Why Are We Drawn to Horror?
What inspired you to write Why Horror Seduces? The book is based on years of…
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Refusing the Monsters on Maple Street: A First-Person Commentary from the Mass Hysteria at JFK
The mainstream discourse in the West describes the “War on Terror” as a “geopolitical” mission….
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Welcome to the Shari’ah Conspiracy Theory Industry
The support of many Republican presidential candidates demonstrates the success of a cottage industry based on the conspiracy theory that totalitarian Islamic radicals are bent on infiltrating America, displacing the Constitution, and subverting Western-style democracy in the U.S. and around the globe.
Read MoreLife Imitates Satire Imitates Life: Rep. King Revives Manchurian Candidate
Investigating the origins of arithmetic paranoia.
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The Fear is Real: A New View of Halloween “Hell Houses”
Tribulation Trail, and other “Hell Houses” are not solely managing hypothetical fears of what may happen in end-times scenarios; they are about managing fears about the present and imagining a way out now. This “way out” is much more than metaphysical. It seems to fit with the material realities of what it is like to be a member of the working class of the U.S., by offering a sense of orientation and self-worth to people who have been demoralized and exploited in almost every other possible way.
Read MoreNo More Mosques
Fear is back, and bigger than ever.
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Presidential Pep Talks and the Religion of Fear: How did an Uncontroversial Speech Become a National Controversy?
The conservatives who were frightened by Obama’s speech to schoolchildren weren’t afraid he’d say something radical—quite the contrary—they were afraid that the president would sound moderate and human. The real question, why did they buy the fear? is impossible to answer without considering religion.
Read MoreFearmongering? Yes, But the Fear is Here
The debate about health has turned into a debate about death. Why has our heath care debate shifted so easily and so quickly into a fright-fest concerned with the care we owe to the dead and dying?
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Diplomatic Suckerhood: Why Israel Is Fighting Toward its Own Demise
A new study reveals that the majority of Israelis view the conflict with Palestine through the lens of fear, throwing their support behind a parade of bellicose and paranoid leaders. Until the cycle of victimhood and aggression is broken no amount of pressure from the U.S., vain military adventures, or Labor Party victories will alter the tragic stalemate in the region.
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Sacred&Profane: American Martyrdom
America has defined itself through identification of evil enemies and shared grief for heroes who die fighting them…
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