Are conspiracy theories getting worse, with Jonn Elledge

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>After Boris Johnson talked of a "deep state" undermining his ability to govern, have we entered an era of conspiracy theories? Jonn Elledge, one of the authors of a new book,&nbsp;<em>Conspiracy: A History of Boll*cks Theories and How Not To Fall For Them</em>, talks to Rachel Cunliffe about how conspiracy theories are nothing new.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>They discuss QAnon, whether a few hundred years of European history were just made up&nbsp;–&nbsp;and why Britney Spears shows that sometimes obscure internet theories can be true.</p><br /><p>Podcast listeners can subscribe to the&nbsp;<em>New Statesman</em>&nbsp;for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">newstatesman.com/podcastoffer</a>.</p><p><strong>LISTEN AD-FREE:</strong></p><p>📱<a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2022/06/newapp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Download the New Statesman app</a></p><br /><p><strong>MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:</strong></p><p>❓ <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/2022/10/you-ask-us" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ask a question</a> – we answer them every Friday</p><p>⏰ <a href="https://morningcall.substack.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Get our daily politics newsletter</a> every morning</p><p>✍️ <a href="http://saturdayread.substack.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Enjoy the best of our writing</a> via email every Saturday</p><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>