Jon Ronson – författare

** AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW **The million-copy bestselling author of The Psychopath Test returns with a shocking, darkly comic trip to the furthest reaches of the masculinity crisis'Fantastic and intensely of-the-moment, The Castle is a dogged feat of investigation from one of our greatest non-fiction storytellers' PATRICK RADDEN KEEFEI honestly have no clue what is going on.This is very weird.We left. Was completely fucked. All good now.When Jon Ronson received a series of disquieting texts from his son Joel who'd been lured to a mysterious castle in the forests of New England late one night, it sets Ronson Sr. off on an extraordinary adventure into an underworld of unmoored and disaffected men.As Jon follows his instincts and deepens his investigation into the castle and the wider 'man crisis' - some of whom are feeling tossed around in a sea of conflicting ideologies of what it means to be a man - urgent questions come to light. What exactly is 'Princessing'? Why did a charming lawncare influencer dress as a baby in front of billions of online viewers, with catastrophic results? And more pressingly, why are two recently released murderers on their way to pay Jon a visit?From the death of utopian factory towns to the false promise of YouTube influencer culture, Jon shows us our rapidly changing world like never before, and the men caught in the middle. A world drained of purpose, of collapsing institutions, where a new era of disinhibited behaviour has taken hold of our online and real-world selves. And as the castle mystery twists and turns into a cat and mouse story, will Jon be able to discover its terrifying secret hidden from the world?The Castle marks Jon Ronson's triumphant return to the written page. Utterly hilarious and criminally entertaining, this is one of our greatest non-fiction writers at the top of his game: diagnosing our societal frailties in a narrative of blistering pace, insight and intensity.'Ridiculously compelling and wonderfully weird . . . The Castle is vintage Ronson: wise, timely and extremely funny' LOUIS THEROUX

Jon Ronson''s Adventures With Extraordinary People collects together in a single volume three of Jon Ronson''s bestselling titles, Them, The Men Who Stare at Goats and The Psychopath Test. Them charts Jon''s discovery that extremists – Islamic fundamentalists, neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klansmen – all have one oddly similar belief: that a tiny, shadowy elite rule the world from a secret room. And so Jon sets out to locate that room. Chased by men in dark glasses and unmasked as a Jew in the middle of a Jihad training camp, Jon''s journey is creepy as well as comic, and perhaps the extremists are on to something . . . The Men Who Stare at Goats tells the unbelievable story of the First Earth Battalion, established by the US Army in 1979 as a secret unit, they defied all known military practice, and even the laws of physics, in their belief that a soldier could become invisible, pass through walls and kill goats just by staring at them. And, as Jon discovers, they really weren''t joking. The Psychopath Test sees Jon set out on an utterly compelling adventure into the world of madness. He meets psychopaths, those whose lives have been touched by madness and those whose job it is to diagnose it, from whom Jon learns the art of psychopath-spotting. And it soon becomes clear that madness could indeed be at the heart of everything . . . Often funny, sometimes chilling and always thought-provoking, these books combine Jon''s trademark humour, charm and investigative incision whilst asking some very serious questions. ''The belly laughs come thick and fast – my God, he is funny'' - Observer.

Jon Ronson delves into the extraordinary history of our current cultural conflicts''A thoroughly satisfying listen'' Miranda Sawyer, The GuardianFrom taking the knee to transgender rights, wedge issues are everywhere in modern life - dividing opinions, polarizing debate and tearing friendships and families apart. Even something as seemingly innocuous as wearing a facemask can provoke vicious disagreement. But how did we get here, and what does it mean for society going forward? In this gripping series, acclaimed writer and journalist Jon Ronson searches for the origin stories of the hostilities - the pebbles thrown in the pond, creating the ripples that led to where we are today.His quest leads him from the Swiss Alps in the 1970s to contemporary Michigan, as he tracks down the cultural warriors involved in shaping some of the defining ideological battles of our era. Among them are filmmaker Frank Schaeffer, whose debut documentary triggered the explosive abortion rows that still rage over 40 years later; AIDs activist Steve Pieters, who prompted a crisis of conscience for televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker; Kelly Michaels, a daycare worker embroiled in America''s ''Satanic panic''; and Brad Templeton, who shared a joke on a message board in the early days of the Internet - and became the very first person to be publicly shamed for something they did online.Surprising, nuanced and full of unexpected twists, these amazing human stories shed new light on our most ferocious cultural clashes, illuminating how we got caught up in them - and what we can learn from them.NB: Contains language which some may find offensive and deals with adult themesCast and creditsWritten and presented by Jon RonsonProduced by Sarah ShebbeareAssistant Producer: Sam PeachOriginal music by Phil ChannellMixed by Bob NettlesEditor: Philip SellarsWith Frank Schaeffer, Amanda Robb, Rev Rusty Thomas, Alice Moore, Rev Jim Lewis, Roger McGough, Rev Ron English, Christian Gregory, Jay Bakker, Steve Pieters, Bob Larson, Jon Trott, Kelly Michaels, Brad Templeton, Luisa D''Amato, Brian Reid, Eric Charles, John SackWith thanks to Trey KayArchive from the PTL network''s ''Tammy''s House Party'' and the ''PTL Club''First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9 November-28 December 2021© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd