Whereas a few of us went somewhat nuts through the COVID-19 lockdowns, others—together with lots of our nation’s leaders and folks within the media—went completely batshit loopy, usually with disastrous outcomes.
Precisely why that occurred is the topic of writer Jon Ronson‘s newest season of Issues Fell Aside, a podcast that explores the deep origins of at present’s tradition wars in controversies, panics, and delusions from a long time in the past.
I talked with Ronson about why he believes the creation of a pretend medical situation known as “excited delirium” in 1988 finally led to the loss of life of George Floyd in 2020, how legislation enforcement fixations on white supremacy warped the investigation right into a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and the way the director of the massively influential Plandemic documentaries was really rewriting the script of Star Wars.
Ronson is greatest often called the writer of The Males Who Stare at Goats, an account of a U.S. Military unit that attempted to good paranormal powers like strolling by partitions, and So You’ve got Been Publicly Shamed, which helped outline cancel tradition simply because it was turning into widespread by way of social media.
We additionally discuss Issues Fell Aside, how he survived COVID, and the way important considering and media literacy are extra necessary than ever in a world wherein we will all produce and devour our variations of the reality.
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