Life in the House of Cards: 2024 in Historical Context

Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrong

We use a recent controversial murder case as a way to reconsider recent world events--such as war in Europe and the return of Trump--from the perspective of the epistemological crisis and the decline of trust in Truth, Facts, and Reality. CHAPTERS: 0:00:20 – Intro & Disclaimers 0:11:45 – The Great Witch Hunt: overview 0:28:25 – The Great Witch Hunt: midwives & caregivers 0:45:10 – The Lucy Letby Case: narrative 1:15:55 – The Lucy Letby Case: analysis 1:44:10 – The Lucy Letby Case: reactions & aftermath 1:51:25 – Defensiveness & the epistemic house of cards 2:08:00 – The partisanization of knowledge 2:20:40 – The trials of the expert class 2:38:40 – Lessons of World War I 2:46:30 – The threat to democracy is the presidency 2:55:50 – The “economy” 2:59:10 – Conclusions: Notre Dame restored Image: 18th-century farmhouse on eroding cliff's edge, Trimingham, Norfolk, England, April 2024. Audio version of my 2022 article, "In the American Tempest: Democracy, Conspiracy, and Machine" -- https://soundcloud.com/historiansplaining/article-in-the-american-tempest-democracy-conspiracy-machine Jeffrey Friedman's 2023 article, "Post-Truth and the Epistemological Crisis" -- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08913811.2023.2221502 Please sign up as a patron to hear patron-only lectures, such as on the Epic of Gilgamesh -- https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=5530632