Well said, my reaction was basically, what he is saying is not really for a listener like me.

> AND also was not interested in the smooth polish of PR-style transitions that would give an appearance of basic cooperation..

I agree this is a big part of it and would add that the "unhinged" look is probably just a lack of PR skill. Both sides are hostile but the interviewers "win" here by staying within the rules of the game, and they also do a beautiful job of sort of winking at the audience like "wow this dude is crazy right?"

It's impressive but sorta annoying, I'd rather listen to actual content.