Episode 37: The Language of Demagoguery--How Words Shape Power

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In this episode, April drags herself out of bed while recovering from a wicked case of Influenza A (you might notice her somewhat gravelly vocal quality) to record this episode about an important and timely topic--the language of demagoguery. While we tend to think of it as something politicians and other powerful people use, she discovers to her dismay that we are all capable of being "nascent demagogues" and using this rhetorical technique in our everyday discussions about politics. Hey, let's try not to do that, okay?

Episode 37 Show Notes

https://gordoncstewart.com/2023/12/05/the-language-of-demagoguery-2/
Social commentator and blogger Gordon Stewart discusses how language is used for social manipulation, referencing Senator Newt Gingrich.

https://feps-europe.eu/powerless-arguments-demagogue-and-populist-language/
Robert Feustel is a researcher at Friedrich Schiller University, and this article discusses the difficulty of arguing with someone using demagogic language.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02773945.2019.1610636
Skinnell and Murphy's excellent article on the pervasiveness of the language of demagoguery.

https://www.mediaethicsmagazine.com/index.php/browse-back-issues/209-spring-2017-vol-29-no-2/3999195-media-rhetoric-and-the-demagoguery-of-the-elite
Good article by rhetorician Patricia Roberts-Miller of the University of Texas at Austin, who also wrote the book Demagoguery and Democracy.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00963402.2024.2388461#abstract
I didn't really reference this excellent treatise about the way that demagogues destroy democracy by John Keane, but I highly recommend that you read it anyway.

https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/demagoguery-technology-and-cognition-addressing-the-threats-to-de
Stephen Lewandowsky's paper on demagoguery and how it threatens democracy.

https://www.historyhit.com/culture/anti-jewish-propaganda-in-nazi-germany/
Some examples of how the Nazis used anti-Jewish propaganda to influence German citizens.

https://brainapps.io/blog/2025/01/stand-up-against-demagogy-protect/
This article contains some very helpful tips about how to recognize and stand up to demagogic rhetoric.