Jon Ronson: The Butterfly Effect

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Jon Ronson is a documentary maker, journalist and comic storyteller beloved by many. His books have explored psychopathy, psychological warfare, internet shame culture and more. As a reporter, he meets his subjects with empathy and softly spoken humour – often revealing the deep, surprising motivations and desires at the heart of apparently absurd situations.

In his seven-part 2017 podcast, The Butterfly Effect, Ronson explores an unlikely collection of stories, loosely connected – each emanating from a young German man’s lucrative idea for a free online porn site. Pornhub (and its ilk) would go on to transform the entire industry, upending its economics. The series follows the sweet, strange and human consequences of this single idea.

Ronson says he was drawn to the story by an apparent hypocrisy of modern society – porn, by now, is a commonplace and mundane indulgence for many, yet its protagonists are routinely met with moralistic, judgemental dismissal. This April at St Kilda Town Hall, join Jon Ronson as he delivers a sad, funny and affecting audio-visual performance about The Butterfly Effect.

Readings will be our bookseller for this event.