Today on What Rough Beast, we talk to Jon Ronson, the masterful narrative storyteller behind the podcast "Things Fell Apart" and author of numerous acclaimed books. Jon has spent decades chronicling how America came unraveled, with particular expertise in tracking the origins of conspiracy theories and culture wars.
In this episode, we discuss:
* The extraordinary coincidence of timing: How virtually every major culture war that has engulfed America since 2020 erupted within just 20 days of each other in late May/early June 2020, right after George Floyd's murder
* The deadly origins of "excited delirium": Jon traces how a bogus medical diagnosis created in 1980s Miami to cover up the murders of 32 Black sex workers became the justification police officers used while standing over George Floyd's body
* Why pandemics make people go insane: Drawing on historical accounts from ancient Rome to medieval plagues, we explore why viral outbreaks reliably trigger mass delusions and conspiracy thinking
* The future of American conflict: As culture wars potentially wind down, Jon predicts the next battleground will be "the war on institutions" - and discusses why Luigi Mangione might signal a shift from cultural to class warfare
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