Joan Didion’s early warning about America’s entertainment politics

from Talk Cocktail · 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.This post is FREE for everyone. Please spread it far and wide. And please consider becoming a paid subscriber to TalkCocktail. It’s $8 a month or just $80 for the entire year! Get full access to Talk Cocktail Podcast at jeffschechtman.substack.com/subscribe

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This episode is 32 minutes long.

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This episode was published on May 17, 2025.

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