‘We are being beaten into submission with lies’ - writer George Saunders on Trump, truth and power
About this episode
George Saunders discusses the collapse of truth in public life and the role of storytelling in understanding one another amidst political lies and polarisation.
“It's really a deep irony that this guy who has really never set foot in a normal American street was mistaken as a man of the people”, writer George Saunders says of the US President, Donald Trump. His work has long centred on the very people who live with the consequences of decisions made far above them, ordinary and fallible individuals navigating increasingly hostile conditions. In a world marked by political lies, climate denial and the erosion of shared reality, Saunders’ fiction interrogates moral ambiguity, human weakness and the forces that draw individuals toward destructive choices. In this episode of Ways to Change the World, Krishnan Guru-Murthy speaks to Saunders about the collapse of truth in public life, why satire no longer pierces political leaders who feel no shame, and whether storytelling can still help us understand one another in an age of polarisation.
People in this episode
Host: Krishnan Guru-Murthy
Guest: George Saunders
Topics covered
- political lies
- truth
- satire
- storytelling
- polarisation
- moral ambiguity
Keywords
- George Saunders
- Donald Trump
- political lies
- satire
- storytelling
- truth
- polarisation
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Channel 4 News
More episodes of Ways to Change the World with Krishnan Guru-Murthy
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- How bipolar and ADHD shaped Heston Blumenthal’s creative genius
- Eric Schlosser: Why the real cost of cheap food is hidden
- Ece Temelkuran: democracies don’t collapse overnight
- Guardian editor Katharine Viner: “Facts are essential, but they’re not enough”
- Clara Mattei: capitalism is not natural - it’s enforced
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