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Citations Needed

Latest episodes

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16 snips
Jun 19, 2025 • 29min

News Brief: Natural Disaster-izing the Deliberate US-Israeli Starvation Campaign in Gaza

Ashley Bohrer, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace Chicago, joins to address the urgent humanitarian crisis in Gaza, highlighting the media’s failure to accurately portray the U.S. and Israeli-induced starvation. The conversation critiques how aid distribution is manipulated and stresses the vital distinction between Judaism and Zionism. Ashley explains her hunger strike alongside activists to bring attention to the plight of Palestinians, advocating for solidarity and renewed activism to challenge U.S. support for oppressive regimes.
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34 snips
Jun 17, 2025 • 32min

News Brief: Pundits Speed-Run 15 Months of Iraq War Propaganda for Iran in Five Day

The hosts dissect media narratives surrounding the conflict with Iran, emphasizing the reliance on fear-based rhetoric. They challenge the claim that Iran is close to obtaining nuclear weapons, revealing a complex range of public sentiments within the country. The podcast critiques the Democratic Party's Middle East policies, noting a lack of dissent. It also highlights bipartisan support for misinformation regarding Iran and the disconnect between public opinion against military action and government decisions.
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39 snips
Jun 13, 2025 • 30min

News Brief: US Media, Top Dems Assist Trump and Israel's Unprovoked Attack on Iran

The podcast delves into the recent Israeli strikes on Iran, questioning Western media's portrayal of these military actions. It critiques how outlets like NYT and CNN support skewed narratives, often ignoring the complex truths about Iran’s compliance with nuclear treaties. The discussion highlights the U.S. media's complicity in normalizing aggression and the mixed responses from Democratic leaders. Listeners are encouraged to consider the significant discrepancies between media narratives and the real impacts on civilians in the region.
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52 snips
Jun 11, 2025 • 1h 26min

Ep. 223: The Empire Strikes First, Part II — ‘Abundance’ Pablum as Counter to Left Populism

Kenny Stancil and Henry Burke, senior researchers at the Revolving Door Project, dive into the controversial 'abundance agenda' touted by the Democratic Party. They critique its vague promises of increased resources and its failure to address class disparities. The conversation unpacks how this narrative serves corporate interests while undermining genuine redistribution. They also explore the historical shift of the Democratic Party towards centrist politics and the media's role in promoting this agenda, revealing the deeper ideologies and manipulations at play.
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50 snips
Jun 4, 2025 • 1h 21min

Ep 222 - The Empire Strikes First Part I: Party Elites Who Lost to Trump (Twice) Blame Everyone But Themselves

Join Jake Grumbach, an Associate Professor at UC Berkeley and author of "Laboratories Against Democracy," as he delves into the Democratic Party's missteps post-Trump. He discusses how elite Democrats evade responsibility for electoral losses, often scapegoating marginalized groups. The conversation highlights the disconnect between party strategies and voter needs, especially among young voters. Grumbach critiques the pervasive influence of money in politics and emphasizes the urgent need for authenticity and labor-focused policies to reconnect with disillusioned Democrats.
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5 snips
May 28, 2025 • 1h 8min

Episode 221: Anti-Science Mugging on the Right and the Ascent of American Anti-Intellectualism

Brenda Ekwurzel, Senior Director of Scientific Excellence at the Union of Concerned Scientists, dives into the troubling rise of anti-intellectualism in the U.S. She highlights how political figures manipulate scientific findings and the media's complicity in mocking research. Ekwurzel discusses the critical role of government-funded studies, often dismissed for their perceived triviality. She also explores the non-linear nature of scientific discovery, emphasizing the societal benefits of pure research and the need for public engagement in scientific discourse, particularly regarding climate change.
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11 snips
May 22, 2025 • 23min

News Brief: NPR Asks Starving Palestinian Living On Rubble to Denounce Hamas, Co-Sign His Own Ethnic Cleansing

This discussion highlights the insensitive questioning faced by a Palestinian writer during an NPR interview amidst the devastating conditions in Gaza. It critiques the media's double standards and the framing of narratives that often ignore the true humanitarian crisis. The conversation delves into the complexities of identity and victimhood in the conflict, emphasizing the dire need for accurate representation of Palestinian experiences. Overall, it examines how media narratives can manipulate public perception and obscure the realities faced by those living under siege.
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10 snips
May 7, 2025 • 37min

News Brief: Baltimore Uprising 10 Years on: PR Co-option vs Genuine Reform

Taya Graham and Stephen Janis, award-winning investigative reporters from The Real News Network, dive into the legacy of Freddie Gray's death and its implications for Baltimore. They discuss their documentary, emphasizing the ongoing struggles for police accountability and reform ten years later. The duo critiques the media's role in perpetuating negative narratives about the city and highlights the importance of community activism in shaping a more just landscape. Their insights reveal both the challenges and the hopeful strides in the fight against systemic racism and over-policing.
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31 snips
Apr 30, 2025 • 1h 21min

Episode 220: The Power of Thought-Terminating Bad Guy Labels

"American Extremists Aiding Radicals Across Border," trumpeted the Detroit Free Press in 1919. "707 Illegal Aliens Arrested in Checkpoint Crackdown," reported the Los Angeles Times in 1987. "87 Bronx gang members responsible for nine years of murders and drug-dealing charged in largest takedown in NYC history," announced the New York Daily News in 2016. "'Top secret' Hamas documents show that terrorists intentionally targeted elementary schools and a youth center," claimed NBC News in 2023. Each of these headlines includes a label for a certain type of Bad Guy. Whether it’s the "Extremist," the "Illegal Alien," the "Gang Member," or the "Terrorist," these terms—and their cousins—seek to exceptionalize the alleged transgressions of their targets, separate them from both the law and history and dehumanize them, all while priming media audiences for crueler laws, harsher policing, longer incarceration and sometimes even extrajudicial punishment. The terms, of course, don’t have clear, universally accepted definitions—nor are they supposed to—their use is often heavily racialized and, by their very nature, subject to the whims and ideologies of the Security State and the media doing its bidding. What effects, then, do these Bad Guy Labels have on public perceptions? How do they serve to foreclose critical thinking about who is deemed inside the bounds of due process and humanization and who is categorically an other in urgent need of disappearing and punishment? On this episode, we examine four thought-terminating Bad Guy labels, analyze their origins, why they rose to prominence and explain how they are selectively evoked in order to turn off people’s brains and open up space for quick and cruel state violence. Our guest is attorney and author Alec Karakatsanis.
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36 snips
Apr 23, 2025 • 1h 16min

Ep 219: How Elites Concern Troll 'Waste' to Gut Social Welfare and Divide the Working Class

Beatrice Adler-Bolton, co-host of the Death Panel podcast and co-author of 'Health Communism', discusses the long-standing narrative of 'waste, fraud, and abuse' in government spending. She critiques how these terms, often racialized, have been weaponized to justify cuts to social welfare programs. The conversation exposes the hypocrisy in political rhetoric around social safety nets versus military spending and emphasizes the need for solidarity over individualism. Adler-Bolton argues for a reevaluation of the purpose of government, advocating for community support and collective action.

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