Though the term is often used in a negative way ("Oh, that's just a conspiracy theory!"), I think there's a ton of interesting stuff to be gotten from giving conspiracy theories a really thorough investigation.
Long considered the realm of paranoids and lunatics, conspiracy theory is increasingly entering mainstream pop culture discource, thanks to the internet. From asking questions about how government and society work to even questioning the nature of knowledge and identity, there are some really important issues explored within the twisted labyrinths of conspiracy theory.
The resources below are designed inspire that wildly investigative spirit.
Remember: question everything!
Popular Conspiracy Radio Programs
Since they have bigger budgets and better distribution when compared to smaller outfits, it's always good to keep an ear to the "mainstream" conspiracy media programs. They act as a clearing-house for a lot of trends within the subculture, whether or not they are always universally respected.
- Alex Jones
- Tends towards the alarmist "Let's all get angry!" side of conspiracy theory. Has tons of media offerings and is very popular.
- Coast to Coast AM
- Used to be run by the more well-known Art Bell, now run by George Noory. Sometimes has good guests, but takes a lot of flack from the conspiracy community as not being "hardcore" enough.
- Jeff Rense
- Never actually listened to his radio show myself, but the website has a huge archives of articles on it, some of which I'd say lean in a kind of xenophobic direction I'm not entirely comfortable with.
Other Conspiracy Resources
- Conspiracy Archive
- Lots of very in-depth and pretty well-researched articles on all kinds of conspiracy theories. Nicely organized site as well.
- From the Wilderness
- FTW is run by Mike Ruppert, a fairly well-known conspiracy researcher who takes a bit more pragmatic approach to his investigations than some other people.
- Rinf
- Conspiracy theory portal site with forums, interviews, all kinds of other offerings.
- David Icke
- Awful looking website from the guy who says that Bush and other elites are secretly shape-shifting reptilian aliens. If you can get past that stuff, he does have some interesting messages.
- Conspiracy Theory on Wikipedia
- Pretty detailed entry on Wikipedia exploring conspiracy theories from lots of different angles.
- Illuminati, The New World Order & Paranoid Conspiracy Theorists
- Typical entry from the Skeptic's Dictionary, which is always trying to debunk everything the least bit interesting. That said, I do think it's important to never give up your skeptical edge while investigating the conspiracy culture.
- Above Top Secret
- Another conspiracy portal site with some good stuff on it.
Conspiracy Theory Blogs Worth Reading
The sheer amount of conspiracy theory research out there is just so daunting that it can be tough to know what's worth spending your time on and what's not. The blogs listed here offer, in my opinion, consistently high-quality thoughtful information and discussion.
- Rigorous Intuition
- Exceptionally well-written and thought-provoking conspiracy theory, "deep politics" and "high weirdness" investigations by Canadian author, Jeff Wells.
- Deconsumption
- Though it's not always overtly conspiratorial, it is a very smart analysis of current events with an eye to penetrating the hidden realities of what's going on today.
- Cryptogon
- Not much original writing, but a decent source of news items collected from reputable sources which, taken together, paint a very scary picture
- New World Border
- Not updated very frequently, but has a lot of good cultural analysis and examinations of power-relations within society.
- Anthropik Network
- Very smart anarchist collective whose subject matter often includes things that might be of interest to conspiracy theorists
Articles on Conspiracy Culture
(Written by me)
The thing that continually appeals to me most about conspiracy theory is the culture of it, rather than necessarily whether or not any of it is "true." Studying conspiracy theory is a worthwhile endeavor in understanding how and why people form beliefs.
- Conspiracy Theory & Media Literacy
- Within the conspiracy culture, I see an increasingly savvy approach to analyzing and dissecting media. It's not always perfect, but it's more than most people are doing.
- Conspiracy Theory & Self-Directed Learning
- A companion piece to the one on media literacy, this article talks about what happens when people learn and study outside of traditional academic settings. I believe conspiracy theory highlights several important issues of this more organic learning style.
- An Integral Approach to Conspiracy Theory
- An article I wrote as a half-spoof and half-serious application of philosopher Ken Wilber's Integral quadrant model to conspiracy theory. As funny as a juxtaposition as it may be, I think it actually brings out some really important and useful points.
- Conspiracy Theory, Alchemy & Gnosticism
- A look at conspiracy theory from a sort of spiritual angle. The premise is basically that when people quest after the "truth" within the realm of conspiracy theory, they are really questing after the truth of who they are and what's important to them.
Conspiracy Books & Media
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 07/26/2008)
Behold a Pale Horse
Amazon Price: $25.00 (as of 07/26/2008)
The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
Amazon Price: $17.16 (as of 07/26/2008)
