Episode 172: Jewish Space Lasers with Mike Rothschild

Across the Margin: The Podcast

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with journalist, author, and conspiracy theory expert Mike Rothschild. Mike has written two previous books, including The Storm is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of Everything. He has been interviewed by CNN, MSNBC, NPR, the BBC, the Washington Post, and the New York Times, among many other outlets, to discuss conspiracy theories and has testified to Congress on the threat of election disinformation. His latest book, Jewish Space Lasers: The Rothschilds and 200 Years of Conspiracy Theories, is the focus of this episode. Jewish Space Lasers: The Rothschilds and 200 Years of Conspiracy Theories is a deeply researched dive into the history of the conspiracy industry around the Rothschild family — from the “pamphlet wars” of Paris in the 1840s to the dankest pits of the internet today. Journalist and conspiracy theory expert Mike Rothschild, who isn’t related to the family, sorts out myth from reality to find the truth about these conspiracy theories and their spreaders. Who were the Rothschilds? Who are they today? Do they really own $500 trillion and every central bank, in addition to “controlling the British money supply?” Is any of this actually true? And why, even as their wealth and influence have waned, do they continue to drive conspiracies and hoaxes? In this episode host Michael Shields and Mike Rothschild explore just how the Rothschild family originally became the focus of countless antisemitic conspiracy theories while considering how the story of the Rothschild conspiracy theories is the story of modern antisemitism. They talk about the “myth to end all myths” involving the Battle of Waterloo, how authentically dangerous the Rothschild conspiracy theories are, how George Soros has become the present-day stand-in for the Rothschilds, and so much more.

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