Common Nonsense
Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance
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Narrated by:
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Tom Dheere
About this listen
Who is this guy and why are people listening?
Forget Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, and Sean Hannity--Glenn Beck is the Rights new media darling and the unofficial leader of the conservative grassroots. Lampooned by the Left and Lionized by the far Right, his bluster-and-tears brand of political commentary has commandeered attention on both sides of the aisle. Glenn Beck has emerged over the last decade as a unique and bizarre conservative icon for the new century. He encourages his listeners to embrace a cynical paranoia that slides easily into a fantasyland filled with enemies that do not exist and solutions that are incoherent, at best. Since the election of President Barack Obama, Becks bombastic, conspiratorial, and often viciously personal approach to political combat has made him one of the most controversial figures in the history of American broadcasting. In Common Nonsense, investigative reporter Alexander Zaitchik explores Beck's strange brew of ratings lust, boundless ego, conspiratorial hard-right politics, and gimmicky morning-radio entertainment chops.
Separates the facts from the fiction, following Beck from his troubled childhood to his recent rise to the top of the conservative media heap.
Zaitchik's recent three-part series in Salon caused so much buzz, Beck felt the need to attack it on his show.
Based on Zaitchik's interviews with former Beck coworkers and review of countless Beck writings and television and radio shows.
Explains why Beck is always crying, why he has so many conservative enemies, why he's driven by conspiracy theories, and why he's dangerous to the health of the republic.
A contributing writer to Alternet, Zaitchik's reporting has appeared in the New Republic, the Nation, Salon, Wired, Reason, and The Believer.
©2010 Alexander Zaitchik (P)2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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- How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free
- By: Charles P. Pierce
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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The culture wars are over and the idiots have won. This is a veteran journalist’s caustically funny, righteously angry lament about the glorification of ignorance in the United States. The three Great Premises of Idiot America: · Any theory is valid if it sells books, soaks up ratings, or otherwise moves units; anything can be true if someone says it loudly enough; "fact" is that which enough people believe. And "truth" is determined by how fervently they believe it.
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You Get What You Paid For
- By Vargas on 09-19-11
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Once in a Great City
- A Detroit Story
- By: David Maraniss
- Narrated by: David Maraniss
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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It's 1963, and Detroit is on top of the world. The city's leaders are among the most visionary in America. It was the American auto makers' best year; the revolution in music and politics was underway. Walter Reuther's UAW had helped lift the middle class. Once in a Great City shows that the shadows of collapse were evident even then. Yet so much of what Detroit gave America lasts.
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Great read
- By Jordanel on 01-02-16
By: David Maraniss
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The Corrosion of Conservatism
- Why I Left the Right
- By: Max Boot
- Narrated by: Max Boot
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Warning that the Trump presidency presages America’s decline, Max Boot, the political commentator, recounts his extraordinary journey from lifelong Republican to vehement Trump opponent. As nativism, xenophobia, vile racism, and assaults on the rule of law threaten the very fabric of our nation, The Corrosion of Conservatism presents an urgent defense of American democracy.
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Not an intellectual tour de force!
- By Wayne on 07-14-19
By: Max Boot
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The Making of the President 2016
- How Donald Trump Orchestrated a Revolution
- By: Roger Stone
- Narrated by: BJ Pottsworth
- Length: 14 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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In the early hours of November 9, 2016, one of the most contentious, polarizing, and vicious presidential races came to an abrupt and unexpected end when heavily favored presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton called Donald J. Trump to concede, shocking a nation that had, only hours before, given little credence to his chances. Donald Trump pulled the greatest upset in American political history despite a torrent of invective and dismissal of the mainstream media.
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behind the scenes
- By Rocker on 04-06-17
By: Roger Stone
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The Walrus and the Elephants
- John Lennon’s Years of Revolution
- By: James A. Mitchell
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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In late 1971 John Lennon left London behind and moved to New York, eager to join a youth movement rallying for social justice and an end to the Vietnam War. Lennon was quickly embraced by radicals and revolutionaries, the hippies and Yippies at odds with the establishment. Settling in Greenwich Village, the heart of Manhattan's counterculture, the former Beatle was soon on the frontlines of the antiwar movement and championing a range of causes and issues.
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I wish you were still here
- By Kazuhiko on 12-09-13
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Gaslighting America
- Why We Love It When Trump Lies to Us
- By: Amanda Carpenter
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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"Can you believe what Donald Trump said?" In Gaslighting America, Amanda Carpenter breaks down Trump's formula, showing why it's practically foolproof, playing his victims, the media, the Democrats, and the Republican fence-sitters perfectly. She traces how this tactic started with Nixon, gained traction with Bill Clinton, and exploded under Trump. Where some people see lies, Trump's fierce followers see something different. A commitment to winning at all costs: There is nothing he could say that would erode their support at long as it's in the name of taking down his political enemies.
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Right Winger Whines False Equivalency
- By B. D on 05-03-18
By: Amanda Carpenter
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Game of Thorns
- The Inside Story of Hillary Clinton's Failed Campaign and Donald Trump's Winning Strategy
- By: Doug Wead
- Narrated by: Doug Wead
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Here is the first insider account of the precipitous fall of Hillary Clinton. How the scandals of a lifetime finally reached critical mass. How, in the last few days of the campaign, some on her staff saw the ghostly shroud of defeat creeping over them but were helpless to act, frozen by the self-denial of the group.
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President Donald Trump stopped that Clinton Machine
- By Paulette on 03-05-17
By: Doug Wead
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In Trump We Trust
- E Pluribus Awesome! (That Was the Easy Part) and Is Fighting for US
- By: Ann Coulter
- Narrated by: Ann Coulter
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Donald Trump isn't a politician - he's a one-man wrecking ball against our dysfunctional and corrupt establishment. We're about to see the deluxe version of the left's favorite theme: Vote for us, or we'll call you stupid. It's the working class against the smirking class. Now Ann Coulter, with her unique insight, candor, and sense of humor, makes the definitive case for why we should all join his revolution.
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Doesn't deliver on it's promises.
- By Greg Hill on 08-24-16
By: Ann Coulter
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Fault Lines
- A History of the United States Since 1974
- By: Kevin M. Kruse, Julian E. Zelizer
- Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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If you were asked when America became polarized, your answer would likely depend on your age: You might say during Barack Obama’s presidency, or with the post-9/11 war on terror, or the culture wars of the 1980s and 1990s, or the “Reagan Revolution” and the the rise of the New Right. How did the US become so divided? Fault Lines offers a richly told, wide-angle history view toward an answer.
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Good overview of the past 45 years
- By Adam Shields on 02-26-19
By: Kevin M. Kruse, and others
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Big Girls Don't Cry
- The Election that Changed Everything for American Women
- By: Rebecca Traister
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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In the last two years, the United States - its history, assumptions, prejudices, and vocabulary - have all cracked open. A woman won a state presidential primary contest (quite a few of them, actually) for the first time in this country's history. Less than a year later, a vice-presidential candidate concluded her appearance in a national debate and immediately reached for her newborn baby. A few months after that, an African American woman moved into the White House - not as an employee but as the First Lady.
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Perfect refresher course in feminism and the media
- By Stacey on 12-16-10
By: Rebecca Traister
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The Front Runner (All the Truth Is Out Movie Tie-In)
- The Week Politics Went Tabloid
- By: Matt Bai
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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In May 1987, Colorado Senator Gary Hart seemed a lock for the party’s presidential nomination and led George H. W. Bush by double digits in the polls. Then, in one tumultuous week, rumors of marital infidelity and a newspaper’s stakeout of Hart’s home resulted in a media frenzy the likes of which had never been seen. Through the spellbindingly reported story of the senator’s fall from grace, Matt Bai, Yahoo News columnist and former chief political correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, reveals the Hart affair to be far more than one man’s tragedy.
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Excellent writing and performance
- By S. on 12-06-14
By: Matt Bai
What listeners say about Common Nonsense
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Wag The Fox
- 07-28-14
Rage Fuel for Beck Fans
Where does Common Nonsense rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Well, this is one of the first nonfiction audiobooks I've listened to, and by virtue of its subject it was not a boring one. It may not have been an impartial book, but it was by no means boring, either.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Common Nonsense?
My familiarity with Glenn Beck's broadcasts come primarily from YouTube snippets of his more vehement rants and outbursts. I always got the sense the guy was disingenuous, what with the crocodile tears and all that silliness, so it was quite interesting to learn of his affinity for Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds" broadcast.It was also interesting to get a bit of a behind-the-scenes on some of his more memorable on-air spectacles.
Which character – as performed by Tom Dheere – was your favorite?
I suppose I should take a star away for Tom's reticence in portraying the racist supporters of Glenn Beck with more cartoonish zeal. The letters of support for Beck by these woefully ignorant and hate-filled "patriots" practically screamed for parody. But Tom Dheere took the high road, and did so through the entirety of his narration.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I'm not an extremist, so my reaction was even-tempered, which is more than can be said for many of the detractors of this book. While Zaitchik's own commentary is tinged with ridicule of his subject, the research and pacing are very well done. And being reminded of Glenn Beck's Vaudevillian approach to journalism and activism definitely offered frequent chuckles. On the other hand, the notion so many adore this huckster is nearly enough to weep for the nation.
Any additional comments?
If you love Glenn Beck and consider yourself one of the "true" Americans, you're going to find nothing but rage fuel in this book. If you're genuinely curious about what drives one of America's most notorious pundits, this is a pretty good place to start.
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- Kenny G
- 09-06-17
very biased
Didn't tell the whole story. left out information that to make Beck look bad or crazy. Not worth the read.
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5 people found this helpful
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- JJu 2015
- 01-05-15
Garbage
What would have made Common Nonsense better?
I had typed a paragraph about this book, although, I had to erase it all and replace with one word...Garbage...
Would you ever listen to anything by Alexander Zaitchik again?
NO
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
This book is TERRIBLE
Any additional comments?
Do not waste your time and money on this worthless book.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Fred Schwartz
- 04-24-13
Total Bias - Poor Reinactment
This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?
This book seemed to over portray Glenn Beck as the worst person in the world. There was not a single positive thing said about him from birth to present. But the book made it sound like the author was in bed with him, knowing every move and morsel of information. I have listened to Glenn Beck for years and somethings I don't totally agree with but this book showed him as the devil. I do not recommend.
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4 people found this helpful