Kurt Andersen on How America Lost Its Mind

Radio Atlantic

The Atlantic

Politics, News, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 11 August 2017

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When did the reality-based community start losing to reality show celebrity? Why are "alternative facts" and fake news suddenly ubiquitous features of the landscape? The spread of American magical thinking isn't, in fact, sudden, argues Kurt Andersen in the September 2017 Atlantic. It was rooted in the very origins of the nation, and started to blossom in the '60s. Andersen explores how these forces made their way to the White House in conversation with our Radio Atlantic cohosts, Jeffrey Goldberg, Alex Wagner, and Matt Thompson. For links and other show notes, go here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:26.0	Does it seem to you like America went crazy all of a sudden?
0:31.0	If so, you're wrong. It wasn't sudden at all. In fact, the groundwork has
0:36.4	been laid over the past 500 years. There's a conspiracy against reality, and it goes all the way up to the White House. This is Radio
0:46.7	Atlantic. Hello.
0:53.0	And I'm Jeff Goldberg, the editor-in-chief. an executive editor of the Atlantic. Hello.
1:03.0	And I'm Jeff Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic.
1:05.6	Also hello.
1:07.0	And a third hello to you both.
1:08.9	I'm Alex Wagner, contributing editor to the Atlantic.
1:11.6	In the fourth chair this week, we have Kurt Anderson.
1:15.6	Hello.
1:16.6	Hello.
1:17.6	Hello, Kurt.
1:18.8	Hello, Alex.
1:19.8	We're very excited to have Kurt here, aren we people we are very excited it's
1:23.8	Kurt now sound like you're making a joke no no no we're honestly very excited there
1:28.6	I'm excited for eight different reasons would you like to know four of them yes
	...

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