Reckoning with Jason Herbert

What if our most famous environmental dystopias reveal as much about fear and ideology as they do about the future?
In this episode of Reckoning with Jason Herbert, I sit down with film scholar Matthew Thompson, author of On Life Support, to unpack the haunting world of Soylent Green—and the larger tradition of eco-dystopian cinema that emerged in the 1970s.
We explore how films like Soylent Green, Planet of the Apes, and Silent Running channeled the anxieties of the early environmental movement, from overpopulation and pollution to resource scarcity and class inequality. Drawing on the influence of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, we examine how these films translated real-world fears into unforgettable cinematic visions.
But this conversation goes deeper. Thompson argues that beneath their ecological warnings, these films often carry troubling assumptions—about population control, class, and who gets to survive. From the legacy of The Population Bomb to the shocking logic behind Soylent Green’s infamous twist, we ask: what do these stories really say about environmental politics—then and now?
We also connect the 1970s to today’s resurgence of eco-dystopian storytelling, from Snowpiercer to Don’t Look Up, and consider what modern climate anxiety reveals about our own moment.
This is a conversation about film, history, and the uneasy truths lurking beneath our visions of the future.

What if American slavery didn’t begin in 1619?
In this episode, historian Linford Fisher joins me to discuss Stealing America: The Hidden Story of Indigenous Slavery in US History and the overlooked history of Indigenous enslavement.
We explore how Native slavery shaped early America—from the Pequot War and Yamasee War to land theft, westward expansion, and boarding schools—and why this history still matters today.
A powerful rethink of American origins—and the stories we’ve been missing.

What does The Fast and the Furious actually tell us about Hollywood—and about us?
This week on Reckoning with Jason Herbert, I’m joined by Dan Hassler-Forest to break down one of the most unlikely blockbuster franchises of the 21st century. From its origins as a street racing film in 2001 to a global, multi-billion-dollar saga, Fast & Furious didn’t just evolve—it helped reshape how Hollywood thinks about franchises, audiences, and storytelling.
We dive into the rise of serialized blockbusters, the meaning of “family,” the franchise’s approach to masculinity and diversity, and why this series resonates with audiences around the world. Along the way, we explore the turning points—from The Fast and the Furious to Fast Five—and ask whether the franchise ever jumped the shark… or if that’s the whole point.
If you’ve ever wondered why these films endure—or why you can’t stop watching them—this episode is for you.

Two of our earliest guests are back — and 200 episodes later, the conversation is better than ever.

Jason sits down with Emily Contois (Associate Professor of Media Studies at the University of Tulsa and author of *Diners, Dudes, and Diets*) and Mark Johnson (Assistant Professor of History at UT Chattanooga and author of the newly released *American Bacon: The History of a Food Phenomenon*) to dig into the 2022 satirical horror film *The Menu* — and end up covering pretty much everything worth knowing about American food culture along the way.

What starts as a film discussion quickly becomes a wide-ranging conversation about class anxiety and culinary capital, the rise (and fall) of the celebrity chef, the myth of Southern food exceptionalism, why farm-to-table can only exist after industrialization, and what it really means when you pull out your phone to photograph your dinner. They debate who deserves their fate in the film, why the cheeseburger scene might be the most important moment in the whole movie, and whether food can ever truly be "authentic."

Plus: Jose Andres, Anthony Bourdain's complicated legacy, Mario Batali, the bread scene, s'mores as satire, Noma's $1,500 tasting menu, and why gumbo might just be the most American food there is.

*Spoilers throughout — watch the film first.*

---

*Emily Contois is on Instagram and Bluesky. Her book Diners, Dudes, and Diets is available wherever books are sold. Mark Johnson's American Bacon is out now — and he'll be back on the pod soon for a dedicated book episode.*

John Quincy Adams is one of those figures who seems to sit quietly in the background of American history — the son of a Founder, a one-term president, a man often overshadowed by bigger personalities. But look closer, and a very different story emerges. After losing the presidency, Adams didn’t fade away. He reinvented himself. He returned to Washington, entered the House of Representatives, and became one of the most relentless and morally uncompromising voices of his generation — especially on slavery.
In his new book America’s Founding Son: John Quincy Adams from President to Political Maverick, Bob Crawford argues that Adams may not just be an important former president — he may be the most consequential ex-president in American history. This is a story about failure, reinvention, and what happens when someone freed from ambition becomes dangerous in the best possible way. It’s also a story about a nation moving from the age of the Founders toward the sectional crisis that would eventually tear it apart.
Today, we talk with Bob Crawford about Adams’s second act, his evolving stance on slavery, his battles in Congress, and why this supposedly minor president might actually be one of the most important political figures of the nineteenth century. We’ll also explore what Adams can teach us about political courage, moral conviction, and the long arc between the American Revolution and the Civil War.
This is a conversation about John Quincy Adams — but it’s also a conversation about what it means to lose power… and finally tell the truth.