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 Valley, New York.

The Radicalist is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theradicalist.com/subscribe