“The past is never dead”, William Faulkner quipped, “it’s not even past.” Angry white men, a disruptive internet, political gridlock in DC, right-wing terrorism, lying Presidents…. Yes, the 2020’s began in the 1990’s with Ruby Ridge, Newt Gingrich, the Oklahoma bombing, Bill and Monica, Russ Limbaugh, and the dotcom madness. Indeed, according to Terry H. Anderson’s intriguing new book WHY THE NINETIES STILL MATTER, we can trace most *contemporary American dysfunctionality back to that fateful final decade of the 20th century.
Terry H. Anderson is Professor of History and Cornerstone Faculty Fellow at Texas A&M University, a Vietnam veteran, and has taught in Malaysia and Japan. He has received Fulbright awards to China, Indonesia, and was the Mary Ball Washington Professor of American History at University College, Dublin. He is the author of numerous articles on the 1960s and the Vietnam War, co-author of A Flying Tiger's Diary, and author of The Sixties; United States, Great Britain, and the Cold War, 1944-1947; The Movement and the Sixties; The Pursuit of Fairness: A History of Affirmative Action; and Bush's Wars.
Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.
Episode 2084: Terry H. Anderson on why the 1990's still matter so much