Naomi Klein on conspiracies, the mirror world, and dobbelgangers

For this event, we will discuss the ideas in Naomi Klein's recent book Dobbelganger. In this book, Klein explains how AI-generated text is blurring the line between genuine and spurious communication; New Age wellness entrepreneurs turned anti-vaxxers are scrambling familiar political allegiances of left and right; and liberal democracies are teetering on the edge of absurdist authoritarianism, even as the oceans rise. Under such conditions, reality itself seems to have become unmoored. Is there a cure for our moment of collective vertigo?

It is not necessary to read the full text of the book nor to listen to the full audio recording, although I do recommend going through some of it if you can. At the least, I request that participants listen to at least one of these recordings of the author talking in the following videos available on YouTube

How did conspiracy theories become mainstream?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFcf3GMiPis

Why Smart People Become Conspiracy Theorists
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh7hdHP7yoo

How Steve Bannon and his ilk are capitalizing on and the failures of the left with the construction of a conspiracy-fueled mirror world
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxQ3EuEAOz0

How Conspiracy Culture Benefits Ruling Elite
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDWrHd-izFg