Our Reality Star Overlords
From The Culture We Deserve by Jessa Crispin
April 9, 2026 · 1h 59m · Season 2 · Episode 102
About this episode
Jessa and Nico discuss the trend of reality TV stars entering politics and its implications.
The upcoming elections are littered with former reality TV stars who have pivoted to politics -- from Fboy Island, The Hills, Teen Mom, and more. We already have the archetype of the failed artist politician (from Hitler to Mamdani), so is the reality star politician just the latest iteration or something different? Jessa and Nico discuss our reality star president and the precedent he has created, and why when someone fails to get into art school or get their rap career off the ground, the next step is often public office. Shownotes and references: http://theculturewedeserve.substack.com
People in this episode
Host: Jessa Crispin
Guest: Nico
Topics covered
- politics
- reality TV
- elections
- cultural commentary
- artistic failure
- celebrity influence
Keywords
- reality TV stars
- politics
- elections
- cultural commentary
- celebrity politicians
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Fboy Island, The Hills, Teen Mom
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