Hyperreality Is Dead: Baudrillard, the Age of Trump, and 'The Gulf War Did Not Take Place' Revisited

from Acid Horizon · host Acid Horizon

Adam's intensive Kant course now enrolling: https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/2026-classesIn this episode, we revisit Jean Baudrillard’s The Gulf War Did Not Take Place, a text that diagnosed the emergence of war as media event, non-event, and managed spectacle. Joining us is friend and returning guest Cameron Carsten, a graduate student in continental philosophy whose work explores the state, power, and the production of reality across Baudrillard and Deleuze. Rather than treating Baudrillard’s claims as prophetic or obsolete, the conversation puts them to work against the present—testing the fate of hyperreality in the age of Trump, AI-mediated images, and escalating political violence. What emerges is a question that now presses harder than ever: has the simulacrum collapsed, or has the real returned with a vengeance?Cam's blog: https://camtology.substack.com/Support the showSupport the podcast:AHRCCurrent classes at Acid Horizon Research Commons (AHRC): acidhorizonresearchcommons.comAHRC Course Archive: https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/ahrc-course-archivesSubmit your course proposal: [email protected] LinksWebsite: https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/Linktree: https://linktr.ee/acidhorizonAcid Horizon on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acidhorizonpodcastBoycott Watkins Media: https://xenogothic.com/2025/03/17/boycott-watkins-statement/Subscribe to us on your favorite podcast: https://pod.link/1512615438Merch: http://www.crit-drip.comSubscribe to us on your favorite podcast platform: https://pod.link/1512615438LEPHT HAND: https://www.patreon.com/LEPHTHANDHappy Hour at Hippel's (Adam’s blog): https://happyhourathippels.wordpress.comSplit Infinities (Craig’s Substack): https://splitinfinities.substack.com/Music: https://sereptie.bandcamp.com/ and https://thecominginsurrection.bandcamp.com/

What this episode covers

NOW PLAYING

0:00 1:02:34

1×

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

Share this episode

Similar Episodes

The London Dockworkers Strike

Jul 1, 2026 ·30m

Folge 127: Vainstream 2026: Live mit Maria Lessing (Future Palace)

Jul 1, 2026 ·50m

Explicit

The Fakest Economy of All Time

Jun 30, 2026 ·37m

The Media Context for the Belfast Pogrom

Jun 29, 2026 ·41m

Flaming Bags of Dog Complaints

Jun 25, 2026 ·76m

How Graham Platner Won the Democratic Primary

Jun 25, 2026 ·45m

Similar Podcasts

Totes Recall Molly Chase, Beth Gibbs, Dan Jaquette and Dan Linden Human memory is flawed and we're here to prove it. On Totes Recall, our hosts Molly Chase, Beth Gibbs, Dan Jaquette and Dan Linden discuss the intricate details of a popular film. The catch? It's been years since they've watched it. Listen as they attempt to recap the plot, pull the names of secondary characters, and make bets whether a vat of acid appears at any point in the film. At halftime, they press the pause button, watch the film and return with answers. Did they nail it? Or, more likely, did they forget the entire second half of the movie? Listen and play along. Make new memories while realizing all of your old ones are full of lies. Explicit The Grey Rooms The Grey Rooms Productions The Grey Rooms Podcast is a horror anthology set within a serial audio drama, where the main protagonist experiences death through the eyes of another person. Everyone dies at the end on this show, folks. It's scary stuff. And with over ~2 MILLION~ downloads, the show continues to deliver on its promise since day one; 5-star quality scares in an immersive audio environment. Join us for Season 4 which began on November 26th, 2021.Season 4 of the Grey Rooms features all new realms of horror as Management breaks down the "Rooms" and sets off across a horizon of terror. A trio of new guests awaken on a luxury train crawling its way across an impossible landscape. At each stop, one of the guests exits the train and finds themselves forced to experience the final moments of another person's life. Every episode features a new, horrific death. And again and again, the passengers find themselves awakening back on the train, forced to live death after death... unable to save themselv Explicit Event Horizon Adriano Podcast by Adriano Explicit That Happens Disastrophy Audio “What am I?” The podcast trudges on through oblivion. Gone are the days of Jeff and Spencer’s asinine jokery, That Happens chronicles the slow deconstruction of the man Patton Oswalt once hailed as having “incredible comedic timing.” Ranting uninterrupted about daily political minutia or tiktok trends, Spencer occasionally breaks down and questions his life, podcast, and reality itself, as Kevin smiles, pained, trying to pull the show back onto the rails with a listener question or quick-fire rhetorical premise. What was is gone, and what’s left is bitter, battery acid-flavored reality. That Happens. Explicit

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Acid Horizon?

This episode is 1 hour and 2 minutes long.

When was this Acid Horizon episode published?

This episode was published on January 31, 2026.

What is this episode about?

Can I download this Acid Horizon episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.

URL copied to clipboard!