The Bulwark Podcast Thomas Chatterton Williams: How MAGA Learned to Love Cancel Culture
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Sep 19, 2025 
Thomas Chatterton Williams, a staff writer for The Atlantic and author, dives into the complexities of cancel culture and politics. He discusses the alarming trend of authoritarianism in the U.S. and critiques the vice president's call for citizens to inform on one another. Williams examines the right's embrace of cancel tactics and the genuine versus performative outrage in today's political landscape. He also reflects on the unintended consequences of the Harper's Letter and the challenges of free speech on college campuses.
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Top-Down Threats Drive Self-Censorship
- Thomas Chatterton Williams warns that threats from the top (e.g., FCC pressure) create powerful self-censorship across media.
- He says that onlookers restrict debate even when cancellations don't fully materialize.
Mutual Denunciation Echoes Authoritarian Precedents
- Williams and Tim compare U.S. mutual informant rhetoric to historical authoritarian tactics in East Germany and the USSR.
- Williams calls the vice president's urging to 'call their employer' a hair-raising cultural shift toward mutual denunciation.
Peer Policing Harms Free Expression More
- Williams invokes Mill: bottom-up censoriousness is more pernicious than state limits because social spaces are ubiquitous.
- He warns neighbor-driven policing of speech is harder to escape than formal state action.
