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!
DEFAMATION: Revisiting the Controversial Israeli Documentary on Antisemitism w/ Yoav Shamir
Inside Erik Prince's Secret Chat Group & Its Gallery of Hawkish Far-Right Power Players w/ Ken Silverstein
The Manichean Psychology of Hasbara Culture w/ Yakov Hirsch
House Commitee on Education and the Workforce Investigation Echoes HUAC and the Era of McCarthyism w/ Sahar Aziz
Israel's Covert War Against the ICC w/ Meron Rapoport
How Activists Scored a Victory for the #CeasefireNow Movement in California w/ Mirvette Judeh
US Officials Throw Military Vets Under the Bus to Excuse Israel's Conduct in Gaza + US's $320 Million Gaza Pier Boondoggle w/ Kelley Vlahos + Iraq War Combat Veteran James R. Webb
A Comprehensive Look At the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict & Where It Is Headed w/ Hussein Ibish
The ICC, ICJ, and Israel/Palestine w/ Heidi Matthews/A History of Foreign Bribery from Koreagate & Abscam to the Recent Indictments of Sen. Menendez & Rep. Cuellar w/ Brett Heinz
The Uncommitted Campaign & Student Encampments w/ Elektra Kostopoulou and Kale Yost
The "Day After" in Gaza is Today, the "Day After" in Gaza is Yesterday: The Failures of U.S. Diplomacy and the Legacy of Israeli Policy Since 1967 w/ Geoffrey Aronson
The State of the Israeli Psyche and Society w/ Ori Goldberg
Analysis of ICC Charges, Regional Dynamics in the Gaza War, Abbas as an Obstacle to Palestinian Unity, Long-Term Israel-Palestine Resolution, & Israel's AI War Machine w/ Mouin Rabbani
Israel/Palestine & the Myths and Realities of the 2000 Camp David Summit w/ Prof. Jeremy Pressman
The History of Communism in Israel/Palestine w/ Prof. Joel Beinin
A Former Advisor to Palestinian Negotiators Weighs in on Israel/Palestine, Gaza, the West Bank, UNRWA, and More w/ Leila Hilal
Author Rifk Ebeid On Writing Palestinian Children's Books, Palestinian Identity & Narratives, & Her Animated Children's Short Film I AM FROM PALESTINE
Understanding Israel/Palestine at This Crucial Juncture w/ Khalil Sayegh
Israel and Attacks on Writers & Journalists w/ Jordan Elgrably/Israel Vs. Al Jazeera & the Implications for Press Freedom w/ Kevin Gosztola/Reflections on the Protests Past & Present w/ Jonah Raskin
Reporting on the UCLA Protests w/ Mel Buer/Congress Passes the Antisemitism Awareness Act w/ ADC's Chris Habiby/The Campus Protests, Antisemitism Awareness Act, & Related Issues w/ Richard Silverstein
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