The Big Story: The Sprawling Universe of QAnon

Conspiracy theories have existed for centuries, threatening not just accepted facts, but the very idea that empirical truth exists at all.

In a recent piece for The Atlantic, executive editor Adrienne LaFrance explores how conspiracy theories, such as QAnon, have shaped America. QAnon is “a movement united in mass rejection of reason, objectivity, and other Enlightenment values,” she writes. “And we are likely closer to the beginning of its story than the end… To look at QAnon is to see not just a conspiracy theory but the birth of a new religion.”

LaFrance joined deputy editor Gillian White for a live conversation about reporting on QAnon and the history of conspiracies in America.