We celebrate Bernie's victory in the Iowa Caucus.

TOUR DATES:ALL TICKETS AVAILABLE AT: www.chapotraphouse.com/tour
Las Vegas, NV Feb 18, @ House of Blues
San Diego, CA, Feb 23, @ The Observatory North Park
Sacramento, CA Feb 28 @ Ace of Spades

Chapo Trap House

UNLOCKED: 391 - Bernie Won (2/5/20)

One of the most prized professional norms for journalists, particularly the United States, is the preservation of neutrality in reporting. While the concept of “objectivity” has fallen out of fashion among mainstream reportage in recent years, related concepts that convey a similar idea such as “impartiality” and “neutrality” have come to replace it. In their mission statements and codes of ethics, corporate and government owned outlets routinely proclaim the importance of impartiality and balance, in the sanctified pursuit of fair, unbiased reporting. 

In theory, this can be a healthy idea. Distinguishing between so-called opinion or editorial versus neutral, down-the-middle reporting –“objectivity” or “impartiality” can give the reader a sense that a series of facts are being reported rather than some guy’s opinion. 
The fundamental problem is when this vaguely aspirational genre morphs into an unchecked ideology––an ideology that requires one to think we live in a world where said facts are curated and created outside of long-existing power structures; that those who produce, on an institutional scale, knowledge products via think tanks and academic institutions are without bias. That journalistic institutions, funded by large corporations and billionaires themselves, don’t decide which neutral facts are important and which aren’t. 

“Objectivity” that doesn’t calibrate power asymmetries or attempt to account for its own institutional ideology isn’t a mode of reporting, it’s conservative conditioning that––if not in intent, in effect––does little more than advance prevailing ruling class ideology. Indeed, anyone who’s ever studied marketing or PR or propaganda will tell you the most effective messaging is that which appears unbiased and impartial.

On today’s show, we’ll examine how objectivity came to be a defining principle of Western journalism and how U.S. media’s understanding of impartiality provides an urbane veneer for racism, homophobia, anti-poor policies and other reactionary currents.

We are joined this week by journalist Lewis Raven Wallace, author of The View from Somewhere: Undoing the Myth of Journalistic Objectivity.

Episode 102: The Conservative Sanctimony of Journalistic Impartiality

“According to the Bipartisan Policy Center," "a recent study by the Concord Coalition disagrees," "One review of your budget by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says." We’ve seen these seemingly benign Official Sounding sources hundreds of times—from presidential debates to 60 Minutes to countless articles in The Washington Post and The New York Times. 

But what the average person can’t reasonably know is that these organizations—Bipartisan Policy Center, the Concord Coalition, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, and PR projects like “The Can Kicks Back” and “America Speaks”—are all veiled front groups for a single, far-right billionaire whose entire life mission was to privatize social security, medicare and other entitlement programs under the auspices of fighting a so-called “deficit timebomb.” For decades, a web of Pete Peterson-backed front groups—often funded in concert with other like minded billionaires—has used the faux neutrality of think tanks, institutes, and academia to launder "anti-deficit" messaging for American pundits, reporters, and politicians, entirely capturing the narrative around deficits and their alleged pending destruction of society as we know it.

This week, we explore the origins of Pete Peterson’s austerity propaganda machine, his web of influence, how he helped co-opt both conservative and liberal knowledge production, and how he and spent hundreds of millions of dollars to undermine what little liberal government the United States has left.

We are joined by David Dayen, executive editor of The American Prospect.

Episode 104: The Pete Peterson Austerity Empire and the “How Will You Pay For It?” Lie

As COVID-19 continues to endanger the health of people throughout the world, it also magnifies a long-existent global humanitarian crisis: The use of sanctions by the United States and other powers as a weapon of war. In Iran, one of the countries most devastated by the contagion, sanctions have strangulated the supply of medical equipment crucial to testing the population and treating those who are infected, inspiring some members of the political establishment to call for sanctions to be eased.

While these pleas are necessary, they’re woefully inadequate and long overdue. Sanctions aren’t just a problem when there’s a pandemic. Iran had been subjected to U.S. and UN-imposed sanctions long before the appearance of the contagion—as had Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, Iraq, and far too many other countries deemed Official Enemies of the United States and its allies, resulting in economic destabilization, vulnerability to U.S. militarism, starvation, illness, and mass deaths. 
Amid these life-or-death stakes, media and think tanks’ responses to sanctions range from mere handwringing to outright bloodlust. Rather than decisively condemning sanctions as ruthless acts of economic warfare, American media largely perpetuates the narrative that sanctions are a necessity, and often a force for good, in the effort to punish and “change the behavior” of some perceived “rogue” government. Meanwhile, little criticism is offered outside of tepid suggestions that those sanctions should be tweaked. 

On today’s show, we’ll examine how the U.S. levies sanctions to undermine countries opposed to U.S. hegemony, how sanctions are laundered as benign in the media, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the preexisting, decades-long barbarism of U.S. foreign policy. 

We are joined by guests Keyvan Shafiei and Hoda Katebi.

Episode 106: The Sanitization of Sanctions

"Polarization Is Dividing American Society, Not Just Politics,” laments The New York Times. “The Constitution Is Threatened by Tribalism,” frets The Atlantic. “American politics has reached peak polarization,” declares Vox. After the past few election cycles, and as uprisings occur throughout the country, we’ve seen endless concern about our alleged zenith of “polarization” and “tribalism.”

The Right and the Left, we are told, have grown too radical and today lack the ability to “get things done” and “come together” with a “shared reality.” It’s a superficially appealing narrative — one nostalgic for a non-specified past time of ideal consensus building and Reasonable Centrism.

But it’s also a narrative driven by a fantasy that ignores material forces that have shifted the U.S. political establishment further to the right, as the ruling political and economic class has helped sow distrust and paranoia with decades of deadly wars, runaway and rampant inequality, lethal racism and the failed promises of endless economic growth.

On this episode, we explore the origins of “polarization” and “partisan tribalism” discourse, profile its biggest pushers, detail who it serves––and who it gets off the hook––and lay out why reductionist and vague “polarization” laments are so beloved by our media and political elite. 

Our guest is journalist and writer Osita Nwanevu.

Episode 112: How "Polarization" Discourse Flattens Power Dynamics and Says Nothing

A bizarrely vague, cliquish letter demanding everyone be open-minded has no interest in explaining what, precisely, it wants.

News Brief: The Harper's Letter and Our Extremely Narrow, Self-Serving Definition of Cancel Culture

We're unlocking our April 19, 2019 Patreon episode with the late, great Michael Brooks in which we discussed the "Intellectual Dark Web" and one of its stupidest practitioners, Dave Rubin.

Check out "Against the Web: A Cosmopolitan Answer to the New Right" by Michael Brooks - https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/zer0-books/our-books/against-web

Michael and Us

UNLOCKED - #98 - The Intellectual Dork Web (w/ Michael Brooks)

Here's an unlocked episode of the Patreon-exclusive series 'The Boney Island Whitefish', in which Boonta Vista's Andrew and Trashfuture's Riley recap season 5 of the extremely ridiculous Bones.  To get the whole series, subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/BoontaVista

*** 

Chapo Trap House's Will Menaker joins Andrew and Riley for an all-showrunner display of podcasting fundamentals. 

This week the brave technicians at the Jeffersonian-Medico Institute for Sexual Harassment are forced to investigate the cause of death of a very mysterious and influential historical figure! Deep respect for the boots of the American empire is sure to follow.

We also spring a gotcha Breakfast Update on Will and plan our future endeavours running a Airbnb Blockbuster so that we can lecture teens about Michael Mann films. Enjoy!

The Boney Island Whitefish in: The Last Blockbuster On The Left (Feat. Will Menaker)

Bonus episodes

UNLOCKED BONUS: The Boney Island Whitefish in: The Last Blockbuster On The Left (Feat. Will Menaker)

Zero Books publishing manager Doug Lain talks to us about getting censored by the Youtube algorithm bot and how we grapple with free speech as leftists on the internet. We go on to talk about how this plays into the overall ideological movement of socialism, the end of history/end of ideology, and then someone brings up a twitter account that it is illegal to type out loud and we start yappin' about free speech and comics and crap. Enjoy

DOUG LAIN/ZERO BOOKS
https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/zer0-books/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyoQK-mZXr2ws4C0nXGCH1w
https://douglaslain.substack.com/p/why-did-youtube-censor-us
https://youtu.be/2c5_hVUHp5o
https://www.patreon.com/zerobooks

MERCH
poddamnamerica.bigcartel.com

PATREON
Patreon.com/PODDAMNAMERICA

Howdy I'm the Sherrif of Youtube w/ Doug Lain

Pete Sugarbread (@intellegint), Douglas Fir (@necrobranson), and Danny Elfman Jr. (@charlesraustin) share their favorite things about Christmas and trade Christmas tales.

E1 on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/e1podcast

157 - Hallmark Presents Tales of Christmas: We're Christmas Crazy

And introducing...singer, song-writer, composer, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, and all around legend, it’s Mr. Frank Zappa! One of the S-tier weirdos of rock n’ roll, Zappa mixed genres from classical modernism to doo-wop with an acerbic sense of humor to create a vast discography of Rock weirdness. All the while, becoming one of the most outspoken musicians for free-speech and against censorship.  And today we’ll be talking all about his life, his works, and whether or not that’s a real poncho, I mean is that a mexican poncho or a sears poncho, through his autobiography “The Real Frank Zappa Book.”

But first let’s introduce our own guest, she’s a Tornoto-based pianist and composer, it’s Robin Hatch!

Songs In Order:

Captain Beefheart: Pachuco Cadaver
Frank Zappa and the Mothers - Wowie Zowie
Frank Zappa - Titties & Beer
Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water
Frank Zappa - Camarillo Brillo
Frank Zappa - St. Alphonso’s Pancake Breakfast
Frank Zappa - The Black Page #1
Frank Zappa - Dancin’ Fool
Frank Zappa - Titties & Beer (Baby Snakes DVD version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzzWEeiUf3Y&ab_channel=bolimozak)

And Introducing

#84 FRANK ZAPPA! (ft. Robin Hatch)

Citations Needed is a podcast about the media, power, PR, and the history of bullshit. It is hosted by Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson, and produced by Florence Barrau-Adams.

Episode 102: The Conservative Sanctimony of Journalistic Impartiality

Citations Needed Podcast

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