Episodes
| Series | Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20240717 | [LISTEN NOW]" | ||||
| 11 | S2. Bonus Episode: An Audience With Jon Ronson | 20240717 | Jon Ronson's second season of unexpected human stories from the culture wars focused on the divisions that erupted in the wake of the Covid lockdown. It was a number 1 hit podcast and received five star reviews. In a fun, free-flowing live discussion from the Hay Festival in Wales, Jon turns the tables on himself and asks his audience to ask him anything they like. Series Producer: Sarah Shebbeare Things Fell Apart: Ask Me Anything! Strange tales from the culture wars with Jon Ronson. Jon Ronson on all things Things Fell Apart. | ||
| 22 | S2. Bonus Episode: An Audience With Jon Ronson | 20240717 |  | ||
| 22 | S2. Bonus Episode: An Audience With Jon Ronson | 20240717 | 20241108 (R4) | Jon Ronson's second season of unexpected human stories from the culture wars focused on the divisions that erupted in the wake of the Covid lockdown. It was a number 1 hit podcast and received five star reviews. In a fun, free-flowing live discussion from the Hay Festival in Wales, Jon turns the tables on himself and asks his audience to ask him anything they like. Series Producer: Sarah Shebbeare Things Fell Apart: Ask Me Anything! Strange tales from the culture wars with Jon Ronson. Jon Ronson on all things Things Fell Apart. | |
| 01 | 00 | Introducing Things Fell Apart | |||
| 01 | 01 | 1000 Dolls | 20211109 | It's the early 1970s. Frank Schaeffer is an American kid living in the Swiss Alps - the son of an influential Christian art historian - who daydreams of one day making Hollywood films. But for that he needs a show-reel to prove himself. The ripples of Frank's creative ambitions will help trigger one of America's most violent culture wars around the legalization of abortion and Roe vs Wade. | |
| 01 | 02 | Dirty Books | 20211116 | 1974. A church minister's wife in West Virginia learns of a brand new curriculum being introduced into her children's school. So she decides to read all 325 new textbooks herself. What she discovers horrifies her so much she instigates a State-wide insurrection. But were some of her concerns based on a misunderstanding? Assistant Producer Sam Peach With thanks to Trey Kay for helping us tell this story. | |
| 01 | 03 | A Miracle | 20211123 | It's the early 1980s and a hugely popular television evangelist is having a crisis of conscience. She wants Christian evangelism to be less bigoted. And so, to the horror of her peers, she invites a very unexpected guest onto her TV show | |
| 01 | 04 | Believe The Children | 20211130 | In the mid 1980s a new conspiracy theory proliferates across America - that cabals of Satanists are secretly preying on children and polluting the culture. This Satanic panic' is a madness with bizarre and dreadful consequences - as an unsuspecting young woman in New Jersey is about to discove | |
| 01 | 05 | A Scottish Jewish Joke | 20211207 | This is the story of the very first person to be publicly shamed because of something they did online. It's 1988, the internet exists only in its most nascent form, and a software designer, Brad Templeton, uploads onto a message board a joke in poor taste. How the architects of the emerging internet respond to the joke will create a set of rules that the rest of us have lived under ever since. | |
| 01 | 06 | Many Different Lives | 20211214 | This story is about how the unique experiences of a little girl growing up unconventionally in America in the 1970s seismically changed the face of feminism in the 90s and beyond. It's a story too about the invention of a word - one that's contributed to a ferocious schism in the British culture wars. | |
| 01 | 07 | A Secret Room Behind A Fake Wall | 20211221 | It's 2017. Late one night after a party a Hollywood actor plays a prank on a friend. But the prank backfires terribly and the ripples are seismic - taking us inside Donald Trump's White House and the Capitol insurrection of January 2021. Produced by Sam Peach Archive with credit to: Videos discussing Isaac Kappy: Lisa Crapella.- Youtube , The Truth Blog Part 2 - Youtube , Miss M - Youtube , Truth Crossing - Youtube Clip from the movie THOR (2011) - Produced by Marvel Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures and Directed by Kenneth Branagh Coverage of 2016 Democratic National Convention from ABC News Coverage of Pizzagate and Isaac Kappy interview from Infowars Coverage of Edgar Welch's arrest from ANV News Coverage of Nicholas Sandmann incident from MSNBC, CNN and Fox News Interview with Lin Wood from Fox News Clip of Lin Wood's speech from Ronnie N - Youtube Coverage of 2021 US Capitol Attack from CNN | |
| 01 | 08 LAST | A Mock Slave Auction | 20211228 | An incident of racist bullying on Snapchat is currently tearing apart a small town on a lake in Michigan. As the ripples spread, practically every conflict we've encountered throughout our series rears its head. Presented by Jon Ronson Assistant Producer Sam Peach Music composed by Phil Channell | |
| 01 | BONUS | Jon Ronson Live At Hay | |||
| 01 | SPECIAL | How Things Fell Apart, With Jon Ronson And Louis Theroux | 20220330 | 20220402 (R4) | In this bonus episode of Things Fell Apart, Jon Ronson's friend and fellow documentary maker Louis Theroux asks him all about how he made the series. They take a deep dive into Culture Wars battles and explore Jon's storytelling methods, all while chatting about Jon's broken arm, putting old rivalries to bed, and how they deal with difficult interviewees when they both hate conflict. Louis Theroux chats to Jon Ronson about his recent podcast series, Things Fell Apart. |
| 02 | 00 | Is Back | |||
| 02 | 01 | The Most Mysterious Deaths | 20240109 | 20240501 20240505 (WS) | How the mysterious deaths of 32 black sex workers in Miami in the 1980s led to a whole new (and spurious) mental health diagnosis that in turn led directly to another murder that occurred during the height of lockdown. Archive credits: NBC News June 1984; Fox Television's A Current Affair 1989. The bizarre origins of a world-altering act of violence. The remarkable origin story of a terrible murder committed during lockdown. Eight human stories from the culture wars that engulfed us during lockdown. How the mysterious deaths of 32 black sex workers in Miami in the 1980s led to a whole new (and spurious) mental health diagnosis, ending with another murder that occurred during the height of lockdown. If you've ever yelled at someone on social media about, say, cancel culture or mask-wearing, then you are a soldier in the culture wars - those everyday battles for dominance between conflicting values. These wars can obsess us. They can consume our lives and tear families apart. Across this series of Things Fell Apart, Jon Ronson uncovers some strange unexpected tales of real consequence. In this episode: How the mysterious deaths of 32 black sex workers in Miami in the 1980s led to a whole new (and spurious) mental health diagnosis that in turn led directly to a murder that occurred during the height of lockdown. To listen to the full-length story, search for Things Fell Apart wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Investigating global developments, issues and affairs. Jon Ronson has explored the origin stories of culture wars which have divided us so toxically for decades. But now new battle lines have been drawn. Many of them are linked by one extraordinary thing: they all snowballed within days of each other, just weeks into lockdown. In Things Fell Apart, Jon Ronson uncovers intriguing and wholly unexpected origin stories, but this time of the culture wars that ignited during lockdown, and now dominate society. Jon Ronson uncovers the origin stories of culture wars that ignited durring lockdown |
| 02 | 02 | We're Coming After You, Honey | 20240109 | 20240508 20240116 (R4) 20240512 (WS) | How a chance encounter in a yacht club in the early 2000s between a bartender and a very wealthy couple with a daughter sick with a mystery disease ended with the creation of the first great covid conspiracy theory. A medical scandal has world-shattering consequences. How a startling medical scandal led to the creation of the first covid conspiracy theory. Jon Ronson explores how a chance encounter in a yacht club in the early 2000s, between a bartender and a very wealthy couple whose daughter was sick with a mystery disease, ended with the creation of the first great Covid conspiracy theory. To listen to the full-length story, search for Things Fell Apart wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Investigating global developments, issues and affairs. Jon Ronson charts how a startling medical scandal led to the creation of the first Covid conspiracy theory. |
| 02 | 03 | Tonight's The Night, Comrades | 20240109 | 20240515 20240123 (R4) 20240519 (WS) | A family of Twilight fans blunder into a dreadful real-life horror. Investigating global developments, issues and affairs. |
| 02 | 04 | Spicy Brando | 20240109 | 20240130 (R4) 20240526 (WS) 20240522 (WS) | A young man is arrested on the most bizarre charges. Investigating global developments, issues and affairs. |
| 02 | 05 | Things Weren't Going Back To Normal | 20240109 | 20240529 20240206 (R4) 20240602 (WS) | A family schism is co-opted by powerful culture warriors. An argument between a parent and her child during lockdown has far-reaching consequences Investigating global developments, issues and affairs. |
| 02 | 06 | A Hierarchy Of Trauma | 20240109 | 20240605 20240213 (R4) 20240609 (WS) | Jon Ronson explores how a bestselling book about trauma during lockdown helped the culture war over free speech burst out of colleges and into the workplace - a shift some people pejoratively call the Great Awokening. To listen to the full-length story, search for Things Fell Apart wherever you get your BBC podcasts. A story about trauma and its ever-changing definition Investigating global developments, issues and affairs. How the expansion of the definition of trauma led to a clampdown on free speech. How a bestselling book about trauma - lockdown's number one bestseller - helped the culture war over free speech burst out of colleges and into the workplace. A shift some people pejoratively call the Great Awokening. |
| 02 | 07 | You'll Own Nothing And You'll Be Happy | 20240109 | 20240612 20240220 (R4) 20240616 (WS) | How a young man with a novel idea for affordable accommodation, and an Oxford man with a plan for bus lanes, and a Danish woman writing a thought experiment about car rentals, unwittingly became hate figures for conspiracy theorists. A strange incident at Chipping Norton Town Hall. An Oxford councilor, a Danish politician, and an edible insect chef become unwitting hate figures. How a young man with a novel idea for affordable accommodation, a man with a plan for bus lanes, a Danish woman writing a thought experiment about car rentals, and an edible insect chef became hate figures for conspiracy theorists. To listen to the full-length story, search for Things Fell Apart wherever you get your BBC podcasts. A councillor, a Danish politician and an edible insect chef become unwitting hate figures Investigating global developments, issues and affairs. Jon Ronson tells the story of how an Oxford councillor, a Danish politician, and an edible insect chef became unwitting hate figures for conspiracy theorists. |
| 02 | 08 | Mikkis Hero's Journey | 20240109 | 20240619 20240227 (R4) 20240623 (WS) | Jon Ronson explains how a former actor and model, burned by Hollywood and devastated by the death of his brother, has become an important culture warrior and fuelled the flames of every story told in Things Fell Apart's first season. To listen to the full-length story, search for Things Fell Apart wherever you get your BBC podcasts. An unlikely culture warrior pours fuel on the fires Investigating global developments, issues and affairs. An unlikely culture warrior pours fuel on the fires of every story from the first season of Things Fell Apart. An unlikely culture warrior connects each of our stories. |
| 02 | BONUS | An Audience With Jon Ronson | 20240717 | Jon Ronson's second season of unexpected human stories from the culture wars focused on the divisions that erupted in the wake of the Covid lockdown. It was a number 1 hit podcast and received five star reviews. In a fun, free flowing live discussion from the Hay Festival in Wales, Jon turns the tables on himself and asks his audience to ask him anything they like. Series Producer: Sarah Shebbeare Things Fell Apart: Ask Me Anything! Jon Ronson on all things Things Fell Apart. | |
| 02 | SPECIAL | How Things Fell Apart, With Jon Ronson And Adam Buxton | 20240313 | 20240316 (R4) | In this bonus episode, Jon Ronson's friend and fellow podcaster Adam Buxton chat about the latest season of Things Fell Apart. They discuss their favourite moments from the show and how to best navigate the culture wars, all while also chatting about lockdown, fatherhood, social anxiety and how a rough time at Cardiff High School made Jon Ronson a better journalist. Adam Buxton and Jon Ronson on the making of Things Fell Apart. Jon Ronson chats to Adam Buxton about Things Fell Apart, Season 2. |