It's easy to poke holes in other countries’ delusional national mythologies, but UCI historian Jon Wiener did the hard, fun, slightly sick-making work of taking apart our own conservative Cold War narrative in his inimitably jocular way: a scholarly travelogue visit to memorials, museums and historic sites meant to enshrine what turns out to be the mostly forgotten, ignored official story of fallout shelters, dominos, first strike and nuke labs. From Nixon’s library to Rocky Flats and the Nevada Test Site, Wiener—famous for suing the FBI to fess up about spying on John Lennon—visits so you don’t have to, and finds Americans suffering battle fatigue. The Nation magazine contributor and community radio host, Wiener makes (revisionist) history while he’s making history fun.
Tue., May 14, 6 p.m., 2013
