Episode 55: Jake Tapper and the Art of Faux-Adversarialism
Jake Tapper's career trajectory is an object lesson in how to succeed in corporate media. The formula generally goes like this: go after the fringes of the left and the right––but mostly the left. Nev...
31 Okt 20181h 3min
Episode 54: Local 'Crime' Reporting as Police Stenography
"The suspect fled on foot, police said. Call this number if you have any information." "The incident took place at the 1200 block of Grove." "Police say." "Police sources are telling us." "Suspect is ...
17 Okt 20181h 2min
Episode 53: The Increasingly Dull Edge of 'Hypocrisy' Takedowns
Trump says he opposed the war in Iraq, but in fact said he supported it in an obscure interview in 2004. McCain was for the tax cuts before he was against them. Republicans say they're Christians, yet...
10 Okt 201850min
Episode 52: Attacks on Affirmative Action and the Commodification of Diversity
"Diversity" is a simultaneously important and buzzword-y term beloved by the media, corporations, real estate agents and elite universities. It's something to strive for and take pride in, a symbol of...
3 Okt 20181h 9min
Episode 51: How 'The West Wing' Poisoned the Liberal Mind
Post-Cold War liberal chauvinism knew no better ideological conduit than the hit NBC series The West Wing. Foreign policy was imperial, staffers were self-satisfied, and Serious Democrats fended off r...
26 Sep 201857min
Episode 50: Anti-Imperialism and MSNBC-Approved Socialism
With recent primary election wins by candidates like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, James Thompson, Julia Salazar and others, the terms "socialist" and "democratic socialist" are everywhere....
19 Sep 20181h 12min
Episode 49: Shifting Media Representations of Abortion (Part II)
In the mid-1990s there was a rhetorical and cultural shift on the issue of abortion, namely the result of anti-abortion activists successfully introducing the term "partial birth abortion" into both t...
12 Sep 201846min
Episode 48: Shifting Media Representations of Abortion (Part I)
From the shame-inducing "safe, legal and rare" framing of the 1990s to normalizing efforts like the #ShoutYourAbortion campaign and an uptick in abortion plot lines in mainstream television, dialogue ...
5 Sep 201848min
