Republic of Lies: American Conspiracy Theorists and Their Surprising Rise to Power

by Anna Merlan Narrated by Anna Merlan, Suehyla El-Attar

Overview

"This well-produced audiobook is also well researched, and well intentioned." - AudioFile Magazine

This program includes an introduction read by the author.

A riveting tour through the landscape and meaning of modern conspiracy theories, exploring the causes and tenacity of this American malady, from Birthers to Pizzagate and beyond.

American society has always been fertile ground for conspiracy theories, but with the election of Donald Trump, previously outlandish ideas suddenly attained legitimacy. Trump himself is a conspiracy enthusiast: from his claim that global warming is a Chinese hoax to the accusations of “fake news,” he has fanned the flames of suspicion.

But it was not by the power of one man alone that these ideas gained new power. Republic of Lies looks beyond the caricatures of conspiracy theorists to explain their tenacity. Without lending the theories validity, Anna Merlan gives a nuanced, sympathetic account of the people behind them, across the political spectrum, and the circumstances that helped them take hold. The lack of a social safety net, inadequate education, bitter culture wars, and years of economic insecurity have created large groups of people who feel forgotten by their government and even besieged by it.

Our contemporary conditions are a perfect petri dish for conspiracy movements: a durable, permanent, elastic climate of alienation and resentment. All the while, an army of politicians and conspiracy-peddlers has fanned the flames of suspicion to serve their own ends.

Bringing together penetrating historical analysis and gripping on-the-ground reporting, Republic of Lies transforms our understanding of American paranoia.

Editorial Reviews

JULY 2019 - AudioFile

If you believe that the queen of England deals drugs or that Hillary Clinton runs a child pornography ring, this audiobook is not for you. Narrator Suehyla El-Attar channels, and amplifies, the author’s bewilderment, disappointment, and occasional flashes of anger as she documents the threats to our fragile democracy from conspiracy theorists (CTs). El-Attar smoothly transports listeners through the terminology, psychology (CT’s may be predisposed to believe, and once they do, they adhere to their theories like religion), sociology , and politics (even liberals have conspiracy theories— the levees were bombed during Katrina; the president is Putin’s “Creamsicle-hued puppet”). This well-produced audiobook is also well researched, and well intentioned. Unfortunately, for non-CTs, the overall effect is, well, depressing. R.W.S. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

From the Publisher

A captivating book that illuminates the landscape of conspiracy theories and what they might say about society as a whole.”

—New York Magazine

“Meticulously researched.”

—Mother Jones

“A frequently jaw-dropping, yet deeply sensitive and curious, journey through some of the most pervasive conspiracy theories in America today.”

—Huffington Post

“Merlan approaches conspiracy theories and the people who believe them as a thoughtful, thorough journalist, looking at how those in power wield them at the expense of those who are destabilized and looking for answers. An amazing read.”

—Corinne Segal, Literary Hub

“A fascinating perspective on the current political era.”

—Refinery29

"Merlan’s deeply researched, brilliantly synthesized . . . book carrie[s] warnings about the ways disinformation filters into the sphere of legitimate public discourse . . . Her message is chilling but it makes the case—and the space—for hope: if these harms were co-created, so too might be their solutions."

—Sarah Krasnostein’s, Literary Hub

“[Merlan] is one of the sharpest reporter/commentators in the game.”

—Flavorwire

“Engrossing assessment of the profitable mainstreaming of conspiracy mongering in civic and political life … A lucid look at a slippery topic.”

—Kirkus

JULY 2019 - AudioFile

If you believe that the queen of England deals drugs or that Hillary Clinton runs a child pornography ring, this audiobook is not for you. Narrator Suehyla El-Attar channels, and amplifies, the author’s bewilderment, disappointment, and occasional flashes of anger as she documents the threats to our fragile democracy from conspiracy theorists (CTs). El-Attar smoothly transports listeners through the terminology, psychology (CT’s may be predisposed to believe, and once they do, they adhere to their theories like religion), sociology , and politics (even liberals have conspiracy theories— the levees were bombed during Katrina; the president is Putin’s “Creamsicle-hued puppet”). This well-produced audiobook is also well researched, and well intentioned. Unfortunately, for non-CTs, the overall effect is, well, depressing. R.W.S. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2019-01-14

Engrossing assessment of the profitable mainstreaming of conspiracymongering in civic and political life.

In her debut book, Merlan, a reporter at Gizmodo Media Group's Special Projects Desk, captures this unsettling narrative succinctly and concretely. As she writes, once "the United States narrowly elected a conspiracy enthusiast as its president," there followed the codification of a long-gestating seamy underbelly of shared belief in ominous, far-fetched plots. The election of Donald Trump allowed a network of conspiracy profiteers, ranging from InfoWars' Alex Jones to white supremacist Richard Spencer, to accrue wealth and credibility; their acolytes "loved Trump, even the left-leaning among them who might have once preferred Bernie Sanders." Yet, she notes, "conspiracy theorizing has been part of the American system of governance and culture and thought since its beginnings." These dual lenses of current events and longitudinal narrative allow for clear structure. In each chapter, Merlan focuses on a conspiracy subtopic—e.g. UFO theories, false-flag proponents, anti-vaxxers, the sovereign citizen movement—chronicling her conversations with prominent adherents and the academics, activists, or investigators who document and fitfully counter them. She is cleareyed about the harm done by figures like Jones and his ilk, who have inspired harassment of Sandy Hook victims and the family of DNC staffer Seth Rich, whose family discovered that "social sites give enterprising self-investigators access to the subjects of their conspiracies as never before." Similarly, while attending a "white nationalist cookout" shortly before the 2017 Charlottesville events, the author concluded that the much-discussed "alt-right" relies on familiar, shopworn conspiracy theories regarding immigrants and Jews: "Hate groups all over the world are fueled by terrified, wild conjectures about the people they hate." However, Merlan has sympathy for conspiracy theorists influenced by actual abuses of power, noting that "the history of UFOs is a perfect illustration of the way in which genuine government secrecy feeds citizen paranoia." The author ably navigates this troubling landscape, with thought and some humor, though she seems more engaged by recent figures and controversies.

A lucid, well-researched look at a slippery topic.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169340044
Publisher:	Macmillan Audio
Publication date:	04/16/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged

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