David Aaronovitch, writer, broadcaster and commentator on international politics and the media joins Little Atoms to discuss the role of the conspiracy theory in shaping modern history.

“A very committed conspiracy theorist is as attached to their theories as any significant religious person is to their faith or a political ideologue to a political idea that they really don’t want to give up.”

His book, Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History explores the importance of rationality in the information age.

“The sources of information available to young people today are at a level that we never dreamed of. It will be increasingly important that as the information revolution deepens, to create spaces that have a rationalist kite mark on them - spaces that have a badge of quality on them. I think its going to be one of the big discussions of the next 10 years.”

For Aaronovitch deconstructing conspiracy theories and finding the truth is vitally important.

“It matters because one is true and one isn’t. It matters trying to get at the true versions of history and the true versions of science as far as we can know them. That effort matters.”

First broadcast 29/05/09

2015-11-30 00:30:00 to 2015-11-30 00:58:00
2015-01-25 09:00:00
2015-01-26 09:00:00
http://littleatoms.com/sites/default/files/podcast/davidaaronovitch3.mp3

Johann Hari is a journalist who has written for the New York Times, the LA Times, the Guardian,Le Monde, Slate, the New Republic and The Nation among others. He was a columnist on the Independent for nine years and was twice named Newspaper Journalist of the Year by Amnesty International UK. He has also been named Cultural Commentator of the Year by the Editorial Intelligence awards and Gay Journalist of the Year by Stonewall.

This is the biography from Johann Hari's new book Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs. It leaves out rather a lot. In this interview Neil Denny talks to Johann about the book, but not before he has apologized to some other friends of Little Atoms.

Chasing The Scream is available to buy here

2015-11-28 01:30:00 to 2015-11-28 02:45:58
2015-02-22 13:00:00
2015-02-24 13:00:00
2015-02-26 13:00:00
http://littleatoms.com/sites/default/files/podcast/little_atoms_358_johann_hari_chasing_scream.mp3

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