The truth is out there... or is it?

James Ball and Jolyon Rubinstein sense a conspiracy

The world of investigative journalism is a serious one, as James Ball could tell you. A respected writer, who played a key role in the Pulitzer Prizewinning coverage of the NSA leaks by Edward Snowden. At WikiLeaks, he was closely involved in Cablegate – the publication of 250,000 classified US embassy cables in 2010.

So the subject matter in podcast The New Conspiracist may come as a surprise, given that it asks questions more often posed by investigators wearing a tinfoil hat rather than the more traditional deerstalker. Asking “Is there any truth to ‘chemtrails’?”, or “Has Melania Trump been replaced? If so, by whom?” or indeed “And Is Greta Thunberg a time traveller?” might beggar the question: has Ball himself been replaced by a doppelganger? Could he himself be the victim – or the instigator? – of a conspiracy?

If so, leading him down the road to QAnon HQ is his podcast partner,

Jolyon Rubinstein.

The BAFTA award-winning comedian is best-known for co-writing and starring in BBC 3’s The Revolution Will Be Televised, as well as creating and producing ITV’s Don’t Hate The Playaz, and directing a series of stunt-films for Stella McCartney.

The intrepid duo’s goal is to separate the reality from the rubbish, the certitude from the codswallop, in a quest to discover what’s true – and what’s fake news – in the sometimes silly, sometimes serious world of conspiracy theorists.

In each episode Rubinstein, self-declared “professional funny man and alien obsessive”, is kept on track and factchecked by his investigative sidekick Ball.

The pair have wildly differing careers, but have been brought together, they say, by their passion for discussing all things conspiracy theories. Rubinstein’s extroverted, showman-like comedic style balances well with Ball’s dry humour and desire to keep the conversation on track, and they work brilliantly in interviews together.

They are joined by expert guests to unpack one specific conspiracy theory, from the frankly ridiculous but enjoyably escapist (the pyramids were built by al- iens) to the somewhat believable and eye-opening

(the truth behind the lack of pockets in women’s clothes).

Guests include actor and comedian Rosie Holt (far left), queen of the satirical spoof sketch; Labour MP for Walthamstow Stella Creasy (below left); Caroline Criado Perez, activist and author of the Sunday Times Bestseller Invisible Women; and Ola Labib, who is currently the only Black, Muslim, female, Sudanese comedian performing in the UK.

Assuming, of course, that they haven’t all been replaced by lookalikes...

Hear The New

Conspiracist at bit.ly/ NewConPod.