Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News by Kevin Young Summary
Overview of Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News
In "Bunk," Kevin Young brilliantly dissects America's fake news epidemic, tracing hoaxes from P.T. Barnum to Trump. Longlisted for the National Book Award, this cultural investigation reveals how deception and racial stereotyping intertwine. What dangerous truth about ourselves lies beneath our love of lies?
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Key takeaways
When Truth Became Optional
What if I told you that America's relationship with lies didn't start with social media, but with a showman in the 1800s who exhibited human beings as curiosities? The thread connecting P.T. Barnum's "humbugs" to today's viral misinformation reveals something unsettling: we've always been willing to be fooled, as long as the show was good enough. But here's the twist-Barnum believed there was honor in entertaining deception, a line between harmless spectacle and dangerous fraud. That line has vanished. We now live in what could be called the "complete-hoax world," where the very concept of truth has become negotiable, and facts are treated like opinions you can simply choose not to believe. Nineteenth-century America didn't just tolerate deception-it celebrated it as entertainment. Barnum insisted his "humbugs" were morally acceptable because audiences got their money's worth, even if what they saw was fabricated. This philosophy allowed a young nation grappling with the contradiction of slavery in a land of freedom to "marvel at its mysteries" without confronting its hypocrisies directly. The penny press-essentially the internet of its day-prioritized sensation over substance, court scandals over political analysis. Writers like Poe and Twain wove confidence men into the fabric of American literature, recognizing that deception had become central to national identity.
Fabricating Worlds: From Lunar Hoaxes to Literary Deception
Bodies as Spectacle: The Racialized Sideshow and Its Global Reach
Colonizing Heaven: Spiritualism and the Domestication of Death
Fabricating Lincoln and the Memoir Industrial Complex
The Post-Truth Ecosystem: When Journalism Fabricates Itself
Living in the Complete-Hoax World
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"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
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