Citations Needed is a podcast about the intersection of media, PR, and power, hosted by Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson.
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Episode 15: The Real Estate Page As Colonial Dispatch
Real Estate sections are mostly breezy, fun profiles of the super rich buying up houses and remodeling the ones they already own. Harmless escapist fun? Maybe. But how we write about real estate reveals casually racist and colonial attitudes that are rarely, if ever, examined. In this episode we talk about why the way we talk about the real estate industry matters and how the white civilizing mission never went away. With guest Aaron Cantú.
Episode 14: The Iran Deal Protection Racket
We are told time and again from Republicans and nominal liberals alike that Iran desperately wants to acquire nuclear weapons, was "racing toward the bomb" before the implementation of the multilateral Iran Deal - officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and was merely months away from holding the world hostage with a nuclear arsenal before being stopped by diplomacy, aided by "crippling sanctions." The core axioms of this narrative are never really challenged, even by those viewed as progressive on foreign policy. But how correct are these assumptions? Why does the media keep saying Iran has a "nuclear weapons program" when it doesn't? Will the nonstop back and forth over Iran's "nuclear ambitions" ever cease? Using both Nima and Adam's own analyses, we attempt to answer these questions and more as we take a deep dive into the Iran Deal protection racket.
Episode 13: The Always Stumbling US Empire
"Stumbling", "sliding", "drawn into" war––the media frequently assumes the US is bumbling its way around the world. The idea that the United States operates in “good faith” is taken for granted for most of the American press while war is always portrayed as something that happens to the US, not something it seeks out. On this episode, Adam and Nima explore the media's commitment to the narrative of "United States as reluctant warrior," whose leadership and decision-making always has the "best intentions." We also examine the new Ken Burns and Lynn Novick PBS series on Vietnam which traffics in many of these tropes. With guest Professor Hannah Gurman.
Episode 12: The New Atheists, Celebrity Crusaders For Empire
Since the mid-2000’s, a specific breed of liberalism has emerged broadly called “New Atheism”. While the movement is hardly a monolith, it has at its core features of liberal chauvinism, anti-"political correctness", “science”, secularism, and a general deference to U.S. foreign policy consensus. It’s biggest champions, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Maajid Nawaz, Bill Maher and the late Christopher Hitchens were and are major features in mainstream discourse–from television shows on HBO to major podcasts to writings featured everywhere from The New York Times to The Guardian to The Daily Beast. For years, however, leftists of all stripes--anti-imperialists, socialists, progressives--have expressed concern over this brand of liberal chauvinism, its outsized place in the media and its ability to turn the U.S., and white Americans in particular, into The Real Victims; its ability to offend the religious while championing boilerplate National Security consensus and imperial wars abroad. It seemed vaguely provocative but who was it really offending? And, more importantly, who was it serving? We discuss with guest Luke Savage.
Episode 11: The Deficits Racket Part II -- Racist Media as Barrier to Govt Spending
If broad government programs are so popular why don’t we just vote them into existence? One of the primary barriers to democratic socialism--or spending in general--is racist media coverage and racist attitudes about how government programs are administered. In this episode we explore how media-fueled racism and means-tested nickel-and-diming makes radical change that much more difficult. With guests Sean McElwee and Noel Cazenave.
Episode 11: The Deficits Racket Part I -- Single Payer Propaganda War
The idea that we’re “running out of money” and have to “tighten our belts" is a common trope in US media; the premise that the US government is like a household that must balance its books, largely taken for granted by liberal and right-wing outlets alike. But is this premise correct? Is it true that the United States is over-budget and ready to explode with insolvency? Where does this conventional wisdom come from and whom does it benefit? On this and next week's show we seek to answer some of the questions. In Part I: Single Payer Propaganda War, we examine the primary talking points against Single Payer and other big government programs and how to combat them with guest Stephanie Kelton.
Episode 10: Ableism and the Ethics of Calling Trump “Crazy”
“Insane”, “crazy”, “totally fucking nuts”–Trump’s mental capacity is the subject of much speculation, joke-making, and earnest concern. But how should the subject be approached by the media? On this week’s show we explore the ethics of diagnosing mental health from afar, the conflation of mental health issues with moral turpitude, the negative effects of the media’s nonstop stigmatizing of “insanity” and how to balance all of the above in the face of the unique threat of Trump. With guests s.e. smith and Dr. Dean Burnett.
Episode 09: Liberal Media Throws #J20 Activists Under the Bus
The #Resistance warms up to rightwing ghouls David Frum and Evan McMullin while ignoring anti-Trump protesters facing 80 years in federal prison. With guest Sam Menefee-Libey.
Episode 08: The Human Rights Concern Troll Industrial Complex
We discuss the cynical use of "human rights" to advance US interests with guest Glenn Greenwald. The conceit that the U.S. has been a dedicated and earnest promoter of “freedom”, “democracy,” and “human rights” throughout the world — even if, at times, a “flawed” one — is a defining narrative, largely taken for granted by major media. But how accurate is this assumption? What do we mean when we talk about human rights? What abuses are highlighted and which aren’t? Where do labor rights fit into the broader discussion of human rights? On this episode of Citations Needed, we attempt to parse some of these complex questions and how they fit into a broader discussions of soft power and war.
News Brief: Harvey, Climate Change and Snitch Reporters
On this news brief we discuss the media's fear of covering Harvey in the context of race, class, and the manifest threat of climate change. With guest Katherine Krueger of Splinter News.
Episode 07: BDS & the Moral Narratives of Colonization
In Episode 7 we explore how the media discusses the issue of BDS and the broader topic of Palestinian liberation with guest Steven Salaita.
News Brief: Nazis, the ACLU & the Moral Limits of 'Free Speech'
We discuss the virtue of defending lofty free speech ideals in the Trump era with our guest George Ciccariello.
Episode 06: The Media’s Default Setting of White Supremacy
In Episode 06 we explore how the media both consciously and subconsciously works to smear black victims, protect the police, and works overtime to ameliorate the sensibilities of white media consumers with our guest Dr. Jared A. Ball. The white supremacist regime at work in the media can be broken down into three main narrative devices: 1) The use of language to downplay state violence and assert false parity 2) The uncritical dissemination of exaggerated or made up threats to police to turn the aggressor into the victim 3) The posthumous smearing of black victims to rationalize their killing after the fact. In this episode we examine the mechanisms of these narrative devices, how they influence public perception, and why they create the media environment that makes more Mike Browns all but certain. Show notes: https://medium.com/@CitationsPodcst/episode-06-the-medias-default-setting-of-white-supremacy-ff138e201978
News Brief: Media Helps Trump Stoke Tensions with North Korea
Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson recap today's North Korea escalation.
Episode 05: Purging Socialists of Color From History
On Episode 5, we explore the history of the media erasing socialists of color from the history books and present day discourse––a tactic that serves to both commodity and water-down black radicalism and pawn off leftwing politics as a uniquely white or middle class enterprise. Our guests: Robert Greene II and Roqayah Chamseddine. Show notes: goo.gl/QPYT7C