Episode 26: The 'Welfare' Dog-Whistle

Episode 26: The 'Welfare' Dog-Whistle

The term "welfare" is thrown around so casually in political speeches and media coverage we hardly notice it anymore. CNN reports that "GOP will tackle Medicare, Medicaid, welfare in 2018," while The Washington Post insists that "Trump recently called on Congress to move to cut welfare spending after the tax bill." CBS News tells viewers that "Washington eyes welfare reform."

But what do these outlets and the Republican Party actually mean when they talk about "welfare"? What programs are they referring to? The exact definition of "welfare" – which supposedly ended over 20 years ago – remains unclear.

While the word "welfare" and the welfare state has a positive connotation in Europe, in the United States it's more often than not a malleable propaganda term meant to dog whistle programs for African-Americans and Latinos while signaling to whites that their checks and corporate handouts will remain untouched.

In this episode, we dig into the racist history of anti-welfare crusades, the political purpose of pathologizing poverty, and the meaninglessness of phrases like "welfare reform," with guest Sarah Jaffe.

Episoder(367)

Episode 06: The Media's Default Setting of White Supremacy

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...

9 Aug 20171h 11min

News Brief: Media Helps Trump Stoke Tensions with North Korea

News Brief: Media Helps Trump Stoke Tensions with North Korea

Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson recap today's North Korea escalation.

9 Aug 201726min

Episode 05: Purging Socialists of Color From History

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 a...

2 Aug 20171h 1min

Episode 04: The Root of All Evil

Episode 04: The Root of All Evil

On Episode 04 we talk about a recent New York Times article — and the broader media habit of painting the US as benevolent democracy-seeker and Iran and other Official Enemies as cynical imperialists...

26 Jul 201751min

Episode 03: The Rise of Superpredator 2.0

Episode 03: The Rise of Superpredator 2.0

Episode 03: The Rise of Superpredator 2. Episode 3 is about the media narrative surrounding the rise of so-called "gang raids" that have exploded over the past three years. These high-stakes, headlin...

21 Jul 201738min

Episode 02 : The North Korea Memory Hole

Episode 02 : The North Korea Memory Hole

In the second episode of Citations Needed, Nima and Adam breakdown the history and present "crisis" on the Korean peninsula.

19 Jul 201759min

Episode 01 : The Charter School Scam

Episode 01 : The Charter School Scam

The first episode of Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson's podcast, Citations Needed, tackles the media hype surrounding the privatization of education. Show notes can be found here: 2010 tax form for Parti...

12 Jul 201756min

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