America This Week America This Week, Monday Live Show 11/24/25
Nov 25, 2025
Matt and Walter dive into the Thanksgiving guilt trip propagated by the media and take a critical look at an NPR segment on hunger. They discuss the profound effects of food insecurity on mental health and childhood trauma. The hosts critique historical narratives surrounding the first Thanksgiving, highlighting Native perspectives. They also examine the polarization of holiday traditions and the impact of political rhetoric on societal norms. Finally, they tackle military ethics amid rising tensions, all while defending the spirit of Thanksgiving.
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Holiday Mediatisation Creates Guilt
- Media narratives are aggressively reframing Thanksgiving to induce guilt and discomfort before the holiday.
- Matt Taibbi and Walter Kirn argue this campaign turns a unifying ritual into an occasion for perpetual moral self-flagellation.
Hunger Framed As Total Social Trauma
- NPR's piece framed food insecurity as an all-encompassing societal trauma, linking hunger to chronic disease and social isolation.
- Taibbi and Kirn critique that such reporting simplifies complex causes and times messaging to maximize moral pressure.
Childhood Lessons About Hunger
- Walter Kirn recounts childhood awareness of global hunger and criticizes modern media for overstating imminent American starvation.
- He accepts food insecurity exists but objects to fear-amplifying framing timed before Thanksgiving.
