“Everything the light touches is our kingdom,” Mufasa tells his awestruck son in The Lion King. “What about that shadowy place?” Simba asks. “You must never go there,” Mufasa says firmly. So what does Simba do? He heads straight for it.
Indeed, something within often pulls us toward the forbidden, the unknown, the taboo. So if you’d like to investigate the dangerous ideas and shadowy places of our cultural discourse—alongside wise, informative guides who know the territory well—then check out the five fascinating reads below.
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Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism
By Amanda Montell
The author of the widely praised Wordslut analyzes the social science of cult influence: how cultish groups from Jonestown and Scientology to SoulCycle and social media gurus use language as the ultimate form of power.
The Truth About Lies: The Illusion of Honesty and the Evolution of Deceit
By Aja Raden
Buttressed by history, psychology, and science, The Truth About Lies is both an eye-opening primer on con-artistry―from pyramid schemes to shell games, forgery to hoaxes―and also a telescopic view of society through the mechanics of belief: why we lie, why we believe, and how, if at all, the acts differ.
Drug Use for Grown-Ups: Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear
By Carl L. Hart
Columbia neuroscientist Carl Hart draws on decades of research and his own personal experience to argue that the criminalization and demonization of drug use—not drugs themselves—have been a tremendous scourge on America, not least in reinforcing this country’s enduring structural racism.
Let’s Talk About Hard Things
By Anna Sale
Diving into five of the most fraught conversation topics—death, sex, money, family, and identity—Sale moves between memoir, fascinating snapshots of a variety of Americans opening up about their lives, and expert opinions to show why having tough conversations is important and how to do them in a thoughtful and generous way.
Dangerous Ideas: A Brief History of Censorship in the West, from the Ancients to Fake News
By Eric Berkowitz
More than just a history of censorship, Dangerous Ideas illuminates the power of restricting speech; how it has defined states, ideas, and culture; and (despite how each of us would like to believe otherwise) how it is something we all participate in.
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