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The Social Chemist
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A podcast that looks into the psychosocial elements that contribute to conspiracy theories and political extremism. Hosted by social worker and conspiracy theory researcher Nelson Perez.
71 Episodes
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Send us a text On today's episode, Jacob Ware from the Council on Foreign Relations returns to discuss the state of U.S. domestic terrorism after the 2024 U.S. Elections. We cover whether the definition of terrorism has been weaponized against marginalized communities by the Trump administration, and debate on whether the charges against Luigi Mangione can be considered terroristic. Instagram The Social Chemist (@socialchemistig) • Instagram photos and videos Thread The Social Chemist ...
Send us a text On today's episode, I am joined by Peter Beinart, a professor of journalism and political science at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York and author of "Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza". A book that assesses how the Zionist movement has rationalized the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza after the October 7th terrorist attacks in Israel, and why the current Israeli policies towards Palestine are contributing to the next ge...
Send us a text On today's episode, I am joined by Amanda Tyler, Executive Director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, to discuss her new book, "How to End Christian Nationalism," where she covers the eight steps you can take to help fight against the influence of Christian Supremacy in U.S politics. Instagram The Social Chemist (@socialchemistig) • Instagram photos and videos Thread The Social Chemist (@socialchemistig) on Threads Amanda Tyler's Book How to End Chri...
Send us a text On today's episode, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Joseph Pierre returns to the podcast to discuss his new book "False: How Mistrust, Disinformation, and Motivated Reasoning Make Us Believe Things That Aren't True." We explore how confirmation bias has been put on steroids, the democratization of influence in the online world, whether it has made us less or more informed, and whether the excessive consumption of conspiracy theories should be thought of as an addiction disorder. ...
Send us a text On today's episode, I am joined by the lead investigator of the January 6 committee and former US attorney for the Western District of Virginia, Timothy Heaphy, who also participated in the 2017 Unite the Right rally (UTR) investigation team. For our discussion, we cover his 2024 book "Harbingers: What January 6 and Charlottesville Reveal about Rising Threats to American Democracy." Which follows Timothy's experience in investigating the attacks on Capitol Hill in 2021 and the ...
Send us a text On today's episode, I am joined by Barbara McQuade, a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC and co-host of the #SistersInLaw podcast, to discuss her 2024 book "Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America,” a book about how disinformation has been weaponized under Trump’s presidency and how to make social media platforms accountable for the disinformation epidemic. We also cover the state of conspiratorial thinking and extremism on the political left. Insta...
Send us a text On today's episode, I am joined by April Ajoy, TikTok content creator, former Christian Nationalist, and co-host of The New Evangelicals Podcast, to discuss her 2024 book "Star-Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding a Truth Faith." A book that touches on the history of Christian Nationalism, the tactics used to maintain followers within the movement, and the influence of Christian Nationalists have in today's social media world. We also talk about Pokémon.&nb...
Send us a text On today's episode, I am joined by Renée DiResta, the technical research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory, a program dedicated to the study of abuse in information technologies, to talk about her new book "Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality" a book that dives into how our information ecosystem has evolved in the 21st century and how health practitioners and policymakers should engage with misinformation on social media. In our conversation, we c...
Send us a text In today's episode, Dr. Sophia Moskalenko joins me in the program to discuss the various factors that contributed to the insurrection on January 6 and how exposure to conspiracy theories can lead believers and non-believers to engage in political violence. We also cover the topic of how to label Q movement and whether a comparison between QAnon and addiction can be made with the current studies on the subject. Instagram The Social Chemist (@socialchemistig) • Instagram photos...
Send us a text In today's episode, I am joined by Dr. Jessica White, Acting Director of Terrorism and Conflict Studies at the Royal United Services Institute, to discuss her 2022 book "Gender Mainstreaming in Counter-Terrorism Policy: Building Transformative Strategies to Counter Violent Extremism" and her research on how extremists exploit the mechanics of online gaming to recruit and radicalize people to the far right. Instagram The Social Chemist (@socialchemistig) • Instagram photo...
Send us a text On today's episode, former assistant secretary for counterterrorism and prevention at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Elizabeth Neumann, joins the podcast to discuss her book "Kingdom of Rage: The Rise of Christian Extremism and the Path Back to Peace." We dive into her experience pushing back against Trumpism within the Evangelical community, the history of Christian Extremism in America, and the future of the Republican Party. Instagram The Social Chemist (@...
Send us a text On today's episode, Patrick R. Riccards, CEO of Life After Hate, joins the podcast to discuss how his organization uses evidence-based practices to help former extremists deradicalized and reintegrate into society. We cover whether prevention of violent extremism programs are well equipped for the potential Trump presidency and the rise of far-right domestic terrorism. I also cover some of the challenges social workers face in establishing their expertise in this field. ...
Send us a text On today's episode, Robert Green, a Ph.D. student from Rutgers University School of Criminal Justice, joins me to discuss the origins of the incel community and the black pill radicalization process that can lead to men in the movement engaging in acts of domestic terrorism towards women. We cover what interventions can be implemented at the local and federal levels to deter men from falling into the subculture movement of extremism. Instagram The Social Chemist (@socia...
Send us a text On today's episode, the director of the Bard Center for Study of Hate and author of "Conflict Over the Conflict: The Israel/Palestine Campus Debates," Ken Stern, joins me to discuss the events of October 7th and how the Antisemitism Awareness Act is being used to censor speech. A scholar who developed the working definition of antisemitism used by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), Ken offers discussions about how political discourse is a more effective wa...
Send us a text On today's episode, Mike Rothschild returns to discuss his new book, Jewish Space Lasers: The Rothschilds & 200 Years of Conspiracy Theories. We go over the history and legacy of the Rothchild's name in Judaism and how they became target number one for antisemitic narratives. We also speak about the current state of antisemitism and whether the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2024 is the best way to reduce the hatred of Jews. Instagram The Social Chemist (@socialchemi...
Send us a text On today's episode, lecturer and researcher on conspiratorial beliefs Ilya Yablokov joins me to discuss Russia Today's usage of conspiratorial ideologies and how that has helped the Kremlin villainize the U.S. He shares his thoughts on how U.S. and Russian conspiracy theory culture is similar and different. As well as address the effectiveness is news media literacy. Instagram The Social Chemist (@socialchemistig) • Instagram photos and videos Thread The Social Chemist (@soc...
Send us a text In today's episode, Royce Hutson, Ph.D., joins me to discuss the role of social workers in addressing political extremism and the effectiveness of violent extremism prevention programs. We also discuss the state of political extremism with the upcoming 2024 elections. Instagram The Social Chemist (@socialchemistig) • Instagram photos and videos Thread The Social Chemist (@socialchemistig) on Threads Royce A. Hutson Literature Review Preventing Violent Extremism and So...
Send us a text On today's episode, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Joseph Pierre joins me to discuss the psychosocial elements that contributed to the susceptibility of the QAnon movement, and the varying degrees of convictions held by Q followers. We explore what the future might hold for QAnon as a potential Trump presidency slowly creeps back into power. Instagram The Social Chemist (@socialchemistig) • Instagram photos and videos Thread The Social Chemist (@socialchemistig) on Threads Dr. J...
Send us a text On today's episode, Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware counterterrorism experts from the Council on Foreign Relations stop by to discuss their new book "God, Guns, and Sedition: Far Right Terrorism in America." which tracks the history of white supremacy from the Reconstruction era all the way to the modern-day America. They offer policy suggestions on how to combat the rise of political extremism and their thoughts into the state of democracy with the upcoming 2024 election. ...
Send us a text On today's episode, Matson and Tawni Browning join to discuss their 2023 book "The Hate Next Door: Undercover within the New Face of White Supremacy," which documents their experience going undercover as white political extremists infiltrating hate groups such as the National Alliance and Unit 88. They offer some reasons why people joined white supremacy groups and advice to help anyone falling down the rabbit hole of hate. Instagram The Social Chemist (@socialchemistig) • In...
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