On the 6th November 1966 Paul McCartney died in a car crash, and he was replaced in the Beatles by William Shears Campbell. Now that’s not actually true, but it hasn’t stopped many people to believe that it is. This theory is just one of many conspiracies that I discuss with Jonn Elledge, co-author (with Tom Phillips) of a book on their history. We talk about whether we’re living in a simulation, JFK and Abraham Lincoln’s assassinations, crop circles and many more – but it’s not always internet obsessives who push these ideas.

Jonn is a journalist and author and you’ll find his work in The New Statesman, The Guardian and he has a great Substack.

Jonn Elledge Links

Conspiracy: A History of Boll*cks Theories, and How Not to Fall for Them, by Jonn Elledge & Tom Phillips

The Newsletter of (Not Quite) Everything – Substack

Jonn on X/Twitter

Links Discussed

Abbi Richards’ brilliant Conspiracy Chart

Do We Live in a Simulation? Chances Are about 50–50

1234: The Beatles in Time, by Craig Brown

Ollie Links

6 Books on Napoleon

Ollie on X/Twitter