David L. Altheide (Arizona State University) Fantasy and reality. The great Japanese baseball player Shohei Ohtani (now with the Los Angeles Angels), who is an outstanding pitcher as well as a powerful hitter, was inspired by a fictional character Goro Shigeno,  a heroic figure in Japanese comics.  In a mediated world, we should not be surprised when the publisher of the comic requested that Ohtani … Continue reading Essay: Gonzo Governance

Chandra Mukerji (UC San Diego) Donald Trump’s lies galvanize his base. His followers cheer the loudest for outrageous claims. The crowds are energized by his hubris, treating his fantasies as exciting rather than misinterpretations of facts. Asking epistemological questions about his statements may be important to politics and journalism, but it is bad sociology. It does not explain how clear fictions could be so politically … Continue reading The Power of Speculative Fiction in Politics: Foucault’s Prophetic Truth