Disrupting Decorum

On our third episode, Elizabeth Weil joins Virginia and Stephen to discuss forms of radicalism as we head into an American regime that might call for it. In her New York Magazine piece, the climate activists Liz profiles capsize our assumptions about protest, democracy, and the speed of social change.

Weil profiles provocateur and depressive Donald Zepeda, one of several radical activists who disrupt decorum by throwing paint on the Constitution’s protective glass—not to destroy these cultural objects, obviously, but to force us to confront how complacent are. Asheville is laid to waste and we can’t tolerate spill at an art museum? Weil shows how provocateurs like Donald Zepeda are consciously choosing to be annoying and disliked in service of the climate catastrophe, following in the tradition of ACT UP.

But who in the coming regime is really going to risk stepping out of line and being disliked? It’s harder than it sounds.

What Rough Beast is a listener-supported podcast. To receive new posts and support this work, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiaheffernan.substack.com/subscribe