If you’ve been hanging around the fringes of Substack or the more cynical corners of political Twitter lately, you’ve probably heard the names Matt Taibbi and Walter Kirn mentioned together. Usually, it's about their podcast, America This Week. They spend hours deconstructing the latest media meltdown or some bizarre twist in the federal bureaucracy. But something else is happening. A weird, quiet shift back toward fiction. The walter kirn matt taibbi short stories "renaissance"—if you want to call it that—isn't just about two guys bored with the news.
It’s about a realization that the real world has become so absurd that only fiction can actually describe it anymore.
Honestly, it makes sense. Kirn is a novelist at heart; the man wrote Up in the Air and Thumbsucker. Taibbi, while known for his "vampire squid" investigative reporting, has always had a streak of the Russian satirists in his blood. When they start reading and discussing short stories on their show—sometimes classic literature, sometimes their own observations that feel like vignettes—they aren't just killing time. They are trying to find a language for 2026 that isn't broken.
The Fiction Pivot: Why Short Stories?
Why are we talking about walter kirn matt taibbi short stories instead of their latest political scoop? Basically, because nonfiction has hit a wall. Taibbi has mentioned before that investigative journalism often feels like screaming into a void. You find the "smoking gun," and then... nothing happens.
Fiction is different. It hits people in the gut.
Kirn and Taibbi have been using their platform to champion a specific kind of American short story. They look for the stuff that feels gritty, honest, and maybe a little bit dangerous. They’ve spent significant time on the air reading and analyzing Mark Twain’s The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg. Why? Because it’s a story about a town’s collective ego and corruption that feels more "real" than a 5,000-word piece on Senate procedures.
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They are essentially curating a "lost" library of American cynicism and hope. It’s not just about the classics, though. There is a palpable sense that both men are moving back toward the creative desk. Kirn has been open about his new project, The Rash, which is a satirical screenplay, but the DNA of his short fiction—those sharp, observational snapshots of American life—is all over his current work.
The Influence of Denis Johnson and the "MFA" Style
You can't talk about Walter Kirn's approach to stories without mentioning Denis Johnson. On a recent episode, Kirn went deep on Jesus’ Son, a collection of short stories that basically redefined the genre for a generation.
Kirn describes Johnson’s work as the "quintessential creative writing MFA" gold standard, but with a soul. When Taibbi and Kirn discuss these stories, they are looking for the "human" element that they feel is missing from modern discourse.
- The Tone: It’s often bleak but strangely funny.
- The Setting: Rural outposts, dying malls, and the "flyover" country Kirn loves.
- The Goal: To find the truth in the lie.
Taibbi, for his part, often brings a more structured, almost "Gogol-esque" perspective to the table. He likes the satire that bites. He’s the guy who once lived in Russia and co-edited The eXile, a paper that was essentially one long, dark short story about the chaos of the 1990s. When these two minds meet over a piece of fiction, the result is usually a deep dive into what makes America tick—or what's making it explode.
Where to Find the Best Walter Kirn Matt Taibbi Short Stories and Commentary
If you're looking for a specific book titled Walter Kirn and Matt Taibbi’s Big Book of Stories, you’re gonna be disappointed. It doesn't exist yet. Instead, their "short story" output is scattered across a few different places. It’s a bit of a treasure hunt, but that’s part of the appeal.
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- Racket News (Substack): This is where Taibbi hosts the podcast and writes his satirical "vignettes." Occasionally, he’ll drop a piece that is pure fiction, or "fictionalized truth," to make a point about the media.
- County Highway: This is Walter Kirn’s brainchild. It’s a literal newspaper—printed on broadsheet paper—that focuses on American culture from a non-urban perspective. It is packed with the kind of short-form narrative writing that Kirn excels at.
- The America This Week Archives: Look for episodes where they specifically label a "literary" segment. They’ve covered everyone from Chekhov to Flannery O’Connor.
Listening to them talk about these stories is almost better than reading them alone. You get Kirn’s "writerly" eye for detail and Taibbi’s "investigative" eye for the power dynamic. It’s a weirdly effective combo.
What Makes Their Approach Different?
Most literary podcasts are... let's be honest, they're a little bit stuffy. They talk about "themes" and "semiotics."
Kirn and Taibbi talk about stories like they’re mechanics looking at a car engine. They want to know why it works. They want to know if the author is full of it. They value "authenticity" above all else—a word that’s been overused into oblivion, but in their hands, it actually means something. They are looking for writers who aren't trying to win a prize or impress a committee in Brooklyn.
They want the stories that feel like they were written by someone who actually lived the life they’re describing.
The Actionable Insight: How to Read Like Kirn and Taibbi
If you want to get into the walter kirn matt taibbi short stories headspace, you don't need a literature degree. You just need to change how you consume narratives.
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First, stop looking for "relatable" characters. Kirn often argues that the best characters are the ones who are a bit repulsive or at least deeply flawed. That’s where the truth is. If a character is perfect, the story is a lie.
Second, look for the "spectacle." Taibbi is obsessed with how people perform for each other. Whether it's a politician on a stage or a person in a short story trying to hide a secret, the "performance" is where the drama lives.
Lastly, go back to the source. If you want to understand their vibe, read The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg. It’s free, it’s old, and it explains more about the current American psyche than 90% of the news on your feed right now.
What's Next?
Keep an eye on County Highway. It’s becoming the home for this specific brand of "new-old" American storytelling. Also, Kirn’s upcoming film The Rash is basically a feature-length version of the satirical short stories he’s been honing on the podcast for the last two years. It’s a satire of the COVID era, and if his previous fiction is any indication, it’s going to be uncomfortable and hilarious in equal measure.
The world of walter kirn matt taibbi short stories isn't just a hobby for these guys. It’s a survival strategy. In an era of AI-generated noise and predictable political scripts, a well-crafted short story might be the only thing left that’s actually true.
Go grab a copy of County Highway or dig through the Racket News archives. Start with the Mark Twain episode. It’ll change the way you look at your neighbors—and yourself.
Next Steps to Explore:
- Search for the "America This Week" episode featuring Mark Twain’s The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg to hear the full breakdown.
- Subscribe to the County Highway print edition to see Walter Kirn’s editorial vision for American short-form narrative in person.
- Read Denis Johnson’s Jesus’ Son to understand the literary foundation that Kirn references as the "gold standard" for the American short story.