Moving Beyond the Norm

Alex Jones built his Infowars brand on conspiratorial thinking and table-pounding rage. This week, we look at the three lawsuits testing whether Jones can sustain his business on lies alone. After the LGBT-rights advocate David Buckel committed suicide in Brooklyn's Prospect Park this past weekend, we review the difficult history of self-immolation and we zoom in on one such incident, in Texas in 2014. Plus, an LSD retrospective, featuring never-before-heard audio from author Ken Kesey's acid-fueled hijinks.

1. Lyrissa Lidsky [@LidskyLidsky], professor at University of Missouri's School of Law, on the legal threats to Alex Jones' conspiratorial media business. Listen.

2. Andrew Poe, professor of political science at Amherst College, on the history of self-immolation. Listen.

3. Michael Hall [@mikehalltexas], executive editor at Texas Monthly, on the life and death of pastor Charles Moore. Listen.

4. River Donaghey and Tom Wolfe, author of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, on the legacy of author and LSD evangelist Ken Kesey. Listen.

Music:

Lost, Night by Bill Frisell

Coffee Cold by Galt MacDermot

Whispers of Heavenly Death by John Zorn

Unaccompanied Cello Suite No.4 in E-Flat Major by Yo-Yo Ma

Walking by Flashlight by Maria Schneider

Tomorrow Never Knows by Quartetto D'Archi Dell'Orchestra Sinfonica Di Milano