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Marianna Spring’s measured approach to Trump conspiracists pays off; a hijab-wearing porn star is a surprise interviewee; Nick van der Kolk revists 00s reality TV; and Esther Perel’s must-hear chat with author Miranda JulyWhy Do You Hate Me?: USA (BBC Radio 4) | BBC Sounds The Louis Theroux Podcast: Mia Khalifa (Spotify) | ApplePodcasts Split Screen: Thrill Seekers (CBC/Love+Radio/Vespucci) | Apple Podcasts Where Should We Begin? With Esther Perel (estherperel.com)“I hate Trump, she likes him – we both think he staged assassination attempts.” An arresting quote that was widely reported in the press last week. It came from the BBC disinformation correspondent Marianna Spring’s Radio 4 series Why Do You Hate Me?: USA, a run-up-to-the-US-election show. In its first episode, we meet Camille (no second name given) and “Wild Mother” (no real name given). The latter came to support Donald Trump via a now well-worn route of wellness, natural medicine and Covid cynicism. Camille, from the other side of the political divide, just hates the orange blowhard. But both think there was something fishy about the attempts on Trump’s life (particularly the first one): Camille believing that Trump staged it to become more popular and Wild Mother reckoning that the QAnon movement staged it in order to “frame the deep state”. She burbles about a “white hat operation to put Trump on the map for those who weren’t paying attention”. Hmm. Continue reading...