Reaction

Reaction is a podcast about the conservative forces that have shaped society. Revolutions make history; counterrevolutions make reality.

In the second half of the 19th Century, The Pinkerton National Detective Agency filled a niche that state law enforcement didn't yet occupy. Tracking down bandits and protecting the interests of powerful industrialists, the Pinkertons made a name for themselves as the private army of capital. Get the scripts to every episode and supplementary audio content by supporting the show at

After the Molly Maguires, the Pinkertons expand further into the lucrative business of crushing labor movements. But working on behalf of rich industrialists doesn't win them many friends, and the dramatic conflicts that rocked the 1880s and 90s shine a bright spotlight on the legality of Pinkerton tactics. Get the scripts to every episode and supplementary audio content by support

In the final installment of the Pinkertons, a combination of Congressional hearings and tell-all books deals a final blow to the Pinkertons' reputation. But where are they now, and what is their legacy? Get the scripts to every episode and supplementary audio content by supporting the show at www.patreon.com/reactionpodcast and follow on Twitter @reactionpodcast.

William Luther Pierce's white supremacist novel The Turner Diaries has been called the Bible of the racist right. The protagonist Earl Turner lives in a cartoonishly "equal" world, and joins a violent underground resistance movement that seeks to overthrow "The System." Get the scripts to every episode and supplementary audio content by supporting the show at www.patreon.com/reacti

With their newly seized territory in southern California, the Organization plans an all-out assault on the System. Forty years after its publication, The Turner Diaries continues to have a lasting effect on the far right, inspiring the murders of more than 200 people and living on in corners of the internet. Get the scripts to every episode and supplementary audio content by suppor

This is the first in a four-part series on post-9/11 depictions of terrorism and the War on Terror. Here I introduce the topic and give an overview of the content of the rest of the series. Get the scripts to every episode and supplementary audio content by supporting the show at www.patreon.com/reactionpodcast and follow on Twitter @reactionpodcast.

Counter Terrorism Agent Jack Bauer is a man above men, the kind of guy who will get the job done, whatever the cost. Season one of Fox's television drama 24 was released just weeks after the 9/11 attacks, and was hugely popular throughout its nine seasons. But despite claims that it was "just a TV show," 24 had a direct impact on military operations in the Middle East, and was writ

The 9/11 attacks were a deeply traumatizing event, and fear became a normal part of American life afterward. Two films, Reign Over Me and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, offer a compelling glimpse into the post-9/11 trauma frame. But what has that trauma given us permission to do? And how has our response to it made the world less just, and less safe? Support the show by going

In the final installment of Terror on Screen I look at two films about operations in the Middle East. Zero Dark Thirty follows the story of the hunt for Osama bin Laden, with the writer claiming it is "based on actual events" and has no political agenda. American Sniper is a biopic about the deadliest marksman in US military history who grapples with the trauma of his service. But