Talia Lavin

From journalist and self-described "mouthy Jewish broad from New York," an in-depth and personal look of the byzantine and harrowing online world of white supremacists, from a woman who has studied the movement up close, and been targeted by it. Incels. White nationalists. QAnon. Proud Boys. Patriot Front. There are so many extremist groups nowadays it's hard to keep track. Talia Lavin, however, was no stranger to the modern American white supremacist movement, even before it re-gained prominence in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. Culture Warlords is a field guide to the racist right online, from a narrator who has herself become the frequent target of extremist trolls (including those at Fox News). Lavin is every skinhead's worst nightmare: a loud and unapologetic Jewish woman, funny, smart, and profoundly anti-racist, with the journalistic chops to expose the tactics and landscape of online hatemongers. In the book, she turns the lens of anti-Semitism, racism, and white power back on itself in an attempt to understand the online hate movement's schisms, recruiting tactics, and the threat it represents to the 2020 election and beyond. She reports on specific strategies utilized by neo-Nazis, Proud Boys, and QAnon to disseminate conspiracy theories, exposing their tactics and fighting fire with fire. A journalist who is proudly antifascist, Talia Lavin is a trailblazing voice of a new generation who is standing up to online hate.

Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Battle for America's Soul

Culture Warlords

All across America, a storm is gathering: from book bans in school libraries to anti-trans laws in state legislatures; firebombings of abortion clinics and protests against gay rights. The Christian Right, a cunning political force in America for more than half a century, has never been more powerful than it is right now—it propelled Donald Trump to power, and it won’t stop until it’s refashioned America in its own image.

In Wild Faith, critically acclaimed author Talia Lavin goes deep into what motivates the Christian Right, from its segregationist past to a future riddled with apocalyptic ideology.

Using primary sources and firsthand accounts, Lavin introduces you to “deliverance ministers” who carry out exorcisms by the hundreds; modern-day, self-proclaimed prophets and apostles; Christian militias, cults, zealots, and showmen; and the people in power who are aiding them to achieve their goals.

Along the way, she explores anti-abortion terrorists, the Christian Patriarchy movement, with its desire to place all women under absolute male control; the twisted theology that leads to rampant child abuse; and the ways conspiracy theorists and extremist Christians influence each other to mutual political benefit.

From school boards to the Supreme Court, Christian theocracy is ascendant in America—and only through exploring its motivations and impacts can we understand the crisis we face. In Wild Faith, Lavin fearlessly confronts whether our democracy can survive an organized, fervent theocratic movement, one that seeks to impose its religious beliefs on American citizens.

Talia Lavin

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