In his book The Next Civil War, journalist Stephen Marche warns that the United States is slipping dangerously close to widespread political violence. Marche interviewed dozens of experts for the book, and their predictions read like something out of science fiction.
“I thought of it at the time as ‘dystopian realism,’” Marche says in Episode 512 of the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast. “There’s all these dystopian novels out there, and it’s like, ‘Let me just describe the reality of what’s going on. You don’t need to make stuff up. I’ll get the best available models and show you what they look like, and that’s enough to be going on with, in the dystopian realm.’”
The book presents several future scenarios. In one, fighting breaks out between local law enforcement and the US military. In another, refugees flee a devastated New York City in the wake…
