From fringe YouTuber to “the new face of Black conservatism,” Candace Owens’ rise wasn’t inevitable, but the system that rewarded it was. In part 2 of the miniseries, Cristen traces how Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA, The Daily Wire and a billionaire-backed right-wing media ecosystem legitimized Candace as a reactionary culture warrior—while Kanye West supercharged her celebrity. But as Candace pushed further, testing the limits of “free speech” and anti-woke conspiracism, the same institutions disavowed her. It's the story of how she became too powerful for them to control.

Sources: conspiracyshewrote.com/episodes

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Instagram: @unladylikemedia

Website: conspiracyshewrote.com

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Conspiracy, She Wrote is an Unladylike Media production created, hosted and written by Cristen Conger. Music is from Blue Dot Sessions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before Candace Owens became an overnight right-wing media star, she wanted to rid the internet of trolls with her anti-bullying startup, Social Autopsy. But then, it collided with Gamergate, and a red-pilled conspiracy theorist was born. In Part 1 of this miniseries, Cristen traces the overlooked origin story Candace never stops rewriting: a high school racism scandal, a controversial Kickstarter and her uncanny path to becoming the far-right’s most useful convert. Until she wasn’t.

It’s the story of how conspiracy thinking becomes ideological performance – where criticism confirms belief, enemies create audiences, and personal grievance transforms political identity. Because the real conspiracy isn't what Candace says. It's how she got here and who helped make it happen.

Sources: conspiracyshewrote.com/episodes

Inbox: conspiracyshewrote@gmail.com

Instagram: @unladylikemedia

Website: conspiracyshewrote.com

Patreon: The Cabal

Conspiracy, She Wrote is an Unladylike Media production created, hosted and written by Cristen Conger. Music is from Blue Dot Sessions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do vision boards and Princess Diana conspiracy theories have in common? They both rely on a kind of magical thinking called proportionality bias. It's one of many cognitive biases that Sounds Like a Cult host Amanda Montell demystifies in her book, The Age of Magical Overthinking. From the sunk cost fallacy of toxic relationships to the halo effect of female celebs to the declinism of everyday doomsday speak, Amanda makes even the most mindboggling and brainrotting realities of today's misinformation overload more bearable.

Originally aired on Unladylike in 2024.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What did last year's drone mystery have to do with an antisemitic myth that won't die? Medievalist and conspiracy scholar Elise Wang connects the dots between the West’s 900-year-old conspiracy theory playbook and the UFO psyops flooding TikTok today. She and Cristen also unravel the Battle of Los Angeles, hypersexual alien abduction tropes, and how conspiracy theories serve the powerful—not the paranoid.

(00:53) Drone Fever and Dior Bags

(02:02) Introduction to Elise Wong and Conspiracy Theories

(04:46) Medieval Origins of Conspiracy Theories

(11:36) A Medievalist POV on Alien and UFO Conspiracies

(17:54) The Battle of Los Angeles

(23:14) Race, Sex and Alien Invasions

(25:49) Gender and Power in Conspiracy Theories

(27:34) Who Started It?

. . .GET IN TOUCH. . .

Inbox: conspiracyshewrote@gmail.com

Instagram: @unladylikemedia

Website: conspiracyshewrote.com

Patreon: The Cabal

Conspiracy, She Wrote is an Unladylike Media production created, hosted and written by Cristen Conger. Music is from Blue Dot Sessions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before alien abduction became pop culture cliché, there was Betty and Barney Hill. Why did this couple's 1961 roadtrip define the abduction narrative for generations, and what did their biracial marriage have to do with it - or not? Historian Matt Bowman retraces the Hills' journey from the liberal mainstream to UFO microstardom, and Cristen has questions for Betty. Find out how identity, memory and one woman’s obsession helped shape the myth of the greys in part 2 (of 3) of the Paranormal Women miniseries.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction: Abduction Beyond Aliens

(00:38) The Hills' Abduction Story

(01:24) The Cold War and UFOs

(04:40) Betty and Barney Hill: Background

(09:35) The Fateful Night in 1961

(13:37) Reporting the Incident

(20:50) Hypnosis and Recovered Memories

(28:47) Betty and Barney Become Famous

(35:10) Betty's Psychophysics Attempt

(37:35) Marjorie Fish and Conspiracy Road

(42:18) Betty's Alien Optimism

. . .

Inbox: conspiracyshewrote@gmail.com

Instagram: @unladylikemedia

Website: conspiracyshewrote.com

Patreon: The Cabal

Conspiracy, She Wrote is an Unladylike Media production created, hosted and written by Cristen Conger. Music is from Blue Dot Sessions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

UFOs aren't a basement boys' club anymore. From Pentagon disclosures to TikTok starseeds and alien romance novels, belief in extraterrestrials is getting spiritual, feminine-coded, and algorithmically viral. Science journalist Sarah Scoles traces the gendered evolution of UFO culture and conspiracies—from Cold War-era military men to the cosmic girlies raising our consciousness to the fifth dimension. Plus, why are we so obsessed with searching the skies? And what happens when women start doing their own ET research?

(00:43) Gender in UFO Culture

(01:44) Exploring UFO Communities and Conspiracies

(03:48) The Role of Women in UFO Research

(08:57) Personal Experiences and UFO Mysteries

(13:09) Star Seeds and Social Media Influence

(19:41) Historical UFO Sightings and Government Cover-ups

(22:34) The Roswell Incident and Its Impact

(30:56) Who Benefits from UFO Conspiracies?

(33:34) Science vs. Ufology

. . .

Inbox: conspiracyshewrote@gmail.com

Instagram: @unladylikemedia

Website: conspiracyshewrote.com

Patreon: The Cabal

Conspiracy, She Wrote is an Unladylike Media production created, hosted and written by Cristen Conger. Music is from Blue Dot Sessions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why does the Super Bowl sex trafficking myth persist, despite repeated debunking? In the miniseries finale, Cristen unravels this sex trafficking myth she helped spread. So, why did major sporting events like the Super Bowl, World Cup and Olympics become seen as sex trafficking playgrounds? These red strings criss-cross from Greece to the United Nations to Texas to multistate sting ops, and with press coverage fumbling at almost every turn.

This is part 5 of 5 in the LADIES, STAY SAFE! miniseries.

(00:00) A podcaster's confession

(01:10) The Super Bowl Sex Trafficking Myth

(05:06) Olympic Origins

(08:52) The Myth Goes to the Super Bowl

(11:40) Law Enforcement and Media Hype

(12:05) Debunking the Myth: Research and Reports

(13:30) Onward Christian Anti-traffickers

(20:24) Media Narratives and Shifting Perceptions

(21:47) The Broader Impact of the Myth

(24:37) Conclusion: Reflecting on the Series

. . .

Inbox: conspiracyshewrote@gmail.com

Instagram: @conspiracyshewrote, @unladylikemedia

Website: conspiracyshewrote.com

Patreon: The Cabal

Conspiracy, She Wrote is an Unladylike Media production created, hosted and written by Cristen Conger. Music is from Blue Dot Sessions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why were daycare centers the prime targets of the 1980s Satanic Panic, and how did it blow up into America's longest and most expensive criminal trial? Cristen unravels the anti-cult anxieties, paranoid cowboys and "communist" childcare seeded wild conspiracy theories about devil-worshipping predators invading the suburbs. But when law enforcement (aka "police Satan hunters"), social workers, and an opportunistic district attorney got involved, the hysteria intensified, landed innocent people in prison and punished a rising generation of working mothers in the process.

This is part 4 of 5 in the LADIES, STAY SAFE! miniseries.

00:00 Are YOUR children hanging out with devil worshippers??

00:15 Historical Context: 1970s Concerns

01:26 Rise of Satanic Panic in the 1980s

02:22 Early Signs and Media Influence

03:30 Cattle Mutilations and Satanic Rumors

05:49 Michelle Remembers...or does she?

07:12 Daycare Centers Under Siege

09:05 The McMartin Preschool Case Begins

11:50 Escalation and Public Hysteria

20:27 Trials, Mistrial and Tribulations

38:30 Ripple Effects

40:17 Coming Up Next

. . .

Inbox: conspiracyshewrote@gmail.com

Instagram: @conspiracyshewrote, @unladylikemedia

Website: conspiracyshewrote.com

Patreon: The Cabal

Conspiracy, She Wrote is an Unladylike Media production created, hosted and written by Cristen Conger. Music is from Blue Dot Sessions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.