“Everyone knows history is written by the winners, but that cliche misses a crucial detail: Over time, the winners are always the progressives. Conservatism can only win in the short term, because society cannot stop evolving (and social evolution inevitably dovetails with the agenda of those who see change as an abstract positive). It might take seventy years, but it always happens eventually. Serious historians are, almost without exception, self-styled progressives. Radical views--even the awful ones--improve with age.”

American author and essayist

Chuck Klosterman is an American author and essayist known for writing about American popular culture, especially rock music and sports. He has been a columnist for Esquire and ESPN.com, and wrote The New York Times Magazine’s “The Ethicist” column. He is the author of 14 books, including two novels and the essay collection Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto. His work often focuses on music, sports, and the way popular culture shapes everyday life. He received the ASCAP Deems Taylor award for music criticism in 2002.