How the Low Culture of 1999 Predicted Modern America
On this episode of American Prestige, Ross Benes on the year that laid the groundwork for life as we know it.
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How the Low Culture of 1999 Predicted Modern America | American Prestige
In this week’s episode, Danny speaks with journalist Ross Benes about his book 1999: The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarted Our Bizarre Times. They discuss the connection between the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and “trash culture”, what makes the instantiation of reality TV in 1999 unique and how early reality shows foreshadowed modern politics, how Beanie Babies were akin to “stock investments” for working class and lower middle class people, Pokémon as a pure distillation of unrestrained capitalism, and the other features of that moment that predicted American life as we now know it.
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Jerry Springer appears on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” on February 5, 1999.
(Chris Haston / NBCU Photo Bank / NBCUniversal via Getty Images)In this week’s episode, Danny speaks with journalist Ross Benes about his book 1999: The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarted Our Bizarre Times. They discuss the connection between the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and “trash culture,” what makes the instantiation of reality TV in 1999 unique and how early reality shows foreshadowed modern politics, how Beanie Babies were akin to “stock investments” for working- and lower-middle-class people, Pokémon as a pure distillation of unrestrained capitalism, and the other features of that moment that predicted American life as we now know it.
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The Nation Podcasts
Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
Tensions Rise with Iran, Sudan-Libya Border Clashes, Trump Creating Office of Remigration | American Prestige
NOTE: This episode was recorded before Israel's attack on Iran.
Danny and Derek are everyday people who still believe in you. This week: the AUKUS security partnership is under review at the Pentagon (1:47); the IAEA rebukes Iran, nuclear negotiations are going nowhere, and Trump is evacuating nonessential personnel from the Middle East (5:14); in Israel-Palestine, Israeli soldiers continue to gun down people at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites as Hamas kills several GHF workers (10:24), the IDF appears to be shielding at least one ISIS-linked gang in the Strip (13:21), the IDF intercepts the “Freedom Flotilla” (15:39), and US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee declares the “two-state solution” dead (17:43); the UK and several states sanction far-right Israeli politicians Ben-Gvir and Smotrich (19:00); South Korea ceases propaganda broadcasts across the DMZ with North Korea (21:06); Sudan’s military loses border outposts after an alleged attack by Libyan forces (22:55); the Russian military advances into another Ukrainian province (25:15); the Polish government survives a no-confidence vote (26:40); member states of NATO strive to hit Trump’s 5% defense spending demand (27:28); the Trump administration is creating an “Office of Remigration” at the State Department (29:08); and in a New Cold War update, the US and China appear to have reached a trade deal (31:30).
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