Brody's Truth Blog

A title to a blogpost I never thought I would write. Today’s class was great, and not just because I won Kahoot. What really stuck with me was how long people have been falling for lies, and how the same patterns keep repeating in different forms. We explored how deception shows up across history, from mythical aliens to scientific frauds, and how it still plays out in modern stories like The Wolf of Wall Street. The alien hoaxes fascinated me most. The Roswell incident and War of the Worlds both started with confusion and ended in chaos. They reminded me how people crave answers, even if they’re the wrong ones. When information is missing, imagination fills the gap and usually runs wild. Then we looked at hoaxes that wouldn’t die, like The Protocols of the Elders of Zion or the Cottingley Fairies. Those stories made me think about why people cling to falsehoods even after being told the truth. Sometimes it’s hate, sometimes it’s hope, but either way, belief is powerful. The pro...

This week, our class had the incredible opportunity to hear from Jeff Guinn, the acclaimed journalist and author of Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and a Legacy of Rage . It’s one thing to read about a tragic event in history, but it’s another to listen to someone who spent years researching it by digging through records, interviewing survivors, and unpacking how it all spiraled into one of the most infamous standoffs in American history. Mr. Guinn’s talk wasn’t just about the 1993 siege itself, but about how it came to be. He walked us through the origins of the Branch Davidians, a small religious sect that evolved out of the Seventh-day Adventist movement, and how David Koresh rose to power by convincing followers that he was the final prophet or lamb. Mr. Guinn explained how Koresh’s charisma and biblical interpretations drew in ordinary people searching for meaning, structure, or belonging and how that devotion ultimately turned deadly. What stood out most to me was Mr. G...

     “Think back to the last time you laughed,” a question posed to me today by Dr. Williams. It’s simple, but it really makes you realize how natural and powerful laughter is. From the time we’re little, laughter has this way of lifting our spirits and connecting us to others. It’s one of the few things that can completely change a mood in an instant. No matter how stressful or serious life gets, laughter breaks through and reminds us not to take everything so heavily. It’s more than just a reaction, it’s a weight off one’s shoulders. Laughter helps us reset, bond with others, and find a little bit of joy, even in the middle of ordinary moments. That’s why people say it’s the best medicine. Laughter might not fix problems, but it helps us heal emotionally and keeps life feeling lighter. Especially around midterms, when everyone feels overwhelmed and sleep-deprived, a good laugh can be exactly what we need to take a breath and reset.      That idea came to ...