With Friends Like These

This week Anna Merlan (@annamerlan) helps us Ana Marie Cox (@anamariecox) parse America’s increasingly conspiratorial culture. Anna spent eight years covering conspiracy groups and just came out with a book, Republic of Lies: American Conspiracy Theorists and Their Surprising Rise to Power. Join us as we discuss vaccinations, UFOs, spying on Quakers, and finding a path forward. Also, check out our bonus mega-mix of Anna Merlin, Will Sommer, Heather Armstrong, Tommy Orange, Will Sommer again, and Vann Newkirk and their most ridiculous secret beliefs. (We had to end Conspiracy Month in the strangest way possible.) Thanks to our sponsors!  Blinkist is the only app that takes the best key takeaways, the need-to-know information from thousands of nonfiction books and condense them down into just 15 minutes that you can read or listen to. Blinkist has a special offer just for our audience. Go to Blinkist.com/withfriends to start your free 7 day trial. Bombas are made from super-soft, natural cotton, and every pai