Where the Culture Wars Began

The Brian Lehrer Show | Jun 23

Isaac Butler, culture historian, critic, podcaster and the author of The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art, and the Birth of America's Culture Wars (Bloomsbury, 2026) revisits the late 1980s start of the culture wars as the religious right took on the contemporary art world.

Photo: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - August 21: Banned books are chained to a table in "JD Vances Livingroom" at the Hotties For Harris party during the DNC in Chicago, Illinois on August 21, 2024. (Photo by Nick Oxford for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

 


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Be alert for scams. WNYC never asks for nor accepts money for coverage or interviews. Anyone making such a request does not represent WNYC.

WNYC is funded by sponsors and member donations

Top Stories

Your guide to voting in New York's 2026 elections for governor and Congress

A primer on the races for governor, attorney general and the congressional districts that could help determine control of the U.S. House.
Gothamist |

Gina Hinojosa Aims to Make Texas Blue Again. Plus, Reading Is Alive and Well

A Texas Democrat is running neck and neck with the Republican incumbent in the governor’s race. And a staff writer says that news of the demise of books is greatly exaggerated.
The New Yorker Radio Hour |

Claire Valdez on populism and the DSA agenda in Congress

Who’s Running This Place |

The Classroom/Technology Pipeline

Natasha Singer's new book explores how big tech became ensconced in our childrens' classrooms
On the Media |
YOU ARE ONLINE