You’re listening to What Rough Beast!

We are Virginia Heffernan and Stephen Metcalf, and today we’re talking with the great Ben Meiselas, co-host (and -founder) of the chart-busting MeidasTouch, and USC Law Professor. Virginia also recently profiled Meiselas for The New Republic.

In this episode, we talk about:

* How politics has become "gamified" like sports entertainment, with people choosing political figures like they'd pick fighters in a video game rather than focusing on underlying issues and values

* The contrast between Meidas Touch Network's approach (focused on empathy, compassion, and data-driven analysis) versus rage-driven media algorithms

* How sports and entertainment are being used as tools for political messaging; think of UFC, WWE figures, and sports teams visiting the White House

* The concerning overlap between entertainment spectacle and serious governance, with political conversations being treated like debates about reality TV

* Meidas Touch Network's stunning growth metrics, now generating more views than Fox News and more podcast downloads than Joe Rogan

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