The Overthinkers

Why do people fall for online conspiracy theories? Why does everyone speak with authority today as if they're an expert? Why do they dismiss real experts? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson talk to media psychology expert Dr. Dannagal Young.

References and resources

America and experts concerned about conspiracy theories and blame the internet: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9299316/

Social media makes us less informed; traditional news media makes us more informed: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19331681.2021.1969611

TikTok conspiracy theories in the Lindsy Clancey trial: https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/tiktokers-shown-patrick-clancys-60-174255826.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAI_8FGXdItco2yodQtPf4YpBGAV_UHql3N1HCBleD90A1Rn4hO18ttc6zpkJ6b5fMOHN6ZpxacT2n7goU8Oeng7IF56MDsdQrlLcsEs5K6Q-jbhchn8xJ5u5pvJ336u-rWR9c5p9E3AybnMVcjLbKImKIuByG5lcf3oKGPBE8JHf

  Belief in conspiracy theories have not increased over time: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9299316/

Websites

The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.world
Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me
Joseph Holmes: linktr.ee/josephholmes
Dr. Dannagal Young: udel.edu/faculty-staff/experts/dannagal-young/

Experts say family estrangement is on the rise, even as abuse is not. But why? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson discuss with author Noelle Mering the findings of her book "No Contact: How a Seductive Ideology Broke Families and Friendships and How We Can Repair Them"

References and resources

Family estrangement on the rise: 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jan/24/family-estrangement-children-parents-beckhams

Rates of abuse dropping: https://www.healio.com/news/psychiatry/20251120/incidence-of-child-maltreatment-declined-overall-in-us-from-2012-to-2023

Why do families get estranged? https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/01/why-parents-and-kids-get-estranged/617612/

Do we need more boundaries? https://www.ted.com/podcasts/how-to-be-a-better-human/set-boundaries-and-find-peace-w-nedra-glover-tawwab-transcript

Is calling family estrangement a trend offensive? https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/contributors/phil-lane-msw-lcsw

Websites

The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.world
Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me
Joseph Holmes: linktr.ee/josephholmes
Noelle Mering: noellemering.com

From Grimms fairy tales to 1984 to the Bible itself, humanity has always told dark stories. But why? What purpose do they serve? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson discuss with film critic, author, and co-host of the "Filmspotting" podcast Josh Larsen.

Websites

The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.world
Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me
Joseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmes
Josh Larsen: larsenonfilm.com

Why do we love art so much? What purpose does art serve for humans? Or is art useless and maybe that's a good thing? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson talk to author Dr. Merideth Hite Estevez about her new book "Art is How God Loves Us" on The Overthinkers. 

References and resources

Does art have health benefits? https://iris.who.int/server/api/core/bitstreams/e1cc8536-773d-446f-9822-8ae376f41415/content

Can art express things words can’t? https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/langer/

Is art useless? https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/526851-we-can-forgive-a-man-for-making-a-useful-thing

Is art for therapy? https://www.alaindebotton.com/art/

Website

The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.world
Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me
Joseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmes

Why is there so much anti-elite sentiment in the world today? Is it the fault of the elites themselves, or cultural trends they can't control? Joseph Holems and Nathan Clarkson talk to culture critic and author Aaron Renn on their latest episode. 

Defining elites: 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elite

https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-soc-071811-145542?

American trust in institutions at all-time low. https://news.gallup.com/poll/712436/confidence-institutions-remains-near-time-low.aspx

Global trust decreasing from fear to grievance: https://www.edelman.com/trust/2025/trust-barometer

Anti-elite sentiment worldwide: https://www.ipsos.com/en/populism-remains-strong

Christopher Nolan on democracies and greatness: https://singjupost.com/transcript-christopher-nolan-interview-with-podcaster-zhong-shu/

Low trust makes problems harder to solve: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2019/07/22/how-americans-see-problems-of-trust/

Tyranny of merit hypothesis: https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/the-tyranny-of-merit-with-michael-sandel/

Democratization of information hypothesis: https://www.discoursemagazine.com/p/revolt-of-the-public-10-years-on

Elite overproduction hypothesis: https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/the-elite-overproduction-hypothesis-994

Websites

The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.world
Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me
Joseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmes