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!
20 Years of Guantanamo Bay (+ Exclusive Syria News) w/ Letta Tayler/Countering Drug Policy and Addiction Misinformation w/ Maia Szavalitz
Afghanistan, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and Cold War Subterfuge w/ Paul Fitzgerald & Elizabeth Gould
U.S. Democracy Deficits, the Military-Industrial-Media Complex, and World Order w/ Alfred de Zayas
The Spoils of War: Power, Profit, & the American War Machine w/ Andrew Cockburn/U.S.-Russia Tensions, Ukraine, & Strategic Empathy w/ Nicolai Petro
The Steele Dossier & Private Spies w/ Barry Meier/The 1930s Coup Attempt Against FDR w/ Sally Denton/Russia and NATO w/ Paul Robinson
Samantha Power and the Cosmopolitan Crusaders w/ Christopher Mott
The Ukraine-Russia Crisis and NATO w/ Katrina vanden Heuvel/Vaccine Insubordination in the Military w/ Maj. Gen. Dennis Laich/Wars for Oil? w/ David R. Henderson
Free the Press: The Death of American Journalism and How to Revive It w/ Brian Karem
Meir Kahane: The Public Life and Political Thought of an American Jewish Radical w/ Shaul Magid
America’s Covert Empire and January 6th w/ Dan Feidt
Iran and Foreign Policy Realism w/ Shireen Hunter
2020’s ”Knife Edge” Election: An Analysis (And What It May Mean for 2022 & 2024) w/ Thomas Ferguson
U.S. Foreign Policy and the Military-Industrial Complex w/ Ret. Col. Lawrence Wilkerson
Roger Stone, Taylor Budowich, and Jan 6th w/ Russ Baker
THE PIZZAGATE MASSACRE Serves Up Dark Satire of American Paranoia & Fake News w/ Filmmaker John M. Valley
The Gwangju Massacre and U.S. Complicity in the Tragedy w/ Tim Shorrock and In Jeong Kim
Climate Crisis Solutions, Greenwashing, and a Post-Capitalist Future w/ Dr. Ye Tao
Mysteries Remain Around Ghislaine Maxwell w/ Gabriella Lombardo
REPLAY: Anti-Boycott Laws Threaten Free Speech + U.S. Arms Enable Saudi Assault on Yemen (w/ Alan Leveritt; William Hartung)
A Critical Look at AIPAC and Its Recent Strategic Pivot w/ Grant F. Smith
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