Joshua Citarella, an artist and researcher known for exploring the impact of social media on youth political behavior, dives into the bizarre case of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's assassination and the enigmatic Luigi Mangione. They discuss the shifting political landscape and the surprising public response to Mangione, revealing a decline in trust towards institutions. The conversation also touches on how technology and radical ideologies shape contemporary political identities, and explores the widening divide between fiction and reality in today's cultural discourse.
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Luigi's Political Leanings
Luigi Mangione's politics are difficult to categorize, blending elements from across the political spectrum.
He's been described as a "gray tribe radical centrist with utilitarian characteristics."
question_answer ANECDOTE
Influential Books
Luigi's reading list included Tim Urban's "What's Our Problem," Steve Stewart's "The Ape That Understood the Universe," and Ted Kaczynski's "Industrial Society and Its Future."
These books, consumed at a co-living space, offer clues to his evolving political thought.
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Rationalist Worldview
The worldview influencing Luigi, popular among young men, emphasizes rational thinking and clear solutions.
It appeals to those in tech and startups, viewing social architecture similar to code.
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Published in 1992, 'Snow Crash' is a science fiction novel by Neal Stephenson that delves into a future where the United States has fragmented into corporate city-states and the internet has evolved into a virtual reality called the Metaverse. The story follows Hiro Protagonist, a pizza delivery driver and part-time hacker, and Y.T., a teenage skateboard courier, as they navigate a complex world threatened by a mysterious computer virus and a powerful drug known as Snow Crash. The novel explores themes of history, linguistics, anthropology, and computer science, and is noted for its prescient vision of the metaverse and its influence on Silicon Valley innovators[2][3][5].
What's Our Problem?
A Self-Help Book for Societies
Tim Urban
This book is a comprehensive analysis of modern society, delving into history, evolutionary psychology, political theory, neuroscience, and modern-day political movements. It introduces a vertical axis that explores how we think, as individuals and as groups, rather than the traditional left-center-right horizontal political axis. The book is packed with original concepts, sticky metaphors, and 300 drawings, offering readers a delightful and fascinating journey that will change their perspective on the world.
Industrial Society and Its Future
Theodore John Kaczynski
Theodore Kaczynski's "Industrial Society and Its Future," also known as the Unabomber Manifesto, is a critique of industrial society's negative impacts on human life and the environment. It argues that technological advancements have led to alienation, environmental destruction, and a loss of individual autonomy. Kaczynski advocates for a return to a simpler, more natural way of life, rejecting the complexities and control of modern society. The manifesto's radical ideas sparked intense debate and controversy, making it a significant text in discussions about technology, society, and the environment. Its influence extends beyond its controversial origins, prompting ongoing discussions about the ethical implications of technological progress and the potential for societal collapse.
The Ape That Understood the Universe: How the Mind and Culture Evolve
The Ape That Understood the Universe: How the Mind and Culture Evolve
Steve Stewart
The People, No
Thomas Frank
Elon Musk Biography
UFF EDITION
This biography, written by Walter Isaacson, provides an in-depth look at the life of Elon Musk, from his tumultuous childhood in South Africa to his rise as a visionary entrepreneur behind companies like SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity. The book is based on two years of shadowing Musk, attending his meetings, and conducting extensive interviews with him, his family, friends, coworkers, and adversaries. It explores the triumphs and turmoil of Musk's life, addressing the question of whether the demons that drive him are also what drive his innovation and progress.
No cultural phenomenon — and yes, it’s a phenomenon — has been dominating the discourse more these past few weeks than the assassination of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. And in addition to seeming like a dark Hollywood thriller come to life — down to alleged killer Luigi Mangione’s brooding good looks and a literal backpack full of Monopoly money — the story has been raising a lot of important and sometimes uncomfortable questions about the evolving politics of the United States in the 2020s.
What does it tell us about the decline of the American project — and Americans’ faith in everything from the healthcare industry to our legal system — that people on both sides of the aisle have been responding not only with compassion for Luigi, but in some cases celebration and thirst? What are Luigi’s actual politics, and why do so many people think he is a left-wing vigilante when his interests seem far closer to certain center-right, grey tribe, effective altruism-adjacent ideologies endemic to Silicon Valley? And why — between this story, the Trump fist pump, and the New Jersey drones — does it feel like reality is increasingly taking cues from fiction?
To get into it, we invited back Joshua Citarella, an artist and researcher who has spent the past decade studying how the internet and social media are shaping youth political identification and behavior. (You might remember him from our episode on the Boomer Ballast Effect, with the academic Kevin Munger). In addition to launching an excellent new podcast called Doomscroll (check it out!), Joshua recently published an essay called “CEO Murder & the Dark Enlightenment,” where he explores the assassination and its ensuing response in context of the broader social and political shifts (and realignments) that characterize this moment.
We discuss the apparent ideological “buffet” of Luigi’s politics, why the public’s trust in the law — and Democratic institutions more generally — has been eroded to such a degree that it seems to view the killer as the lesser of two evils, and the greater truths that these sort of “stranger than fiction” moments seem to reveal.
The Culture Journalist 
