Nicky Woolf’s eight-part podcast series Finding Q is “one of the most gripping shows I’ve listened to in ages”, says James Marriott in The Times. British journalist Woolf delves into the world of QAnon conspiracy theorists, who believe “the US government is run by Satan-worshipping paedophiles led by Hillary Clinton”. He talks to everyone: true believers, senior figures and people whose lives have been ruined by the cult, all the while trying to track down QAnon’s leader. The podcast “captures the different sides of a movement that is sinister and banal, laughable and bloody terrifying”.
There’s “something of the gonzo about Woolf”, who “bowls blithely into perilous situations”, says Fiona Sturges in the Financial Times. He hangs out with members of Georgia’s armed militia and sends a fellow reporter to a QAnon conference in Texas, where attendees are asked to check that the person sitting next to them isn’t from the media. He explores how QAnon has “inched its way dangerously into the mainstream”. PR executive Melissa Rein Lively reveals how the cult “completely collapsed” her world view, landing her in a psychiatric facility after she tore down racks of masks in a supermarket. “It was rock bottom.”
Listen to the podcast here.