Ep 243: The Authenticity Affect (Part I) — Whistlestop Tours, Smarm, and the Art of Channeling 'Folk'

In part 1 of our 3-part series on the uses and misuses of "authenticity," we examine the Real America "listening tour," its propaganda utility, and how it uses the superficial aesthetics of rural simplicity to sell class-flattening, power-serving narratives.

With writer and teacher John Patrick Leary.