So tell us how this evolved into the point where you now wanna write this book.

Well, the idea for the book actually started quite a while ago.

I was always fascinated by the idea of people who were doing stuff outside of the university because even while I was at school, it was gradually becoming clear to me that the really innovative and interesting thinking was not happening at the university.

It was happening outside, and I think that's still true.

The other thing too was, as I mentioned, there were people in the university who had things they wanted to do, but they couldn't do them because there were these weird constraints.

In the book, I tell the story, for instance, of a professor of mine who was hired because of his knowledge of the Uzbek language and Soviet Central Asia.

At least back then it was Soviet.

Beautiful

you have to um

be willing to ask questions of the sources that you use.

Does this source adhere to proper standards of journalism? If they make a mistake, do they correct it? That's a big one.

Are they willing to say, I don't know, when they really don't know? Do they use language that is emotionally loaded, you know, that makes you kind of go, or makes you angry? After you read, say, an article from a certain source, ask yourself, how do I feel? Do I feel outraged? And if so, why? What's in here that made me feel outraged? The important thing to remember about disinformation is that disinformation is not aimed at the head.

It's aimed at the gut.

It's designed to make you angry or to make you despairing.

So what you end up doing is instead of I read this and it's true and that, and it makes me angry.

If someone listening right now says, there's a subject I've always wanted to understand, but I have no idea where to begin, how would you tell them to start?