The Social Chemist

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, I am joined by Dr. Cynthia Miller-Ibriss, a Professor in the School of Public Affairs and in the School of Education at the American University in Washington, DC, where she is also the founding director and chief vision officer in the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL). She is the author of "Man-Up: The New Misogyny & t...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, I am joined by Chris Jenning, author of "End of Days: Ruby Ridge, The Apocalypse, and the Unmaking of America, which documents the lead-up to the 1992 Ruby Ridge siege, which involved the Weaver family and Kevin Harris against the FBI. A standoff that lasted 11 days and ended the life of an officer, a mother, and a son. We revisit this event 32 years...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, I am joined by Noelle Cook, an ethnographer and author of The Conspiracists: Women, Extremism, and the Lure of Belonging, which explores the stories of two middle-aged white women in America, Tammy and Yvonne, and the psychosocial influences that led them down the path of QAnon conspiracy theories and insurrection at the Capitol on January 6. We discuss ho...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, Emmy-nominated producer and author Nora Neus joins the podcast to discuss her new book "24 Hours at The Capitol: An Oral History of the January 6th Insurrection," which documents the testimony of Capitol Hill police officers, lawmakers, and extremism researchers that experience and foresaw the events of J6. We also cover the state of the Trump ad...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, I am joined by Robbie Parker, the father of Emilie Parker, who tragically lost her life at the age of 6 at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14th, 2012. We discuss his book, A Father's Fight: Taking on Alex Jones and Reclaiming the Truth About Sandy Hook, which covers his journey in addressing the trauma of losing a child, his own childhood tra...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, I am joined by Dr. Nathan Brooks, a forensic psychologist who specializes in complex offending behaviors, threat assessment, and target violence. We cover his 2025 book "Mass Casualty: The Rise of Lone Actors, which examines the psychosocial elements that contribute to political violence and mass shootings. Recommendations are given to help neighbors,...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, I am joined by Katherine Stewart, a journalist and author of "Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement To Destroy American Democracy." We cover the donors and strategies that are behind the Christian Nationalist movement, as well as assess how Trump's presidency has benefited from this far-right philosophy.  Instagram The Social Chemist (@s...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, Jacob Ware from the Council on Foreign Relations returns to discuss the state of U.S. domestic terrorism after the 2024 U.S. Elections. We cover whether the definition of terrorism has been weaponized against marginalized communities by the Trump administration, and debate on whether the charges against Luigi Mangione can be considered terroristic.  Instag...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, I am joined by Peter Beinart, a professor of journalism and political science at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York and author of "Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza". A book that assesses how the Zionist movement has rationalized the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza after the October 7th t...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, I am joined by Amanda Tyler, Executive Director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, to discuss her new book, "How to End Christian Nationalism," where she covers the eight steps you can take to help fight against the influence of Christian Supremacy in U.S politics.   Instagram The Social Chemist (@socialchemistig) • Instagram p...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Joseph Pierre returns to the podcast to discuss his new book "False: How Mistrust, Disinformation, and Motivated Reasoning Make Us Believe Things That Aren't True." We explore how confirmation bias has been put on steroids, the democratization of influence in the online world, whether it has made us less or more inf...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, I am joined by the lead investigator of the January 6 committee and former US attorney for the Western District of Virginia, Timothy Heaphy, who also participated in the 2017 Unite the Right rally (UTR) investigation team. For our discussion, we cover his 2024 book "Harbingers: What January 6 and Charlottesville Reveal about Rising Threats to American...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, I am joined by Barbara McQuade, a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC and co-host of the #SistersInLaw podcast, to discuss her 2024 book "Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America,” a book about how disinformation has been weaponized under Trump’s presidency and how to make social media platforms accountable for the disinformation...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, I am joined by April Ajoy, TikTok content creator, former Christian Nationalist, and co-host of The New Evangelicals Podcast , to discuss her 2024 book "Star-Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding a Truth Faith." A book that touches on the history of Christian Nationalism, the tactics used to maintain followers within the movem...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, I am joined by Renée DiResta, the technical research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory, a program dedicated to the study of abuse in information technologies, to talk about her new book "Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality" a book that dives into how our information ecosystem has evolved in the 21st century and how...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, Dr. Sophia Moskalenko joins me in the program to discuss the various factors that contributed to the insurrection on January 6 and how exposure to conspiracy theories can lead believers and non-believers to engage in political violence. We also cover the topic of how to label Q movement and whether a comparison between QAnon and addiction can be made with...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, I am joined by Dr. Jessica White, Acting Director of Terrorism and Conflict Studies at the Royal United Services Institute, to discuss her 2022 book "Gender Mainstreaming in Counter-Terrorism Policy: Building Transformative Strategies to Counter Violent Extremism" and her research on how extremists exploit the mechanics of online gaming to recrui...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, former assistant secretary for counterterrorism and prevention at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Elizabeth Neumann, joins the podcast to discuss her book "Kingdom of Rage: The Rise of Christian Extremism and the Path Back to Peace." We dive into her experience pushing back against Trumpism within the Evangelical community, the history...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, Patrick R. Riccards, CEO of Life After Hate, joins the podcast to discuss how his organization uses evidence-based practices to help former extremists deradicalized and reintegrate into society. We cover whether prevention of violent extremism programs are well equipped for the potential Trump presidency and the rise of far-right domestic terrorism. I also...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, Robert Green, a Ph. D. student from Rutgers University School of Criminal Justice, joins me to discuss the origins of the incel community and the black pill radicalization process that can lead to men in the movement engaging in acts of domestic terrorism towards women. We cover what interventions can be implemented at the local and federal levels to deter...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, the director of the Bard Center for Study of Hate and author of "Conflict Over the Conflict: The Israel/Palestine Campus Debates," Ken Stern, joins me to discuss the events of October 7th and how the Antisemitism Awareness Act is being used to censor speech. A scholar who developed the working definition of antisemitism used by the International...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, Mike Rothschild returns to discuss his new book, Jewish Space Lasers: The Rothschilds & 200 Years of Conspiracy Theories. We go over the history and legacy of the Rothchild's name in Judaism and how they became target number one for antisemitic narratives.  We also speak about the current state of antisemitism and whether the Antisemitism Awarenes...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, lecturer and researcher on conspiratorial beliefs Ilya Yablokov joins me to discuss Russia Today's usage of conspiratorial ideologies and how that has helped the Kremlin villainize the U.S. He shares his thoughts on how U.S. and Russian conspiracy theory culture is similar and different. As well as address the effectiveness is news media literacy. Ins...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, Royce Hutson, Ph. D., joins me to discuss the role of social workers in addressing political extremism and the effectiveness of violent extremism prevention programs. We also discuss the state of political extremism with the upcoming 2024 elections. Instagram The Social Chemist (@socialchemistig) • Instagram photos and videos Thread The Social Chemist (@so...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Joseph Pierre joins me to discuss the psychosocial elements that contributed to the susceptibility of the QAnon movement, and the varying degrees of convictions held by Q followers. We explore what the future might hold for QAnon as a potential Trump presidency slowly creeps back into power. Instagram The Social Chemist (@socialch...