BONUS EPISODE | Covid denialism, conspiracy thinking, far-right politics, vaccine hesitancy, collective care and medical misinformation with guest speaker Julie Bell.

Julie is a herbalist by trade, a homebirther, a feminist, a doula, a self proclaimed ‘non-vaxxer’, and a devout Christian who has found her way out of a fundamentalist faith. In this episode she joins me to share her observations about the roots of conspiracy theories and deliberate coronavirus misinformation campaigns.

We begin with a look into the infiltration of the alternative left by far-right political groups, specifically through the foothold they have found in the existing anti vaccination sentiment. Julie shares her journey to exiting fundamentalist faith, of living in Hong Kong during the SARS epidemic, and of her close observation of the rise of conspiracy thinking and deliberate misinformation that has unfolded during the Covid-19 pandemic.

We discuss our own Covid-19 vaccination choices, and some pieces around living and thriving in a time of increasing global crisis.

 

Further reading

It Is For Freedom – Julie’s blog that began as a resource for women exiting fundamentalism and ended up morphing into tackling conspiracy theories and disinformation as well. 

Julie’s story of a journey from legalism to grace:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3 

What has fundamentalism & patriarchy got to do with election & Coronavirus disinformation?

 

Institute for Strategic Dialogue – Powering solutions to Extremism & Polarisation

The Global Network on Extremism & Technology - Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism

 

Julie’s picks for Covid 19 and vaccine information:

Redemptive History and Theology 

Dr Sara Marzouk

 Sarah Stogryn

Dr Aviva Romm on wellness during Covid

 Therapeutic Goods Administration Covid 19 Vaccine Weekly Safety Report