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George Packer's Emergency: When Facts Fail, Turn to Fiction


Author: Andrew Keen December 12, 2025 Duration: 50:45
Podcast episode
George Packer's Emergency: When Facts Fail, Turn to Fiction
Keen On America

SocietyCommentaryCultureNews

George Packer is one of the most celebrated non-fiction writers on contemporary America. So why, in his new book The Emergency, has he turned to fiction? You’d think, after all, that MAGA America’s surrealism would be an ideal nonfictional canvas for a writer with Packer’s observational gifts. But, as Packer explains, when facts fail a society, then - like Orwell or Atwood - a writer might be obliged to turn to fiction. This emergency, then, begot The Emergency.



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