How did ordinary people come to believe witches were attacking Salem? Why did trained doctors reject evidence that was saving women’s lives? And what happens when governments control the information people use to understand reality?

In this episode of History on Repeat, we explore how human beings form beliefs—and why evidence alone is not always enough to change them.

From the Salem witch trials and the brutal death of Giles Corey, to Ignaz Semmelweis’s fight against childbed fever, and the Soviet Union’s attempt to hide millions of missing people, this episode examines what happens when evidence is accepted too quickly, rejected too slowly, or deliberately removed altogether.

00:00 Stones of Salem

02:28 Question of Evidence

04:15 Everyday Trust

05:55 Vienna Tragedy Begins

09:11 Two Clinics Mystery

10:34 Semmelweis Investigates

12:28 Cadaverous Clue

17:17 Handwashing Breakthrough

20:52 Why Experts Resist

24:26 Vindication Too Late

26:54 Back to Salem Origins

28:52 Supernatural Worldview

30:29 Fringe Women Accused

33:23 Spectral Evidence Trap

34:59 Tituba Sparks Panic

35:59 Doubts End Trials

37:24 Belief Without Options

39:16 Soviet Reality Shock

42:12 Census Turns Criminal

45:20 Kulaks and Famine Blame

48:48 Missing Comparisons

50:23 Hume on Everyday Belief

53:05 Clifford and Humility

54:25 Ann Putnam Reckoning

56:31 Closing Question