Fantasyland: The History of America's Irrationality | Kurt Andersen

How can we make sense of America’s current “post-factual,” “post-truth,” “fake news” moment? By looking to America’s past. All the way back. To the wishful dreams and make-believe fears of the country’s first settlers, the madness of the Salem witch trials, the fantasies of Hollywood, the anything-goes 1960s, the gatekeeper-free internet, the profusion of reality TV….all the way up to and most especially including President Donald Trump. In this fascinating and lively talk, Kurt Andersen brings to life the deep research behind and profound implications of his groundbreaking, critically acclaimed and bestselling latest work. Connecting the dots in a fresh way to define America’s character—from the religious fanatics and New Age charlatans to talk-radio rabble-rousers and online conspiracy theorists—Andersen explains our national susceptibility to fantasy and how our journey has brought us to where we are today. 

Kurt Andersen is a brilliant analyst and synthesizer of historical and cultural trends, a bestselling novelist, a groundbreaking media entrepreneur, and the host of public radio’s Studio 360.

Interview: 

https://youtu.be/Id4WZCG0e7c

Cartoon: A flock of fanatics

And at least 3 of these are Catholic.
https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/9/29/1981639/-Cartoon-A-flock-of-fanatics 

Here is how Trump used claims of 'fake news' to create his dangerous cult of fanatics - Raw Story

Toward the end of the Second Great Awakening, a series of revivals that marked the first half of the American 19th Century, one Baptist preacher named William Miller confidently predicted that "Jesus Christ will come again to this earth, cleanse, purify, and take possession of the same, with all the saints, sometime between March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844.” Based on his complex calculations derived from the Bible, the minister was certain that the millennium would arrive no later than that spring day, when melting snow often still blankets the woods of the preacher’s native upstate New York......
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/06/trump-used-claims-fake-news-create-dangerous-cult-fanatics/

Letting them die: parents refuse medical help for children in the name of Christ

The Followers of Christ is a religious sect that preaches faith healing in states such as Idaho, which offers a faith-based shield for felony crimes – despite alarming child mortality rates among these groups...
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/apr/13/followers-of-christ-idaho-religious-sect-child-mortality-refusing-medical-help

Samantha Bee Examines the Other Scary Religious Fanatics on Ted Cruz’s Campaign Team

When it comes to unsavory religious fanatics, Ted Cruz certainly comes to mind, but there are many more associated with his campaign that don’t get nearly as much attention....
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/04/05/samantha-bee-examines-the-other-scary-religious-fanatics-on-ted-cruzs-campaign-team/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed