Listen now | In today's episode of Thunder Off Script, I offer some reflections on the political psychology of involuntary mask-wearing. While ostensibly, mask mandates are justified by public health goals, their scientific rationale is highly contested, and many citizens wear them out of fear or against their own better judgment. Consequently, mask mandates tend to produce irrational conformism with weakly justified social and legal rules, and an atmosphere of distrust between citizens and public officials.