How Trash Culture Conquered America

About this episode

David Volodzko speaks with Ross Benes about the impact of low culture on American society and politics, as discussed in Benes' upcoming book.

David Volodzko speaks with Ross Benes about his upcoming book 1999: The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarted Our Bizarre Times . They discuss the political legacy of Jerry Springer and reality TV, what Beanie Babies and Pokemon can teach us about financial markets, the rise of WWE kayfabe in corporate culture, the dialectic of high and low culture, how porn drove tech adoption on VHS and streaming, Insane Clown Posse and the outsider effect from woke to MAGA, how media deregulation led to the dominance of trash culture writ large but notably in our politics, 1999 as a cultural inflection point, and the shape of moral panics from Mortal Kombat and Stone Cold Steve Austin to TikTok and ChatGPT. Benes ( X , website ) is a journalist and market research analyst whose writing has appeared in Esquire , The Wall Street Journal , Smithsonian Magazine , and Entertainment Weekly . He is regularly cited by The Los Angeles Times , NPR, and Bloomberg. His previous books include Rural Rebellion: How Nebraska Became a Republican Stronghold and Turned On: A Mind-Blowing Investigation into How Sex Has Shaped Our World . Raised in Nebraska, he now lives with his family in Hudson…

People in this episode

Host: David Volodzko

Guest: Ross Benes

Topics covered

• trash culture
• political legacy
• reality TV
• media deregulation
• cultural inflection points
• financial markets
• moral panics

Keywords

• trash culture
• Jerry Springer
• reality TV
• 1999
• media deregulation
• moral panics
• financial markets

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: WWE, The Los Angeles Times, NPR, Bloomberg

Products: Beanie Babies, Pokemon

Books & works: 1999: The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarted Our Bizarre Times, Rural Rebellion: How Nebraska Became a Republican Stronghold and Turned On: A Mind-Blowing Investigation into How Sex Has Shaped Our World

Places: Nebraska, Hudson Valley, New York

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