Brief: Trump the Babyface, Trump the Heel (w/Abraham Josie Reisman)

Conspirituality

Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, Julian Walker

Spirituality, Social Sciences, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.2 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 4 January 2025

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Journalist and author Josie Reisman says we can’t understand the Trump era without understanding his life-long pro-wrestling fandom, and his bonds with one of his closest friends, WWE tycoon Vince McMahon. Reisman argues that McMahon’s invention of “neokayfabe,” in which storylines and real life are purposefully and artfully confused, blurs the distinction between fact and fiction. It makes consumers, followers, and voters complicit in creating a spectacle of cruelty. It’s the kind of argument that once seen, can’t be unseen. It helps explain the contradictory and performative politics of Trump—and how, under his leadership, the administrative state may not be destroyed by fascism directly, but by a theatre of cynicism and catharsis that will allow the latent fascism of the American Empire to explode. Show Notes Welcome to Neokayfabe Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America — Abraham Josephine Riesman // Writer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:58.8	Full turns apply. Hello everyone. Welcome to Conspiruality, where we investigate the
1:05.7	intersection of conspiracy theories and spiritual influence to uncover cults, pseudoscience,
1:10.2	and authoritarian extremism.
1:12.2	I'm Matthew Remski, and we're on Instagram and threads at Conspiruality Pod.
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1:39.2	We have a brief today for you called Trump the Babyface, Trump the Heel with Josephine Reesman.
1:47.6	Josephine, welcome to Conspirality. Thanks so much for taking the time. It is wonderful to be here,
1:53.2	and I'm looking forward to this conversation. Josie, you're a journalist and essayist, and
1:57.7	your first big book was called True Believer, the rise and fall of Stan Lee from
	...

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