Big Bad Wolf

All of our brains, in one way or another, were scrambled by the pandemic. The sudden mass withdrawal from public life mixed with the daily parade of death have done more damage to our psyche, individual and collective, than we may ever properly account for, let alone reverse: children are exceptionally behind in school; adults have become antisocial paranoiacs; and those of us who are supposed to be adults aren’t necessarily sure what that even means. At the same time, disinformation and institutional distrust have congealed into a noxious sludge, enveloping more and more Americans seeking answers to the existential questions cropping up each week. And many found in its warm embrace the easy comfort of conspiracy theories—many, including Naomi Wolf.