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Sign up todayOff the Edge
Flat Earthers, Conspiracy Culture, and Why People Will Believe Anything
Narrator
Xe Sands
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Length
7 hours 13 minutes
Language
English
Bookseller recommendation
“It's easy to look at the social and political landscape of the past few years and despair for the human race. We may feel we are entering a new dark age, a social-media-fueled fracturing that will Balkanize our nations and cultures until consensus reality vanishes entirely. Is this our fate, a new tribalism formed from Facebook echo chambers, waging an endless information war in the ashes of democracy? Well, while Off The Edge does address these fears, it does so with surprising levity. It takes us through the history of the flat earth conspiracy theory, from its cult-like origins to its recent role in the emergence of QAnon, and introduces us to fascinating figures along the way, ranging from the expectable loathsome neo-Nazis to shockingly admirable modern-day skeptics. This is its most impressive balancing act -- treating flat earth theory and the culture surrounding it with the appropriate ridicule, rather than attempting total journalistic neutrality, while also humanizing those caught up in its spin (at least, the ones who aren't overtly terrible people). The most outlandish beliefs are rooted in entirely commonplace emotions... ”
— Graham • Next Chapter Booksellers
Bookseller recommendation
“A fascinating look at the origins of the flat earth conspiracy theory, and how it paved the way for the many other conspiracy theories that followed. It goes quickly and you're going to want to listen to it a couple times because you will find yourself exclaiming at the correlation to current events every few minutes. Xe punctuates this primer perfectly and you will never be the same.”
— Charity • Schuler Books
Bookseller recommendation
“This book might not answer the 'How-Do-I-Continue-Loving-Friends-and-Family-Whose-Politics-Are-Making-Them-(And-By-Extention-Me)-Crazy' question which has haunted our Facebook profiles and Thanksgiving dinners for the past few years, but it did give me hope that there might be a way. While interviewing a Flat-Earth proponent for The Daily Beast, journalist Kelly Weill is surprised to discover that, despite his bonkers astrological ideas, she kind of likes the guy. This leads Weill to attempt to answer the question that has been on all of our minds since at least 2016: 'How can you believe THAT?' Weill interviews contemporary conspiracy theorists to learn what led them to Flat-Earth...Weill also consults the historical record, tracing the origin of modern Flat-Earth conspiracy to a 19th century cult founder and quack medicine practitioner. Even as she unpacks their absurd beliefs, Weill meets her subjects with curiosity, attempting to understand their need behind the belief. In a few cases, Weill is able to record the slow, painful process as former conspiracy-theorists let go of the theories that had deluded them and damaged their relationships. Narrator Xe Sands is a joy! Her voice embodies the humorous, incisive, and compassionate style of Weill's words. I recommend this audiobook highly-- it is the perfect companion for your drive to the next family gathering, where its wisdom will come in handy!”
— Adam • Prairie Lights Books
“A deep dive into the world of Flat Earth conspiracy theorists . . . that brilliantly reveals how people fall into illogical beliefs, reject reason, destroy relationships, and connect with a broad range of conspiracy theories in the social media age. Beautiful, probing, and often empathetic . . . An insightful, human look at what fuels conspiracy theories.” —Science
Since 2015, there has been a spectacular boom in a centuries-old delusion: that the earth is flat. More and more people believe that we all live on a pancake-shaped planet, capped by a solid dome and ringed by an impossible wall of ice.
How? Why?
In Off the Edge, journalist Kelly Weill draws a direct line from today’s conspiratorial moment, brimming not just with Flat Earthers but also anti-vaxxers and QAnon followers, back to the early days of Flat Earth theory in the 1830s. We learn the natural impulses behind these beliefs: when faced with a complicated world out of our control, humans have always sought patterns to explain the inexplicable. This psychology doesn’t change. But with the dawn of the twenty-first century, something else has shifted. Powered by Facebook and YouTube algorithms, the Flat Earth movement is growing.
At once a definitive history of the movement and an essential look at its unbelievable present, Off the Edge introduces us to a cast of larger-than-life characters. We meet historical figures like the nineteenth-century grifter who first popularized the theory, as well as the many modern-day Flat Earthers Weill herself gets to know, from moms on vacation to determined creationists to neo-Nazi rappers. We discover what, and who, converts people to Flat Earth belief, and what happens inside the rabbit hole. And we even meet a man determined to fly into space in a homemade rocket-powered balloon—whose tragic death is as senseless and absurd as the theory he sets out to prove.
In this incisive and powerful story about belief, Kelly Weill explores how we arrived at this moment of polarized realities and explains what needs to happen so that we might all return to the same spinning globe.
Kelly Weill is a journalist at the Daily Beast, where she covers extremism, disinformation, and the internet. As a leading media voice on the role of online conspiracy theories in current affairs, she has discussed Flat Earth and other digital fringes on ABC’s Nightline, CNN, Al Jazeera, and other national and international news outlets. She lives in New York.
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Reviews
"Veteran narrator Sands is an ideal voice for this nonfiction title. Her careful pacing favors that of natural speech, which helps the listener stay connected . . . Sands brings just enough of the author's opinions into her narration to convey the tone without going overboard, even as sometimes disturbingly outlandish claims are recounted. A pleasant and engaging presentation of a topic that will be high on the list of contemporary concerns for many library patrons."
—Booklist
"Xe Sands is the perfect narrator here as she navigates these unbelievable beliefs with a touch of tongue-in-cheek in her tone while still exuding empathy...Those who value information literacy will love hearing what this book reveals. Recommended." —Library Journal's Audio Newsletter
“A deep dive into the world of flat Earth conspiracy theorists . . . that brilliantly reveals how people fall into illogical beliefs, reject reason, destroy relationships, and connect with a broad range of conspiracy theories in the social media age. Beautiful, probing, and often empathetic . . . An insightful, human look at what fuels conspiracy theories.”
—Science
"This provocative book is sure to inspire debate about conspiracy theories as well as how citizens of a fractured world can learn to overcome their fear of radical planetary change. A timely and disturbing study of flawed, dangerous thinking."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Insightful and surprisingly empathetic . . . an illuminating take on a much scrutinized subject."
—Publishers Weekly
“An illuminating study that locates the common human psychological impulses behind conspiracy culture.”
—Library Journal
“In lively prose, Weill untangles the most complicated webs, revealing the real people who believe the unbelievable.”
—Booklist
"An inquisitive, empathetic, deeply reported, and disturbingly funny tour through the furthest reaches of the most fringe possible conspiracy community. While Weill's subjects frequently risk falling off the edge of their own self-created map of the known universe, she follows them deftly to the brink, showing what their delusional explorations can teach us about belief, community, and the long history of pseudoscience around (sorry!) the world."
—Anna Merlan, author of Republic of Lies
"In this delightful deep dive into flat earth culture past and present, taking in YouTube recommendation algorithms, amateur rocketry, and a rat’s nest of conspiracy theories, Kelly Weill explains why, after several millennia of setbacks, the idea that the earth is flat is burgeoning once again."
—Michael Strevens, author of The Knowledge Machine
"Weill's elegant writing, informed by both historical research and deep-delving reporting, offers a complex and vivid portrait of a conspiracy community that serves as a metonym for this moment—when so many of us are in dispute about the very nature of reality. An essential and enjoyable read."
—Talia Lavin, author of Culture Warlords
“Kelly Weill is one of the best observers of the fringes of modern American life, making her the perfect chronicler of the Flat Earth movement. Her deep reporting and gift for storytelling make Off The Edge a gripping read— but what sets Weill apart is her ability to cover her subjects with great empathy, all without losing sight of the enormous damage and personal consequences of their actions.”
—Charlie Warzel, co-authorof Out of Office
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