Catalog: Podcasts, Books, and Other Long-Form Expertise
Full-bodied treatments of big issues in misinformation by people who know things.
This page is one part of the Prism Anti-Misinformation Resources Catalog. See the Table of Contents to navigate to other categories of resources.
Podcasts and Radio Interviews
Disinfo Discussions podcast (Aspen Institute Commission on Information Disorder)
A series of expert briefings on a broad range of essential topics related to mis- and disinformation. “Disinfo Discussions” is designed to help the commissioners and the broader public make sense of the various facets of the information crisis.
Is that a fact? podcast (News Literacy Project)
Informs listeners about news literacy issues that affect their lives through informative conversations with experts working to combat misinformation.
Helping students fight disinformation online (The Education Gadfly Show podcast #785)
Peter Warren Singer, strategist and senior fellow at New America and defense policy expert, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the Cyber Citizenship Initiative, which helps build students’ resilience to digital misinformation. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how different teacher preparation programs impact graduates’ classroom effectiveness.
“Media literacy in the age of disinformation” episode of This Matters podcast (Toronto Star)
Disinformation expert and critical thinking advocate Helen Lee Bouygues talks about the power and the dangers of dis- and misinformation in a hyperpolarized world and how we can improve our critical thinking skills in these uncertain times.
The Art Of Skepticism In A Data-Driven World (Jevin West via Access Utah)
Jevin West is an Associate Professor in the Information School at the University of Washington. He co-founded the DataLab and directs the Center for an Informed Public. He studies the Science of Science and worries about the spread of misinformation.
QAnon Anonymous podcast (Julian Feeld, Travis View & Jake Rockatansky via Spotify)
The QAnon Anonymous Podcast chops & screws the best conspiracy theories of the post-truth era. Your hosts Jake, Julian, and Travis dredge up wild beliefs from online fever swamps, engage QAnon followers in irregular warfare, and trip over deranged historical facts that make conspiracy theories sound sane.
Skullduggery podcast (Michael Isikoff & Daniel Klaidman via Spotify)
Underhandedness. Trickery. Unscrupulous behavior. Skullduggery breaks down the conduct of Washington's political class, tracks the latest in conspiracy theories and disinformation campaigns coursing through social media — and who is pushing them — and keeps you up to date on the latest investigations into misbehavior by members of Congress as well as current and former government officials. Yahoo News’ veteran investigative journalists Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman break news, offer authoritative analysis on sensitive national security and law enforcement issues and draw intriguing historical parallels from decades of covering D.C. scandals. Come prepared to learn something every week.
Q Clearance: The Hunt for QAnon podcast (iHeartRadio via Spotify)
An investigative podcast series that aims to uncover the true identity of QAnon.
Finding Q: My Journey into QAnon podcast (Nicky Woolf via Audible)
It started with an anonymous post in 2017. They called themselves 'Q' and left a trail of cryptic messages for an increasing number of followers to obsess over. Over the years, the conspiracy theory became a movement, crashing into mainstream politics and breaking countless families along the way.
Over this investigation, journalist Nicky Woolf dives into the online and offline world of QAnon in his search to find the shadowy figure behind it all and the legacy they've created.
Adventures in HellwQrld podcast (Poker And Politics via Spotify)
Weekly episodes on topics in conspiracy theory land.
The New Conspiracist podcast (Jolyon Rubinstein and James Ball via Spotify)
QAnon. Pizzagate. Flat earth. The Great Replacement. Conspiracy theories are swirling around like never before – tormenting mistrust, infecting our politics, and even tearing families apart. But Brit Award-winning comedian Jolyon Rubinstein and investigative journalist James Ball are here to save the day. Or at least try. Every episode takes one conspiracy theory – from niche to widespread, deadly serious to trivial – and one great guest, and dissects what makes it tick, what it tells us, and why it matters. After all, the truth is (probably) still out there.
Conspirituality podcast (Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, and Julian Walker via Spotify)
A weekly study of converging right-wing conspiracy theories and faux-progressive wellness utopianism. At best, the conspirituality movement attacks public health efforts in times of crisis. At worst, it fronts and recruits for the fever-dream of QAnon.
Conspiracyland podcast (Yahoo! News via Spotify)
Conspiracyland Season 3 — "The Secret Lives and Brutal Death of Jamal Khashoggi" — is an eight episode series, hosted by Yahoo News' Chief Investigative Correspondent Michael Isikoff, that investigates the grisly state-sponsored assassination of Saudi Arabia's most prominent journalist after he dared to criticize the country's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS.
Endless Thread podcast (WBUR via Spotify)
Hosts Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson dig into the internet's vast and curious ecosystem of online communities to find untold histories, unsolved mysteries, and other jaw-dropping stories online and IRL.
Behind the Bastards podcast (iHeartRadio via Spotify)
There’s a reason the History Channel has produced hundreds of documentaries about Hitler but only a few about Dwight D. Eisenhower. Bad guys (and gals) are eternally fascinating. Behind the Bastards dives in past the Cliffs Notes of the worst humans in history and exposes the bizarre realities of their lives.
Rabbit Hole podcast (New York Times via Spotify)
What is the internet doing to us? The Times tech columnist Kevin Roose discovers what happens when our lives move online.
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Books and Journals
Pastels and Pedophiles: Inside the Mind of QAnon book (Dr. Mia Bloom and Dr. Sophia Moskalenko)
Two experts of extremist radicalization take us down the QAnon rabbit hole, exposing how the conspiracy theory ensnared countless Americans, and show us a way back to sanity.
The Storm is Upon Us book (Mike Rothschild)
Takes readers from the background conspiracies and cults that fed the Q phenomenon, to its embrace by right-wing media and Donald Trump, through the rending of families as loved ones became addicted to Q’s increasingly violent rhetoric, to the storming of the Capitol, and on.
Escaping the Rabbit Hole book (Mick West)
How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories Using Facts, Logic, and Respect
Media Literacy in Action: Questioning the Media book (Renee Hobbs)
A textbook in four parts: Understanding Media; Judgements About Taste, Quality, and Trust; Media Economics; and Media Effects.
Let’s Agree to Disagree: A Critical Thinking Guide to Communication, Conflict Management, and Critical Media Literacy (Nolan Higdon and Mickey Huff)
This transformative text introduces readers to useful theories, powerful case studies, and easily adoptable strategies for becoming sharper critical thinkers, more effective communicators, and critically media literate citizens.
Close Reading the Media book (Frank W. Baker)
Media literacy expert Frank W. Baker offers thematic, timely lessons for every month of the school year, so you can engage students in learning by having them analyse the real world around them. Topics covered include critiquing the messages behind Super Bowl ads, Christmas toy commercials, fall political campaigns, and more. Through these lessons, students will learn to read the media more closely and will improve their critical thinking skills. The book also offers classroom-ready handouts you can use immediately.
HKS Misinformation Review journal (Harvard Kennedy School)
A new format of peer-reviewed, scholarly publication. Content is produced and “fast-reviewed” by misinformation scientists and scholars, released under open access licensing, and geared towards emphasizing real-world implications. All content is targeted towards a specialized audience of researchers, journalists, fact-checkers, educators, policy makers, and other practitioners working in the information, media, and platform landscape. High-quality interdisciplinary research that examines misinformation from different perspectives, from its prevalence and impact to the effectiveness of possible interventions. Publishes six regular issues per year and special issues on themes of particular relevance curated by guest editors.
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Films, Webinars, TED Talks, &c.
Q Into The Storm documentary (Cullen Hoback)
A six-part documentary series from director Cullen Hoback (Terms and Conditions May Apply) and executive producer Adam McKay (HBO’s Succession), charts a labyrinthine journey to uncover the forces behind QAnon.
First Draft Webinars On Demand (First Draft)
First Draft regularly hosts webinars to help reporters and the wider public understand and manage misinformation. Topics include monitoring, verification, building resilience, reporting, public interest, global voices in reporting, coronavirus, and Infotheque 2020.
More Than Fake News -- Understanding the Disinformation Ecosystem (via frank 2017)
Claire Wardle of First Draft News presents on how to think about the scale of the disinformation ecosystem and the imperative to understand it as a whole.
How to recognize disinformation and how to stop it (Deb Lavoy via TEDx Atlanta)
Deb Lavoy is on a mission to eradicate disinformation. As a former software engineer and digital marketer, she recognized the established social media marketing techniques that disinformation perpetrators appropriating to manipulate us into believing falsehoods. This talk provides tips on recognizing these tricks and how to counter them.
Reconciling Social Media & Democracy (Joan Donovan and Robert Faris via Tech Policy Press)
While various solutions to problems at the intersection of social media and democracy are under consideration, from regulation to antitrust action, some experts are enthusiastic about the opportunity to create a new social media ecosystem that relies less on centrally managed platforms like Facebook and more on decentralized, interoperable services and components. The first discussion at the event took on the notion of ‘middleware’ for content moderation. The second discussion looked at this question through the lens of what it might mean for the fight against misinformation.
Infodemic: Global Conversations on Science and Misinformation (PBS)
Features top science experts from around the world. Dive into the costs of science misappropriation and denialism, and explore solutions to the challenges that science faces on a global level.