Amna Nawaz
@PBSNewsHour·5.3M subscribers·62.2K videos
WATCH: Why conspiracy theories persist
Posted
July 20, 2026
Views
7,069
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July 20, 2026
7,069
511
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2:02Now PlayingConspiracy theories are part of being human, author Jesse Walker says, and navigating them takes a "constant act of maintenance."
"People are going to generate false stories," he told PBS News' Judy Woodruff. "People are gonna have dubious beliefs."
"It's going to be a constant act of maintenance and an awareness that this is always going to happen and an awareness of, you know, what it takes to make the case to people about what is or isn't true," he added. "That was true, you know, 50 years ago, it will be true 50 years from now."
Walker, author of "The United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory," joined Woodruff for the latest episode of her podcast, "In Pursuit of Happiness," to discuss how conspiracy theories have shaped American history.
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