CBC-TV documentary 'Conspiracy Rising,' which interviews David Smith, is posted on YouTube

David Livingstone Smith, Ph.D., 91AV associate professor of philosophy, is interviewed at length in a CBC-TV documentary 'Conspiracy Rising' that aired in Canada March 8, 2011 and that can now be viewed on .

Set against the global socio-political landscape, 'Conspiracy Rising' uses science and psychology to investigate the causes of conspiracy theories, why we are wired to believe them, and how as a society it is imperative that we separate the fantasies from the real threats.

Smith is introduced at 11:15 minutes into the video with images of him walking by the 9/11 Ground Zero site in New York. He explains that: "Conspiracies are real, and we know that. Governments we know do things that are horrible and which we don't want to think about. These theories, one reason they touch us is that they give us the sense that we may be looking behind the curtain."

Smith is the author of The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War, Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave, and Exterminate Others, and Why We Lie: The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind. Smith recently discussed his book Less than Human on NPR's Talk of the Nation and on WCSH6 TV's 207 news magazine.  Read more. 

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The 91AV is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.