Even in the early conversations discussing the rapid growth of artificial intelligence, there was always the fear that it could potentially fall into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, the QAA team is here to tell you that it has. It is definitely already in the wrong hands. And that’s mostly due to the fact that sophisticated AI algorithms are available to anyone with an internet connection. Conspiracy theorists have a brand-new tool at their disposal to further muddy the waters between what is real and what is not. But it wasn’t always this way. Jake tracks the humble beginnings of AI interacti ..read more

Nowadays, when a horrific tragedy occurs, you can pretty much guarantee that conspiracy theorists will flood the channels with wild narratives and flat-out disinformation. This week, we’re breaking down the various theories surrounding the collapse of the Key Bridge, including a completely AI generated 911 call. Later in the episode, Jake finds a conspiracy theory influencer with such a funny name, he just had to do a story starring him. Subscribe for $5 a month to get an extra episode of QAA every week + access to our archive of premium episodes and ongoing series like PERVERTS, Manclan, Tric ..read more

According to the Tartarian Empire conspiracy theory there once existed a massive, advanced regime that stretched over much of the Asian continent. This Empire’s power was so great that they built structures all over the world, including in Africa, North America and South America. Buildings such as the White House in Washington D.C. and the Great Pyramids in Egypt were built by the great, globe spanning Tartarian empire. They were able to accomplish this in part thanks to advanced technology that is lost to time, like batteries powered by the Earth which distributed electricity wirelessly. This ..read more

This week, we drop Liv Agar on planet P to wade through the thousands of bug carcasses that have been discussing Starship Troopers as of late. Meanwhile, Brain Bug Travis has been captured and forced out of his comfy cave amidst the rallying cries of one million Julians. Will Liv be able to make it all the way through a pro-fascism science fiction novel from 1959? Will Jake be able to critically discuss the politics surrounding “Helldivers 2”, a video game inspired by a satirical movie adapted from the aforementioned pro-fascism novel? Will he instead include gameplay footage despite there bei ..read more

Americans sure love being paranoid. And they’re not always paranoid for sensible reasons, like ever-expanding corporate and governmental surveillance systems. Sometimes they’re paranoid about natural and predictable astronomical events. For this episode we discuss why the conspiracist world is fretting about the solar eclipse that will be seen across the United States on April 8th. We also chat with Arthur Goldwag, author of the recently published book The Politics of Fear: The Peculiar Persistence of American Paranoia. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/696775/the-politics-of-fear-by-ar ..read more

What if there was a videogame so indistinguishable from the real world that anyone who played it began to wonder if their entire life was nothing more than a game? What if there was a movie that, in depicting this, stumbled upon the unnerving truth of our present relationship to the internet? What if that movie came out one month after The Matrix and totally bombed while the Matrix would go on to release three sequels and establish the language of conspiracy theory culture? Get your bio-port fitted, lube up your game-hole and jack into this week’s QAA movie night, “eXistenZ.” Subscribe for $5 ..read more

The last episode of this season of Trickle Down. So we’re going to do a self-indulgent one. In this episode we discuss common criticisms of “anti-disinformation” reporting, the topics Travis wound up passing on, and listener stories. You had a lot to say about the Thomas Midgley Jr. series. Theme by Nick Sena (https://nicksenamusic.com). Additional music by Pontus Berghe. Editing by Corey Klotz. Subscribe for $5 a month to get an extra episode of QAA every week + access to our archive of premium episodes and ongoing series like PERVERTS, Manclan, and The Spectral Voyager: www.patreon.com/qanon ..read more

In the 1940s and 50s there was the great American comic book scare. Many serious adults warned that comic books were turning young people into illiterate, criminally violent, sexually deviant political extremists. There were several editorials in newspapers that argued as much. There were groups who organized literal comic book burnings. Local jurisdictions passed laws to limit the sale of comic books. There was even a televised congressional hearing on comic books by the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency. This was a widespread phenomena that can’t be laid at the feet o ..read more

What is UMMO? The greatest hoax of all time? A secret society with a mysterious agenda? An intelligence agency psyop? Or genuine contact from space aliens? Brad and Jake will attempt to answer these questions, and they’ve kidnapped Julian and Travis to come along for the intergalactic ride. In the 1960s, a group of Spanish societal elites received a bevy of letters and phone calls from purported extra-terrestrial visitors. Each communication was tailored to their specific field and contained advanced technical details and theories. At the same time, multiple witnesses reported a number of comp ..read more

Brian Wansink was the Head of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University. While there, he did exciting research that suggested eating healthier and encouraging others to eat healthier was as simple as providing subtle hints and nudges towards the preferred behavior. He’s perhaps most famous for the claim that if you take a larger plate to the buffet, you’ll eat more than if you were to take a small plate. For a long time he was easily the world’s most prominent voice on food psychology. He published bestselling books. He was constantly interviewed by national media. He even had major influen ..read more