Reddit reviews Anti-Intellectualism in American Life

Exactly. You should revisit this classic:

Anti-Intellectualism in American Life by Richard Hofstadtler

Written in 1964, around the rise of McCarthyism confronting New Era Progressives and FDR. It's extremely relevant today.

The best book on this subject is by Richard Hofstadter. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006LSVB1M

This book is an excellent take on the subject:
Anti-Intellectualism in American Life
by Richard Hofstadter

That's not really new.

I'm not pulling this out of my ass, this has been a researched topic.

Relevant.

For the US case, at least, this is hardly a new phenomenon: see