Alissa Wilkinson explores Joan Didion's warning about America's entertainment politics episode artwork

EPISODE · Apr 3, 2025 · 32 MIN

Alissa Wilkinson explores Joan Didion's warning about America's entertainment politics

from California Sun Podcast · host Jeff Schechtman

New York Times film critic Alissa Wilkinson discusses her new book, "We Tell Ourselves Stories: Joan Didion and the American Dream Machine," which explores the California author's prescient understanding of how entertainment would colonize American political life. Wilkinson examines Didion's work through the lens of a Hollywood insider and cultural critic, revealing how she anticipated our drift toward manufactured realities and endless performance — from Ronald Reagan's performative presidency to modern reality television-style governance.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Apr 3, 2025

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Alissa Wilkinson explores Joan Didion's warning about America's entertainment politics

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