When the Clock Broke

Outline

When the Clock Broke (2024) examines the political and cultural turmoil in the United States in the early 1990s, after the end of the Cold War. John Ganz traces how economic anxiety, distrust of institutions, conspiracy theories, and new forms of media gave rise to populist figures and movements. He argues that many of the divisions in American politics today first took shape in this period.

• The early 1990s, right after the end of the Cold War, were a period of deep political and cultural turmoil in the United States.
• Economic anxiety and distrust of institutions helped push many Americans toward populist figures and movements.
• Conspiracy theories spread widely in this period and became part of mainstream political life.
• New forms of media played a role in giving populist movements their audience and their momentum.
• Ganz argues that many of today's divisions in American politics first took shape in the early 1990s.

John Ganz is an American writer and historian of ideas whose essays on politics and culture have appeared in major publications. He writes a widely read newsletter on politics and history. When the Clock Broke is his first book.