Abraham Josephine Riesman, author of the best-selling biography Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America., explains how the production of cheap, addictive entertainment such as pro wrestling, cable news, and reality TV, changed the culture of American.
Our conversation traces a cultural transformation that began in the mid-1980’s, as the truth-bending madness of professional wrestling took hold in adjacent sectors such as cable news, Jerry Springer and similar talk shows, and reality TV.
With Donald Trump's celebrated Wrestlemania appearance, followed by his emergence as the leader of the Birther movement, wrestling-style fandom would go on to revolutionize politics, government, and society as well.
In Episode 1, Dr. Sharon Mazer and I focused more on violence against women depicted in wrestling programs. We also delved a bit deeper into Donald Trump’s political rearing in the wrestling arena.
Age of the Fantasist: Wrestling Darkness 4
My guest in episode 4 of Wrestling Darkness is Professor Lawrence Lessig who explains in his essay, The Age of the Fantasist, how and why algorithmic media came to reward narratives that lie to us.
Episode 1: Woman Hating
If you find that you can’t look away from the violence, sexual violence, and degradation depicted here, you’re on your way to understanding why more teenage males watch Wrestlemania than The World Series or the Super Bowl, and why professional wrestling has had such a tremendous impact on our culture.
Episode 3: How to please a demigod
Oscar Keohan and Jacob Johns traveled from Australia to tour the U.S. in the weeks leading up to the 2024 presidential election. But an unexpectedly dark turn at a Trump rally in North Carolina overshadowed their de Tocqueville-like experience.
The music for Wrestling Darkness was composed by Michael Brook and performed by David Scott Binanay & Stephen Munoz.
The Wrestling Darkness podcast and the other content found on the @EricByler substack feed is supported by the 501c3 non-profit ID Alliance, which means you can support this work by making a tax deductible donation.
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