Episode

5/6 Thomas Frank: How Consumerism Co-opted Rebellion

May 6, 2014

Thomas Frank author of The Conquest of Cool: Business Culture, Counterculture, and the Rise of Hip Consumerismexplains the main takeaways from Thomas Piketty’s book, what Piketty gets right and wrong, why the debate on inequality is over, the importance of the Estate Tax? Mad Men and the “conquest of cool”, punk rock and how punk rock was mainstreamed, how “cool” was conquered by the advertising industry, the Situationists, advertising and youth culture, buying products for either authenticity or efficiency, what Bill Clinton failed to do  how consumer culture became revolutionary and politics reactionary and inequality and the future of consumerism.

On The Fun Half Half: new Walter Block mix, debunking minimum wage myths, Occupy activist Cecily Mcmillan convicted of assaulting a Police Officer in an outrageous sentence, the record of Police abuse by the Officer in the Mcmillan case, more cases of Police brutality, how to reduce Police abuse, Nun sentenced to prison time for protesting a nuclear research facility and your calls and IMs.

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