Jerry Springer, America’s Ringmaster

Turn any article into a podcast. Upgrade now to start listening. Members can share articles with friends & family to bypass the paywall. You’re reading Dispatch Culture, our weekend newsletter featuring essays about American culture, staff recommendations, book reviews, and more. Happy Saturday! Many of America’s TV habits have been supplanted by streaming services. But today, Dispatch contributing writer Katherine Dee writes about her youthful habit of consuming as much daytime TV as possible—including, and especially, Jerry Springer. Valerie is Ideas Editor at The Dispatch, based in New York City. Prior to joining the company in 2025, she worked at The New York Times and NewsGuard Technologies, and she is currently a Novak Fellow through The Fund for American Studies. When Valerie isn’t commissioning and editing the next big essay for The Dispatch, she is probably people-watching in a funky cafe or scheming up her next oddly-themed party. Katherine Dee is the pen name of a Chicago-based writer. Her work can be found in UnHerd, Tablet, The Spectator, The Critic, and at her blog, default.blog. Newsletter selected Click sign up to start receiving your newsletters. More Dispatch Culture Newsletter selected Click sign up to start receiving your newsletters.