In Other Words
In Other Words is a podcast about how we know what we know—and why it matters. The stories we inherit, the systems we trust, and the “truths” we repeat are rarely as simple as they seem. Most have been shaped, spun, and repackaged until the lines between fact and narrative blur.
This show peels back those layers. Each episode looks at the assumptions beneath our politics, history, and culture, tracing how they took shape and what they leave out.
In other words, come unlearn with us.
In Other Words
The mind doesn't need reality to feel convinced
This episode examines how belief takes shape, why certainty can endure even when the supporting evidence weakens, and how truth shifts when preference begins to guide interpretation. It looks at the systems societies developed—science, journalism, education—to create shared standards for testing reality, and it considers the pressures eroding those systems through defunding, censorship, and strategic discrediting. These vulnerabilities allow comforting narratives to spread more quickly than accurate ones, and they pull communities toward explanations that satisfy identity rather than inquiry. The result is an information environment where commitment to a group can overshadow engagement with facts, and where doubt becomes a tool for influencing perception rather than a path to understanding. In other words, the mind doesn't need reality to feel convinced.