Robert A. Goldberg PhD; Talking Conspiracy in the Age of Trump

Bob Goldberg is the Director of the Tanner Humanities Center and Professor of History. He is the author of eight books with his last two, the Pulitzer Prize-nominated Barry Goldwater and Enemies Within: The Culture of Conspiracy in Modern America, published by Yale University Press. Recently, with Jackson Newell and Linda Newell, he edited Faith and Reason, Conscience and Conflict: The Paths of Lowell Bennion, Sterling McMurrin, and Obert Tanner (forthcoming). Goldberg has won twelve teaching honors, including the Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholar Distinguished Mentor Award, Distinguished Honors Professor Award, Presidential Teaching Scholar Award, and University of Utah Distinguished Teaching Award. In 2003, he held the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in American Studies at the Swedish Institute for North American Studies, Uppsala University. He received the University of Utah’s most prestigious award, the Rosenblatt Prize for Excellence, in 2008. Goldberg oversees all areas of the Tanner Humanities Center, including programs, operations, workshops and activities for fellows, development, marketing and communications, and staff relations.

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:15 Overview
3:49 Three American Values That Shape Conspiracy Thinking
8:24 Donald Trump’s Conspiracies
16:04 Conspiracy Shorthand
20:19 The Outrage Industry and QAnon
26:23 Conclusion
27:34 Q&A: Trust in American Institutions and Ronald Reagan
30:41 Q&A: Is There Anything You Think Trump Has Done Right?
31:31 Q&A: How Do We Combat Conspiracy Theories?
33:36 Q&A: Is There An Audience for Fact-Checking?
36:11 Q&A: How Do We Open Up Media Discourse?
38:36 Q&A: A Balanced Approach to Dealing with Conspiracies
40:10 Q&A: Political Theater vs. Actual Belief