Misguided: The Podcast

I’m launching Misguided: The Audio Edition right here on the newsletter. It’s a chapter-by-chapter audio companion to the book, with updated commentary on everything that’s happened since it went to press. Today, that series begins, and this first episode is free for everyone. Before you hit play, let me tell you a little more about what this project actually is and why it exists. Why this series...

In this episode of Misguided: The Podcast , I’m joined by Dr. Patrick Johnson, a journalism scholar at Marquette University whose work focuses on news literacy, trust in journalism, and the relationship between media institutions and the communities they serve. Before entering academia, Patrick spent years teaching high school journalism, an experience that continues to shape how he thinks about j...

In this episode of Misguided: The Podcast, I’m joined by Dr. Jared Stacy, a theologian and former pastor who studies how conspiracy theories take root within evangelical communities. Jared completed his PhD in ethics at the University of Aberdeen and is the author of the new book Reality in Ruins , which examines how disinformation becomes uniquely resistant to correction when it gets woven into r...

In this episode of Misguided: The Podcast, I’m joined by Dr. Cecilie Steenbuch-Traberg, a professor at the Copenhagen Business School who studies how social context shapes our susceptibility to misinformation, and what interventions actually work to counter it. Cecilie’s path into the field took a detour through marketing before she found her true passion: not trying to persuade people, but protec...

Here is my live video chat with Mike Nellis as a bonus podcast episode. I really enjoyed our conversation about the social psychology of why we believe false information, and how we can strengthen our media literacy through strategies like critical ignoring. We also discussed the broader structural and platform-level challenges that make today’s information environment so difficult to navigate. Th...

In this episode of Misguided: The Podcast , I’m joined by Dr. Steve Rathje, who is a social psychology postdoc at NYU, and a soon-to-be assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Steve’s work sits at the intersection of psychology, social media, and artificial intelligence. Steve studies how platform design, attention, and emerging technologies shape political polarization, belief formatio...

In this episode of Misguided: The Podcast , I’m joined by Sander van der Linden , who is a professor of social psychology at the University of Cambridge and one of the leading researchers studying misinformation, propaganda, and how people can build resistance to manipulation. If you’re familiar with the idea of “prebunking,” or psychological inoculation (training people to recognize misinformatio...

In this episode of Misguided , I’m joined by Renee DiResta to talk about how she went from a winding career in tech, finance, and Silicon Valley startups to becoming one of the leading analysts of online influence. Renée traces the shift back to a personal moment: after having her first child in 2013, she noticed a concerning amount of anti-vaccine content across Facebook communities. She started...

In this episode, I talk with philosopher and author Andy Norman, founder of the Cognitive Immunology Research Collaborative and author of Mental Immunity . Andy shares how a provocative 1990s essay by Richard Dawkins sparked his lifelong pursuit to understand how bad ideas spread, and how we can protect our minds from them. We unpack what it means to build mental immunity, why sketchy ideas behave...

In this episode, I talk with sociologist and author Barry Markovsky about his path into social science and his career studying science vs. pseudoscience. Barry shares lessons from his hit “Sociology of the Paranormal” class, previews his forthcoming book Everyday Extraordinary, which pairs front-stage stories with back-stage analysis, and explains how social networks and identity shape what we bel...

In this episode, I chat with educator, political scientist, and author Tim Redmond to discuss his path from a PhD in political science to a high school teacher building a standout course on critical thinking. Tim shares how discovering psychology after academia reshaped his approach, why identity sits at the center of our information habits, and how blending psychological literacy, media literacy,...

Physicist and author of The Irrational Ape , David Robert Grimes, joins me to explore why facts alone rarely change minds. Drawing on his background in medical physics, statistics, cancer research, and public health—as well as his work in science communication—David explains how conspiracies spread, why the “information deficit” model falls short, and what effective media literacy actually looks l...

Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video with Elisabeth Marnik, PhD ! We discussed my new book Misguided , the social science of misinformation, and how we can promote critical thinking and better media literacy. We also discussed the psychology and sociology behind false beliefs, the importance of trust and identity, and what actually works when combating misinformation and promoting sc...

I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Esha Lovrić—social scientist, educator, and advocate for critical thinking—about how life transitions and emotional vulnerability shape the way we interpret the world around us. Esha shares her personal journey as a Fijian Indian immigrant navigating Western culture, and how those early experiences led her to sociology—and eventually to teaching critical thi...

In this episode, I talk with Melanie Trecek-King — biology professor, science communicator, and creator of Thinking Is Power . I’ve been a fan of her content for years, and it was great to finally chat with her on my podcast. We discuss her journey from teaching biology and ecology to developing a critical thinking course that teaches skills, not just facts. Melanie shares how her frustration with...

In this episode of Misguided , I’m joined by Dr. Kevin Meuwissen, professor of education at the University of Rochester, to explore one of the most urgent questions in education today: how do we prepare young people to navigate a world overflowing with disinformation, political polarization, and fractured trust? We discuss Kevin’s journey from high school teacher to researcher, and how those exper...

Today’s guest is Dr. Claire Wardle, a professor in the Department of Communication at Cornell University and one of the world’s leading experts on misinformation, media literacy, and public trust in science. Over the past two decades, she’s trained journalists around the globe, worked with organizations like the UN and the BBC, and co-founded both the nonprofit First Draft and the Information Futu...

In this episode of Misguided , Matthew Facciani speaks with historian and Analog Social founder Shae Omonijo about making history accessible, the importance of community, and how digital culture is reshaping human connection. Shae shares what inspired her to pursue a PhD in history, her efforts to bring historical knowledge to the public, and the origins of Analog Social, a project focused on recl...

In this episode of Misguided , Dr. Joel Breakstone, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Digital Inquiry Group, joins me to discuss how we can better equip students to evaluate online information in an era of misinformation and AI-driven content. We explore the challenges of digital literacy, why some traditional fact-checking methods fall short, and evidence-based strategies—such as lateral r...

In this episode of Misguided: The Podcast , I sit down with Dr. Kate Biberdorf—also known as Kate the Chemist —to discuss her journey from chemistry professor to science communicator and her new role as The University of Notre Dame’s Professor for the Public Understanding of Science. We explore the importance of making science engaging, the challenges of combating misinformation, and how social me...

Summary In this episode of Misguided the Podcast , host Matthew Facciani interviews Kavin Senapathy, a science writer and author of The Progressive Parent . We discuss various types of misinformation in parenting, the complexities of trust in scientific organizations, and the need for a nuanced understanding of health and medicine. Kavin also addresses the societal pressures surrounding breastfeed...

Summary In the first episode of Misguided: The Podcast , host Matthew Facciani speaks with legal analyst and professor Barbara McQuade about the rise of misinformation and disinformation in the modern media landscape. They examine how technology accelerates the spread of false information, the erosion of public trust in institutions, and the role of transparency and community engagement in rebuild...