Most of you know or have lived in cities with long streets or boulevards and you know that some of the same stores repeat themselves over and over again. Starbucks, CVS, etc. The neighborhoods change, but some of the retail landmarks remain the same.
In a way, history is like that. It goes on and on. And while the neighborhoods often change, there are things along the way that repeat themselves over and over again. In American history, one of them is certainly racism and discrimination, but also our ongoing flirtation with authoritarianism. Our fascination with bullies, the appeal of strength that sometimes proves to be more than just meanness.... it’s really evil.
Whether it was Father Coughlin on radio, Joe Pyne on television, Huey Long in politics, or in the contemporary era, Joe McCarthy and Donald Trump.
The added reality is that each episode pushes the envelope of what’s acceptable. The predicate for new norms is laid out and the next would-be talk show host or political demagogue has to go further.
Perhaps no one pushed the envelope further than Joe McCarthy. So much so that the idea of McCarthyism became baked into our lexicon. Needless to say, now in the midst of one of those flirtations, it seems the perfect time to go back and look at Joe McCarthy with journalist and author Larry Tye, whose new book is Demagogue: The Life and Long Shadow of Senator Joe McCarthy.
My conversation with Larry Tye:
A Love Letter to Spy-craft: A Conversation With Retired CIA Officer Douglas London
Politics Without Celebrity - Kati Marton’s The Chancellor
January 6th Was a Rallying Point For White Hot Hate
How Fame, Fortune and Education Ended Objective Journalism: A conversation with Batya Ungar-Sargon
The Modern Era of Television Begins with HBO: A Conversation with James Andrew Miller
The Shattering: America in the 1960‘s: A Conversation with Kevin Boyle
The Post-Pandemic Normal Will Never Be the Way It Was
Has the Death of Faith Made Us More Tribal?
The Rise and Fall of the NRA and What it‘s Cost Us: A Conversation with Tim Mak
China: Enemy or Competitor?
A Story of What Went Right in the Battle Agaisnt COVID - Gregory Zuckerman tells the story of how we got the shot that saved the world
How the Index Fund Changed Finance and Why It‘s Still So Powerful Today
Dirty, but Essential Work: A Conversation with Eyal Press
Looking for America: My Conversation with Evan Osnos
What Is The Future of Transportation? Hint...It‘s Not A Better Car
No Cell Service, No Technology and Electrosensitives Everywhere: Stephen Kurczy Talks about ”The Quiet Zone”
Police, The Courts and the Subversion of Civil Rights: A Conversation with Erwin Chemerinsky
As You Look At The Emmys, Remember That It Is Only Streaming and Entertainment That is Bringing the World Together
The News About the News: A conversation with Martha Minow
The Myth of ”Nobody Saw it Coming”
Join Podbean Ads Marketplace and connect with engaged listeners.
Advertise Today
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Pharmacy Podcast Network
Jim & Bill (It‘s Another Day)
HauntingLive
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Ben Shapiro Show