OJ Simpson thing reminding me of the time when we used to have Big Trials and Nancy Grace become a topic of national conversation and this seems to been totally swallowed by partisan politics.
Nancy Grace was ultimately a minor figure in this but she sticks in my mind both because she seemed especially noxious and I think because it was one of those things where you go "She is so dominant, this has taken over, this is the future now, we are condemned to this for eternity" when in retrospect I think she presided over the end of it.
What was the last big one of these? Casey Anthony?
Anyhow, besides the fact that we're currently living through a Big Trial of a Politician, I think the trade is a solid one and I'd make it again. The culture around watching trials on TV and being sure you could tell the victim was guilty based on the pattern of their blinks was barely sublimated mob urges and at least with politics you're theoretically able to peacefully affect the result.
I think Gone Girl actually did a lot to make people realize how dumb and messed up the whole Nancy Grace thing was
