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.
Supplemented by video recordings, they share with us why they felt sickened by the way the president-elect manipulated his fervent supporters, and the way the crowd responded.
Donald Trump’s journey from Wrestlemania to the White House and the truth-bending madness that has metastasized in politics, news infotainment, and online echo chambers is summarized midway through this episode, which means viewer/listeners can begin here and circle back to episodes 1 and 2.
Episode 1: Woman Hating
This episode works just fine as a podcast just fine. Yes, continue washing dishes! But some of this stuff needs to be seen to believed, so we also have a video version.
Episode 2: A Careening Path to Hell
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 Americans.
The music for Wrestling Darkness was composed by Michael Brook, who scored all four of my feature length films. The jazzy improv rendition of the song is performed by David Scott Binanay & Stephen Munoz, who also played at my wedding!
Wrestling Darkness 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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