An Americanist
An Americanist
Carol Marks
From Soup Choices To Selfhood: How We Lost Local News And Found Ourselves Scrolling
13 minutes Posted Jan 20, 2026 at 11:00 am.
Weekend Recap And Setup
Gravity Hoax Fact-Checked
Legs Stuck In Anti-Vandal Bin
Chicken Vs Tomato: What’s Healthier
The Slow Death Of Local News
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Show notes
TALK TO ME, TEXT IT What if a date-stamped “leak” claimed gravity would shut off for seven seconds—and millions believed it? We walk through the viral rumor, why NASA’s explanation is straightforward, and how fake authority (project names, budgets, rigid timestamps) tricks our brains into trusting nonsense. The real story isn’t just physics; it’s how the feed rewards spectacle while our skepticism gets softer. From there, we pivot to a scene you can’t unsee: a man stuck headfirst in an anti-...