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.
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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