Why Social Isolation Could Breed Conspiracy Theorists

Learn about what it would be like to travel through a wormhole, how the pumpkin became North America’s Halloween mascot, and how social isolation can fuel conspiracy theories.

What Would It Be Like to Ride Through a Wormhole? By Ashley Hamer

• Lindley, D. (2005). The Birth of Wormholes. Physics, 15. https://physics.aps.org/story/v15/st11
• Nola Taylor Redd. (2017, October 21). What Is Wormhole Theory? Space.Com. https://www.space.com/20881-wormholes.html
• Ceurstemont, S. (2012, March 13). What a trip through a wormhole would look like. New Scientist TV. https://web.archive.org/web/20120415112903/http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/nstv/2012/03/what-a-trip-through-a-wormhole-would-look-like.html
• What does a journey through a wormhole actually look like? (2014, November 13). Physicscentral.Com. http://physicsbuzz.physicscentral.com/2014/11/what-does-journey-through-wormhole.html

How Did Pumpkins Become Halloween’s Go-to Decoration? By Kelsey Donk

• History.com Editors. (2019, October 25). How Jack O’Lanterns Originated in Irish Myth. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/news/history-of-the-jack-o-lantern-irish-origins
• Butler, S. (2013, October 25). The Halloween Pumpkin: An American History. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/news/the-halloween-pumpkin-an-american-history
• Why Do We Carve Pumpkins at Halloween? | Britannica. (2020). In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/story/why-do-we-carve-pumpkins-at-halloween

Social Isolation Could Breed Conspiracy Theorists by Anna Todd

• Graeupner, D., & Coman, A. (2017). The dark side of meaning-making: How social exclusion leads to superstitious thinking. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 69, 218–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2016.10.003
• Hutson, M. (2017). A Conspiracy of Loneliness. Scientific American Mind, 28(3), 15–15. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamericanmind0517-15b
• Social Exclusion Leads to Conspiratorial Thinking, Study Finds | Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. (2017). Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. https://spia.princeton.edu/news/social-exclusion-leads-conspiratorial-thinking-study-finds

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Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/why-social-isolation-could-breed-conspiracy-theorists

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