Monthly Archives: August 2020

What if half the country’s in a cult (and doesn’t know it)?

Posted on 31 August 2020 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

How can you tell if you’ve accidentally signed up for a cult? One sign is that you’re so enthusiastically opposed to the U.S. presidential candidates besides the one you prefer that you’re no longer living up to the “reflective” ideal … Continue reading →

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Three relationships with our collective stories: Authority, democracy, and the big yawn

Posted on 21 August 2020 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

Last week, I showed that giving people the facts not only won’t make them listen, it all too often makes them double-down and get even more entrenched in their beliefs. Understandably, this is frustrating! This week I’m going to share … Continue reading →

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A farewell to facts

Posted on 12 August 2020 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

A childhood friend, who is now a retired journalist and journalism professor, posted this cartoon on Facebook recently: (Original source) A few hours earlier, another childhood friend had posted something to Facebook – something political – with so many factual … Continue reading →

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A species caught up in stories

Posted on 11 August 2020 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

Science fiction novelist Becky Chambers described my book topic very well, in her most recent Wayfarers novel, Record of a Spaceborn Few. The characters are humans, many generations after a greatly damaged Earth had been left behind. Here, an archivist … Continue reading →

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