For more than 200 years, the name “Rothschild” has been synonymous with two things: great wealth, and conspiracy theories about what they’re “really doing” with it. Almost from the moment Mayer Amschel Rothschild and his sons emerged from the Jewish ghetto of Frankfurt to revolutionize the banking world, the Rothschild family has been the target of myths, hoaxes, bizarre accusations, and constant, virulent antisemitism. Over the years, they have been blamed for everything from the sinking of the Titanic, to causing the Great Depression, and even creating the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jewish Space Lasers: The Rothschilds and 200 Years of Conspiracy Theories is a deeply researched dive into the history of the conspiracy industry around the Rothschild family – from the “pamphlet wars” of Paris in the 1840s to the dankest pits of the internet today. Journalist and conspiracy theory expert Mike Rothschild, who isn’t related to the family, sorts out myth from reality to find the truth about these conspiracy theories and their spreaders. Who were the Rothschilds? Who are they today? Do they really own $500 trillion and every central bank, in addition to “controlling the British money supply?” Is any of this actually true? And why, even as their wealth and influence have waned, do they continue to drive conspiracies and hoaxes?
Jewish Space Lasers: The Rothschilds and 200 Years of Conspiracy Theories is a deeply researched dive into the history of the conspiracy industry around the Rothschild family – from the “pamphlet wars” of Paris in the 1840s to the dankest pits of the internet today. Journalist and conspiracy theory expert Mike Rothschild, who isn’t related to the family, sorts out myth from reality to find the truth about these conspiracy theories and their spreaders. Who were the Rothschilds? Who are they today? Do they really own $500 trillion and every central bank, in addition to “controlling the British money supply?” Is any of this actually true? And why, even as their wealth and influence have waned, do they continue to drive conspiracies and hoaxes?
Mike Rothschild is a journalist who has spent the last decade writing about the rise and spread of conspiracy theories, hoaxes, scams, and moral panics. He is the author of the first complete book on the QAnon conspiracy movement, The Storm is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of Everything, and his newest book is Jewish Space Lasers: The Rothschilds and 200 Years of Conspiracy Theories, on the history of Rothschild banking family conspiracy theories and their role in modern antisemitism.
As a subject matter expert in conspiracy theories and their impact, he has written hundreds of articles and been interviewed or featured by The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New Yorker, the BBC, NPR, Rolling Stone, the Guardian, and many others. Mike has appeared on TV on CNN, MSNBC, Peacock, PBS Newshour, 60 Minutes Australia, Inside Edition, and on major podcasts, including Maintenance Phase, QAnon Anonymous, the Lincoln Project Podcast, Armchaired and Dangerous, and many others. He testified to Congress in 2022 on the danger of election fraud disinformation, has worked as an expert witness in civil cases related to conspiracy theories, spoken at numerous major conferences, and submitted written testimony to the January 6th Select Committee on the role of QAnon in the Capitol attack. He lives in Southern California.
Rothschild will be in conversation about his book with Britt P. Tevis.
Britt P. Tevis, J.D./Ph.D., is the Phyllis Backer Assistant Professor in Jewish Studies in the Department of History at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. Her work focuses on the intersection of Jews and American law with a special emphasis on the study of antisemitism.
