Everything Is Fake, Everything Is Fake and Nobody Cares, 3. My Truth, Your Truth, and Anything But the Truth

Everything Is Fake

Everything Is Fake and Nobody Cares

3. My Truth, Your Truth, and Anything But the Truth

17 March 2026

29 minutes

Available for over a year

In 1987, the same year Hulk Hogan body-slammed Andre the Giant, something else happened that would change America's relationship with the truth forever - a Washington regulator abolished the law that required broadcasters to present both sides of an argument.

What followed was Morton Downey Jr, a furious chain-smoking provocateur who discovered that outrage was more compelling than accuracy. And Oprah Winfrey, who found that sincerity and emotional honesty could be just as powerful. Together, they popularised an idea that has quietly shaped the world we live in - that your truth is just as valid as the truth.

Presenter: Jamie Bartlett

Series Producer: Tom Pooley

Sound Design: Rob Speight

Production Coordinator: Neena Abdullah

Original music: Coach Conrad

Editor: Craig Templeton Smith

A Tempo+Talker production for BBC Radio 4.