Episode notes
In the glittering excess of 1980s New York, Sherman McCoy—Wall Street’s “master of the universe”—believes he’s untouchable. Then one wrong turn in the Bronx sets off a chain reaction of greed, race, and media fury that exposes the fragile foundations of power, privilege, and public opinion. Tom Wolfe’s razor-sharp satire still burns today, mirroring our own era of viral scandals, social media outrage, and elite hubris. In this episode, we dive into the burning questions Wolfe asked decades ago: Who really pays the price for privilege? How does the media shape justice? And why does this novel feel more relevant in our world of instant judgment and cancel culture than ever before?
Additional sources for this episode:
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelbernick/2022/10/04/the-bonfires-of-the-vanities-then-and-now/
- https://literariness.org/2026/04/22/analysis-of-tom-wolfes-the-bonfire-of-the-vanities/
- https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/david-e-kelley-matt-reeves-bonfire-of-the-vanities-apple-tv-1236554857/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_GWToxPeYk
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