With conspiracy theories (one in particular) dominating headlines, I spoke with Professor Philip Kadish about how conspiracies have evolved. We traced the history of racist hoaxes dating back to the mid-1800s and explored how shifts in the media landscape during the mid-1900s helped set the stage for today’s conspiratorial age. Through it all, Professor Kadish argues, one tool has remained essential for separating fact from fiction: evidence.

Philip Kadish is a professor of American Studies at Pace University. His op-eds, which connect contemporary racial issues to their roots in nineteenth-century American culture, have appeared on CNN.com and NBC.com. Most recently, he’s the author of The Great White Hoax: Two Centuries of Selling Racism in America.

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