Citations Needed

In this episode, we dive into the Fake News hole with Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist, New York Times best selling author, and activist Chris Hedges. Since Hillary Clinton's surprise 2016 loss to Donald Trump, there have been thousands of articles, columns, and op-eds lamenting the rise of so-called "fake news" and its pernicious effect on our democracy. The definition of what exactly "fake news" is has never quite been made clear - yet this hasn't stopped major corporate media outlets and even the U.S. Congress from rushing to curb this uniquely pernicious and dangerous threat. The primary response to this alleged crisis - the creation of a tiered, fact-checking system for social media that effectively bifurcates "real news" and "fake news" - has many in alternative, leftist, and libertarian media claiming the anti-Fake News algorithms made by Twitter, Facebook, and Google have reduced their web traffic and readership. While it's difficult to gauge the specifics of these individual reports, it does seem clear at this point that dissident media has taken a hit from efforts to stop co-called "fake news." So what are the origins of this panic and whom does it benefit? How can one protect against obvious bullshit without bestowing the power to arbitrate truth unto a handful of U.S. national security state-aligned corporations and tech giants?

Over 15,000 civilians dead and almost a million reported cases of cholera. 17 million people unsure of where their next meal will come from, including 7 million on the brink of starvation. Nearly 3 million people internally displaced. Hunger, disease, and bombs. That's what the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the U.S. have wrought on Yemen. After almost three years of wanton destruction by U.S.-supported Saudi bombing campaigns and, most recently, a total land, air and sea blockade, the vast majority of Americans still haven't heard much about the dire circumstances facing the people of Yemen. They've heard even less about how the United States is enabling, facilitating, authorizing, aiding and abetting this slaughter. By and large, the media has almost entirely ignored the decimation of Yemen and its civilian population. When it is touched upon, America's central role in the conflict is often omitted, as is––even more inexplicably––Saudi Arabia's. The violence is routinely referred to as a regional "proxy war" between Gulf monarchies and Iran or Sunnis and Shias, rather than a U.S.-backed massacre. On this episode, Adam and Nima, joined by Dr. Sheila Carapico and Dr. Greg Shupak, look back at the media's coverage of this tragedy, why it let Obama off the hook for it, how the typical "cycle of violence" framing is used to obscure U.S. responsibility, and what can be done to lay blame where it belongs moving forward. With guests Dr. Sheila Carapico and Dr. Greg Shupak.

In this News Brief Nima and Adam catch up with the latest from the #J20 trial, how the media shaped coverage early in favor of the state, and the racist roots of criminalizing protest. With guest Sam Adler-Bell. "It's a Police State Mentality" — J20 and the Racist Origins of Criminalizing Protest | Sam Adler-Bell | November 13, 2017 | Mask Magazine http://www.maskmagazine.com/the-organized-issue/struggle/j20-racist-origins-of-criminalizing-protest

Editorial boards are the establishment voice from above, handing out decrees of moral and political import behind an anonymous byline. Major papers like The New York Times and The Washington Post have an Official Position and it's important that Important People hear the Official Important Position. But of what use is this 19th century artifact? Whose interest does it serve and why does it even still exist? On today's show we attempt to answer these questions and more with guests Janine Jackson and Jim Naureckas of FAIR.org

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

In Episode 7 we explore how the media discusses the issue of BDS and the broader topic of Palestinian liberation with guest Steven Salaita.

We discuss the virtue of defending lofty free speech ideals in the Trump era with our guest George Ciccariello.

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

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

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

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. In this episode we dissect the true history of what caused chaos in Iraq, who's to blame and what the real motives were behind the Bush, Obama and Trump administrations designs for the country. All this in the context of a battle for control over remaining ISIS territory in Syria and Washington, Riyadh, and Tel Aviv's desire to stop the dreaded "Shia crescent". Show notes: goo.gl/zcGHvd

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, headline-grabbing spectacles target, almost exclusively, black and brown people and are carried out by hundreds of local, state, and federal officials with little scrutiny from the media. Our guest: Josmar Trujillo, a Harlem-based organizer, writer, trainer, and agitator. See show notes here: https://medium.com/@CitationsPodcst/episode-03-the-rise-of-superpredator-2-0-4339020ea9a2

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

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 Participant Foundation used to fund Waiting for Superman (note: four donors-- Waltons, Eli Broad, Donald Fisher, Dave Einhorn): 990s.foundationcenter.org/990pf_pdf_ar…06_990PF.pdf Gates $2 million contribution to film web.archive.org/web/2010101600404…C-OPP1019819.aspx Guest Jennifer Berkshire's blog: haveyouheardblog.com/ Guest Jennifer berkshire's articles: www.huffingtonpost.com/author/tips-391 www.salon.com/writer/jennifer_berkshire/ Books mentioned by Berkshire: The One Percent Solution www.amazon.com/One-Percent-Solut…ing/dp/1501703064 New Orleans graduation rate stats article from 2014 by Adam citationsneeded.com/2014/05/24/char…na-memory-hole/ Harlem Children Zone original board: pbs.twimg.com/media/Cq8wM7cWgAAUfHN.jpg Further reading: www.nydailynews.com/opinion/turnove…ticle-1.3272954 newrepublic.com/article/140319/ch…ad-black-students www.nybooks.com/articles/2010/11/…-charter-schools/ www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/…harter-schools www.counterpunch.org/2009/08/25/the…-it-s-managed/ www.counterpunch.org/2009/08/26/the…arter-schools/ www.alternet.org/education/how-ch…public-education www.counterpunch.org/2010/03/10/i-w…chool-teacher/ www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdPACwRgw04