In this episode, Simone and Malcolm Collins dive deep into the collapse of shared cultural touchstones, the rise of political drama as the new global entertainment, and the balkanization of media and communities. They discuss why TV culture is dying, why politicians have become the new celebrities, and how niche communities are shaping modern discourse. Plus, the Collinses explore fascinating trends in books, sports, video games, and even internet slang. Whether you’re interested in politics, media, or the quirks of online culture, this episode has something for you!

Episode Outline:

As some of you have mentioned episode outlines being helpful, here’s the episode outline we put together for this particular conversation (we don’t always have these—typically we only have them for some of the episodes that Simone leads). Thanks for providing us with feedback on this front!

Based Camp - The Last Show Left

Our present age of cultural balkanization limits the shared experiences over which we can collectively bond

Highlights

* Why is:

* Marco Rubio not a viable Republican presidential candidate, despite his merit?

* The Democratic Party floundering?

* TV show culture dying?

* Because we have entered an age of cultural balkanization and there are only a few common topics left over which we can now bond

* People today—at least Americans—share less and less in common

* For example, an area where we’ve lost common ground is with TV:

* Household viewership for top TV shows peaked in the early 1950s and 1960s, with shows like “I Love Lucy” and “Texaco Star Theatre” exceeding 50%-60% of households.

* Ratings trend downward after the 1970s, with the most recent top shows (2010s) drawing only around 11-14% of TV households per year.

* This decline reflects the growth in viewing choices and fragmentation of the television audience.

* We are no longer reading the same books

* In the early 1980s, blockbuster bestsellers like The Bonfire of the Vanities or The Da Vinci Code could reach up to 10% or more of US adults. In contrast, today’s bestsellers—even the most popular fiction—are typically read by just 1-2% of Americans.

* Fewer Americans are even reading a book: Only 48.5% of US adults read any book for pleasure in 2022, down from 52.7% in 2017. Just a third of Americans now read novels or stories, way down from past decades

* Despite this, nearly 4 million new book titles are published each year these days (when including self-published works)

* Compare that to 2003, about 300,000 new titles were published in the US

* We are no longer playing the same games

* In the 1980s and 1990s, blockbuster video games (like Super Mario Bros. or Tetris) could reach 30%–50% or more of all gamers worldwide.

* Today, even mega-best-sellers like Minecraft (238 million copies all-time) or Grand Theft Auto V (175 million copies) have only ever reached around 5–10% of all gamers over their lifespans, and at any given moment the “current” bestseller typically only engages about 1–2% of all active gamers.

* In-person MLB attendance is down about 30% compared to 15 years ago.

* We are not watching major professional sporting events like we used to

* average regular-season NFL viewership is down from peaks in the 1980s–2000s.

* NBA Finals 2025 averaged 10.2 million viewers—down 46% from its 2005 peak.

* Anecdotally speaking, at least 20% of conversation at the parties we host involves either our pretending to understand content or people being referenced or asking for explanations

* Meanwhile, hyper niche communities are flourishing, complete with their own dialect and slang

* E.g. the influencer accent, which uses a variant of the valley girl accent to better maintain viewer attention:

* Why does this matter?

* We have fewer themes around which we can collectively bond

* With the pandemic well behind us (which created this rare shared experience), what we have left is:

* World events and politics

* Technology / innovations affecting daily life (i.e. AI)

* The economy

* Health

* And all these are the top-discussed topics of 2025

* And this might be one reason why political polarization is so insane

* This has implications for

* Any person or group that wants to have broad influence or relevance

* How relatable you can personally be (if you can’t speak about these issues, your small talk skills will suffer)

But let’s explore in greater depth:

* The great balkanization

* The nichification of humanity (aka techno-feudalism)

* And the centralization of discourse

The Great Balkanization

Fracturing of Sports

* While major sports in the USA (NFL, NBA, MLB) see shrinking audiences, “niche” or global sports (MLS, international soccer, Women’s leagues) see significant growth.

Fracturing of TV

* The most popular American TV show in 1964 was Bonanza, and 36.3% of American households watched it.

* 30 years later, America’s most popular TV show was Seinfeld and 20.6% of American households watched it

* 20 years, later in 2024, the most-watched scripted show was Tracker, with 17.4% of American households watching—CAVEAT: This is households with a TV

* I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF TRACKER!

* A show about a professional “reward seeker” who finds missing persons for prize money—all while struggling with complex issues from his fractured family and past traumas.

Mixing of Social Classes and Cultural Groups

Different religious, cultural, ethnic, and class groups mix more today than before:

* Social media and the internet has been a big equalizer

* Immigration since 1965, changes in laws, and shifting social attitudes have broken down prior barriers, leading to more multicultural workplaces, neighborhoods, and schools compared to the mid-20th century.

* Nearly 39% of Americans married since 2010 are in religiously mixed marriages—double the 19% rate before 1960, and much higher than earlier rates. This means Americans are now far more likely to marry someone outside their faith and, by extension, potentially outside their ethnic or cultural group than in the past.

* In 1980, about 86% of undergraduates were white; by 2024, that figure dropped to 40%, with nonwhite students making up roughly 41% of undergraduates.

* Nonwhite student attendance in colleges and universities increased by over 185% since 1976.

* In 1960, nearly 90% of American workers were white. By 2019, the share of nonwhite, Latino or both workers nearly doubled to about 40%

Loss of Religion and Other Shared Norms

* Anecdote about Malcolm’s mother insisting he play certain sports and read certain books

* Weekly church attendance has dropped from around 50% in the 40s-60s in the USA to 30% today (church membership in general dropped from ~70-75% in 1940s-60s to 47% in 2020)

The Nichification of Humanity

* We’re going techno-feudal and we don’t even realize it

* People have a tendency to not realize that they’re in isolated bubbles

* Like: People on X.com get the impression this is what EVERYONE is talking about, yet only around 1 in 5 Americans are active on it (18% of Americans)

* Also, even that 18% of Americans on X are having wildly different experiences depending on their algorithms and the accounts they follow

* Elsewhere on social media, there are people who think that people like “Becca Bloom” are household names, and while they may be HUGE in specific niches, most people have no idea who they are

* As of 2025, about 73% of Americans use social media AT ALL

Patreon as an Illustration

* Random things you wouldn’t expect to find

* Software and software mods

* Horse training

* Vanlife inspiration (also sailing inspiration)

* The top 50 patreon creators include

* #2: Peter Boese, who has this to say about what he offers—tell me if this makes ANY SENSE TO YOU: I try to bring a life like look to Assetto Corsa (AC). Ilja Jusupov brought us many tools to mod AC. With his Custom Shaders Patch (CSP) many features are added to AC. One of CSP’s moduls, called weatherFX, made new graphics possible. With Sol i created a highly customizable weather system for Assetto Corsa. The next step of my weather and graphics system called “Pure”. It adresses many problems of Sol and brings new solutions.

* HE MAKES OVER $55K/MONTH!

* OK: Assetto Corsa is a highly acclaimed racing simulation video game known for its realistic physics, detailed car models, and extensive modding community, making it a favorite among sim racing enthusiasts.

* #8 The TrueAnnon Podcast, making over $174K/month

* Several D&D creators

* #38 TURBODRIVER, which just creates mods for The Sims 4 and has nearly 18K paid members

* #41, Fornax, who “creates pixeldrain” (some sort of filesharing software) and makes $58,960/month

Accents and Slang

* Major social media accents

* Female Influencer Accent (“TikTok Voice,” “Influencer Accent”)

* Male Gamer Accent

* Tradwife Accent

* Male News Commentator/“Podcaster” Accent

* Gen Z Nonbinary/Androgynous Accent

* Slang

* Do you know what a lightstick is and how it’s used?

* It’s a fan light unique to each group, waved at concerts.

* Do you know what it means to be Tatty blasted?

* (r/tattoo: Covered in tattoos)

* Do you know what it means to be mogged by someone?

* (r/looksmaxxing: To be outclassed in looks; if someone is much better looking, they “mog” others. Variants include “height...