As we approach the end of the year, OTM correspondent Micah Loewinger takes a look at the some of the big media narratives that felt representative of 2022. He speaks with political scientist Paul Fairie, who has devoted his Twitter account to investigating refrains like "nobody wants to work anymore" and "people are losing their sense of humor" to show that seemingly modern moral panics have been repeated in the American press every decade for over a century. With the help of voice actors (see below), listen as Paul and Micah dive deep into the newspaper archives to demonstrate how little has changed in our political discourse.
Special thanks to Andy Lanset, Nancy Solomon, Jesse Brenneman, Brigid Bergen, Arya Sundaram, Rex Doane, John Schaefer, Annie McEwan, Brigid Bergen, Matt Katz, Amy Pearl, Eric Weber, Molly Schwartz, Ellery Groth, Becca Bressler, Ian Donahue, Amanda Aronczyk, Kareem Lawrence, and Sean Carlson.
This is a segment from our December 16, 2022, The Good Ol' Days.