#258 | Fear and Loathing in 2025: Why Does Hunter S Thompson’s Scathing Account of American Politics Still Matter Today?
Quick SUMMARY:
Douglas Vigliotti explores Hunter S. Thompson’s "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ‘72," spotlighting Thompson’s groundbreaking gonzo journalism and his own admiration for the author. Vigliotti unpacks the book’s sharp, scathing critique of American politics, its timeless relevance, and Thompson’s uncanny ability to get at the truth, along with his growing disillusionment with the political system. He urges listeners to reconsider the realities of power and democracy, offers related reading suggestions, and invites the audience to connect and subscribe.
Listen to the episode:
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TOPICS COVERED IN the EPISODE:
Introduction to the Episode (00:09) - Douglas Vigliotti introduces the podcast, the featured book, and the episode’s focus on Hunter S. Thompson.
Newsletter and Podcast Updates (01:21) - Details about the companion newsletter, episode summaries, and how to sign up for updates.
Personal Connection to Hunter S. Thompson (02:31) - Douglas shares his admiration for Thompson and the author’s influence on his writing journey.
Hunter S. Thompson’s Style and Previous Podcast Episode (03:50) - Discussion of Thompson’s gonzo journalism, his persona, and reference to a previous episode about him.
Background on "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, 1972" (03:50) - Overview of the book’s origin, its coverage of the 1972 election, and Thompson’s unique perspective.
Themes and Impact of the Book (05:23) - Exploration of the book’s themes: disillusionment with politics, democracy, and the American people.
Hunter S. Thompson’s Honesty and Political Critique (07:01) - Analysis of Thompson’s brutal honesty, critique of political systems, and relevance to today’s politics.
Comparison to "The Power Broker" and Understanding Politics (08:14) - Recommendation of "The Power Broker" and reflection on the meaning of politics in everyday life.
Quotes from the Book and Contemporary Parallels (08:14) - Sharing two significant quotes from Thompson, drawing parallels between 1972 and recent elections.
Closing Remarks and Listener Engagement (11:02) - Douglas encourages listeners to subscribe, connect via Instagram or website, and mentions his new book.
Final Reminders and Thank You (11:59) - Information on where to find more about the podcast and newsletter, and a thank you to listeners.
READ THE TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome back to “Books for Men”, a podcast to inspire more men to read and bring together men who do. So this week I am turning back to a work of nonfiction. It is a piece of journalism. It comes in at around 500 pages or so. It came out in 1973, and it is titled “Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ‘72” by Hunter S Thompson. So this is not the first time you are hearing the name Hunter S Thompson on this podcast. He's actually a repeat author, and I will share more about him and add to some of the things that I have already shared about him on this podcast previously, along with sharing more about this work specifically, and why I think it matters for you, the listener. This is probably the most important piece, and one thing that I want to continue to make sure I emphasize with books moving forward. But before I do any of that, I want it to quickly remind you about the companion newsletter that goes with this podcast. So maybe you are pressed for time, and you just want the meat and potatoes, so to speak.
01:21 - In that case, you can sign up for the newsletter, which is just one email every month that puts together all of the episodes on the podcast that month and features episode summaries, top five quotes from each episode, as well as all the book and author information. And there's also, at the end of each newsletter, some additional book recommendations, as well as a couple of helpful links. And so if you're interested in signing up for that, you could do so on the website BooksforMen.org. All right. So now let me turn back to the author in the book. And first, obviously, I want to start with the man, Honduras Thompson. I should mention that no other author has meant more to me in my life than Hunter Thompson. Not because I hang on his every word or I believe everything that he ever wrote. That would just be insanity, especially with a style that has a hallmark of basically blending fiction and reality. But it's important to remember that that's all in an effort to get at the truth of the story.
02:31 - There's nobody who even comes close to making things feel so visceral and so real and so tangible. Not in a nonfiction sense, anyway, like Hunter did. And so he was the catalyst for me on my writing journey. The author, I should say, who sparked something inside of me. And so for that, I am forever grateful. I am sure that I have mentioned this before on the podcast, but I couldn't do an episode on him without leading with that. I own pretty much everything that he's ever written, or I'd say at least 95%, and that's anywhere from 15 to 20 books, depending on how you would define essay collections. Which sort of leads me to the book that I am sharing with you today. But before I jump into that, I should mention that similar to last week's episode on Hemingway, Hunter is also a repeat author on the podcast, and the first episode that I did covers him in a little bit more detail, parsing out things like the character versus the man and how he was the most popular journalist, writing for the most popular youth magazine, and how he was a pioneer of this thing called gonzo journalism.
03:50 - And all of that could be heard on that first episode, which also happens to be the most downloaded episode in the history of “Books for Men”, which is pretty cool. I will link that up in the show notes. Having said that, let me turn to the book that I am sharing with you today. So for starters, it was originally articles for the Rolling Stone magazine covering the 1972 election between George McGovern and Richard Nixon, and then it was serialized into a book published the following year. At this time, Hunter was already a pretty big star, so the idea of him being on the campaign trail was this very unique thing. It was like having this outsider who was a celebrity in some respects, covering the election, and he brought with him all of the Hunter S Thompson baggage that comes with Hunter S Thompson, the Character. It's really quintessential Hunter as he submerges himself into the George McGovern campaign, which starts out as utter belief and then transcends into this dark, cynical, palpable, I would say, scathing account of American politics, ultimately leaving Hunter disillusioned not just with politics, but democracy more broadly and the American people.
05:23 - Following Richard Nixon's landslide win in 1972, in some of the more memorable moments of the book or well quoted parts of the book, I would say he writes things like: “The main problem in any democracy is that crowd pleasers are generally brainless swine who can go out on a stage and whoop up their supporters into an orgiastic frenzy, then go back to the office and sell every one of the poor bastards down the tube for a nickel apiece.” Or when he's talking more specifically about the election, he writes, “McGovern had made some stupid mistakes, but in context they seemed almost frivolous compared to the things Richard Nixon does every day of his life on purpose. As a matter of policy and a perfect expression of everything, he stands for Jesus. Where will it end? How low do you have to stoop in this country to be president?” And nobody was a bigger foe throughout Hunter's career than Nixon, who not only takes the villain role in this book, but also so much of Hunter's political work throughout the 70s. I think one of the challenges with Hunter is that it's easy to lose or confuse the importance of Hunter with the character that he adopted, and that importance is being someone willing to be so brutally honest at their own expense.
07:01 - I mean, definitely having a point of view, but not following a party line necessarily. And he told us everything that we needed to know about politics in this book. The backroom deals, all the backstabbing, outright lying and omission. The types of people that are drawn to politics, how the media shapes everything, really just all of it. And it's all still happening today. The only difference is that the evolution of technology call it AI and bio warfare and all of that, the stakes are just so much higher now, which is sort of scary when you think about it. But to understand American politics at its core, I think you have to start with this book. It's that important in the canon of truly understanding how the system works. I would put as 1A to that, “The Power Broker” by Robert Caro, which documents the life of Robert Moses. A book that I haven't shared on “Books for Men”, but I should, because it is that important of a read for anyone who truly wants to understand how power and influence works.
08:14 - It's so funny. I often remind people, you know, when you're at like work or something, and people say, I don't want to play politics, or I don't want to get in the politics of it all. Sometimes we forget what that actually means, and we want to have this really idealistic viewpoint when it comes to the people who are leading our country, or what have you. But as a reminder for what that word politics actually means, read this book. So to close this episode out, I want to share two quotes with you. The first is one that I just feel is eerily similar to what happened in last year's election. And of course, this is him writing 50 years earlier about the 1972 election. And he says: “The mood of the nation in 1972 was so overwhelmingly vengeful, greedy, bigoted, and blindly reactionary that no presidential candidate who even faintly reminded typical voters of the fear and anxiety they'd felt during the constant social upheavals of the 1960s, had any chance at all of beating Nixon last year—not even Ted Kennedy.
09:35 - Because the pendulum effect that began with Nixon's slim victory in 68 was totally irreversible by 1972. After a decade of left Bank chaos. The silent majority was so deep in a behavioral sink that their only feeling for politics was a powerful sense of revulsion. All they wanted in the White House was a man who would leave them alone and do anything necessary to bring calmness back into their lives.” And the second quote that I wanted to share with you to end this episode is one that I think we all feel deep down inside. And Hunter writes, “How many more of these stinking double downer sideshows will we have to get through before we can get ourselves straight enough to put together some kind of national election? That will give me, and at least 20 million people I tend to agree with, a chance to vote for something instead of always being faced with that old familiar choice between the lesser of two evils.” And look, I think he's speaking with a lot more hyperbole and exaggeration than the majority of us would, but I think many of us would agree with the truth of what he is trying to say. Give me something that I can believe in. Give me a vision that unifies. Or, as Hunter says in that quote, a chance to vote for something, not against something else.
11:15 - I wish that I had stayed closer to the ten-minute mark, which I have done in previous episodes, so I apologize, but I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, I want to remind you to please click subscribe on whatever podcast platform you are listening to this on, because in doing so, that is the best way for new listeners to find the show and inspire more men to read. If you want to connect with me, maybe to tell me how I'm doing on the podcast, or tell me something about this episode. Then you could do so in 1 or 2 ways, on Instagram @DouglasVigliotti. It's the only social media that I have or via my website DouglasVigliotti.com. I do want to remind you that I have a new book out called “Aristotle for Novelists: 14 Timeless Principles on the Art of Story”. If you want to find out more about that, you could do so on the website AristotleforNovelists.com. All of these links will be in the show notes. Last but not least, I want to thank you so much for listening and remind you that if you want more information on this podcast specifically, which includes that newsletter I mentioned at the top of this episode, then all you have to do is head over to the website BooksforMen.org.
