Things Fell Apart
BBC Radio 4
If you've ever yelled at someone on social media about, say, cancel culture or mask-wearing, then you are a soldier in the culture wars - those everyday battles for dominance between conflicting values. The acclaimed writer and podcaster Jon Ronson has seen friends swallowed up in them to the extent that it's ruined their lives. Jon was curious to learn how things fell apart, and so he went back into the history of the culture wars to find some of the origin stories: the pebbles thrown in the pond, creating the ripples that led us to where we are today. He had no idea what he'd find, but he's uncovered some extraordinary people and the strangest, yet most consequential tales.
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Top 10 Things Fell Apart Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Things Fell Apart episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Things Fell Apart for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Things Fell Apart episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
S1. Ep 7: A Secret Room Behind a Fake Wall
Things Fell Apart
01/25/22 • 32 min
It’s 2017. Late one night after a party a Hollywood actor plays a prank on a friend. But the prank backfires terribly and the ripples are seismic - taking us inside Donald Trump’s White House and the Capitol insurrection of January 2021.
Written and presented by Jon Ronson Produced by Sam Peach Original music by Phil Channell
Archive with credit to:
Videos discussing Isaac Kappy: Lisa Crapella.– Youtube , The Truth Blog Part 2 – Youtube , Miss M – Youtube , Truth Crossing - Youtube Clip from the movie THOR (2011) – Produced by Marvel Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures and Directed by Kenneth Branagh Coverage of 2016 Democratic National Convention from ABC News Coverage of Pizzagate and Isaac Kappy interview from Infowars Coverage of Edgar Welch's arrest from ANV News Coverage of Nicholas Sandmann incident from MSNBC, CNN and Fox News Interview with Lin Wood from Fox News Clip of Lin Wood’s speech from Ronnie N – Youtube Coverage of 2021 US Capitol Attack from CNN
4 Listeners
S2. Ep 8: Mikki’s Hero’s Journey
Things Fell Apart
01/09/24 • 37 min
How a former actor and model, burned by Hollywood and devastated by the death of his brother, has become an important culture warrior, fueling the flames of every story we tell this season.
Written and presented by Jon Ronson Produced by Sarah Shebbeare Original music by Phil Channell
4 Listeners
S1. Ep 5: A Scottish Jewish joke
Things Fell Apart
01/25/22 • 33 min
This is the story of the very first person to be publicly shamed because of something they did online. It’s 1988, the internet exists only in its most nascent form, and a software designer, Brad Templeton, uploads onto a message board a joke in poor taste. How the architects of the emerging internet respond to the joke will create a set of rules that the rest of us have lived under ever since...
Written and presented by Jon Ronson Produced by Sarah Shebbeare Assistant Producer Sam Peach Original music by Phil Channell
3 Listeners
S1. Ep 4: Believe the Children
Things Fell Apart
01/25/22 • 32 min
In the mid 1980s a new conspiracy theory proliferates across America - that cabals of Satanists are secretly preying on children and polluting the culture. This ‘Satanic panic’ is a madness with bizarre and dreadful consequences – as an unsuspecting young woman in New Jersey is about to discover...
Written and presented by Jon Ronson Produced by Sarah Shebbeare Original music by Phil Channell
2 Listeners
S1. Ep 1: 1000 Dolls
Things Fell Apart
01/25/22 • 31 min
It's the early 1970s. Frank Schaeffer is an American kid living in the Swiss Alps – the son of an influential Christian art historian - who daydreams of one day making Hollywood films. But for that he needs a show-reel to prove himself. The ripples of Frank's creative ambitions will help trigger one of America's most violent culture wars around the legalization of abortion and Roe vs Wade.
Written and presented by Jon Ronson Produced by Sarah Shebbeare Original music by Phil Channell
2 Listeners
S1. Ep 3: A Miracle
Things Fell Apart
01/25/22 • 33 min
It’s the early 1980s and a hugely popular television evangelist is having a crisis of conscience. She wants Christian evangelism to be less bigoted. And so, to the horror of her peers, she invites a very unexpected guest onto her TV show...
Written and presented by Jon Ronson Produced by Sarah Shebbeare Original music by Phil Channell
Archive from the PTL network's 'Tammy's House Party' and the 'PTL Club'.
2 Listeners
S1. Ep 8: A Mock Slave Auction
Things Fell Apart
01/25/22 • 36 min
An incident of racist bullying on Snapchat is currently tearing apart a small town on a lake in Michigan. As the ripples spread, practically every conflict we’ve encountered throughout our series rears its head.
Presented by Jon Ronson Produced by Sarah Shebbeare Assistant Producer Sam Peach Music composed by Phil Channell
2 Listeners
S1. Ep 2: Dirty Books
Things Fell Apart
01/25/22 • 31 min
1974. A church minister's wife in West Virginia learns of a brand new curriculum being introduced into her children's school. So she decides to read all 325 new textbooks herself. What she discovers horrifies her so much she instigates a State-wide insurrection. But were some of her concerns based on a misunderstanding?
Written and presented by Jon Ronson Produced by Sarah Shebbeare Assistant Producer Sam Peach Original music by Phil Channell
With thanks to Trey Kay for helping us tell this story.
2 Listeners
S1. Ep 6: Many Different Lives
Things Fell Apart
01/25/22 • 35 min
This story is about how the unique experiences of a little girl growing up unconventionally in America in the 1970s seismically changed the face of feminism in the 90s and beyond. It's a story too about the invention of a word - one that's contributed to a ferocious schism in the British culture wars.
Written and presented by Jon Ronson Produced by Sarah Shebbeare Original music by Phil Channell
2 Listeners
S2. Ep 7: You’ll Own Nothing and You’ll Be Happy
Things Fell Apart
01/09/24 • 33 min
How a young man with a novel idea for affordable accommodation, and an Oxford man with a plan for bus lanes, and a Danish woman writing a thought experiment about car rentals, unwittingly became hate figures for conspiracy theorists.
Written and presented by Jon Ronson Produced by Sarah Shebbeare Original music by Phil Channell
2 Listeners
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FAQ
How many episodes does Things Fell Apart have?
Things Fell Apart currently has 23 episodes available.
What topics does Things Fell Apart cover?
The podcast is about Society & Culture, Personal Journals and Podcasts.
What is the most popular episode on Things Fell Apart?
The episode title 'S1. Ep 7: A Secret Room Behind a Fake Wall' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Things Fell Apart?
The average episode length on Things Fell Apart is 31 minutes.
When was the first episode of Things Fell Apart?
The first episode of Things Fell Apart was released on Jan 5, 2022.
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@joedarcy
Feb 20
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