“‘Almost every conversation I had would end up [being] about conspiracies, the illuminati. Instead of dismissing it, I wanted to know what it was about that concept that was so engaging. Novels are not about showing how people are wrong or right—novels are about trying to swim in a certain mental climate and depict and understand it.’”

https://lithub.com/zadie-smith-on-female-friendship-conspiracy-theories-and-musicals/