There is nothing new about conspiracy theories – they have existed as long as there are historic records. However, the conspiracy theories of our current political climate have something new – conspiracy without theory. In their recently released publication, A Lot of People Are Saying, Russell Muirhead and Nancy Rosenblum explore how these new conspiracy theories diverge from their predecessors. In diagnosing and defining this new conspiracism, they ask questions about what makes this new climate different, how we got here, and how we can combat it.

Two horrible events, the COVID-19 pandemic and the killing of George Floyd, have shaken the world, raising consciousness about social, economic, and political problems that had been festering for generations. They could also inspire us to solve a relatively new problem with huge implications for democracy’s future: the growing role of surveillance in our lives.

The second half of the 20th century marked an extended period of unique stability in international and national affairs. Unrest occurred in regions throughout the world, but no events on a global scale affected the moment of relative calm. 2020 brought a global pandemic and with it the pressure to reveal centuries of racial and social tension. Black Lives Matter, and American movement born of this country’s fraught relationship with slavery, became an international phenomenon. The pandemic and its economic fallout has revealed many countries weakest points and leaves the leaders of global organizations with a unique minefield.