
The Midnight Kingdom
A History of Power, Paranoia, and the Coming Crisis
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Narrated by:
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Jared Yates Sexton
From the author of American Rule and the host of The Muckrake Podcast, an ambitious account of how white supremacist lies, religious mythologies, and poisonous conspiracy theories built the modern world and threaten to plunge us into an authoritarian nightmare.
To fully understand these strange and dangerous times, Jared Yates Sexton takes a hard look at our nation’s history: namely, the abuses committed by those in power and the comforting stories that shaped the way the West has viewed itself up to the present. As reactionaries and authoritarians cling to myths about “Western civilization,” The Midnight Kingdom exposes how political power, religious indoctrination, and economic dominance have been repeatedly weaponized to oppress and exploit, sounding an alarm for what lies ahead as the current order frays.
Beginning with the Roman Empire and racing through centuries of colonization, war, genocide, and the recurring clashes of progress and regression, Sexton finds our modern world at a crossroads. In an echo of past crises, we have arrived at a time of historic inequality and a fading trust in our institutions. Meanwhile, authoritarianism is gaining momentum and the progress of the twentieth century is being rolled back at dizzying speed. This catastrophic moment holds terrible potential for a return to a totalitarian past or, potentially, a better, realer, more human future. The difference depends on a true reckoning with our history and the larger forces at play or hiding behind this disastrous fantasy of Western superiority.
Bracing and compelling, The Midnight Kingdom takes a critical look at the forces that have shaped human civilization for centuries—and invites us to seek a radically different future.
©2023 Jared Yates Sexton (P)2023 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
"An episodic jeremiad in the best tradition of that word, The Midnight Kingdom is warning and lament, a people’s history of apocalypse in the mind and actions of Western empire from the Great Fire of Rome to the Trumpocene. In print and by podcast, Jared Yates Sexton has been steadily expanding his deep inquiry into the ideas that informed his own fundamentalist roots and now shape today’s Christian nationalist attack on the democratic dream. This book is Sexton’s most ambitious yet, powered by cool anger but girded with the hope that even at this late hour gives his work its beautiful strength.”—Jeff Sharlet, bestselling author of The Family and The Undertow
“The Midnight Kingdom is a gripping read that flirts with but never gives in to cynicism. Solid writing that dives into generous detail without ever over-explaining bolsters Sexton’s well-researched appeal.”—New York Journal of Books
“The Midnight Kingdom is a gripping read that flirts with but never gives in to cynicism. Solid writing that dives into generous detail without ever over-explaining bolsters Sexton’s well-researched appeal.”—New York Journal of Books
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Jared Yates Sexton also signals ways for us - we the people - to create a new and healthier human civilization. May it be so.
A Must Read
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A must read
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Important read to prevent history from repeating itself
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Narrator pronunciations…
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He also shows that not only are modern-day Republican values utterly reprehensible but entirely unoriginal, with their apocalyptic world views intertwined with their skewed views of patriotism virtually unchanged and unchallenged for centuries. Fitting, I suppose, for such a backwards political party that strives to do little more than usurp power at all costs and turn the clock back to the Dark Ages.
The Midnight Kingdom is, ultimately, Exhibit A for why Republicans so badly want to ban books and endlessly work to undermine and attempt to eradicate science, history, and education.
Those Who Do Not Know The Past...
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Too fast
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The performance was rough
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Fantastic
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Loved the history! Jarod Yates Sexton is masterful in his recounting of history, Gripping and relatable to today's issues!
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Fear and Loathing
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