I would say anyone who is old enough to remember 9/11 should probably at least remember the name.
But there are people with doctorate degrees who aren't old enough to remember 9/11. Even for my generation, the Fox News pundits were much bigger names. Rush kept some of his old audience, and still had influence, but he didn't really get much new audience after about the mid-2000s. Average age for listeners when he died was something like 65 or 70. A person in their early 30s who isn't really interested in politics isn't going to ever have lived in a world where Rush made the news for anything but dying.
Also, never underestimate how many people live under rocks.
If the teacher didn't know who he was, though, I guarantee whoever recommended the books to her was part of the conservative ecosystem somewhere.
no subject
But there are people with doctorate degrees who aren't old enough to remember 9/11. Even for my generation, the Fox News pundits were much bigger names. Rush kept some of his old audience, and still had influence, but he didn't really get much new audience after about the mid-2000s. Average age for listeners when he died was something like 65 or 70. A person in their early 30s who isn't really interested in politics isn't going to ever have lived in a world where Rush made the news for anything but dying.
Also, never underestimate how many people live under rocks.
If the teacher didn't know who he was, though, I guarantee whoever recommended the books to her was part of the conservative ecosystem somewhere.