podcasts

Citations Needed

citations needed

The first episode of Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson's podcast, Citations Needed, tackles 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): http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990pf_pdf_archive/261/261292762/261292762_201106_990PF.pdf
Gates $2 million contribution to film https://web.archive.org/web/20101016004049/https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Grants-2010/Pages/Participant-Media-LLC-OPP1019819.aspx

The economic, pro-Wall Street origins of charter schools: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/06/04/why-hedge-funds-love-charter-schools/

Guest Jennifer Berkshire’s blog: 
http://haveyouheardblog.com/
Guest Jennifer berkshire’s articles: 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/tips-391 
http://www.salon.com/writer/jennifer_berkshire/ 

Books mentioned by Berkshire: The One Percent Solution https://www.amazon.com/One-Percent-Solution-Corporations-Remaking/dp/1501703064

New Orleans graduation rate stats article from 2014 by Adam http://citationsneeded.com/2014/05/24/charter-schools-katrina-memory-hole/

Harlem Children Zone original board: 
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cq8wM7cWgAAUfHN.jpg

Further reading:


http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/turnover-charter-school-plague-article-1.3272954

https://newrepublic.com/article/140319/charter-schools-good-bad-black-students

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2010/11/11/myth-charter-schools/

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/01/vote-no-charter-schools

https://www.counterpunch.org/2009/08/25/the-charter-school-hype-and-how-it-s-managed/
https://www.counterpunch.org/2009/08/26/the-future-of-charter-schools/

http://www.alternet.org/education/how-charter-schools-are-undermining-future-public-education

https://www.counterpunch.org/2010/03/10/i-was-a-charter-school-teacher/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdPACwRgw04

Episode 01 : The Charter School Scam

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

Episode 02: The North Korea Memory Hole

Episode 03: The Rise of Superpredator 2.0

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://goo.gl/JeXczy

Episode 03: The Rise of Superpredator 2.0

Iran, Iraq, and the New York Times’ Master Class in Reality Inversion.

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: https://goo.gl/zcGHvd

Episode 04: Iran - The Root of All Evil

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: https://goo.gl/QPYT7C

Episode 05: Purging Socialists of Color From History

Since the mid-2000s, 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 liberal 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 out-sized 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.

Episode 12 - The New Atheists: Celebrity Crusaders For Empire

And introducing...Kanye West! Chris and Molly are joined by online expert Felix Biederman to discuss Kanye's latest tear through Twitter, his sudden (but not necessarily unexpected) embrace of Trump, his new music, his ability to bend the world to his will, the intersection of politics & celebrity, and why hip-hop beefs have gotten so lame. 

Songs:

Runaway (wade pod dub)
Kanye West - Ye vs. the People (starring TI as the People)
Kanye West -  MAGA Hat Full Freestyle
Kanye West - Lift Yourself
Kanye West - Father Stretch My Hands pt. 1
Cam’ron feat. Kanye West - Down and Out (Instrumental)

And Introducing Podcast

#25 KANYE WEST! (ft. Felix Biederman)

We take a moment to salute the life and achievements of Sen. John McCain, and then are joined by comedian Jake Flores (@feraljokes) to hear all about his run-in with the Department of Homeland Security.

For Jake's Tour Dates check his twitter account @Feraljokes

Read Katherine Krueger's interview with Jake here:
https://splinternews.com/the-brooklyn-comedian-whose-joke-about-ice-got-him-a-vi-1825865670

Support International Whore's Day and fight SESTA/FOSTA:

https://macc.nyc/2018/05/11/International-Whores-Day.html

Donate to Rakem Balogun:

https://www.gofundme.com/help-with-the-fbi-sabotage-recovery

Listen and Subscribe to Pod Damn America:

https://www.patreon.com/poddamnamerica

Chapo Trap House

Episode 210 - ICE to See You feat. Jake Flores (5/13/18)

​Will and Virgil peel back the curtain to give an intimate backstage look at their recent media hit with Jesse "The Body" Ventura on RT.* They're then joined by political scientist David Faris to discuss his book "It's Time To Fight Dirty". Faris out lines all the ways a slim democratic majority could and should shortcut norms and the constitution to build enduring power, while Will and Virgil supply all the reasons they'll probably be too chicken to actually do so. Finally, a reading from the good book.


*Note: Our segment seems to have been cut before airing lol we still love you Jesse! 

Buy the book:

chapotraphouse.com

Episode 214 - 6 Weird Election Tricks That ACTUALLY Work! feat. David Faris (5/27/18)

Due to overwhelming popular demand, we've unlocked this recent episode...

Felix talks with @intifadarling, a Palestinian-American activist based in Ramallah. They discuss the context of the May 14 massacre of Palestinian protesters in Gaza, the political situation between Israel, America and Palestine, and the future of the Palestinian people.

UNLOCKED  - In Conclusion, Palestine is a Land of Contrasts feat. @Intifadarling (5/23/18)

It's sports night here on Chapo! We're go deep into the Red Zone with local radio call-in favorite, PFT Commenter. We go around the horn and take a tour through the wide world of sports takes: Is Lebron overrated? Should we play the National Anthem before movies? Should you kneel? Did Robert Redford make the right move by leaving Kristen Scott Thomas at the end of 'The Horse Whisperer'? 

We analyze the athletes who clash on the gridiron and the heroes who cover them in the sports media.

Episode 216 - First Time, Long Time feat. PFT Commenter (6/3/18)

Russia, as we all know, has sinister “oligarchs” whereas in the United States, we are told, we have “philanthropists,” “job creators,” and “titans of industry” who earn their wealth through hard work, moxie, and guile. Aside from a few cartoonishly evil billionaires – like the Walton family, Peter Thiel, and the Koch brothers – the average American has a warm and fuzzy feeling about the super wealthy. 

The most notable of these Benevolent Billionaires is Bill Gates, whose foundation, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, operates the largest overseas “nonprofit” regime in the world, worth over 40 billion dollars–– twice that of the next biggest foundation. The Gates Foundation receives almost uniformly softball coverage from the media, many of whom receive funding from Gates through various investment and donor arrangements, both from his personal coffers and the foundation that bears his name.

In this two-part episode we ask how much this network of patronage effects Western media’s overwhelmingly positive and uncritical coverage of Gates. How can one can be critical of this type of massive outsized influence without devolving into paranoia? What is the nature of the capitalist ideology that informs Gates’ so-called philanthropy? And how do his programs often harm those they allegedly aim to help?

We are joined this week by Dr. Linsey J. McGoey, associate professor of sociology at the University of Essex and author of the book, “No Such Thing as a Free Gift: The Gates Foundation and the Price of Philanthropy.”

Episode 45: The Not-So-Benevolent Billionaire - Bill Gates and Western Media

We're told the world is getting better all the time. In January, The New York Times' Nick Kristof explained "Why 2017 Was the Best Year in Human History." The same month, Harvard professor and Bill Gates' favorite optimist Steven Pinker lamented (in a special edition of Time magazine guest edited by - who else? - Bill Gates) the “bad habits of media... bring out the worst in human cognition”. By focusing so much on negative things, the theory goes, we are tricked into thinking things are getting worse when, in reality, it's actually the opposite. 

For the TEDtalk set, that the world is awesome and still improving is self-evidently true - just look at the data. But how true is this popular axiom? How accurate is the portrayal that the world is improving we so often seen in sexy, hockey stick graphs of upward growth and rapidly declining poverty? And how, exactly, are the powers that be "measuring" improvements in society?

On this episode, we take a look at the ideological project of telling us everything's going swimmingly, how those in power cook the books and spin data to make their case for maintaining the status quo, and how The Neoliberal Optimism Industry is, at its core, an anti-intellectual enterprise designed to lull us into complacency and political impotence.

Our guest is Dr. Jason Hickel.

Episode 58: The Neoliberal Optimism Industry

"The scale of corruption in Africa is daunting," warns The Economist. "Corruption a Cause of Poverty in the Developing World," DW tells us. "Why corruption is holding Africa back," CNN laments. Everywhere we turn in elite media and halls of power, we are told the global South is poor, in part or in whole, due to rampant "corruption."

But a closer look at the data – and any effort to put notions of corruption in their proper historical context - reveals our limited, racialized definition of corruption is the geopolitical equivalent of complaining about “black on black” crime. True in a limited, technical sense but, in practice, often functions as a victim-blaming red herring meant to avoid uncomfortable discussions of white supremacy, deliberate economic dispossession and a far greater global regime of corruption leveled by the super-wealthy. 

This episode examines the extraction of trillions annually from the global South in illicit transfers of money through the exploitation of tax shelters, so-called "hot money", interests on exploitative IMF loans, trade misinvoicing and a host of other routine and totally unscrutinized financial schemes.

We are joined today by anthropologist and author Jason Hickel.

Episode 73: Western Media’s Narrow, Colonial Definition of "Corruption"

"The United States believes any Palestinian government must renounce violence,” a U.S. official told Ha'aretz. When it comes to nonviolence, writes Barbara Reynolds in The Washington Post, “Black Lives Matter seems intent on rejecting the proven methods." "Violence Is Never the Answer," New York Times columnist Charles Blow insists.

We are told endlessly that violence is inherently and unequivocally bad, something - when it comes to advocating for social justice or against military occupation and fascism - that’s always to be avoided, condemned and renounced. It must be rejected, our press and politicians declare, in favor of non-violence, so-called "peaceful protests" and the democratic process.

But in popular discourse, discussions of violence aren’t really about violence; rather, they’re about sanctioned versus unsanctioned violence. The routine violence of poverty, racist policing, militarism is never called "violence"–––it's just the way things are, a law of nature, the price of "stability". But unsanctioned violence, namely that carried out by activists, non or sub-state actors, and those generally distant from the halls of power, causes outrage without any coherent criteria for this indignation. 

On this episode, we discuss how what is and isn't deemed "violence" by our media is largely a function of proximity to power and whether those actions challenge or serve the interests of the status quo. 

We are joined by journalist and author Natasha Lennard.

Episode 74: Liberal Gandhi Fetishism and the Problem with Pop Notions of 'Violence'

“How this millennial saved $1 million by age 30,” The Washington Post writes. “A Millennial Saved $100,000 With This Simple Habit,” CNBC insists. “How to save for retirement when you're living paycheck to paycheck,” CNN confides in us. Everywhere in American media we are told, if only we engaged in simple, no nonsense discipline we can retire at 35.

But what is the political objective of this popular mode of journalism? More than just generating clicks to sell investment instruments to the credulous, this genre has a distinct ideological purpose: to obscure generational poverty, largely brought on by the legacy of racism and Jim Crow, and make being poor the result of a series of moral failings rather than a deliberate political regime decided on by powerful actors.

This week, we explore the “personal finance” media industry and the corollary, so-called FIRE movement—and how their poor shaming, libertarian ethos has increasingly seeped into our mainstream click-happy online press.

Our guest is writer and editor Miles Howard.

Episode 77: Frugality Fables and the Poor-Shaming Grift of Financial Advice Journalism

"Three Pinocchios!" rates The Washington Post. "Pants On Fire!" declares PolitiFact. “True, but misleading,” assess The New York Times.

In a media environment overwhelmed with information, misinformation, disinformation and so-called “fake news,” a cottage industry has emerged to “fact-check” the content coming across our screens. Prestige, corporate media outlets tell us if a viral meme, a politician’s statement or a pundit's controversial claims is indeed “factually correct.” 

But who fact-checks the fact-checkers? And what do mainstream media’s particular hyper-literal, decontextualized approach to “facts” and “truth” say about how the press views its role as ideological gate keeper?

We are joined by writer Andrew Hart.

Episode 83: The Unchecked Conservative Ideology of US Media's 'Fact-Check' Verticals

Freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez taking to Twitter to criticize House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, we are told, “plays into the hands of Trump.” Russians are using Black Lives Matter and anti-fracking activists to “sow discord,” insists CNN. We must “be united” rather than “divided.”

Everywhere we turn we are told by high-status pundits that we shouldn’t air our criticisms of power at this particular moment with any reasonable degree of severity lest our mutual enemies exploit these divisions to empower themselves. 

We are told again and again that progressives criticizing party leaders is helping Trump. That fighting Trump’s racism is merely “playing into his hands,” that we shouldn’t attack other democrats in the primary too harshly lest it “give us four more years of Trump.”

But there’s a major problem with this: There’s no evidence that intra-party fighting loses elections or assists the "other side." In many ways, it may actually help engage voters and make them feel heard, rather than viewed as box-checkers for the already anointed.

We are joined by Maximillian Alvarez of the podcast Working People.

Episode 84: How Claims of “Sowing Discord” Are Used to Silence Criticism of Power

“As homeless people turn off visitors, San Francisco tourism senses threat” notes Travelers Weekly. “Seattle Is Dying: Drugs And Homelessness In Seattle,” laments KOMO Seattle. “Austin veteran fights off alleged homeless attacker after offering to help him,” exclaims ABC-affiliate KVUE.

As housing costs skyrocket and inequality grows, homelessness is reaching crisis levels in large metropolitan areas. In response, the media––namely local news stations––routinely treat the homeless like an invading species, a vermin to be, at best, contained, and at worst eradicated. 

The result has been a slew of stories pathologizing those experiencing homelessness as uniquely dangerous. Panhandlers are viewed as con men out to screw over the working man, chased down by vigilantes with the help of outraged local news “standing up” to the poor. The housing status of those who commit crimes is only mentioned when they’re homeless––never for the housed––and every transgression committed by the homeless is viewed by our media as evidence that the homeless population in general is out to attack us all.

But this narrative flies in the face of the evidence, and tracks––like most “crime coverage”––with the needs of real estate interests who set the tone for local media coverage, and who have every reason to highlight and oversell the threat of homeless to pressure lawmakers and police to displace “eye sores” for the yuppie clientele they’re attempting to sell and ultimately serve. 

On this first of our two-part episode, we are joined by Steve Potter, an Austin-based artist and homeless activist.

Episode 85: Incitement Against the Homeless (Part I) - The Infestation Rhetoric of Local News

Anti-poor shaming at Fox News is nothing new. But in recent years, with the rise of Trump and his more explicit brand of white nationalism, their tone on homelessness has grown more aggressive, exterminationist, and urgent. Tales of feces and liberal decay––peppered with immigrants, LGBTQ, and racist subtext––have contributed to a larger US media war on the houseless.

In Part II of our two part episode on media incitement against the homeless, we discuss the ramped up panic at Fox News surrounding the indigent and its parallels with nazi rhetoric. 

We are joined by Madeline Peltz, researcher and writer at Media Matters.

Episode 86: Incitement Against the Homeless (Part II) - The Exterminationist Rhetoric of Fox News

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 85: Incitement Against the Homeless (Part I) - The Infestation Rhetoric of Local News

Citations Needed Podcast