Profs and Pints presents: “The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories,” with Brian A. Sharpless, licensed clinical psychologist, visiting research fellow at Goldsmiths, University of London, and editor of Unusual Psychological Disorders.

(Church Hall, where this event is being staged, follows all C.D.C. and Washington D.C. guidelines regarding public health, and D.C. currently requires anyone indoors at a restaurant or bar to wear a mask except while eating or drinking. The venue reserves the right to modify all rules to align with current and future regulations and best practices to maintain a safe and fun environment. In addition to bar service, it provides contactless ordering and hand sanitizer at all tables.)

What is a conspiracy theory? Are people who believe in conspiracies fundamentally different from those who do not? Are there any ways to protect yourself from buying into false theories? How often do conspiracy theories actually turn out to be true?

These are just a few of the fascinating questions that will tackled by Brian Sharpless, a regular on the Profs and Pints stage. He will discuss conspiratorial thinking throughout history, define what “conspiracy theory” means to psychologists and psychiatrists, and summarize what the field knows about the people who buy into such beliefs.

You may be surprised to learn that there are ways to predict who will believe in conspiracy theories, with some very common “cognitive biases” leaving people more accepting of them. Conspiracy theories also can also provide short-term psychological benefits to the believer. Furthermore, a number of psychological traits and disorders – both common and rare – have been associated with conspiratorial thinking.

Perhaps most surprising, that there are relatively few big differences between those who are predisposed to believe in conspiracy theories and those who aren’t. It’s small differences that sometimes have a huge impact in worldview.

The good news is that there are ways to evaluate – and even “inoculate” yourself against – conspiracy theories, and Dr. Sharpless will offer you practical tips on this front. You may walk out with a different perspective on what you read in the news and on the internet, with new knowledge that may help you maintain a more realistic and accurate worldview. (Advance tickets: $12 plus sales tax and vendor fees. Doors: $15, or $13 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later. Please allow yourself time to place any orders and get seated and settled in.)

Time

(Tuesday) 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Location

Church Hall

1070 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20007

Cost

Advance tickets: $12. Doors: $15, save $2 with a student ID.

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26sep3:00 pm8:00 pmElectric Rainbow: CAMPPresented by CO/OP3:00 pm - 8:00 pm Capo Backroom

26sep6:00 pm8:30 pmProfs & Pints: Understanding Racial Capitalism6:00 pm - 8:30 pm Bier Baron Tavern

Event Details

Profs and Pints presents: “Understanding Racial Capitalism,” with Olufemi Taiwo, assistant professor of philosophy at Georgetown University and scholar of Black political movements.

[Under current District of Columbia regulations attendees will be required to wear a mask except while eating or drinking. The Bier Baron will be requiring proof of Covid-19 vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test from the previous 72 hours for entry. It also will be requiring ticketed event attendees to purchase a minimum of two items, which can be food or beverages, including soft drinks.]

What does a properly intersectional movement against racism—and, for that matter, transphobia, patriarchy, and ableism—demand of us in terms of our relationship with our capitalist economic system? Do we have to be against capitalism to oppose racism? Is the struggle against racist police violence an anti-capitalist struggle? Are the struggles for universal healthcare, a jobs guarantee, or climate justice anti-racist ones?

Join Professor Taiwo as he offers answers to these questions based on a long line of neglected Black political thought. His talk will cite a host of prominent Black thinkers and span the disciplines, drawing from political science, sociology, Black Studies, and geography.

Spurred in part by the increasing prominence of these kinds of questions, the term “racial capitalism” is rising in use. Some take the term to mean that there is a fundamental, necessary relationship between racism and capitalism. Others take it as a description of how capitalism functions. Some are bitterly opposed to the use of the term “racial capitalism” entirely, viewing “racial” as an unhelpful, arbitrary, or misleading appendage to the term “capitalism.”

We’ll learn about the political theorist Cedric Robinson’s classic book Black Marxism, which is largely credited with introducing the term “racial capitalism” to describe the construction of a global political system that advantages whites and exploits Black people and other people of color. Also covered by the talk will be contemporary scholars like geographer and abolitionist Ruth Wilson Gilmore, who used the same way of thinking about the world to describe the incentive structures that built mass incarceration and helped incentivize racist and militarized policing.

Professor Taiwo’s provocative Profs and Pints talks always win applause for expanding minds and challenging how people think about the issues of our day, and this talk promises to do so as well. (Advance tickets: $12 plus sales tax and vendor fees. Doors: $15, or $13 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later. Please allow yourself time to place any orders and get seated and settled in.)

Time

(Sunday) 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Location

Bier Baron Tavern

1523 22nd St NW Washington DC 20037

Cost

Advance tickets: $12. Doors: $15, save $2 with a student ID.

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27sep6:00 pm8:30 pmProfs & Pints: What Creates a Terrorist?6:00 pm - 8:30 pm Bier Baron Tavern

Event Details

Profs and Pints presents: “What Creates a Terrorist?” with Dan Schneider, assistant professor at American University’s School of International Service and teacher of a course on al-Qaeda, ISIS and the War on Terror.

Twenty years after the 9/11 attacks, the United States continues to face terrorism on several fronts. The Taliban’s recent takeover of Afghanistan has given rise to fears of the reemergence of al-Qaeda and ISIS. On our own shores, rising right-wing extremism and associated violence remain a major concern. Some argue that the January 6th attack on the Capitol was itself an act of terrorism. If we hope to reduce the threat of political violence in our country and abroad, it is imperative that we understand how people can come to commit violent acts in pursuit of a political cause.

Why do people commit terrorist acts? Come hear that question tackled by Daniel Schneider, who teaches courses on terrorism and transnational crime for American University’s School of International Service.

Professor Schneider will discuss how research into the causes of terrorism, based partly on interviews with thousands of terrorists, has found that most terrorists are, in a psychological sense, normal and rational. They tend to be well educated, coming from middle or upper-middle-class backgrounds. Many have spouses and children who they care for deeply.

Looking into the life histories of selected individual terrorists, he’ll explore the insights that psychology, particularly group psychology, contributes to our understanding of how otherwise normal, well-educated people become killers of innocent people for ideological reasons. He’ll use excerpts from the great film, “The Battle of Algiers,” to illustrate how this transition occurs.

With a fuller and clearer explanation of what makes people become terrorists, we will explore ways to use such knowledge to develop better ways to reduce terrorism. The lessons we’ll learn might help us be safer in the long term. (Advance tickets: $12 plus sales tax and vendor fees. Doors: $15, or $13 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later. Please allow yourself time to place any orders and get seated and settled in.)

Time

(Monday) 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Location

Bier Baron Tavern

1523 22nd St NW Washington DC 20037

Cost

Advance tickets: $12. Doors: $15, save $2 with a student ID.

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28sep5:00 pm8:00 pmSUNSET SOCIAL AT WILD DAYS DC5:00 pm - 8:00 pm WILD DAYS at Eaton Rooftop

28sep6:00 pm8:30 pmProfs & Pints: When Pirates Prowled the Chesapeake6:00 pm - 8:30 pm Church Hall

Event Details

Profs & Pints presents: “When Pirates Prowled the Chesapeake,” with Jamie L.H. Goodall, professor at history at Southern New Hampshire University, scholar of piracy in and around the Atlantic, and author of Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay.

The Chesapeake Bay is an area intimately tied to a fascinating history of intrigue, plunder, and illicit commerce. From its first pirate, William Claiborne, to the infamous Captain Kidd, commerce raiders influenced the ebb and flow of the bay’s economy. Some pirates attacked on the bay while others simply made it their base of operations for depredations in the West Indies.

Learn about these nefarious rogues from Professor Goodall, an expert on Atlantic World piracy and privateering, particular during its Golden Age from 1650 to 1730. She’ll discuss the findings of her extensive research on pirates’ exploits, lives, and trials for her well-received book Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay: From the Colonial Era to the Oyster Wars.

Her talk will focus heavily on individual stories based on men like Theophilus Turner, Blackbeard, John James, and Louis Guittar, who pillaged and plundered their way between Baltimore and Hampton Roads. She’ll discuss what types of people got involved in acts of piracy and what roles they took.

You’ll also learn about the types of ships pirates preferred, how some of them managed to evade capture, and the role of women in the realm of pirates within the confines of the Chesapeake Bay.

Among the questions Dr. Goodall will tackle: Why the Chesapeake? Which parts of it were more prone to piracy? What made pirates view this region as both a haven and a prime target? What brought it all to an end?

Whether you’re sitting down with rum, ale, or just a glass of soda or tap water, you’ll be glad you’d climbed aboard for this scholarly voyage. (Advance tickets: $12 plus sales tax and vendor fees. Doors: $15, or $13 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later. Please allow yourself time to place any orders and get seated and settled in.)

Time

(Tuesday) 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Location

Church Hall

1070 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20007

Cost

Advance tickets: $12. Doors: $15, save $2 with a student ID.

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05oct5:00 pm8:00 pmSUNSET SOCIAL AT WILD DAYS DC5:00 pm - 8:00 pm WILD DAYS at Eaton Rooftop

12oct5:00 pm8:00 pmSUNSET SOCIAL AT WILD DAYS DC5:00 pm - 8:00 pm WILD DAYS at Eaton Rooftop