Independent Investigation of Reality with Mehrtash Olson | Created In The Image of God 205

The call to “follow the science” has become a defining phrase of recent years—but what does it mean to investigate reality for ourselves when institutions, experts, and financial incentives all shape the story we’re told? In this episode, journalist and independent researcher Mehrtash Olson brings the Bahá’í principle of the independent investigation of reality into direct contact with today’s information climate.Drawing on several years of research into media trends, COVID-era messaging, and the growing influence of what some describe as a medical-industrial complex, Olson traces how deference to authority can quietly slide into a culture where honest questions are discouraged or punished. He highlights efforts to categorize dissent as misinformation or hate speech, and the way political and economic power can converge to manage what counts as acceptable opinion. Alongside these observations, he turns to Bahá’í teachings from Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi that affirm freedom of conscience, the right of self-expression, and the vital role of open consultation in social progress.The conversation does not promote cynicism for its own sake. Instead, it invites a more mature, spiritually grounded approach to truth-seeking, one that respects science and institutions while insisting that each person retains the duty to “see with [their] own eyes and not through the eyes of another.” For listeners unsettled by the current information landscape, this episode offers principles, language, and examples to support thoughtful, ethical discernment in a noisy age. Get full access to SOOPMedia on Substack at soopllc.substack.com/subscribe Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe