The Hole Truth Podcast Premieres: Seduced By Conspiracies

 With too many U.S. politicians pandering to whiny citizens who wish to sanitize the darker aspects of U.S. History (It is admittedly very dark), it may be that outsiders are the only people available to offer a fair accounting of the history and the zeitgeist of the USA. 

For example, America: A History by Liam Heffernan is such an undoubtedly ear-worthy podcast. Heffernan expertly points out the blind spots in U.S. history.

 The new year has brought us another U.K. exported podcaster of incredible talent named Marnie Duke. She is an emerging producer and presenter at Transmission Roundhouse, which is a socially engaged podcast platform located in London.

Transmission Roadhouse also produced one of my favorite podcasts on public health called CUTI, where host Verity de Cala guided you through a three-part narrative series about the complicated world of living with Chronic Urinary Tract Infections (CUTI). 

Marnie Duke's podcast new podcast came along at the perfect time in the U.S. Every natural catastrophe engenders ignition of multiple conspiracy theories. Meta has halted its fact-checking program, enabling misinformation to infect its users like a virus for which we have no immunity. In Europe, Elon Musk waxes nostalgically for more fascism.

 

Podcaster Marnie Duke has modeled the concept that "timing is everything." Now is the time to investigate the American love affair with conspiracy theories. 

Duke tells us: "My new podcast The Hole Truth investigates how conspiracy theories captured the American imagination. In the period leading up to the U.S. Presidential Election, a battle for facts, decency, and democracy played out on our social media feeds. Online campaigns became steeped in conspiracy; politics dominated by disinformation and truth – a rarity."

The Hole Truth is a three-part anthology series exploring how a whole country fell down the rabbit hole. From an FBI investigation gone wrong, to the county sheriff's holding conspiracy conferences; the series takes the listener on a journey of discovery, revealing how conspiracies trickled down from the nation’s highest offices, through local politics, to a nationwide network of Americans living in different realities.

 

In the trailer, Duke begins by framing her podcast. "In this series, we find out how a whole country fell down the rabbit hole." Duke focuses on how conspiracy theories trickle down from the U.S.'s highest levels of power. 

 

Duke describes a "nationwide network of Americans living in different realities." In the trailer, Duke asks listeners to join her for a trip down the rabbit hole. In the flash of a second, I decided to join Marnie Duke as she dove headfirst into the rabbit hole. (See the podcast's artwork that supports the main theme.)

Episode one was especially timely, arriving in early January as Duke discussed the January 6th riot. While the episode clocks in at 20 minutes, Duke compresses the tales of several January 6th convicted conspirators. It's an especially timely episode, since president-elect Trump had promised to pardon the January 6th criminals. 

I can't wait for episode two. Duke may be a rookie podcaster, but she is superb here. First, her narrative style is understated, yet she conveys how the ominous power of these conspiracy theories can grip millions of Americans. In a deliberate tone, Duke conveys the enormous power these conspiracies wield in the U.S. 

Duke's narrative isn't sensationalistic but more journalistic. She's not judging the eccentricity, but examining how these conspiracies gain a foothold in the minds of so many Americans.

Duke says with unnecessary modesty: "Despite being a young journalist who is new to the world of podcasting, I have chosen to take on the vast world of American conspiracies for this series."

 

 The Hole Truth goes deep to discover the roots of these conspiracy theories, why so many people believe them, and what do they say about American society and culture. In podcaster Marnie Duke, we at Ear Worthy recognize prodigious talent and can't wait for her next project.