citationsneededpodcast

Episode 143: PR and Prop 22  -  How Silicon Valley Uses Hollow "Anti-Racist" Posturing to Sell Its Exploitative Business Model

In June 2020, founders of the ride-request app Lyft announced that they had launched “allyship dialogues“ and were committed to fighting “systemic racism” which they said is “deeply rooted in our society.” The same month, an Uber marketing campaign proudly recommended to “racists” that they should “delete Uber,” as they were unwelcome customers. At the same time, the food delivery service app DoorDash announced a series of initiatives to “support Black-owned restaurants....

News Brief: 5 Goofiest Patriotism Moments of the Early 'War on Terror'

In lieu of another 9/11 retrospective we decided on covering the absurdity of what came after. In this Patreon-only listicle, we break down some of the strangest, most cultish moments during the early years or the  War on Terror. 

Show Notes

Bin Laden's Cave according to Rumsfeld - 12/2/01 

News Brief: On Afghanistan Exit, US Pundits Center America’s Bruised Ego

In this Patron News Brief, we break down the way pro-war pundits––who have been wrong for 20 years––are now using the final act of their wrongness as evidence they were, in fact, right all along. 

Ep 142: The Summer of Anti-BLM Backlash and How Concepts of "Crime" Were Shaped By the Propertied Class

"Concerns rising inside White House over surge in violent crime," CNN tells us. "America's Crime Surge: Why Violence Is Rising, And Solutions To Fix It," proclaims NPR. "Officials worry the rise in violent crime portends a bloody summer," reports The Washington Post.

Over and over this summer we have heard – and will no doubt continue to hear – the scourge of rising crime is the most urgent issue on voters' minds. Setting aside the way media coverage itself shape public opi...

Newsletter 8.3.21

Hi all, hope you are having a good summer. Here's this fortnight's newsletter. Thanks a million again for your support and look out for tomorrow's episode--it's a beast!

Thanks again!

- Marco, Julianne, Adam, Florence, and Nima 

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We Need a Movement Against Vaccine Apartheid Leigh Phillips, Jacobin (July 29, 2021)

As vari...

Live Interview: How the ‘Pandemic Games’ Expose the Neoliberal Scam of Global Sporting Events

In this recording of a Live Interview for Patrons from 7/22, we discuss the scheduled shock doctrine of global sporting events like FIFA and the Olympics and how they use the PR spectacle of sports––and the emotional blackmail of "supporting athletes"–– to enhance security states, displaced the poor, loosen environmental and labor restrictions, and, above all, serve the interests of large corporate advertisers and real estate developers.

with guests Shireen Ahmed and Jules Boyko...

Ep. 141: How “Most Livable Cities” Lists Center Upwardly Mobile White Professionals

"America's 50 best cities to live in," reveals USA Today. "These rising U.S. cities could become the top places to live and work from home," reports CNBC. "The best U.S. cities to raise a family," lists MarketWatch.

Over and over again in American media we hear stories centered around ranking, judging and analyzing the rather vague concept of  a city. But who is being discussed when we talk about quote-unquote "cities"? How are "cities" a meaningful unit to unders...

Ep. 140 - Kicking the Hollywood Habit: Addiction Morality Tales in Film and TV [Virtual Live Show]

An ambitious young man is lured into a world of drug use, his life soon in a shambles. A family is forced to kick their drug-addicted son out of their home. A woman resists rehab, then embraces it, finding it the most affirming experience of her life. These plot lines exemplify the melodrama of countless films and television dramas depicting addiction.

Since the 1930s, Hollywood has cultivated a hyperbolic characterization of people struggling with substance use. In film after film, sho...

Citations Needed - Newsletter 7.6.21

Hi all, thanks again for all your support. Truly, we are very grateful. Here is this fortnight's newsletter, hope you enjoy! 

-- Florence, Marco, Adam,  Julianne, and Nima 

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There Are No Mass Migrations Without U.S. Meddling and Militarism Azadeh Shahshahan, Rhonda Ramiro, In These Times (July 2, 2021)

Wh...

Ep. 139: Of Meat and Men - How Beef Became Synonymous with Settler-Colonial Domination

"Beef. It’s what’s for dinner," the baritone voices of actors Robert Mitchum and Sam Elliott told us in the 1990s. "We’re not gonna let Joe Biden and Kamala Harris cut America’s meat!" cried Mike Pence during a speech in Iowa last year. "To meet the Biden Green New Deal targets, America has to, get this, America has to stop eating meat," lamented Donald Trump adviser Larry Kudlow on Fox Business. Repeatedly, we’re reminded that red meat is the lifeblood of American culture,...

News Brief: CNN Helps Biden Kick Off 'War On Crime 2.0: This Time It's Not Racist, Trust Us'

In this public News Brief, we examine 24 hours of CNN's mindless police stenography undermining modest bail reform in New York.

Reading

The Thin Blue Lies Behind Crime Wave Hype - June 24, 2021, Josmar Trujillo FAIR

Citations Needed - Newsletter 6.22.21

Hi all, here's this fortnight's newsletter. Thanks again for all your support! Hope you are having a good summer thus far. 

-- Marco, Adam, Florence, Nima, and Julianne. 

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How Not to Do Unemployment Journalism 101 Paul Blest, Discourse Blog (June 17, 2021)

An Axios article warning of a “pandemic” of unemployment fraud was built ...

AMA with the Citations Needed crew! June 24, 2021

Hi Patreon supporters!

Thank you as always for your support making this show possible. We are extremely grateful.

We will be holding our next one-hour live audio and text AMA Thursday, June 24 at 10pm ET / 7pm PT. So save the date, postpone your other Zoom calls, and prep your questions for us! They could be about media, politics, our hot takes, or how we build our episodes! Adam and Nima, as well as Citations Needed producer Florence and associate producer Julianne, will be on ...

News Brief: The Casual Soft Eugenics of Self-Help "Friendscaping" Content

In this public News Brief, we discuss a recent advice column in the New York Times advocating upwardly mobile professionals dump their fat and depressed friends and how it's part of a much broader trend of pop sociology repackaging cruelty and soft eugenics as "science-driven" self improvement. With guest Beatrice Adler-Bolton of Death Panal podcast. 

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Guest

<...

News Brief - “Labor Shortages”, “Chipotle Price Increases” & “Unemployment Fraud”: Media Assists Capital’s Attack on UI

In this Patreon News Brief, we break down the recent wave of business lobby-curated media attacks on the already paltry supplemental unemployment insurance. 

Episode 138: Thought-Terminating Enemy Epithets (Part II)

Oligarch. Hardliner. Regime. All common terms seen in Anglo-American media when describing politicians and power structures in official villain states; yet - mysteriously absent when talking about ourselves or our allies.

This Part II of our Citations Needed countdown of the Top 10 "Enemy Epithets," derisive descriptors that are deployed to smear enemies without any symmetrical usage for U.S. officials, policy or imperial partners. Designed to conjure up nasty images of despoti...

Episode 137: Thought-Terminating Enemy Epithets (Part I)

Hand-picked successor, firebrand, proxy — In Anglo-American media, there are certain Enemy Epithets that are reserved only for Official Enemy States of the good ol' US of A and their leaders, which are rarely, if ever, used to refer to the United States itself or its allies, despite these countries featuring many of the same qualities being described.

Over two years ago, in a two-part episode entitled "Laundering Imperial Violence Through Anodyne Foreign Policy-Speak" (Episod...

[NO AUDIO, SEE NEW EP. 137 POST INSTEAD!]

Hi patrons - when we first posted this episode (Ep. 137), the audio file and link weren't working.

So, we reposted it. Apologies for the repeat emails, but we figured you'd want to listen to the new show.

Please delete the first email and 2021-06-02 17:39:28 +0000 UTC View Post

ICYMI: Listen To Our April AMA!

Hello, kind supporters,

The Citations team is intent on getting you as much content as possible and will be rolling out more patron-only events in the coming months!

In April, we did an Ask-Me-Anything on our Discord channel, which was open to all patrons. We were joined by hundreds of you incredible folks and are releasing the audio here for those who weren't able to jump online with us. In the future, we'll get these posted closer to the AMA date itself.

S...

News Brief: "Organized Crime" "Shoplifting Epidemic" Panic Hits San Francisco Media

In this public News Brief, we take a critical look at a recent wave of sensationalist "Organized Crime" "Shoplifting Epidemic" stories in national and Bay Area media and how they fit into a resurgent "Tough on Crime" narrative.

We are joined by Fred Sherburn-Zimmer, Director of Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco.

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Guest

Fred Sherburn-Zimmer is Director of the Housing Rights Committee of ...

News Brief: US Media Laps Up Biden Admin's "Combative Phone Call" PR Game

In this Patreon-only News Brief, we examine the Washington Post, NYTimes, Politico's uncritical reporting parroting anonymous, self-serving claims Biden is super secretly working to stop Israeli bombing of Gaza despite Biden's unwavering public support of Israel at the UN, pledge for more aid, and continued selling of $735 million in weapons. 

Episode 136: The 'Ungrateful Athlete': Anti-Black, Anti-Labor Currents in Sports Media

"A good, hard working kid." "A 4.0 student." "He's asking for too much money." "They get paid to play a child’s game." "He shows up and does his work and never complains."

Despite the fact that the concept of paying college athletes has gained some mainstream support in recent years, much of the ideological scaffolding that exists to justify their lack of fair compensation is still very popular and widespread in sports punditry and writing, AM radio and play-by-play broadcasts.

...

News Brief: Debunking the 5 Most Common Anti-Palestinian Talking Points

In this public News Brief, we breakdown the most common anti-Palestinian tropes and why they're based on sophistry, ignorance, racism, or some combination of all three.

News Brief: How US Media Helped Trump and USAID Weaponize “Aid” During 2019 Venezuela Coup Attempt

In this public News Brief, we recap a recent internal USAID report that details the group's role in Trump's 2019 Venezuela coup attempt, American media cheering on the obvious PR op like trained seals, and break down how Biden's weaponization of "aid" will likely not be very different. With guest Alexander Main of CEPR.

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Guest

Alexander Main is is Director of Internati...

On Palestine, It's Time for Progressives to Stop Reading From the Same Outrage Script and Support BDS

In this News Brief, we breakdown the entirely predictable cycle of media coverage, liberal handwringing, vague "progressive" outrage, and why the most recent "clashes" should compel nominal progressive leaders like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to formally support BDS.

News Brief: On Biden's TRIPS Waiver Support, Substance Matters More than Headlines

In this public News Brief, we dissect recent news that the Biden administration backs a TRIPS waiver at the WTO and why the terms of their upcoming TRIPS waiver matter more than the splashy headlines.

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Show Notes

Pressure Mounts to Lift Patent Protections on Coronavirus Vaccines 

Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Thomas Kaplan an...

NewsBrief: #VaxLive is a PR Scam So Those Causing Vaccine Inequity Can Pose as Saviors of Global Poor

In this News Brief, we breakdown the anti-TRIPS waiver corporate and ideological forces behind the seemingly good-hearted #VaxLive concert on May 8th. Namely, the Gates Foundation, Johnson and Johnson and a who's who of global leaders working to prevent the production of cheap generic vaccines for the global south.

Episode 135: The “Labor Shortage” Ruse: How Capital Invents Staffing Crises to Bust Unions and Depress Wages

"Trucking Shortage: Drivers Aren't Always In It For The Long Haul," NPR tells us. "The U.S. Is Running Out of Nurses," reports The Atlantic. "There's A Nationwide STEM Teacher Shortage. Will It Cost Us The Next Einstein?" Forbes laments. '"'The Future Depends on Teachers,' PSA launched targeting teachers amid shortage," notes a local FOX affiliate.

Every few weeks, we hear about an essential industry suffering from a critical "labor shortage" –– nurses, truck drivers, software engin...

Citations Needed Newsletter - 4.27.21

Hi all,

Here's this fortnight's newsletter. We hope you are doing well and we can't thank you enough for your support. New episode drops tomorrow, it's on phony "labor shortages"--be sure to check it out! 

- Adam, Florence, Marco, Nima, Julianne

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“Justice Looks Like Abolition”: A Minneapolis Organizer on t...

Ep. 134: The 80-Year PR Campaign that Killed Universal Healthcare

Almost every wealthy country in the world has some type of universal healthcare system--except for the United States. With over 170 million of its citizens left to fend for themselves in a sprawling and complex maze of Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, tax credits, child care subsidies, co-pays, deductibles and cost-sharing, the U.S. has not only the largest uninsured population, but also the most expensive system on Earth per capita.

Why America doesn’t have a universal healthca...