Göbekli Tepe Part 2: Oops, All Tristan Makes You Sad

About this episode

The episode discusses the dangers of conspiracy theories and their impact on society, particularly in relation to radicalization and media exploitation.

In Part 2 of our Göbekli Tepe series, we pivot from debunking ancient alien claims to examining why conspiracy theories are so fucking dangerous in 2025. We start with the shocking discovery that Hank Green made a video with almost our exact podcast title (we're not mad, don't tell anyone we were mad), then spiral into a serious discussion about how recommendation algorithms, economic incentives, and media exploitation create radicalization pipelines that lead from "ancient aliens built pyramids" to January 6th insurrections. We explore how conspiracy content preys on vulnerable populations, why confrontational fact-checking backfires, and what you can actually do when someone you love falls down the rabbit hole. Content Warning: Discussion of radicalization, political violence, January 6th insurrection, and the exploitation of vulnerable populations. Get new episodes early and support the show on  Patreon  and  Nebula! Subscribe  to  It's Probably (not) Aliens  for weekly episodes about cool ancient history! And give us a  5-star review  if you have the time. It really helps us out! Tristan Johnson   Bluesky  |  Twitter…

People in this episode

Hosts: Tristan Johnson, Scott Niswander

Topics covered

• conspiracy theories
• radicalization
• media exploitation
• ancient aliens
• political violence
• vulnerable populations

Keywords

• Göbekli Tepe
• conspiracy theories
• radicalization
• media algorithms
• political violence
• January 6th
• vulnerable populations

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