Writer
No doubt the top podcast about politics, economics and culture by an American writer in rural East India.
Why Democrats really shouldn’t wish success to President Trump. Why fascism is spreading around the world and what to do now. (Apologies for audio interference—the clicks go away after a minute.)
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I review the new Adam Curtis documentary, HyperNormalisation, about reasons for the breakdown of collective reality and the problems this has caused.
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I’m back in Bihar this week. I discuss why Donald Trump is a “big fan of Hindu” and why donating to the GOP after the North Carolina arson attack won’t save American democracy.
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1:14 ~ An exhaustive comparison of Donald Trump and Narendra Modi
5:55 ~ An Indian newspaper article explaining one reason why my internet keeps cutting out—the police
7:42 ~ Charlotte Observer report on the arson and vandalism of a GOP office in North Carolina
A blog post by labor organizers in the US south about why that is stupid
This week from Mumbai! Where the press sells magic conch sheels and covers fashion trends among right-wing street thugs.
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Some missing context on the story I read about the new RSS uniforms—a court ruled that the old uniforms made the paramilitaries look too much like real police officers
Rohit Chopra’s India Explained Twitter feed
Vastu Tips and just found! the $1,375 magic seashell
Wall Street Journal article on the Clinton/Blink 182 UFO connection
The presidential candidates have infiltrated the collective unconscious. Corey interprets the great plague of political dreams.
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My Baffler column on political dreams and nightmares
Donald Trump promises to make every American dream come true
Hillary Clinton suggests young people are ungrateful
A Christian “prophet” sees Trump as a bulldozer tearing through the White House based on a woman’s dream
This episode contrasts one jock hero, Colin Kaepernick, and one recently outed-as-nefarious nerd, Palmer Luckey, a Facebook executive and founder of Oculus VR.
I noticed only after mixing and uploading the episode that I mistakenly said “pledge of allegiance” instead of “national anthem” when discussing Kaepernick’s protest. I do realize there’s a difference and if you nag me about it I may invite you to work for free as my sound editor and production intern.
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A few links on the relevant Reddit board notoriously populated by neo-Nazis
Luckey’s official corporate non-apology
Bemused UK Telegraph profile of Luckey
Gizmodo item about Luckey and his Gamergater girlfriend
New York magazine post I quoted, with links to other sources
Apocalypse, coup d’etat or four more years of mulligans and ineptitude? The most likely outcomes of a Trump presidency considered.
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New York Times article that leads with Hillary Clinton’s “apocalypse” quip
Anne Applebaum’s nightmares come alive in the Washington Post
My blog post, “Trump Means It: Time To Make Plans For The American Nightmare Scenario”
Student video by Dustin Wynn and Peteros Mekonnen, “Forcing Muslims to Wear Badges,” and the write-up by AlterNet
Brookings fellow and Lawfare blogger Benjamin Wittes’ essay on “Trump as National Security Threat”
Hi from Bihar! This inaugural episode considers the role of conspiracy theories in the 2016 US presidential elections, with special guest appearances by Alex Jones, Donald Trump, the John Birch Society and an assortment of Holocaust deniers and the politicians who pander to them, such as Green Party vice presidential candidate Ajamu Baraka.
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Previous Magical Thinking columns
Alex Jones profile by Alexander Zaitchik in Rolling Stone
None Dare Call It Conspiracy by Gary Allen
Gary Allen obituary featuring Mike Allen in the Los Angeles Times
Mike Allen profile in The New York Times Magazine
John G. Schmitz’s obituary by his admirers in a Holocaust-denial outfit