What do you think I should title my book?

The manuscript is done. Now comes the hard part.

If you’ve been a subscriber for a while, first of all, thank you! I know that there are so many things to watch, read and listen to just on Substack alone. I hope that you find value in what I write and that that’s why you read.

Another thing if you’re not new around here that you may have noticed is that I’ve decreased the frequency of my long form posts. There are a few reasons for that. One is that I was burning the candle at both ends leading up to last year’s election. I’m not a full-time journalist or commentator and couldn’t sustain that cadence indefinitely. Another has been to enjoy my time with my son, who is now old enough to have homework and activities of his own that I need to help him with.

Still another is that I need to focus on getting out my book! I just finished a full length manuscript earlier this year and it’s time to start getting the word out.

It feels strange to be at this moment – unreal, actually. The idea for this book began percolating about a decade ago, when we first began the descent into this new era we’re in. Since then, it's gone through several reimaginings, iterations and versions. Now we’re fully in the post-truth era and I’ve got a book to put out. You have to admit, I have a knack for timing.

The question my book asks it’s simple, but the answers are nuanced and complex. That question is: how do we talk to the people in our lives who have fallen down the rabbit hole of online conspiracy theories? As for the answers, I spoke to everyone from therapists and coaches to researchers, organizers and operatives who literally persuade people for a living, took the best of what they had to offer, and put it all into one book that (I hope!) will help readers to keep their friends, family, colleagues – whoever – from straying too far.

Let me get something out of the way right up front. This isn’t about converting diehard MAGA supporters, turning your racist uncle into a whole new person, or helping anyone escape a cult. Steven Hassan is the nation’s leading expert on cult deprogramming, and I would urge anyone struggling with that particular form of heartbreak to consult his works. This isn’t a book about finding sympathy for the people who are doing real harm to our society, either. Especially since 2016, there's been a rush among certain publications and media outlets to give a megaphone to writers and commentators whose sole job it has become to condescend to everyone about what we “just didn’t get” about the supporters of a vile bigot. I've stopped reading and watching them all.

Instead, what this book is about is how to talk to the people in your life who’ve been redpilled, who have gone down a rabbit hole, or who have otherwise given into conspiratorial thinking – those who have allowed the dark fantasies to come between them and reality. This isn't always a political phenomenon (though it often is) and it’s not exclusively lifelong conservatives who become trapped.

The nomination of RKF, Jr. – a darling of the online anti-vaxxer movement – to the position of Health and Human Services Secretary by a President who came to power on promises of mass deportations and retribution shows the merger of the extremes. The contrasting coalition of centrists, progressives, and former Republicans who have been standing in opposition further proves the point. The left-versus-right divide is giving way; the time in which we now live is defined by fiction versus fact, irrational adherence rather than reason, and selfish depravity over virtue.

Currently, there is a far more established right-wing and conspiratorial new media ecosystem. That’s the bad news. The good news is that this country is not evenly divided. Tens of millions of Americans are so checked out of current affairs they don’t bother to vote even in presidential elections. Even among the people who have been seduced by the dark side, there are many who have regretted their choice. And within that group, most are not devoted members of a cult of personality. The people who The Daily Show's Jordan Klepper speaks to when he attends a rally appear on TV because they make good TV, not because they represent one half of the American population.

To be clear, this book is about more than just the MAGAverse and the people sucked into it. In it, I interview experts on topics as varied as the all-engrossing QAnon conspiracy, the way to communicate across class divides, and methods on dealing with difficult people at work. Their stories are interesting and entertaining, and their advice, taken together, offers a multidisciplinary approach to having some productive – if thorny – conversations. With any luck, they may help to preserve some relationships as well. I learned throughout the research and writing process that a person does not need to be in a literal cult to fall into cultic thinking, that the most prominent conspiracy theories in our society at the moment are not the only ones, and that conspiratorial thinking isn’t benign; it can strain and break the bonds between loved ones.

I know my little book isn’t going to change the world, but I do think it could help some readers to keep that someone in their life a little more grounded in reality. Who knows? Maybe then those readers can go on to help even more people.

Right now though, I could use a little help. I need to nail down this title. Right now I’m working with, Be the Anchor: How to keep the people in your life tethered to reality in a sea of conspiracy theories. What do you think? Have a better idea? I want to know! Let me hear it. And thank you!