Episode 150: How Economic Jargon and Cliches Make Cruel, Anti-Poor Policies Sound Sterile and Science-y (Part I)

Episode 150: How Economic Jargon and Cliches Make Cruel, Anti-Poor Policies Sound Sterile and Science-y (Part I)

"Supply and demand." "It's just Econ 101." "Most economists agree..." "There's always trade offs." Over and over, media and policymakers spew the same tired recitations meant to convey the seemingly natural, immutable laws of economics. "The economy," we're told, is thriving when business owners and job creators are making record profits, and failing when investments in social programs have simply grown too high — and that's the way it is and will, and should, always be. These terms, phrases and sentiments are part of a lexicon of economic euphemisms, cliches, and other forms of business-school speak designed to blur class lines and convince us that our economic system — entirely a result of policy choices largely designed to further enrich the wealthy at any the expense of the broader welfare — is a function of cold, hard science, with rules and principles no more pliable than those of physics or chemistry. But why should we be expected to just accept that a news report that "the economy" is on the upswing means the average worker is doing any better, when all evidence is to the contrary? Why should our media's economic so-called "experts" come from a pool of elite economics departments beholden to corporate donors and right-wing think tanks? And why must "the economy" be defined in terms of whether the Dow is up or down, instead of whether people have food, housing, healthcare, and job security? On this episode, part one of a two-part series, we examine the first five of our ten most popular clichés, jargon, and rhetorical thingamajigs that economists, economic reporters, and pundits use to sanitize, obscure, and provide a thin gloss of Science-ism to what is little more than power-flattering, cruel, racist, austerity ideology. Our guest is writer Hadas Thier.

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News Brief: How Decades of Media Distortions and Lies about "Iran's Nuclear Program" Lead to War

News Brief: How Decades of Media Distortions and Lies about "Iran's Nuclear Program" Lead to War

In this News Brief, we discuss a recent poll showing 70% of Americans are fundamentally wrong about the nature of Iran's "nuclear program"—including 1 in 4 who think Iran currently possesses a nuclear...

25 Mars 34min

"Shadow Fleets," Sanctions & Western Media's International Law-ification of Arbitrary US Dictates

"Shadow Fleets," Sanctions & Western Media's International Law-ification of Arbitrary US Dictates

In this episode, we explore how arbitrary—often unilateral—sanctions against Enemy States are given the halo of international legal legitimacy with a combination of lies, slippery language and brainle...

11 Mars 1h 22min

News Brief: As Trump Crushes Academia, the NYT and Atlantic Still Fight 'Woke' Wars from 5 Years Ago

News Brief: As Trump Crushes Academia, the NYT and Atlantic Still Fight 'Woke' Wars from 5 Years Ago

In this News Brief, we are joined by Chenjerai Kumanyika and Todd Wolfson of the American Association of University Professors to discuss Trump's gutting of higher education, its expansion on previous...

18 Feb 45min

Ep 234: TikTok, Gen Z's Move to Social Media and Elite Panic Over Unsanctioned News

Ep 234: TikTok, Gen Z's Move to Social Media and Elite Panic Over Unsanctioned News

In this episode, we examine our political class' TikTok neurosis, how Gaza fueled its sell to US and Israeli military contractors, and the long history of elite panics around unsanctioned information ...

4 Feb 1h 13min

News Brief: ICE, Senate Dems' Counterinsurgency PR, and the Limits of Body Cam Liberalism

News Brief: ICE, Senate Dems' Counterinsurgency PR, and the Limits of Body Cam Liberalism

In this News Brief, we detail the fundamental problems with Senate Democrats' cosmetic reforms, the strategy of letting outrage blow over and the conspicuous absence of any proposal that touches ICE's...

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Ep 233: How US Media Naturalizes Capital Strikes and Helps the Rich Undermine Democracy

Ep 233: How US Media Naturalizes Capital Strikes and Helps the Rich Undermine Democracy

In this episode, we examine how billionaires and corporations threatening capital strikes and capital flight to discipline populist politicians and movements is treated as normal, obvious, and healthy...

28 Jan 1h 24min

News Brief: As Dem Leadership Waffles—Labor, Organizers, Immigrants Fight Back in Minneapolis

News Brief: As Dem Leadership Waffles—Labor, Organizers, Immigrants Fight Back in Minneapolis

In this News Brief, we break down Dem leadership's fatuous "body cam" and "training" response to ICE brutality, and how organizers in the Twin Cities are not settling for cosmetic reform. With guest J...

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News Brief: For Media Reporting on Iran, Trump Suddenly Morphs into Pro-Democracy Humanitarian

News Brief: For Media Reporting on Iran, Trump Suddenly Morphs into Pro-Democracy Humanitarian

In this News Brief, we discuss mainstream media coverage of ongoing protests across Iran and how nearly every major Western outlet has been uncritically framing any potential regime change plans by th...

17 Jan 25min

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