[1] Doctorow has stated that the collection was inspired by "dealing with the stress and anxiety of being alive in the Trump era," and that the stories are not meant to be predictive, but rather allegorical.

[2] John Scalzi, writing for the Los Angeles Times, described Radicalized as "a collection of four novellas that take on political and social themes relevant today — medical care, immigration, white male rage and technological monopolies, among others — [wrapped] in a layer of fiction, thin enough that most of these stories could be happening, if not today then tomorrow at the latest".

[3] Annette Lapointe of the New York Journal of Books critiqued that "The stories themselves are simple, and the characters thinly fleshed: no relief there.

Doctorow would have been better served to render his ideas as essays, so that he could give them the complexity they deserve, and release his barely realized characters from their political pantomime.

"[1] On December 4, 2024, the CEO of UnitedHealth Group was shot and killed in Manhattan, prompting online discussions about the similarity to "Radicalized.