{"id":13753,"date":"2020-08-11T09:49:14","date_gmt":"2020-08-11T13:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/?p=13753"},"modified":"2020-08-11T10:54:54","modified_gmt":"2020-08-11T14:54:54","slug":"episode-390-kurt-andersen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-390-kurt-andersen","title":{"rendered":"Episode 390 – Kurt Andersen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virtual Memories Show 390:
\nKurt Andersen<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/virtualmemories\/Episode_390_-_Kurt_Andersen.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

Podcast: Play in new window<\/a> | Download<\/a><\/p>

Subscribe: Spotify<\/a> | TuneIn<\/a> | RSS<\/a> | More<\/a><\/p>\n

“Almost all of the things that I say the evil geniuses did \u2014 discredit the idea of government, discredit the idea of progress, disbelieve science, make short-term profits and stock prices the lodestar of American society \u2014 all of that we see in how this administration and the right in general reacted to this pandemic.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>With his fantastic new book, Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America<\/a> (Random House), Kurt Andersen<\/a> explores how rich conservatives responded to the 1960s by pushing America on a pro-business trajectory that has led to record income inequality and a nation unequipped to handle a pandemic. We get into the one-two punch of this book and Kurt’s previous history of America, Fantasyland<\/a>, the over-exaggeration of individualism and how puts us on the precipice of disaster, post-’80s cultural stasis and nostalgia, the way “if it feels good, do it” led to “profits over all”, the long-term impact of the Occupy movement, and how his kids give him optimism that this can all be fixed. We also get into his first New York City moment, the lessons learned from his 20-year tenure hosting Studio 360<\/a> on PRI, pandemic life and his re-integration into NYC, how we both treat our interviews like first dates, why he wants to get back to writing novels, and plenty more. Give it a listen!<\/a> And go read Evil Geniuses<\/a> (and Fantasyland<\/a>)!<\/p>\n

“I’m not without hope. As eye-opening and appalling as some of my discoveries were as I wrote this book, I find myself more hopeful than I did at the end of my last book.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n