American Beat: Moon Stalker

Sibrel is in such a deep orbit that even other conspiracy theorists complain that he's giving conspiracy theorists a bad name.

"The claim that the moon landing is a hoax is completely crackpot," Kevin Christopher, a spokesman for Skeptical Inquirer magazine, told the L.A. Times. "He's just crazy. The scientific evidence is overwhelming" (Then again, Skeptical Inquirer recently examined the possibly that Bigfoot--a.k.a. Sasquatch, a.k.a. Yeti--is real.)

So if even the conspiracy theorists think we landed on the moon, where, exactly, did this conspiracy theory originate? (I mean, let's face it, "Capricorn One" was not that good a movie.)

Sibrel didn't return my calls, but his Website claims that if you look at photos supposedly taken on the moon, some of the shadows appear to intersect, which should be impossible considering that the Sun was the only source of light. And how come no stars show up in the lunar sky? And why didn't the Command Module leave a blast crater? And what about the green cheese? Why is NASA holding out on us? There's your conspiracy!

Of course, you'll have to pay good money to see Sibrel's "evidence." NASA, on the other hand, offers its evidence for free.

This is the part of my story where I would typically call in a psychologist, who would say that in our stressful, complex world, conspiracy theories offer a neat-and-tidy explanation for things that may not be so clear. The psychologist would also talk about how conspiracy theories tend to circulate, especially now, thanks to the Internet because people of like minds tend to seek each other out, the better to feel that it's "us" versus "them."