Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael
Society & Culture
On this edition of Parallax Views, last month I spoke to journalist Jeffrey Sharlet, known for his books on the Christian Nationalist movement (The Family and C Street; the former has been made into hit Netflix documentary miniseries), to discuss his latest work The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War. The book is a series of essays exploring the chaotic moment that Sharlet calls the "Trumpocene" and delves into everything from the January 6th insurrection and death of Ashli Babbitt to the Men's Rights Movement. Given he New Hampshire primary on January 23rd, I felt that now was the perfect time to release this prescient conversation.
In this conversation we cover a number of topics including:
- The "F Word"; or fascism
- The rise of the far-right in the U.S. and its global ascendancy
- Trump and Gnosticism; Jeff's citing of the Gnostic poem "Thunder Perfect Mind" in relation to the Trump/MAGA movement phenomena
- Jan 6th and the death of Ashli Babbit; what drove Ashli Babbit into Trumpism and the MAGA movement?
- QAnon and the power of narratives in mobilizing the American right-wing
- Revisiting Jeff's groundbreaking journalism on The Family, C Street, the Council for National Policy (CNP), and Christian Nationalism
- Christian Nationalism and Trumpism as radical reinterpretations of Christianity; the Church itself as not being the be-all-end-all of Christian Nationalism (it's much bigger than that)
- Jeff's experiences reporting on the MRA movement and the ways in which they start with some true observations (men have high suicide rates, custody issues, etc.) that are chucked away in favor of misogny and all-out attacks on feminism (even though some of their initial observations can also be found amongst feminist works such as Susan Faludi's Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man)
- And more!
Venezuela's Election, Maduro, and What the U.S. Gets Wrong About Venezuela & Chavismo w/ Alejandro Velasco
Beyond the Water's Edge: How Partisanship Corrupts U.S. Foreign Policy w/ Paul R. Pillar
Critiquing Lichtman's Presidential Election Prediction Model, Will "Rust Best or Bust?" Hold in Future Elections, & Whose the Best VP Pick for Kamala Harris? w/ Lars Emerson
Donald Trump's Pro-Corporate Agenda and the Hidden System Redistributing Wealth from the Many to the Few w/ David Cay Johnston
The Billionaires vs. FTC Chair Lina Khan & the Antitrust Movement w/ David Dayen/A Closer Look at Trump Loyalist Russ Vought & His Agenda w/ Chris Lewis (FIXED)
Is the Consensus on the U.S.-Israel Relationship Fracturing? w/ Eli Clifton/A Conservative Critique of National Conservatism w/ James W. Carden
Strike Kills 12 Druze Children in Israeli-Occupied Golan Heights; Will It Lead to Feared Israel-Hezbollah War? w/ Ori Goldberg
13 Keys to the White House: A Model for Predicting Presidential Elections w/ Allan Lichtman/Russia & Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Crimes w/ Kateryna Busol
Netanyahu Goes to Washington w/ James Dorsey
Netanyahu Goes to Washington While the Humanitarian Crisis Rages in Gaza and Congress Cheers w/ Abdelhalim Abdelrahman
The Pentagon's $280 Million Gaza Pier Boondoggle w/ Stephen Semler
Silicon Valley Elites Rally Behind Trump w/ Jacob Silverman
JD Vance, Phony Populism on the Right, the Republican National Convention, and Democratic Party Messaging w/ Ben Burgis
The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 and the Council for National Policy Network w/ Anne Nelson
Israel's Knesset Votes Against 2 State Solution, Would Proportional Representation Solve the US's Tribe & Clan Wars?, SCOTUS's Historic Trump V. US Decision, Biden Dropping Out? w/ Amb. Patrick Theros
Laughing All the Way to Freedom: The Americanization of a Russian Emigre
Operation Debt Day: End Veteran Debt! w/ Jerry Ashton
Parallax Vlog - Project 2025 and the Presidential Election (Segment Only - Full Episode on Patreon)
"Vote for the Crook: It's Important": The 2024 Election w/ Adolph Reed
Life as a Film Critic/Movie Reviewer + The State of Film Criticism & the Movie Industry Today w/ Albert Lanier
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