How did America end up trapped in a nightmare of conspiracy theories, in which millions see the government as an evil 'deep state'?

In 1967, at the height of the Vietnam War, a group of New York writers concocted what appeared to be a top-secret government report into what would happen to the USA if permanent global peace broke out. Report from Iron Mountain claimed that winding down America's vast war-making machinery would wreck the economy and tear society apart, necessitating draconian controls over the population. It was published as non-fiction – and was frighteningly convincing. Journalists tried to find out who had written it. Worried memos reached right up to the president. It became a bestselling cause célébre.

Even when the hoax was revealed, many refused to believe it wasn't real. The Report was seized on by eager figures on the far right and in the militia movement, who insisted that it revealed terrifying government conspiracies to pollute the environment, enslave Americans and even instigate eugenics. And its legacy lives on today.

Join Phil Tinline as he traces the story through a gallery of vivid characters, from the radical academic C. Wright Mills and the writers E.L. Doctorow, Victor Navasky and Leonard Lewin in 1960s New York, to the far-right impresario Willis Carto, Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, conspiracy theorist Milton William Cooper, L. Fletcher Prouty (the inspiration for 'Mr X' in the film JFK), and ranting broadcaster Alex Jones.

PHIL TINLINE

Phil is a freelance writer and documentary-maker. Over the course of twenty years working for BBC Radio, he made and presented many acclaimed documentaries about how political history shapes our lives. He has written for The Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, BBC History Magazine, Prospect, Unherd, Engelsberg Ideas and The New Statesman. He is the author of The Death of Consensus: 100 Years of British Political Nightmares and Ghosts of Iron Mountain.

Phil will also be signing copies of his latest book, Ghosts of Iron Mountain, which will be available to purchase on the night.

This event will take place upstairs in the Nightingale Room at The Grand Central Pub, Brighton. Unfortunately, there is no wheelchair access to the venue.

• DOORS OPEN: 7:00pm

• TALK STARTS: 7:30pm

• AUDIENCE Q&A: 8:30pm

• BOOK SIGNING: 9:00pm (Books available to purchase on the night)