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!
Wall Street, the Supermob, and the CIA w/ Jonathan Marshall
PREVIEW: Failed State Update - Gabriel of Urantia Warns of the Apocalypse… But This Time We’re Afraid He Means It
The Supreme Court, Abortion, & ”Deeply-Rooted Tradition” w/ William Hogeland/Yemen & the Ceasefire w/ Nasser Arrabyee/Israel, Palestine, & the Question of Apartheid w/ Yumna Patel
Woke Capitalism: How Corporate Morality is Sabotaging Democracy w/ Carl Rhodes/The Podcaster’s Dilemma: Decolonizing Podcasters in the Era of Surveillance Capitalism w/ Nolan Higdon
Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor/Labor Struggle, MMT, and Resisting the ”Doom Pill” w/ Steve Grumbine
The Apocalypse and the End of History: Modern Jihad and the Crisis of Liberalism w/ Suzanne Schneider
Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders & Intellectuals Speak Out w/ Ramzy Baroud & Ilan Pappé
The Fighting Soul: On the Road With Bernie Sanders w/ Ari Rabin-Havt/The Global Financial Crisis, the Fed, & Quantitative Easing w/ Thomas Hoenig
The Al-Aqsa Mosque Uprising, Israel, and Palestine w/ Richard Silverstein
Attack of the 50 Ft CamGirl w/ Ivy Smith & Jim Wynorski
The Slow Erosion of Pax Americana w/ Doug Bandow/Ernst Jünger, The Human Cost of War, and the Global War on Terror w/ Casey Chalk
Santa Claus is Running for Congress w/ Santa Claus
MONARCH: A Novel w/ Candice Wiehle
The FBI, PATCON, and the Oklahoma City Bombing w/ Ken Silva
UN Report Alleges Apartheid in the Occupied Palestinian Territory w/ Michal Lynk
The Good Kings: Absolute Power in Ancient Egypt and the Modern World w/ Dr. Kara Cooney/Gems and Jewels: The Religions of Pakistan w/ Dr. Amineh Hoti
The Imperialist, Occult Ideology of Aleksandr Dugin w/ Wahid Azal
Remembering Peace Activist Rachel Corrie (and the Injustice of Her Death) w/ Cindy and Craig Corrie
The Intersection of MMA & Politics from Kadyrov’s Fight Club to Dana White’s UFC w/ Karim Zidan/Sports, Politics, & the Kaepernick Effect w/ David Zirin
PREVIEW: Failed State Update - Daniel Muessig, the ”real-life Saul Goodman” on going to prison and America’s unjust legal system
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