The problem with reality is its stubborn insistence on existing -- even when we've already decided what we need it to mean.

On a Wednesday morning in Minnesota, a 37-year-old woman named Renee Good did something that was simultaneously the most ordinary and most extraordinary thing a person can do: she saw something wrong happening in her neighborhood and she said "not here." In this episode, I examine why Renee Good earned the right to live an ordinary, messy life -- and why we identified with her.

The Chorus story has all the elements of a film by the Coen Brothers, and yet we watched it play out in real time, as a live-action drama. Bumbling social media stars tried to turn into political operatives. Billionaire dark money groups secretly funding an "incubator" program, and a fierce journalist holding the line. WIRED magazine reports on the plot, social media stars turn on each other, and a five-day-blowup ensues.

Everyone assumed the Cold War was over. The 90s were here, and everything was fun and light. Then, the information age dawned with the internet, and a jilted, vengeful man turned everything upside down. This is a story about cognitive warfare, the battle for your thoughts, and what happens when people stop understanding who they can trust. This is the true story…of many nations…picked to live on a planet… trade together, and have their lives taped… to find out what happens…when people stop being polite…and start getting real…The ACTUAL Real World.