# Hyperreality Is Dead: Baudrillard, the Age of Trump, and 'The Gulf War Did Not Take Place' Revisited

An episode of [Acid Horizon](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1512615438), 31 Jan 2026, 1 h 03 min.

Audio: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1064269/episodes/18601069-hyperreality-is-dead-baudrillard-the-age-of-trump-and-the-gulf-war-did-not-take-place-revisited.mp3

Adam's intensive Kant course now enrolling: https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/2026-classes In this episode, we revisit Jean Baudrillard’s The Gulf War Did Not Take Place, a text that diagnosed the emergence of war as media event, non-event, and managed spectacle. Joining us is friend and returning guest Cameron Carsten, a graduate student in continental philosophy whose work explores the state, power, and the production of reality across Baudrillard and Deleuze. Rather than treating Baudrillard’s claims as prophetic or obsolete, the conversation puts them to work against the present—testing the fate of hyperreality in the age of Trump, AI-mediated images, and escalating political violence. What emerges is a question that now presses harder than ever: has the simulacrum collapsed, or has the real returned with a vengeance? Cam's blog: https://camtology.substack.com/ Support the show AHRC Current classes at Acid Horizon Research Commons (AHRC): acidhorizonresearchcommons.com AHRC Course Archive: https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/ahrc-course-archives Submit your course proposal: acidhorizonresearchcommons@gmail.com More Links Website: https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/acidhorizon Acid Horizon on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acidhorizonpodcast Boycott Watkins Media: https://xenogothic.com/2025/03/17/boycott-watkins-statement/ Subscribe to us on your favorite podcast: https://pod.link/1512615438 Merch: http://www.crit-drip.com Subscribe to us on your favorite podcast platform: https://pod.link/1512615438 LEPHT HAND: https://www.patreon.com/LEPHTHAND Happy Hour at Hippel's (Adam’s blog): https://happyhourathippels.wordpress.com Split Infinities (Craig’s Substack): https://splitinfinities.substack.com/ Music: https://sereptie.bandcamp.com/ and https://thecominginsurrection.bandcamp.com/

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