Conspiracy Theories

Curious about the wild world of conspiracy theories and how they intersect? Ever wondered how a skeptic and an entertainer could find common ground on topics that boggle the mind? This episode promises to be a rollercoaster of surprises, starting with our hilarious banter about celestial-themed t-shirts and tattoo plans featuring tarot cards, moons, and suns. As we navigate through Hannah's skepticism and Davey's love for storytelling, we also sneak in a life update and tease a special D&D-themed birthday gift—because why not mix a little personal touch with our eclectic discussions? Plus, we explore how platforms like TikTok turn conspiracy theories into endless rabbit holes, captivating audiences worldwide.

Journey with us as we uncover the evolution of these theories through the ages. We dive into how societal changes and technological advancements have shaped the way we perceive and spread conspiracy theories today. From examining the human brain's tendency to seek patterns in chaos to the crucial role of credible sources in forming beliefs, we touch on contemporary issues like the war in Ukraine and its varied media portrayals. Our conversation highlights the importance of critical thinking and the need to question the information we come across daily.

In a whimsical twist, we tackle some of the most popular and bizarre conspiracy theories, balancing skepticism with respect for the real human tragedies involved. Whether it’s 9-11, the moon landing, or the mystery of Madeleine McCann, we bring in personal anecdotes and humorous critiques to keep things engaging. Ever heard of the Flat Earth theory or the idea of Davey being a hologram? We’ve got you covered with lighthearted debunking and playful banter. As we wrap up, we emphasize the significance of distinguishing reality from fiction, the impact of disinformation, and the ethical responsibilities of those who spread these theories. 
Tune in for a blend of humor, thought-provoking discussion, and a reminder to always verify before you believe.

Transcript

Exploring Conspiracy Theories and Tattoos

Davey 0:00

Hello and welcome to Bonus Dad. Bonus Daughter a special father-daughter podcast with me Hannah and me, davy, where we discuss our differences, similarities, share a few laughs and stories. Within our ever-changing and complex world, Each week we will discuss a topic from our own point of view and influences throughout the decades or you could choose one by contacting us via email, instagram, facebook or TikTok links in bio.

Hannah 0:24

Okay, we didn't discuss who was going to open this one.

Davey 0:27

No, we never did. I actually did your little 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 countdown and you just sat there looking at me as though to say and, and, and welcome to another episode of Bonus Dad, Bonus Daughter.

Hannah 0:39

We are here to talk about conspiracy theories today.

Davey 0:42

Yeah, yeah, I thought we should have. This was one subject I thought we would have done early on and we haven't.

Hannah 0:49

I feel like this is going to be very one-sided, because you are a conspiracy theorist. No, I'm not.

Davey 0:57

No, I'm not, I find them funny.

Hannah 1:00

You tell me about them more than you probably care to admit.

Davey 1:03

I know, but they're just funny. Okay, they are hilarious.

Hannah 1:06

So you're not a believer.

Davey 1:07

No, I don't believe. No, I don't believe them. Some of them are completely like just ridiculous.

Hannah 1:14

Okay.

Davey 1:15

But they are funny. Some of them are funny, okay, yes.

Hannah 1:18

So we're going to talk about the non-conspiracy theory. What?

Davey 1:26

You just kind of sat there Like you've got your leg up on another chair, you've got your arms over your. You look like some kind of like Evil, no, like headmistress, headmistress. Yeah, you've got like this kind of headmistress vibe going on.

Hannah 1:41

I feel like I just look super chill.

Davey 1:42

Yeah, I'm trying to sit comfortable and uh we, we are just gonna have to mention your t-shirt though why do we have to mention my t-shirt? Because of what's on your t-shirt I have it's. It's very celestial it is very celestial.

Hannah 1:54

Yes, there's mushrooms, there's eucalyptus, basically every single tattoo that I have on my body actually you. I can't see a pumpkin on this shirt.

Davey 2:04

No, there's no pumpkin. But what is interesting about that because when I looked at your t-shirt today when we were at McDonald's is I noticed that all of the patterns on your shirt are actually your tattoos as well, because you've got the sun and the moon on there.

Hannah 2:18

I'm going for an aesthetic.

Davey 2:20

I mean that mushroom that's on your shirt there is pretty much the same as what the one that's on your arm.

Hannah 2:25

Pretty much. I mean, there's two mushrooms, I have three, but even where the eucalyptus is over your kind of like the what's that part my chest.

Davey 2:34

No, not above your chest. What's that bit called Collarbone? Yeah, that bit that's pretty much in the same place on your shirt as what they are actually on your body.

Hannah 2:41

I guess yeah, yeah, and phases of the moon on my neck, exactly.

Davey 2:45

Yeah.

Hannah 2:46

Yeah, very true, very true, but I didn't design it, contrary to popular belief.

Davey 2:49

No, no, no.

Hannah 2:50

I didn't design the shirt.

Davey 2:52

You also have a sun on there as well, Hannah.

Hannah 2:54

I do have a sun on there.

Davey 2:56

Yes.

Hannah 2:56

Sun to come.

Davey 2:57

Sun to come. I actually think episode will probably go out after that.

Hannah 3:04

After my new tattoo.

Davey 3:04

After your new tattoo. Does your mum know yet?

Hannah 3:06

I don't think anyone knows.

Davey 3:08

Just me.

Hannah 3:09

I think I've only told you Alright, and Mitchell knows.

Davey 3:12

Oh yeah, he knows yeah yeah, mitchell knows, yeah, yeah, so this episode will go out after that anyway.

Hannah 3:17

Yeah, this is the revealing episode. Yeah, that no one will know until after the fact.

Davey 3:22

Exactly.

Hannah 3:23

Yeah, I'm getting some tarot cards done you are indeed, aren't you?

Davey 3:25

I'm going to get a moon and a sun.

Hannah 3:26

Very excited about it. Yeah, Next weekend actually.

Davey 3:29

Mm-hmm, whoa.

Hannah 3:32

Very excited Three days before my birthday, three days before your birthday, yes, yes, very true. Oh, I've got you the best gift this year.

Davey 3:39

Have you got me? I can tell you have, you no.

Hannah 3:42

Aw Aw.

Davey 3:44

Okay.

Hannah 3:45

It's D&D related.

Davey 3:46

Is it really yeah, excellent, cool Anyway we've already kind of flown off topic and started going on tangents. Was that a life update?

Hannah 3:54

Life update. Life update. We only do those at the start of each recording session. We've never done it.

Davey 4:00

I know Well. No, it's well yeah.

Hannah 4:01

Here we are.

Davey 4:02

Here we are. We've already had our life update today, haven't we?

Hannah 4:04

We have. Yes, we've now had two.

Davey 4:06

Yeah, so in actual fact, god, I sound like my granddad In actual fact In actual fact. So life updates really are going to be like every third episode, aren't they? Because we record three episodes a day.

Hannah 4:20

With a smattering in between apparently other ones.

Davey 4:23

Yes, yeah, fun, yeah. So conspiracy theories, back on track, back on track. So what is a conspiracy theory? What would you say a conspiracy theory was? Because we're not going to delve into individual conspiracy theories, although we might mention a few at the end.

Hannah 4:40

I think we couldn't not mention any, but I think for me conspiracy theories just seem to be. I'm not going to look at the definition, but I would say a conspiracy theory is something that at least a group of people have to believe. In order for it to be classed as a conspiracy theory and I say when I say group of people, I imagine it would need a fairly large following for people to get involved, and I think with conspiracy theories nowadays they're all over TikTok.

Hannah 5:10

I don't really see them on any other platform other than TikTok and people will just go down rabbit holes because on TikTok you've got a link to another video or another thing and it could be something to do with. It could be a very well-known murder trial on telly or something. Or it could even be like Kate Middleton, for example, and all the conspiracy theories around that.

Davey 5:28

Oh, we've recently just had one about Kate Middleton. Haven't we, haven't we? Yeah.

Hannah 5:31

So it's like you know, there's always conspiracy theories that an artist has died and this is like their doppelganger taking over Avril.

Davey 5:38

Lavigne Avril Lavigne is one of them. Paul McCartney.

Hannah 5:40

Yeah, and it's just like I think it has to be something a theory that someone has based some evidence that they have, that they have obtained that prove their theory.

Davey 5:52

Yeah.

Hannah 5:52

A lot of people will say that they've got evidence to back it up and, on the face value of it, the evidence does back up their theory. That's how they've interpreted that evidence. I think what it boils down to, isn't it at?

Hannah 6:05

the end of the day, like if they truly believe it and they've got the evidence in front of them to believe it. I mean, why not believe in something you know? If you've got evidence to believe in a theory of that sort, I can understand why people jump on the bandwagon and start believing it too. But yeah, um, as we know, evidence can be misconstrued. It could be misinterpreted. The evidence also could be very, very clear. People have gone the other way and disproving clear evidence as well.

Davey 6:33

Yeah, you can't win. Sometimes, when I say conspiracy theory, what's the first image that pops into your head? I always get an image in my head when I think of conspiracy theories.

Hannah 6:42

I think conspiracy theories for me is like the eye in the pyramid. What's it called? Like the all-seeing eye?

Davey 6:48

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, you were talking Illuminati now.

Hannah 6:50

I'm talking Illuminati like national treasure.

Davey 6:53

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.

Hannah 6:55

But I think 9-11 is another thing that pops into my brain when I think of conspiracy theories.

Davey 6:59

Do you know what? The first thing that pops into my head? Go on that image of charlie day with the board with all the pieces of string. For me it's always sunny, the meme, the meme. Yeah, that is the thing that always pops into my because. That is it. That is how I see conspiracy theories yeah, it's all these strands of like just randomness, that's all put together, linking things together, yeah and then it all comes up with snowball, snowball, yeah.

Davey 7:22

Um, because I yeah, because I did actually Google. I did Google to see what a conspiracy theory was, to see what the official kind of definition was. Yeah, and it came up with it says it is a theory that explains an event or set of circumstances that, as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful conspirators, that's interesting. Isn't it?

Hannah 7:49

A set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot. Are all of them always a secret plot?

Davey 7:57

Not always no, but sometimes people do tend to add something. Do you think of the, you know, like the plane that went missing? Yes, you know, there you go.

Hannah 8:07

Malaysian Air.

Davey 8:08

Flight, yeah, malaysian Air Flight. So then, of course, all the you know the kind of theories.

Hannah 8:13

Was it a cover-up? Was?

Davey 8:13

it this Exactly there's a secret plot behind it, so I guess, yeah, people make their own narrative, yeah, and there's usually a hidden villain A hidden villain. A hidden a secret cabal, or.

Hannah 8:26

And normally that hidden villain for most people is the government.

Davey 8:29

Oh, yeah, yeah, oh, but yeah, but then it's the government being controlled by the secret cabal, or aliens, illuminati, or Illuminati or the Anunnaki. I love that one. That's my favourite.

Hannah 8:41

It's a fun word to say.

Davey 8:42

Anunnaki.

Hannah 8:43

Anunnaki.

Davey 8:44

Anunnaki.

Hannah 8:45

Anunnaki, anunnaki. Space lizards, it's very close to an anemone.

Davey 8:48

Anphenomenon Do, do, do, do, do. Phenomenon, yeah, conspiracy theory, but there is also a conspiracy theory about conspiracy theories.

Hannah 9:00

Oh well, that's just very Inception-esque.

Davey 9:01

Well, that's just very.

Hannah 9:01

Inception-esque.

Davey 9:02

I know how many layers.

Hannah 9:04

How many layers?

Davey 9:05

Where's your totem Ogres? Ogres have layers, but the conspiracy theory about conspiracy theories are that conspiracy theories are put out by certain people to distract from the real ones.

Hannah 9:18

When does it end?

Davey 9:20

It doesn't ever end. This is why I love them, because they're just so ridiculous and so funny.

Hannah 9:26

Ridiculous.

Davey 9:27

Ridiculous, yeah, so yeah, have you not heard that one?

Hannah 9:31

No, but it makes sense. It does, doesn't it? Yeah, it makes sense.

Davey 9:34

So you know people put these outlandish conspiracy theories out there.

Hannah 9:38

You're an outlandish conspiracy theory.

Davey 9:40

Thank you, so that, when something really happens, people will go.

Hannah 9:55

Oh, that's just another conspiracy theory. Jfk assassination, you know, and all of that, and Epstein's Island, and all of that. I do think it's quite weird that they haven't ever found the shooter of JFK.

Davey 10:00

They did, they arrested him.

Hannah 10:01

Oh.

Davey 10:02

It was Lee Harvey Oswald, wasn't it?

Hannah 10:04

Oh, it really was. He confessed to it and everything.

Davey 10:06

Well, no, he didn't confess to it, but Jack Ruby shot him while he was going into court, and then Jack Ruby ended up dead. Hence the conspiracy theories.

Hannah 10:13

Oh.

Davey 10:16

And there's old matey on the grassy knoll. Have you ever seen Bill Hicks? No, Right. Well, Bill Hicks, an amazing comedian from the 80s. He died and of course, his death was a conspiracy theory, because man spoke the truth.

Hannah 10:29

Oh, I see.

Davey 10:30

Yeah, and his death. But his comedy show it's a bit dated now because it's set in the 80s with some of the subject matter, but the underlying things of what he says is brilliant. Okay, he does this whole thing about the JFK assassination, oh, okay, and he's saying, you know back into the left and you know the magic bullet theory and all of this kind of thing, but yeah, cool, it's quite funny. Well, it's not quite funny. Bill Hicks is hilarious. He's absolutely brilliant. But I did have a little look to see when the recorded kind of conspiracy theory was.

Hannah 11:03

Okay.

Davey 11:04

And it was Philip IV of France and he set out a kind of rumour, conspiracy theory out about the Knights Templar and this is the first kind of recorded one Right and basically Philip IV of France wanted to get rid of the Knights Templar and there's loads of conspiracy theories around the Knights Templar anyway but basically he started pushing out words around that they were into sodomy, they were into devil worship and to then kind of discredit them and get rid of them essentially, and it kind of worked. Now think of that and think of what happens now.

Hannah 11:49

Oh, I thought you were going to link this to Dune, because they purposely spread talk of the Bene? Gesserit and being the Lord and Saviour. Huh, are you with me?

Davey 12:00

No.

Hannah 12:01

Dune the sandworm. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, yeah so they all pass around that he's the saviour. Oh, yeah, the messiah, yeah, yeah, yeah and the Bene Gesserit spread all the rumours around, don't they? And then everyone starts believing it.

Davey 12:16

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's the same sort of thing.

Hannah 12:17

Yeah, I thought that's what you were going to go for.

Davey 12:19

No, I'm actually going with current affairs and the news and how oh devil worship. And all this type of thing. So you know that certain actors and certain things are into this and devil worship and all of that and also with D&D in the 80s.

Hannah 12:36

That's what I was thinking of as well.

Davey 12:38

It's almost like. The funny thing is, when you're talking conspiracy theories, the easy go-to thing is it's to do with the devil and Satan.

Hannah 12:45

Yeah.

Davey 12:45

Yeah, yeah, isn't it? That's kind of where it goes down to. And did you know, and this is actually a really sad fact, so anti-Semitism.

Hannah 12:55

Yes.

Davey 12:55

Do you know where the first recorded anti-Semitic kind of conspiracy theory came from? No, it came from bloody Norwich. Do you know that? Norwich, bloody Norwich, do you know that? Norwich, norwich? Oh no, norwich has got the oldest dated anti-Semitic kind of not issue. The issue's the wrong word.

Hannah 13:12

We're also the most godless city, aren't we?

Davey 13:13

We are the most godless city. Yeah, but it was because in the Middle Ages they accused obviously the, obviously the Jewish community of devil worshipping.

Hannah 13:23

Yes.

Davey 13:24

And that's kind of. It was the start of the anti-Semitism back then and Norwich was the first recorded case Happened in Norwich. That's not great. No, it's not great at all.

Hannah 13:34

Not a great part of our history. Not a great part of our history at all, but why do you think people actually do believe in conspiracy theories? I think maybe a lot of it is how influenced that person is. When I think of modern day, I think of tiktok and I think of probably the most impressionable, influential people that we have in our society at the moment our kids, children yeah they're seeing that they see something on tiktok about how, when you're in a plane, why they ask you to um hunker down.

Hannah 14:06

And that's because I don't know, if you're in flight and you crash the the airplane, you're more likely to die quicker because your head hits the seat and your neck breaks, snaps, whatever, and that's why they ask you to do that. You know they're willing to believe things like that and I know that's not particularly a conspiracy theory. It's just that they're very impressionable people and I think a lot of it kind of feeds into people's what if?

Hannah 14:31

yeah uh, a little bit like feeds into that, that part of your curious part of, like the the human mind about, oh, actually, you know, oh, you've got the evidence to back this up here, like you know, why shouldn't I believe that?

Hannah 14:44

or, you know, I think sometimes the evidence that people produce is believable enough or compelling enough for people to 100 believe that what they're watching is real, especially with the rise of ai um, yeah, yeah, yeah as well so I guess, kind of leading on from what you've just asked me, or the question I kind of want to ask you is why did people believe in conspiracy theories in your time, where social media wasn't a thing, how did conspiracy theories get around? Was there a magazine? How did you hear about conspiracy theories? How did you?

Davey 15:22

hear about conspiracy theories. Word of mouth, word of mouth A lot of it was word of mouth but, bizarrely enough, because we used to read a lot of books, you know, because books were library and I can remember where there was these books that I used to have and it would be like unsolved mysteries and things like that.

Davey 15:40

And then you know, your own mind started working with that and you would probably make I mean, I remember used to making up theories myself because I'm very, quite creative, imaginative mind- yeah and I would make all these, you know, even in my own mind I would just make up all sorts of conspiracy not conspiracy theories, but all you know, connecting all these different things and and the like, and then kind of, then you would tell your friends and then kind of go on like that, but the big ones it used to yeah, I don't know, it just used to be word of mouth, people just used to talk about them, and it would be almost like as well, you kind of, and I kind of like you connected the dots together, if you know what I mean. But with the rise of social media and the rise of TikTok, yeah, it's just it, it's there isn't it, it's everywhere.

Hannah 16:27

Do you think? We as humans try to find patterns?

Davey 16:30

Yeah, 100%.

Hannah 16:32

We try to seek out some sort of order or organisation like. Sometimes I find it very hard to believe that we were created because a one in a million slip in some sort of genetic coding, evolution rebases. I struggle to think that we came about just by chance. I personally really struggle with that concept. So when it comes to speaking about things and lining up things, and you've got the evidence to the empirical evidence to back that up, I mean, why wouldn't some people believe what they're being told if they've got evidence in front of them that says you know, backs up their theory.

Davey 17:12

Yeah, this is it. Like you said before, it all depends on the evidence and how the evidence is presented and who says that evidence as well, I think you know a lot of people trust.

Hannah 17:22

I'm sure a lot of people in the UK particularly would trust the BBC over my TV, for example as an example. Some people would trust Joe Bloggs on the street over a politician who they might think have an ulterior motive or something like that. So I think it always depends on the person that's doing the influencing, as well as the evidence to back that up.

Davey 17:43

Yeah. And again, it's certain words that you use can invoke different feelings and different responses. I mean, let's take the war in Ukraine at the moment. Okay, so in Russia they posed it as a military operation, yeah, but in the West it's the invasion of Ukraine.

Hannah 17:59

Yeah.

Unraveling Patterns in Conspiracy Theories

Davey 18:00

Essentially, at the end of the day, people are still dying, it's horrible it's a war. But depending on those types of words, it evokes a different type of response in you, of course. Yeah, so that's kind of how it kind of comes across. Because you study psychology, I study psychology, ramsey's theory.

Hannah 18:18

Go on.

Davey 18:19

Well, ramsey's theory states that if there are enough elements in a set or structure, a pattern will emerge within it, and that can probably explain where conspiracy theories come from. It's almost like the human necessity to find links and meanings within those patterns Basically our brains. It's how our brains are wired. We will look for those Again. This is why we can go back to the. It's always sunny picture. You know you've got with Charlie.

Hannah 18:46

Day he's trying to find, yeah, connections between everything. Yeah, and I kind of on that note as well, when you've got things like JFK, for example, our brains are very much hardwired to. I promise I've got a point to this, but it might take me a while to get around to it.

Hannah 19:05

Our brains are hardwired in most respects to rely on schemas. Schemas like things. What I mean by schemas is like evidence that you already know. When you think of a car, you think of potentially two seats in the front, three seats in the back or two seats in the back, depending on what you've got or what you used to. Yeah, that's what you think of with the JFK assassination. The car was actually two seats a middle layer of seats and then a back layer of seats, which is quite unusual for a car. So if you think about a car, you don't normally have a backseat and another further backseat, unless it's a minibus or something like that. Right Now, this kind of feeds a little bit into a Mandela effect, because a lot of people are asked how many seats were there in JFK's car, and most people will say between four or five.

Davey 19:45

I was thinking in my head, I was trying to picture the car as you were saying that I was like was there?

Hannah 19:50

So there was.

Davey 19:51

Right, okay, but your brain.

Hannah 19:53

Our brains are hardwired already with the knowledge that most cars excluding limos, minibuses, things like that but you'd expect like people riding in a car, and when you see the footage of jfk in your mind you're kind of just seeing what you expect a car to look like. So you're already and that's why they think mandela effects happen. So I guess my point here is that our brains are so hardwired into finding what we already know, finding pattern in what we already know for example, how many cars, how many seats are in a car, or things like that that when it comes to conspiracy theories and someone provides ulterior evidence, to something you're like oh no, that's not right, because that's not how I remember it.

Hannah 20:33

You know, someone died. Mandela died in the 80s, but actually no, he died sort of early noughties.

Davey 20:40

Yeah.

Hannah 20:41

You know, it's kind of bringing the two kind of theories together a little bit. It's like well, our brains are actually not that good at remembering things.

Davey 20:50

Well even even there's a conspiracy? Yeah, no, there's not, because there's witness. I mean, I've, you know it's the uh, and also you don't necessarily see what's there. Have you ever seen the video? You know you you're too fixed on something, you don't see the bigger picture.

Hannah 21:03

Yeah, so the monkey that's exactly where I was going. The monkey and you've got to watch the people pass the ball to each other. That's it. You've got to watch the white team and how many passes they make between them, but no one ever notices the monkey, yeah.

Hannah 21:12

It literally stands in front, waves at you and then goes off again. It's right in front of your face Ghosts, story of the Ghosts or Adventures of the Ghosts or something, and basically it's a story that doesn't really make a lot of sense and you go through and then you get questions at the end like what were the fighters shooting? And because they were using the word shooting, you think, oh, bullets. But it wasn't, it was bow and arrows or something like that.

Davey 21:40

Again, language, how language is used.

Hannah 21:42

And this kind of goes down to also eyewitness testimony. It's how the language is used and this kind of goes down to also eyewitness testimony. Like a lot of people, it's probably one of the most unreliable sources of when it comes to crime and solving crimes. People don't remember that well at all. No, and they will base a lot of their evidence on all these already preconceived ideas that they have of things like the car. You know these schemers in their brain.

Hannah 22:07

so I think when it comes to conspiracy theories you know a lot of people will refute probably correct evidence just because it doesn't line up with what what they already understand of what a car looks like or what something looks like, um, so I think that's a really yeah, but our brains do, our brains are shit, they are shit but they're also incredibly clever how they do kind of Because, bizarrely enough, I'm going to read something to you and you tell me if I don't. It's called War of the Ghosts.

Davey 22:39

I've just remembered all the stories, it's called War of the Ghosts. Okay, I'm going to read something to you and you tell me if this doesn't you know, if your brain doesn't kind of imagine this, even though this makes no sense.

Hannah 22:54

Okay.

Davey 22:54

Okay, this is called the Backwards Poem.

Hannah 22:58

Oh, okay.

Davey 22:59

Yeah, I've told you about Backwards Poems before.

Hannah 23:01

I think, yeah, yeah, I might know the one yeah, and this?

Davey 23:04

I want to read this one out, and I've just quickly googled it. And it's one bright day, in the middle of the night, two dead boys got up to fight back to back. They faced each other, drew their swords and shot each other. A deaf policeman heard the noise and came and shot. Now, did you get the image of that in your head?

Hannah 23:31

Well, yeah, I can picture that all happening, but it doesn't make sense.

Davey 23:34

It makes no sense.

Hannah 23:35

Yeah.

Davey 23:36

No sense whatsoever, because each line contradicts itself all the way through.

Hannah 23:40

Yeah, it's a very clever pattern.

Davey 23:41

But your brain, because I do I've got a specific kind of image of that entire scene. Yeah, when that happens.

Hannah 23:47

They drew their swords and shot each other. Swords are suddenly now guns. It's like it's nuts, isn't it?

Davey 23:52

It's nuts, because it's almost like our brains do try to piece together patterns and put things in there.

Hannah 23:59

Yeah.

Davey 24:00

And then, of course, you got Arkham's razor, isn't it?

Hannah 24:02

Which is like the simplest explanation is normally the correct one, yeah.

Davey 24:06

So when you throw all these things in together, you can kind of overthink things.

Hannah 24:09

Oh God, overthink things, oh God.

Davey 24:10

Yeah, you can see kind of how conspiracy theories can come above and also I think it's also like a little bit of a psychological comfort for us as well. Yeah, and that when something's going wrong or something bad happens, with a conspiracy theory, we can put the blame on something, on someone yes, and quite often that someone is the hidden villain, yes, who we don't even know. But we can blame them. It's all their fault.

Hannah 24:34

Yeah.

Davey 24:34

Yeah, Do you know? Because there's one thing I know we talk about governments and secret cabals and things like that, and I genuinely don't know what is more scary right the fact that there could be a secret group of elites controlling everything globally, or there isn't.

Hannah 24:55

Yeah. And I don't know which one's more scary a secret group of elites controlling everything globally, or there isn't, yeah, and I don't know which one's more scary, I do always have this thought that, like every country, is in debt.

Davey 25:06

But who are they in debt to? Yeah, exactly.

Hannah 25:07

I don't get it, I don't. Oh, the UK is in so much debt, to who?

Davey 25:11

Yeah, exactly.

Hannah 25:14

What country has all of the wealth? Everyone seems to be in debt to everyone, so if we all paid back everyone eventually, we'd all be not out of debt.

Davey 25:22

Yeah, and also we control the idea of money and finances, yeah. So how can we possibly be in debt? Just write it off, yeah.

Hannah 25:29

I don't understand. No, I don't. They're just numbers on a screen.

Davey 25:32

It is numbers on a screen, but yeah, so I don't know which one is more scary the fact that there could be a secret cabal controlling everything, or there isn't and nobody knows exactly what they're doing. So are we being manipulated by an evil group of masterminds, or is everyone just an idiot?

Hannah 25:50

Yeah.

Davey 25:51

Yeah, which one is more scary? I don't know.

Hannah 25:54

I don't know. I think there's a part of me that would prefer the latter to the former, but like I just Both terrify me. Yeah, you know, it's not great.

Davey 26:04

The world is being run by incompetence.

Hannah 26:06

Yeah.

Davey 26:07

Or the world is being run by evil masterminds.

Hannah 26:10

Yeah who, we nobody got the chance to pick or decide upon.

Davey 26:14

Which one's more scary? They both are, yeah. So I mean, I started this podcast off by saying conspiracy theories make me laugh, they do. They make me laugh For you, they're fun, for me, they're fun. But.

Hannah 26:29

They can be dangerous.

Davey 26:30

They can be very dangerous.

Navigating Influence and Disinformation

Hannah 26:31

Yeah, I was going to say. I think, if I may put this as delicately as possible, if there was someone of a disposition where they are very easily influenced or have a mind that could be very easily influenced, I think such information could probably make someone's mental capacity to understand reality compared to conspiracy theories. I think that is where the danger element comes in Impressionable people, young people particularly, and those who may not be able to differentiate between reality and the conspiracy theory. I think that's when it becomes dangerous and I think the people that create these conspiracy theories and they don't mean to endanger these people, but I don't think they always realize the weight that they hold when they say this evidence and how much they could potentially influence someone and take them on a dark path going to make up a conspiracy theory. There's, there's got to be an ethical element in there. Like you know, what are you doing? Like, what are you trying to achieve through this? Are you going to actually ruin someone's life by yeah by creating this, yeah narrative.

Davey 27:44

But I mean you look at. So I mean, the first thing that kind of popped into my head was is have you seen the 4chan documentary?

Hannah 27:52

No.

Davey 27:53

You know 4chan no On the web back in the early 200s.

Hannah 27:57

No.

Davey 27:58

Early 200s, early, you know, the early noughties. No, basically 4chan was like an internet chat group that grew and grew and grew, creating memes. It got very toxic and very kind of horrible. But they created a lot of the conspiracy theories on there about Trump and you think how that then actually got. Actually they attribute that to Trump getting elected. And then you look at all the conspiracy theories that went around with Trump, with QAnon and all of that, and what did it culminate in? January 6th riots. You know, dangerous. The country could have collapsed. America could have collapsed. Over that it could have dangerous.

Hannah 28:33

And you know the country could have collapsed, america could have collapsed over that it could have done and the amount of people that probably got hurt through that as well.

Davey 28:37

Yeah.

Hannah 28:38

People that I don't think necessarily would have you know stormed the White House. I can't remember exactly what happened.

Davey 28:44

They stormed the Capitol building, didn't they? Capitol building, that was it yeah, you know. Politicians were hiding in fear, thinking they were going to get murdered.

Hannah 28:52

Yeah, exactly that's not how it should be. No, it's not cool, it's not cool, it's not cool, yeah.

Davey 29:02

and to have a president kind of agree with yeah, he egged it on because it fitted his narrative.

Hannah 29:06

See, I think people in that position really need to.

Davey 29:10

Have a word with themselves.

Hannah 29:14

I mean Trump is an easy target for us to pick on, but there are several other people that I think. You've got a voice and it's important to use that voice in an ethical way and not influence things like that. That shouldn't have ever happened.

Davey 29:29

No, it shouldn't have happened. No, it shouldn't have happened Because have you seen? Oh yes, I mean, have you seen? You have, I know, you have, but the boys.

Hannah 29:36

Yes.

Davey 29:36

I've seen the boys, so you haven't seen the latest series yet, have you?

Hannah 29:39

No, haven't got around to it.

Davey 29:40

They kind of address quite the whole idea of conspiracy theories with Firecracker who's a new superhero or new soup. I won't go into too many details, but I have heard that she is, that Firecracker is based on a current US politician and as soon as you see it, you're going to know damn well who it is.

Hannah 30:01

Oh, okay.

Davey 30:02

You're going to know exactly who it is, kind of that conspiracy theorist kind of person who has got a little bit of a voice and is very, very dangerous, I would say, because, yeah, I mean, you end up with distrust in people. Conspiracy theories can affect your own mental health.

Hannah 30:21

Yeah.

Davey 30:22

They have caused riots Over the years. They've caused riots. There's a public health impact. Covid.

Hannah 30:30

Yeah.

Davey 30:30

You know. Look at all the theories that were flying around during COVID with the anti-vax movement.

Hannah 30:35

Anti-vax movement. People calling it the China virus really bothered me as well.

Davey 30:39

Yeah.

Hannah 30:42

Just like it's just. I wish people would really think about the words and the impact that those words have on influential characters within society, because it's just you hear something, you go like there's immediate dread inside. You like oh, come on, yeah, and the things that people will believe, and people will believe anything written down, sometimes, I think, and that really, really annoys me.

Davey 31:09

Well, I think that's a lot of it. I think there's a lot of laziness as well, lately across everyone, where they'll read something and they will just believe it me. Well, I think that's a lot of it. I think there's there's a lot of laziness as well lately, across everyone, um, where they'll read something and they will just believe it. Go and check it yeah go and check it.

Hannah 31:20

I mean, that's the whole point of the internet, argue it like to the to the nines, without any, any evidence at all.

Davey 31:25

It's just, oh yeah frustrating, and I think a lot of it is as well, because people aren't happy to get into a healthy debate with someone. I say healthy and you know, disagree with somebody, yes, but still be respectful of them. As I said, like when we're talking about I can't remember if it was this episode or the previous episode we were talking about politics and we were talking about the voting. Yeah, me and you might have different views on different politics, but I respect your views. You respect my views.

Hannah 31:56

We're still friends, we're still friends.

Davey 31:58

Actually, I don't think we do disagree, do we? On politics?

Hannah 32:00

I don't know.

Davey 32:01

I don't think we do. No, I don't think we do. But yeah, there will be things where you know, yeah, I know other people who have their own opinion on something, but because they've got their own opinion, I still like them.

Hannah 32:13

Yeah, I don't like it. When I don't mind people who choose not to vote, that's fine.

Davey 32:17

Yeah.

Hannah 32:17

Not voting. That's your choice and that's your choice. But what I don't like is when people say you've wasted your vote.

Davey 32:23

Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, no vote.

Hannah 32:25

If someone chooses to vote, that vote is not wasted Just because it's not one of, maybe, the leading parties, whatever they may be and whoever they may be. But choosing a non like your vote still counts, even if you cancel someone else's vote out. You know, I just don't. I've never understood. Well, that's a wasted vote. Don't vote for them. That's a wasted vote. You only vote for one of the two big ones. It's like well, no, maybe that's not what I want to do Exactly it's like, well, no, maybe that's not what I want to do.

Davey 32:55

That annoys me. You can disagree with somebody on a subject, but it doesn't mean that you still can't be friends that's a ridiculous notion, that whole idea. I can't get my head around that. But yeah, go out and check the facts, because that's the other thing we've got the internet. The internet is a wealth of information and when I say go and check facts, I don't mean going on other conspiracy theories websites I mean actually go out and check facts yeah and I think a lot of it is as well.

Davey 33:22

I mean, like, because of my job and my role and what I do, I do have to read a lot. You know, I sometimes have to read a lot of legal documents and don't get get me wrong, they are boring, they are long-winded, but they are so worded in such a way that and you know, it's not one of those types of documents that you think, oh, I'm just going to read this today and see what happens you know they're heavy going.

Davey 33:46

They are proper heavy going. But what would be more fun would be a meme with a catchy slogan.

Hannah 33:53

Exactly yeah.

Davey 33:54

You know, on one hand.

Hannah 33:55

People can't be bothered. It's a laziness.

Davey 33:57

Exactly. On one hand, you've got this legislation and on the other hand, you've got a funny meme. What's going to grab people's attention more?

Hannah 34:03

And also kind of on that note as well who do you trust, who do you believe?

Davey 34:08

Me personally. I don't trust anyone Personally, I don't trust anyone Exactly what source you know?

Hannah 34:12

what source can you believe? Okay, I'm least likely to believe a TikTok over, maybe a reputable newspaper, shall we say, or site maybe Might be a better way of wording it, but then again, newspapers lie as well. So it's kind of like who? This is it? Who? Who? Yeah, who do you trust what information is? And that goes back down to who you trust what information is, and that goes back down to who you trust personally. And if that person that you trust is saying something without the lack of evidence, I don't blame people for believing in something.

Davey 34:47

Yeah, because they take that person at face value. Yeah, I mean, yeah, I don't trust anyone generally. I genuinely have trust issues generally. I have, I have, I genuinely have trust issues. I have serious trust issues. But I will, so I will if someone tells me something. It's not like. You know, when I say I've got trust issues, it's not that I won't, I won't believe anybody, it's that I will listen to what they say, but I won't believe everything about it. I will probably go away and just double check something else myself and just to make sure that that is probably right. Because again, like I said in another podcast before, like with yeah, yeah, maybe To a degree, and then it goes off on a weird tangent and then it starts going to the realms of ridiculous. But some of it might be right, yeah, you know, or it could be, the whole conspiracy theory could be correct, but it's been sensationalized and when you actually get it, it's not really it is that, but it's do. I'm making sense on this?

Hannah 35:48

Yeah, you are, you know what I mean.

Davey 35:50

So we're talking about kind of conspiracy theories in. We've said it about social media, but there's a lot in the media as well, isn't there in the form of film?

Hannah 35:59

Yes.

Davey 35:59

Yeah, can you name some kind of conspiracy theories or conspiracy theory shows?

Hannah 36:04

I did mention National Treasure. National Treasure yes, the whole kind of Illuminati thing. I think he folded the. You can fold an American note up and you can find the pyramid in the aisle seeing iron. In God we Trust. I think it was another thing that came up in National Treasure, but also I've seen kind of on that note you can fold up I can't remember what American note it is now, but you can see the Twin Towers burning if you fold it a certain way, which is a bit spooky.

Hannah 36:33

And then you've got obviously Simpsons, who seem to predict everything.

Davey 36:37

Yeah.

Hannah 36:38

Yeah, they predicted Trump getting into power and stuff like that.

Davey 36:43

And you think the whole conspiracy thing about the Simpsons being time travellers yeah, I love that. Matt Gurley being a time traveller yeah.

Hannah 36:49

It's mad how accurate he got a few things Like yeah it's mad.

Davey 36:55

Maybe he is.

Hannah 36:56

Maybe he is.

Davey 36:57

Maybe he is.

Hannah 36:59

He's just. He's just what's trolling us all.

Davey 37:01

Yeah, I'll tell you. Have you heard the time traveller conspiracy theories about World War I?

Hannah 37:06

World War? I yeah, no, what that it didn't?

Davey 37:09

happen About the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand?

Hannah 37:11

No Look of the Archduke.

Davey 37:12

Ferdinand. No, look that up. Okay, honestly, look it up Because I must admit, when you put it all together, I think it probably was a coincidence, but when you look at the conspiracy theories about the assassination of the Archduke Frank Ferdinand, it is what that actually makes sense.

Hannah 37:28

Oh no, you do believe conspiracy theories. I knew you did.

Davey 37:30

No, no, I know, but it's really because of the fact of Harry was assassinated and all of the things that had to happen for him to get assassinated. So it basically almost ends up with that. A time traveller went back, stopped the assassination, then went back to their own time. The future was so messed up because of it. Then another time traveller went back and reset the timeline. It's honestly read it. It is absolutely hilarious. It's honestly read it. It is absolutely hilarious. It is brilliant. But then, of course, we've got sorry, I went off on a little bit of a tangent there, didn't I? But yeah, we've got Simpsons, national Treasure, da Vinci Code.

Hannah 38:05

Yeah.

Davey 38:06

Yeah, the X-Files, yeah, yeah.

Hannah 38:09

There's a lot there. There is I think if, in terms of psychological shows, I'm pretty certain they touched on conspiracy theories in the one who flew the cookie's nest as well, and how kind of the schizophrenia was linked to conspiracy theories. I might be wrong and I'm getting the wrong film.

Davey 38:24

One flew over the cookie's nest, Jack Nicholson.

Hannah 38:26

Yeah, maybe I'm getting the wrong film, but yeah, they did touch on how conspiracy theories and schizophrenia were linked and how that's kind of an impressionable mind. So you've got that that kind of side of it. The psychological side too, um, but yeah, like there's been a lot of shows, documentaries I think there's another one. Netflix is absolutely full of them yeah, on um, on everything, uh, everything, conspiracy theories.

Davey 38:50

There's podcasts on it there is, I know, yeah, yeah. Well, I did actually think I did say to you once should we do a couple of episodes about some conspiracy theories? But I think keeping it broad, because yeah, not do anything specific because also you know we do. We need to be mindful that you do need to be respectful and they need to be researched heavily.

Hannah 39:10

Like we, we just get a lot of this off wiki. Like we don't really go into much. We don't really go into any depth in anything particularly.

Davey 39:18

We're very surface level. We are. We've always said, you know, what we talk about is from our own personal experiences, so that we don't, kind of, you know, go too deep into something. But I mean, there's currently a conspiracy theory flying around about the lad who got missing in Tenerife.

Hannah 39:34

Yes.

Davey 39:34

And that's awful, what some of the stuff that's been said on social media.

Hannah 39:38

You know he's got a family. Yeah, I think that's the thing I always circle back to is the fact that, like, these people have families, yeah. And it's all very well having your theories and doing what you're doing, but I would just like just think about what you're saying, who you're influencing, who you're influencing and who you might be hurting as well in that, exactly because these are people's lives, you might think it would be a little bit of media or a little bit of entertainment for you, but this is actual people's lives, lives, yeah.

Davey 40:08

But I thought we'd probably just finish off just going over a few of the top conspiracy theories. Yeah, and I just want to see if the a few of these the top conspiracy theories yeah and I just want to see if you've heard of them yeah, okay or if you actually will see some of the. We obviously be. Yeah, you'll know a lot of these, but we'll see if how much you know. So like, okay, a little a lot. Or yeah, I went down a rabbit hole, okay, so so Little Lot Rabbit Hole.

Hannah 40:35

Okay, little Lot Rabbit Hole. Little Lot Rabbit Hole. Yeah, go on.

Davey 40:37

Okay, 9-11.

Hannah 40:39

Lot. So I have listened to a conspiracy theory podcast on 9-11. Just to kind of more understand, they're quite good. They're called those Conspiracy Guys. I'm not sure if they still have episodes out or not. We're not affiliated with them, we're not anything, but it's just naming a podcast that I have listened to about them. They were quite good. They got evidence kind of from both sides.

Davey 41:03

Okay, so they were fair.

Hannah 41:04

They were kind of yeah, they approached things. I would say, they approached things fair. But you can sort of you can hear, a bias a little bit which I think we would also have a bias as well. It's natural, it's hard not to have a bias. They do present all of the evidence. So yeah, 9-11. Weirdly enough, I want to talk about this one in particular, because I was actually listening to this on a flight back from.

Davey 41:28

On a flight. Yeah, and you don't like flying at the best of times.

Hannah 41:31

I don't like flying at the best of times. I don't like flying at the best of times and I thought you know what. I'm going to just go hard or go home.

Davey 41:35

Were you on the drugs this time.

Hannah 41:37

I wasn't on the drugs. I can't remember what flight, maybe back from Germany or something, because it's a long podcast. It was a really long one, like an hour, an hour and a half or something like that. So it was like the entire flight. I remember fair amount about it, to be honest. 9-11. Yeah, was it government orchestrated? Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's a lot of people that were supposed to be on that flight and mysteriously didn't go on it.

Davey 42:01

There's so many Seth.

Hannah 42:02

MacFarlane was one of them, wasn't he?

Davey 42:04

Yeah.

Hannah 42:05

He missed his flight because he got too drunk the night before or something. Yeah, yeah, like a lot of people at home to go on the flight and never would have done it. Oh, there's a lot of those little stories there is a lot there is um of several people, but at the end of the day, what an incredibly tragic event yeah not only did the people on those flights perish, uh, the people in the towers perished it. It hit a very famous landmark as well, and a lot of firefighters died.

Davey 42:35

A lot of emergency services died as well.

Hannah 42:37

So as much as the whole conspiracy theory is behind it. To take it back a notch, you know it was a horrific event.

Davey 42:45

Even the repercussions after that, the amount of people who died in the war after that as well. Yeah because of the trigger.

Hannah 42:53

I don't remember 9-11 myself. A little bit out of my memory box, a little bit, because I was five when the towers were struck.

Davey 43:04

We've discussed where I was. Yeah, so I was at home and actually did see the second tower.

Hannah 43:07

You saw the second tower, didn't you?

Davey 43:08

Yeah, on telly not in real life, but on telly Saw it happen live.

Hannah 43:10

Yeah, I can't imagine that that's mad on telly. Sorry, I haven't lied. I can't imagine that.

Davey 43:16

That's mad. So next one so a lot, a lot, so little, a lot rabbit hole, moon landing.

Hannah 43:21

A little, I would say, for this one. I am aware that there is a conspiracy theory that the Americans didn't reach the moon and something to do with the flag not swaying or something or moving and the footprints. Maybe I do know a lot more than I thought I did actually. Now that I'm saying a little.

Davey 43:37

I feel like there's like those are like the couple of things I do know, and it was directed by Stanley Kubrick and that's why he was bumped off.

Hannah 43:44

Yeah, I'm pretty certain they made it to the moon.

Davey 43:51

I think they did.

Hannah 43:51

I think they did.

Davey 43:52

I think they did.

Hannah 43:53

See who started that one. Was it the Russians? Because they were like no, we got there first, or like I know it was in like the Moon Race.

Davey 44:01

I think it was sleuths to do with photographs and you know it was on a soundstage in Area 52 in the desert of Nevada.

Hannah 44:08

Yeah, I just can't cover my head around that one Like, yeah, I just can't cover my head around that one.

Davey 44:16

Yeah, so a little or a lot.

Hannah 44:17

I guess a little, because I only know about those things.

Davey 44:21

Madeleine McCann.

Hannah 44:22

Okay, well, unfortunately a lot. You know, yeah, I've looked into this. I've looked into this as a psychological assessment as well through my degree. It's such a tough, it's such a horrible situation that should have never have happened in the first place. I think that's what gets me most about this particular conspiracy theory. Madeline mccann should have never this shouldn't have ever made it should.

Hannah 44:51

It should never have happened no at the end of the day, her parents neglect her, no matter what you think about her circumstances, of her disappearance. I'm not even getting to that side of things. The fact that they were in a room whilst their parents were at a restaurant across the road is just neglect in my honest opinion. And that's that, whether they had a deal in her taking, in her kidnapping, in her murder, potentially because we still don't really know whatever happened to her.

Hannah 45:18

You know whether they had a part in that is by the by in my books the fact that they left her in a room alone and weren't checking up on them, and perhaps as frequently as they did. I do think it's quite strange everything that happened leading up to her disappearance and then them alerting the police. That seems like a lot of time passed between that happening and there's just I don't know, it doesn't all quite make sense, but then again, if you're a parent and a child that you expected to be there is missing, I can understand how that would put your brain into a right frenzy as well. So I can kind of understand it from that side of it. You know, trauma can do very strange things to your brain and make you not act in a normal logical way, uh as well.

Davey 46:02

But I just there's something quite fishy there yeah there's something, something's not right so that's a, that's a rabbit hole that's a rabbit hole.

Hannah 46:10

That's a rabbit hole, uh covid19 and the anti-vax movement I mean covid19 itself a a lot of people said it was some guy ate a bat or something. Whether that happened is another thing.

Davey 46:21

I don't know Population control. So there's a lot, there's a lot, there's a lot around COVID-19.

Hannah 46:27

I just think. I think a lot of people predicted that there probably would be some sort of worldwide pandemic situation. It was the biggest risk would be some sort of worldwide pandemic situation.

Davey 46:36

It was the biggest risk, it was going to happen. It's the biggest risk to us today, so of course it's going to happen, you know travel is so much.

Hannah 46:41

Yeah, you know we travel so much more now. You know we're able to get about more. Trade has improved just through technology itself. We're able to get around the world more. It was going to happen. The likelihood of that not happening was very slim. Like it was going to happen either way. In terms of anti-vax, do I think there's a chip in your vaccine? No, I don't. I don't think. I think vaccines are vaccines. People are giving out vaccines because they wanted the population to not die. You know, I think you know they created something. Mind control, yeah, I mean, I don't feel as though I'm being controlled, like I have had my vaccines. I've had three of them. I don't feel like I'm a sim living in a world. I feel like I have free will. Still, I guess I don't know. I just I don't think I'll ever understand anti-vax. I'm afraid I am.

Hannah 47:32

I have a lot of faith in medical interventions, I guess, and I just yeah. No, I know I have a lot of faith in medical interventions, I guess, and I just yeah.

Davey 47:39

So a lot, a little, a lot or rabbit hole. I think this one's a lot.

Hannah 47:42

It's a lot, isn't it yeah?

Davey 47:44

I think this one's a lot.

Hannah 47:44

It was very well publicised.

Davey 47:46

It was yeah.

Hannah 47:47

And globally publicised. It's all over social media wasn't it.

Davey 47:55

It still is, it's in your face, it's in your face.

Hannah 47:56

Yeah, and we've already mentioned jfk assassination. Yeah, that's, I think, quite a rabbit hole. A rabbit hole you've been a rabbit hole on that one.

Davey 48:01

Yeah, um, aliens built the pyramids. I love this one. I proper went on a rabbit hole on this one. I love it.

Hannah 48:10

I love it I feel like, let's, if we strip back everything we know about everything Ancient civilizations, ancient civilizations, the Egyptians particularly. They had some idea about the world and physics. They didn't call it physics, they wouldn't have had a name for it, but they were very intelligent, I think, about coming up with. You know, they'd mapped the stars.

Hannah 48:35

They've done things like that. So to build the pyramids, looking in the direction that they are marking certain points in the world or what have you? I can see it being a possibility, like just because they were ancient Egyptians and things still human and still have the brain capacity that we have today May not have had the technology, but they worked around that, they got their own and created their own technology, as they call it, not as we know it.

Davey 49:00

Have you ever heard of the Baghdad Battery?

Hannah 49:03

No.

Davey 49:03

Look that up, the Baghdad Battery.

Hannah 49:05

I just feel like they're intelligent enough to make the pyramids.

Davey 49:09

Well, I seem to think as well. It's like the story of the lost city of Atlantis, yeah, and also like Greeks as well. The Greeks were very, very intelligent.

Hannah 49:16

Yeah, exactly, philosophy increased. But we tend to get a lot of Philosophy is born from Greeks.

Davey 49:21

It is Like Aristotle, and yeah, I mean, but you've got a lot of I don't mean this in. I'm going to say something now and I can't think of a better way to put it. But generally, if you put, say like, for instance, you put a Viking in a room and so a Viking who is, I mean, but actually Vikings were actually quite intelligent as well, but you know the stereotypical Viking berserker, okay, and you put a philosopher in a room, who's going to win in that fight? The Viking, the Viking. So what's been lost? That knowledge yeah and you sometimes.

Davey 49:52

So that's where a lot of it, where I think it comes from, with ancient civilizations, because we've lost knowledge and we then get having to gain it back as times has gone on. Yeah, but how that? This is why I say look at the Baghdad battery. It's quite an interesting concept. Okay, it's essentially it's a battery that was found, or what they think were batteries, because they were ceramic pots with metal copper wire and it looks like it would have been a source of a battery, like a modern-day battery, but from ancient civilization. So it makes you think, ah, so we had that knowledge.

Hannah 50:24

Was the knowledge then?

Davey 50:25

lost through invasions and wars and things like that. That's what I think, but I do like the idea that aliens came down and built the pyramids as well. And Stonehenge, and Stonehenge, and Stonehenge yeah, the Anunnaki, and we're being controlled by these aliens. We are a genetic experiment. I love it, you know, because, again, humans, we are the only people who make our surroundings to fit us, rather than we fit the surroundings. Yes, yeah, all of that and you know that we are genetically engineered by these aliens Honestly love it Maybe.

Hannah 50:58

Maybe they're the ones that hold the world's wealth.

Davey 51:00

Indeed, indeed. So I love that. That's a rabbit hole for me. Chemtrails.

Hannah 51:05

Never heard of it Little.

Davey 51:07

Chemtrails across the sky with clouds and being kind of mind-controll-y and people controlling the weather.

Hannah 51:14

No.

Davey 51:15

Project Blue Beam and space lasers.

Hannah 51:19

What rabbit hole have you been in?

Davey 51:20

Oh, honestly, Hannah, I love it. It's complete and utter dog shit, but it's hilarious. It's absolutely hilarious. The New World Order.

Hannah 51:31

Is this Illuminati that's? Illuminati All right, okay, yeah, then I do know a little bit about it, but again, I haven't ever really gone down the rabbit hole, but I'd say it's probably more rabbit hole there's a lot of secret societies out there, part of the Illuminati the IQ Freemasons, freemasons yeah, there's a lot of conspiracy around that as well. Iq people with a high IQ was in Simpsons. I'm just basing a lot of this on Simpsons.

Davey 51:54

Have you heard crisis actors?

Hannah 51:56

What actors within a crisis?

Davey 51:59

Essentially, kind of like false flag operations. No, so there's a guy called Alex Jones in America and he put out this conspiracy theory which was absolutely disgusting, that the Sandy Hook Mass massacre was staged by crisis actors oh it was sick, but people believed it because they believed him um wasn't that one the school shootings.

Davey 52:26

Yeah, yeah, yeah but it would be like say, for instance I'll give you an example of you know and like in pictures, where this is something that's come up as well they say, oh, how can this person here be in Palestine when he's also in Ukraine? And they'll get two guys that look vaguely similar to each other and they reckon he's an actor that goes around staging these kind of yeah, it's just ridiculous.

Hannah 52:49

There's a lot of people that don't believe the Holocaust happened, isn't it?

Davey 52:52

Holocaust deniers, that's it, Like what believe the holocaust happened.

Hannah 52:55

Isn't it like holocaust, holocaust, deniers, deniers. That's it like what there's so much evidence? Yeah so much evidence and how can they be actors?

Davey 53:01

I have like no idea just that's, just yeah, that is absolutely disgusting.

Hannah 53:06

I've been reading a lot about anne frank's diary recently and that it was written by otto frank instead I know, yeah, yeah I've seen this crop up recently and I'm like are these Holocaust deniers or are these like?

Davey 53:19

Yeah, you've never been to Amsterdam, have you?

Hannah 53:21

No yeah.

Davey 53:21

Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam.

Hannah 53:23

Yeah, I bet it's really sad. Yeah, the Anne Frank.

Davey 53:24

Museum. Yeah, of course, then you've got the Jeffrey Epstein, which?

Hannah 53:28

Is that the island thing?

Davey 53:29

Yeah, the island thing. But you know what Probably is? There's a lot of true elements to that you believe this one? Well, no, because I think this one possibly is quite you know does Stephen Hawking belong to this club or something? Yeah, but I think there's again. But how far it goes I don't know.

Hannah 53:44

But there is some truth to it. Is this the red shoe thing as well?

Davey 53:47

that's all connected. Yeah, well, again the connections of that again.

Hannah 53:50

Because, because Maddie McCann and all the I was just about to say Jerry McCann had the red-bottomed shoes on or something.

Davey 53:55

Yeah, but it wasn't him. Part of the club. But yeah, it wasn't him. It's not him in the photograph and he was superimposed at RGO. Yeah, yeah, then you've got QAnon.

Hannah 54:02

I don't know what this is.

Davey 54:09

So this is an American one. Oh, okay, so QAn in basements on the internet and it went. You have to have a little look, but it goes a little bit silly Because Area 51?.

Hannah 54:18

Nevada Desert.

Davey 54:19

Yeah.

Hannah 54:19

Aliens.

Davey 54:20

Yeah, cover up. Yeah, naturo run.

Hannah 54:22

I mean it was in pool Pool kind of touched on this in the movie With the alien in it. Yeah, that was all about 51s Steven Spielberg getting the idea of ET ET from him, which was quite funny.

Davey 54:33

That's it, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Bermuda Triangle.

Hannah 54:36

Yeah, I know a little bit about this. A lot of planes keep going missing over this certain part of the world.

Davey 54:41

It used to terrify me as a kid. Yeah, it used to terrify me as a kid.

Hannah 54:50

But do you think it's because we just don't have any signal that reaches that?

Davey 54:52

area Is that kind of? It's so remote that I don't know. I genuinely don't know. I'm too scared.

Hannah 54:57

There must be something there like a high, like I'm just trying to think of.

Davey 55:01

I don't think High magnetic. The thing is, though, people go over there every single day. Yeah.

Hannah 55:06

And they haven't gone missing there is no problem.

Davey 55:08

No, there is no problem Again, it's just.

Hannah 55:09

Is it just coincidence?

Davey 55:10

I think I don't know, possibly, possibly. And then, of course, my favourite one of all Of course.

Hannah 55:16

How could we not mention this one?

Davey 55:17

The Flat Earth Conspiracy.

Hannah 55:20

I love how they tried to disprove the flat earth by putting two. They put a pole on one side and a pole on the other, and then they couldn't work out why the shadow was different and they literally had proved the curvature of the earth. Definitely the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life.

Davey 55:36

The Flat Earth Society has members across the globe.

Hannah 55:40

Yeah, who have proven that it's curved, and yet still, oh, I just love it.

Davey 55:45

What an anomaly, yeah the whole ice wall thing, and yeah, it's just. Have you ever met a flat earther? No, I've never met one, so it does make me tend to believe that they don't actually exist and that's a conspiracy in itself.

Hannah 55:58

I think they just read too much Terry Pratchett when they were younger.

Davey 56:01

Yeah, on top of a turtle, yeah.

Hannah 56:03

They were trying to. What was it? On top of a turtle, on four elephants.

Davey 56:07

Yeah.

Hannah 56:08

Holds, the disc world isn't it.

Davey 56:17

I mean, again, it's got to be a parody joke one. But again, the guy who was flying and put the spirit level on the floor of the plane, have you seen that video? No, oh, that's funny. Yeah, I've never met a flat earther.

Hannah 56:31

No, never met one, no, I just yeah.

Davey 56:34

Yeah.

Hannah 56:38

Fun and games. Fun and games, fun and games. I, I just, I just can't understand how they've seen a picture of the earth and they're like, yeah, it's still flat. Yeah, like, are we all on top, like, of all the countries? I just, this is what I don't understand like, are we, are all the continents, on top?

Davey 56:50

yeah, supposedly everything, supposedly Everything's flat.

Hannah 56:53

So what's below? What have they come up with about the below?

Davey 56:59

It's like a pizza crust, isn't it? A pizza crust Because, honestly, with the flat Earth theory, it is so ridiculous I've not even looked at it. I can't because it's just so ridiculous.

Hannah 57:12

I just don't understand. No, yeah.

Davey 57:15

No, so, no, so, yeah. So I think we can kind of say that conspiracy theories can be fun.

Hannah 57:21

Yeah, they're funny to talk about.

Davey 57:23

But they can also be incredibly dangerous yeah.

Hannah 57:26

Yeah, they can start riots. Yeah, prey on the vulnerable.

Davey 57:30

Yeah.

Hannah 57:30

Mentally vulnerable as well. Yeah, not great mentally vulnerable as well. Yeah, not great.

Davey 57:34

Mm-hmm.

Hannah 57:35

What a great way to end a podcast episode. I know.

Davey 57:37

This one's only been an hour, did you know?

Hannah 57:39

An hour.

Davey 57:39

Nearly been an hour.

Hannah 57:40

Jeebus, yeah, you're cutting out the ums.

Davey 57:43

The ums. I do do a lot of cutting out of the ums and errs. I still leave a few in because it sounds odd. Lots of yeah, bless you, you going to talk us out.

Hologram Conspiracy Theory Chat

Hannah 57:56

Thanks for listening. If you want to know, a conspiracy theory that I have about Davey is that I reckon he is a hologram. What I reckon you're a hologram.

Davey 58:08

Do you?

Hannah 58:09

Yeah, like a really well life-sized hologram.

Davey 58:11

Like an AI.

Hannah 58:13

Yeah, and I just come here every other Saturday and talk to thin air.

Davey 58:17

Okay, oh, what you mean, I'm in your mind.

Hannah 58:19

Yeah.

Davey 58:20

Yeah, like a holographic projection.

Hannah 58:23

I'm in a simulation.

Davey 58:24

Hannah, you've got to watch the new series of the Boys.

Hannah 58:26

Okay, yeah.

Davey 58:27

You've got to watch it. Brilliant, I'm just real, no, so how come my voice is on the podcast?

Hannah 58:35

AI.

Davey 58:36

Ah, okay.

Hannah 58:37

Anywho, have a fun day everyone and let your conspiracy theory freak flag fly. Did I mean to say that? Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's do that.

Davey 58:46

Okay.

Hannah 58:48

Good and bye Bye, bye, bye, bye, outro Music.