On today's episode, Dr. Benjamin Dow, an academic researcher in the field of conspiratorial ideologies and professor at Southern Methodist University (SMU), joins me to discuss conspiracy theories within politics and whether major left-wing conspiracy theories exist in the 2022 political arena.  More importantly, we examine whether conspiracy theories can lead to political extremism and encapsulated psychosis. Facebook The Social Chemist | Facebook Instagram The Social Chemist (@socialchemistig) • Instagram photos and videos Ph.D. Benjamin Dow Twitter Benjamin Dow (@benjaminjdow) / Twitter Ph.D. Benjamin Dow journal articles/reports  How Did COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories Get So Out of Control? (northwestern.edu)Support for leaders who use conspiratorial rhetoric: The role of personal control and political identity - ScienceDirectThe COVID‐19 pandemic and the search for structure: Social media and conspiracy theories - PMC (nih.gov)Sense of control and conspiracy perceptions: Generative directions on a well-worn path - ScienceDirectMitigating and managing COVID-19 conspiratorial beliefs (bmj.com)The Social Chemist References Conspiracy Theories: Evolved Functions and Psychological Mechanisms (sagepub.com)The Social Chemist Recommended Episodes The Harm of 5G EMF Radiation: Science or Pseudoscience? w/ Tim Sandars: Part 1 (buzzsprout.com)The Harm of 5G EMF Radiation: Science or Pseudoscience? w/ Tim Sandars: Part 2 (buzzsprout.com)