Noelle Cook

The Conspiracists has been out for six months, and I keep coming back to the question at the center of it: what do conspiracy communities give people beyond the beliefs themselves? Certainty, purpose, identity, and belonging. January 6 was one outcome of that world, but it was never the whole story🧵

www.etsy.com/shop/Winston...

Can’t wait to read this @noellecook.com ! the idea of belonging is fascinating to me. It’s something we all want. But when snake oil sellers sell “belonging“ to dangerous online conspiracies, we see real harm (see January 6th) Important research and discussion

I’ve been saying this for years as I’ve studied extremism. The right understands the power of media and has invested heavily in building its own ecosystem. The left needs to do the same, and that means funding women doing this work, not just the same male voices.

It’s obvious Trump is being manipulated by Putin. But that’s not the only reason he’s helping Russia It’s also because Zelenskyy defied him by refusing to manufacture a scandal about the Bidens-which led to his first impeachment-and now Ukraine continues to embarrass him with its very survival

I wrote about men in groups in connection with Jane Doe and the Cornell case. Some of what I discovered in my research shocked even me (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2026/10/20/o...

🧵We haven't reckoned w/ how *quickly* the regime was able to dismantle advancements that brought women to a place of "equality" (legal, professional, etc). The dismantling would've been impossible if that equality were real. Misogyny (male supremacism) is the foundation on which our society rests.

Right-wing propaganda has turned ordinary Americans into cult members willing to endorse any cruelty in service to a twisted vision of god's will.

If WIRED (and others) had bothered to consult someone who knew something about how blood tests are done, they wouldn't have fallen for Elizabeth Holmes. My first observation, as a chemist, was that there is a reason blood tests need as much blood as they do.

Greg Bovino reduced to speaking alongside neo-Nazi and Hitler saluting loser Jake Lang. Check out this video from @jaredlholt.bsky.social and @noturtlesoup17.bsky.social for more of a breakdown.

I started organizing a box I’d been meaning to get to. Found a letter my 7-year-old son wrote to the president in Feb. 2001. He wanted wars to stop, instruments for schools, and hungry children fed. 7 months later came 9/11. Twenty-five years later, he could write the same letter.

Missouri has been kicking around "Amendment 8" for a while -- it would enshrine the office of sheriff in the state constitution. Now it's being promoted by Mike Lindell. missouriindependent.com/2026/10/16/m...

I could have talked to Brooke Berman, writer and director of Ramona at Midlife, for hours. We discussed The Conspiracists, the women at the center of my work, and her upcoming play Off the Grid. Sharing our conversation from her Substack below. substack.com/@brookeberma...

Honored to have this engagement with Reality in Ruins from @amarpeterman.bsky.social for the Christian Century.

The woman in this clip is the subject of a documentary film on the Roku Channel called "The Conspiracists" which follows the research my wife @noellecook.com did for a 2026 book with the same title. Yvonne is a complicated person. @thedailyshow.com youtu.be/ZBcLkaJPa78

You’re invited to HANDS OFF OUR VOTE, a live event where artists and movement leaders will lay out an action plan for defending our democracy this election season. Join us in New York City on Sunday: mobilize.us/s/wrkBn2 Or you can watch online: mobilize.us/s/rfALuz

Even the 1980s are embarrassed that this still needs explaining. FFS.

Full wipe of Cornell admin.

"Meanwhile, Jane Doe dropped out of Cornell and was denied her request to get her tuition refunded so that she could transfer to a different college. She hence faced more severe consequences than most of the men who she alleges gang-raped her." www.thecut.com/article/what...

Man Confident He Would’ve Been Brave Enough To Send Thumbs Down Emoji In Cornell Group Chat

This feels like the worst of the 80s, without any of the good music. What are we even doing?

The desert sky never gets old.

The article is brutal. Great student reporting. The chef's kiss is that the reporters found that the provost's letter defending his use of AI for witting op-eds and academic papers was 100% written by AI.

Filmmaker Liz Smith answering questions after a screening of The Conspiracists (2024), a must-see J6er road tripe (spelling intentional) documentary she filmed with eponymous book author and pseudonymous sidekick @noellecook.com.

High praise for @noellecook.com's book The Conspiracists from a reviewer who understands how the current crisis of faith and belonging is being juiced by social media algorithms to drive millions of people across the globe into conspiracism. www.christiancentury.org/books/lonely...

This is one of the most meaningful reviews I’ve received. Keri Ladner read The Conspiracists with such care and empathy for me, Tammy and Yvonne. By the end, I was reading through tears. I’m deeply grateful for how thoughtfully she wrote about my book. www.christiancentury.org/books/lonely...

Have you heard of Leaving MAGA? It’s a community for people questioning their political and conspiratorial beliefs and finding their way beyond the movement. There are many stories beyond the one that has dominated the headlines. Read them here: leavingmaga.org/they-left-ma...

Have you heard of Leaving MAGA? It’s a community for people questioning their political and conspiratorial beliefs and finding their way beyond the movement. There are many stories beyond the one that has dominated the headlines. Read them here: leavingmaga.org/they-left-ma...

I love watching the hummingbirds rinse off in the rain. This male Costa’s was thoroughly enjoying himself. 🪶

I was an original member of Indivisible Baltimore County way back when. Tactics like No Kings matter because they build community. And when people feel like they belong, they act.

This is social movement 101 and as far as I can tell Indivisible and similar have passed with straight As

It's the kind of thing that's essential for movement building.

I was an original member of Indivisible Baltimore County way back when. Tactics like No Kings matter because they build community. And when people feel like they belong, they act.

@awkword.bsky.social, @voffund.bsky.social, & 50501 are urging you to register & make a plan to #vote in the midterms. #VotingIsPunk #voffund #awkword #50501movement

What in the condescending misogyny is this, @wired.com? “Perimenopause” isn’t a “buzzword” invented by pharma startups — if you haven’t heard it much until recently, maybe that’s because women’s health in midlife was almost completely disregarded www.wired.com/story/inside...

Gen X, this is our retirement they’re talking about. Maybe we don’t say “whatever” this time.

Congratuations to Rich Logis, who is getting more recognition for building a MAGA exit ramp that provides community for those starting to question their support for Trump. Go Rich!

A second Guardian piece on Leaving MAGA, this one focused on the people doing the hard work of finding their way out. Congratulations to @leavingmaga.org, and thank you to everyone who trusted him with their stories. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

A second Guardian piece on Leaving MAGA, this one focused on the people doing the hard work of finding their way out. Congratulations to @leavingmaga.org, and thank you to everyone who trusted him with their stories. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

In advance of the midterms and two weeks before my book LIVE LAUGH LOVE releases, the NYT asked me to write about how popular Christian women’s culture informs the way women vote. And then they created these incredible illustrations. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/01/o...

A wonderful piece on @leavingmaga.org and the community it’s building for people finding their way out. Congratulations to Rich and everyone who has made that community possible. This is important work. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

It’s too hot to go outside anyway. Stream The Conspiracists free on The Roku Channel instead. Or pick up my book and go deeper into the women’s lives and what conspiracy communities offer beyond belief: belonging, identity, certainty and purpose. therokuchannel.roku.com/details/cb1c...

Gen X, this is our retirement they’re talking about. Maybe we don’t say “whatever” this time.

Natalie Harp's letters have the same manic joylessness and obsessive fixation that I found in QAnon social media. The messianic fawning over Trump, the neglecting of basic bodily needs, the self-flagellating belief that they'll never be good enough. They're all signs of a deeply unwell person.

Both a good documentary and an excellent read. Neither really treads on the other and neither feels like homework for the other. An excellent, detailed, human, multimedia investigation.

It’s too hot to go outside anyway. Stream The Conspiracists free on The Roku Channel instead. Or pick up my book and go deeper into the women’s lives and what conspiracy communities offer beyond belief: belonging, identity, certainty and purpose. therokuchannel.roku.com/details/cb1c...