moderate is hosted by Lawrence Eppard, a researcher, university professor, and director of the Connors Institute. On each episode, Eppard is joined by a guest (or two or three!) who helps listeners understand important topics by focusing on just the weight of the empirical evidence and none of the unneeded opinions or political agendas. We are aggressively nonpartisan in our approach.
Be sure to visit us at <a href="https://connorsinstitute.org/">ConnorsInstitute.org</a> to learn more about all that we do!

Anatomy of a Viral Conspiracy Theory (w/Jim Swift)

Before we get to today’s episode, check out this article about the Connors Institute in The Sentinel newspaper!

On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcastwe are joined by Robert VerBruggen from the Manhattan Institute to discuss a new documentary which claims to disprove that George Floyd was killed by Derek Chauvin, as well as a new research study which claims to disprove that income inequality in the U.S. has been rising since the 1960s.

The documentary in question, The Fall of Minneapolis, was produced by Alpha News, an organization that has a history of low-quality journalism that is often inaccurate, biased, and misleading. Podcast host Lawrence Eppard and guest Robert VerBruggen will discuss the claims in the documentary and why they fall short.

They also discuss a new and important research study which calls into question whether income inequality has really been rising since the 1960s like we have all been led to believe. While this new paper does not completely disprove the argument that inequality has in fact been increasing, it raises serious concerns about how certain we can be about the dominant narrative that inequality has been rising out of control.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our FREE email newsletter in just one click!

Episode Audio:
"Air Background Corporate" by REDCVT (Free Music Archive)
"Please Listen Carefully" by Jahzzar (Free Music Archive)
"Last Dance" by Jahzzar (Free Music Archive)
“Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission)

Before we get to today’s episode, check out <a href="https://cumberlink.com/opinion/editorial/guest-editorial-new-ship-u-institute-tackles-misinformation-from-right-and-left/article_e3de9bea-ae59-11ee-9157-0ffa8c3406a2.html">this article</a> about the Connors Institute in The Sentinel newspaper!
On this episode of the <a href="https://connorsinstitute.org/podcast">Utterly Moderate Podcast</a> we are joined by <a href="https://manhattan.institute/person/robert-verbruggen">Robert VerBruggen</a> from the Manhattan Institute to discuss a new documentary which claims to disprove that George Floyd was killed by Derek Chauvin, as well as a <a href="https://davidsplinter.com/AutenSplinter-Tax_Data_and_Inequality.pdf">new research study</a> which claims to disprove that income inequality in the U.S. has been rising since the 1960s.
The documentary in question, The Fall of Minneapolis, was produced by Alpha News, an organization that has a history of low-quality journalism that is often inaccurate, biased, and misleading. Podcast host Lawrence Eppard and guest Robert VerBruggen will discuss the claims in the documentary and why they fall short.
They also discuss a <a href="https://davidsplinter.com/AutenSplinter-Tax_Data_and_Inequality.pdf">new and important research study</a> which calls into question whether income inequality has really been rising since the 1960s like we have all been led to believe. While this new paper does not completely disprove the argument that inequality has in fact been increasing, it raises serious concerns about how certain we can be about the dominant narrative that inequality has been rising out of control.
Don’t forget to subscribe to our <a href="https://connorsinstitute.substack.com/">FREE email newsletter</a> in just one click!
<hr>
Episode Audio:
<ul>
<li>"Air Background Corporate" by REDCVT (<a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/">Free Music Archive</a>)</li>
<li>"Please Listen Carefully" by Jahzzar (<a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/">Free Music Archive</a>)</li>
<li>"Last Dance" by Jahzzar (<a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/">Free Music Archive</a>)</li>
<li>“Happy Trails (To You)” by <a href="https://www.ridersinthesky.com/">the Riders in the Sky</a> (used with artist’s permission)</li>
</ul>

New George Floyd Documentary (w/Robert VerBruggen)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Connors Institute at Shippensburg University!

Since this Utterly Moderateepisode is both our Christmas program and our 100th PODCAST EPISODE, we thought we would try to be as uplifting as possible.

In that spirit, we are being joined by Johan Norberg, author of a number of books including Progress: Ten Reasons to Look Forward to the Future. 

In that book, Norberg presents extensive data documenting how the world has gotten much better over the centuries across several measures, including freedom, life expectancy, poverty, violence, hunger, sanitation, the environment, literacy, and more.

The book helps us not only to avoid being so doom and gloom about the state of the world, but to identify the reasons why we have made so much progress in the first place, avoid derailing those efforts, and help us build on them for a better tomorrow.

Enjoy this conversation, and very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

Sign up for our FREE NEWSLETTER in one click at ConnorsInstitute.org.

Episode Audio:


"Air Background Corporate" by REDCVT (Free Music Archive)


"Please Listen Carefully" by Jahzzar (Free Music Archive)
"Remedy for Melancholy" by Kai Engel (Free Music Archive)
"Silent Night" by Piper Kull (used with artist's permission)
"O Holy Night" by Piper Kull (used with artist's permission)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Connors Institute at Shippensburg University!
Since this <a href="https://connorsinstitute.org/podcast">Utterly Moderate</a> episode is both our Christmas program and our 100th PODCAST EPISODE, we thought we would try to be as uplifting as possible.
In that spirit, we are being joined by <a href="https://www.johannorberg.net/">Johan Norberg</a>, author of a number of books including <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Progress-Reasons-Look-Forward-Future/dp/1786070650">Progress: Ten Reasons to Look Forward to the Future</a>. 
In that book, Norberg presents extensive data documenting how the world has gotten much better over the centuries across several measures, including freedom, life expectancy, poverty, violence, hunger, sanitation, the environment, literacy, and more.
The book helps us not only to avoid being so doom and gloom about the state of the world, but to identify the reasons why we have made so much progress in the first place, avoid derailing those efforts, and help us build on them for a better tomorrow.
Enjoy this conversation, and very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.
Sign up for our FREE NEWSLETTER in one click at <a href="https://connorsinstitute.org/">ConnorsInstitute.org</a>.
<hr>
Episode Audio:
<ul>
<li>
"Air Background Corporate" by REDCVT (<a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/">Free Music Archive</a>)
</li>
<li>
"Please Listen Carefully" by Jahzzar (<a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/">Free Music Archive</a>)
</li>
<li>"Remedy for Melancholy" by Kai Engel (<a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/">Free Music Archive</a>)</li>
<li>"Silent Night" by <a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-331807049">Piper Kull</a> (used with artist's permission)</li>
<li>"O Holy Night" by <a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-331807049">Piper Kull</a> (used with artist's permission)</li>
</ul>

The Good Old Days Are Now (w/Johan Norberg and Piper Kull)

Jim Swift from The Bulwarkjoins the Utterly Moderate Podcast to discuss the fraught nature of the immigration debate in the U.S.

Both sides in the immigration debate have important points to bring to the table, and good faith discussions and compromises are badly needed. Unfortunately, such efforts often get sidetracked by misinformation and disinformation about this thorny issue.

Swift discusses a story of his that had a number of important issues—legal immigration, unauthorized immigration, and disinformation—all wrapped into one.

Enjoy the conversation! And don’t forget to subscribe to our FREE EMAIL NEWSLETTER in just one click at ConnorsInstitute.org!

Episode Audio:


"Air Background Corporate" by REDCVT (Free Music Archive)
"Please Listen Carefully" by Jahzzar (Free Music Archive)
"Last Dance" by Jahzzar (Free Music Archive)


“Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission)

Jim Swift from <a href="https://www.thebulwark.com/">The Bulwark</a> joins the <a href="https://connorsinstitute.org/podcast">Utterly Moderate Podcast</a> to discuss the fraught nature of the immigration debate in the U.S.
Both sides in the immigration debate have important points to bring to the table, and good faith discussions and compromises are badly needed. Unfortunately, such efforts often get sidetracked by misinformation and disinformation about this thorny issue.
Swift discusses <a href="https://www.thebulwark.com/the-bogus-protest-the-house-race-and-the-maga-grocer/">a story of his</a> that had a number of important issues—legal immigration, unauthorized immigration, and disinformation—all wrapped into one.
Enjoy the conversation! And don’t forget to subscribe to our FREE EMAIL NEWSLETTER in just one click at <a href="https://connorsinstitute.org/">ConnorsInstitute.org</a>!
<hr>
Episode Audio:
<ul>
<li>
"Air Background Corporate" by REDCVT (<a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/">Free Music Archive</a>)
</li>
<li>"Please Listen Carefully" by Jahzzar (<a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/">Free Music Archive</a>)</li>
<li>"Last Dance" by Jahzzar (<a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/">Free Music Archive</a>)</li>
<li>
“Happy Trails (To You)” by <a href="https://www.ridersinthesky.com/">the Riders in the Sky</a> (used with artist’s permission)
</li>
</ul>

Anatomy of a Viral Conspiracy Theory (w/Jim Swift)

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