Adam Hilton is back on DPS to talk about his book on the Democratic Party. Also, we talk a lot about... you guessed it, the Democratic Party. 

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Find his book here: https://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/16211.html

Who Governs the Democratic Party (And Why Does It Matter?) w/ Adam Hilton

Eric Blanc joins us to talk about a recent essay he wrote assessing the break that founded the UK Labour Party, of which there are tremendous resonances with the socialist movement in the U.S., today. 

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Tune in for this wide-ranging and informative discussion.

You can find the essay here: https://jacobinmag.com/2021/02/labour-party-uk-lessons-socialists

Thanks, Patrons!

Taking Lessons from the Break That Founded the Labour Party w/ Eric Blanc

Jake Tapper’s career trajectory is an object lesson in how to succeed in corporate media. The formula generally goes like this: go after the fringes of the left and the right––but mostly the left. Never offend any traditional centers of power. Mug. Constantly mug for the camera. Hitch your brand to “The Troops” And-always, always––attack from the neoconservative right.
 
As previously discussed in our John McCain News Brief, the issue with John McCain was less so about the man himself but what he represented: posturing National Security state jingoism at the heart of America’s civic religion; a phony notion of self-importance that animates US militarism. Just the same, this week’s episode is less about Tapper and more about what he represents: the dead center of American corporate media; hollow, faux-adversarialism marked by military worship; less interested in original reporting than serving as a bouncer for Club Acceptable Opinion.  

We are joined on this week's episode by journalist Natasha Lennard.

Episode 55: Jake Tapper and the Art of Faux-Adversarialism

Chapo News Network senior political analysts Franklin Darrow and Taft Hartley run down the winners and losers of DC in 2018. Then, Matt and Virgil engage in a freewheeling discussion of predictions for 2019. New Years, baby, gimme dat new ass year.

Chapo Trap House

Episode 276 - Under the Hood at the Beltway Garage (12/30/18)

“Science and religion fight over Hawaii's highest point,” one CNN headline puts it, “Desecrating sacred land or finding new frontiers?” BBC asks.”Science, Interrupted: Mauna Kea Observatories ‘caught in the middle,’” Pacific Business News writes. 

When tensions arise between native communities and the so-called “pursuit of science”, more often than not Western media presents these points of conflict as a symmetrical and simplistic case of “science vs. superstition.” Science is framed as a morally and politically neutral quest for truth––an objective and innovative good that will unequivocally benefit humanity. 

But Western “science”––despite its rank-and-file advocates' often best intentions–– has historically been used as the public relations vanguard of colonialism and white supremacy. A Trojan Horse presented as ideologically neutral, followed by an outpouring of exploitation, industry and the erasure of native peoples––both culturally and physically. 

While everyone can agree scientific research and progress are good things, the institution of “science” as such––from North America to Australia to Africa to Palestine-–has a long history of serving on the front lines of white, capitalist expansionism. This week we are going to discuss this history, how anti-colonial scientists are pushing back against these forces, and how we can expand human knowledge and understanding without weaponizing the enterprise to serve the interest of power.

We're joined on this episode by Nick Estes, Assistant Professor in the American Studies Department at the University of New Mexico.

                              

Ep. 90: How Western Media's False Binary Between "Science" & Indigenous Rights Erases Native People

Since the early 2000s, a spate of forensics-focused TV shows and films have emerged on the pop culture scene. Years after Law & Order premiered in the '90s, shows like CSI, NCIS, and The Mentalist followed, trumpeting the scientific merit of analyzing blood-spatter patterns, reading facial and bodily cues, and using the latest fingerprint-matching technology to catch the bad guy.

Yet what these procedurals neglect to acknowledge is that many of these popular forensic techniques are deeply unscientific and entirely political. Spatter pattern-matching, firearms analysis, hair analysis, fingerprint and bite mark analysis — they’re all mostly bullshit with little scientific merit. Despite this, forensics have helped contribute to the wrongful convictions of thousands of people: a storytelling aid, prosecutorial smoke and mirrors, a courtroom PR tool to lend scientific verisimilitude to what is very often just circumstantial, hunch-based police work.

On this episode, we break down how popular culture depictions of forensics helps mislead viewers — and by extension jurors — into thinking forensics are science that proves guilt rather than what they really are: slick marketing collateral to help prosecutors convict someone they already think is guilty for other, nonscientific reasons. 

We are joined by Aviva Shen, Senior Editor at Slate.

Episode 94: The Goofy Pseudoscience Copaganda of TV Forensics

Everywhere we turn, local media — TV, digital,  radio — is constantly telling us about the scourge of crime lurking around every corner. This, of course, is not new. It’s been the basis of the local news business model since the 1970s.

But what is new is the rise of surveillance and snitch apps like Amazon’s Ring doorbell systems and geo-local social media like Nextdoor. They are funded by real estate and other gentrifying interests working hand in glove with police to provide a grossly distorted, inflated and hyped-up vision of crime.

One of the major factors fueling this misconception is the feedback loop where media — both traditional and social — provide the ideological content for the forces of gentrification. Police focus their “law enforcement” in low income areas, local news reports on scourges of crime based on police sources, then both pressure and reinforce over-policing of communities of color, namely those getting in the way of real estate interests' designs––All  animated by an increase in police-backed surveillance tech like Amazon’s Ring.

On this episode we will break down these pro-carceral interests, how they create a self-reinforcing cycle of racist paranoia and how local “crime” reporting plays a role in creating this wildly distorted perception of “crime.” 

We are joined by two guests: Sarah Lustbader, senior legal counsel at The Justice Collaborative, and Steven Renderos, co-director of MediaJustice.

Episode 97: Porch Pirate Panic and the Paranoid Racism of Snitch Apps

“Woman Sues TripAdvisor After Falling off Runaway Camel,” reports the Associated Press. “Red Bull Paying Out to Customers Who Thought Energy Drink Would Actually Give Them Wings,” eyerolls Newsweek. “Tennessee man sues Popeyes for running out of chicken sandwiches,” scoffs NBC News.

We see “frivolous lawsuit” stories all the time and have for decades. Seemingly absurd cases of get rich quick schemes often with catchy headlines, a caricature of a plaintiff friendly legal system run amok. These stories play into faux-populist tropes of a country full of lazy poor people looking to cash in and a sleazy legal system that leeches off hard-working Americans.

But how organic are these “pop torts”––or popular stories of frivolous lawsuits––and more importantly, how true even are they? What organizations are behind cherry-picking and teeing up these shameful tales of greed for uncritical writers, editors and producers? Who’s backing them, and what, perhaps, may be their ulterior motives?
Moreover, what are the human stakes to so called “tort reform” and how did it come to be that the vast majority of Americans came to accept the premise that, at some point in the 1980s, we all became amoral lawsuit happy scumbags out to shutdown mom and pop stores and grab a quick buck?

We are joined by the Center for Justice & Democracy's Joanna Doroshow.

Episode 107: Pop Torts and the Ready-Made Virality of ‘Frivolous Lawsuit’ Stories

The gang is joined by Christian Parenti, who talks about the birth of actually-existing capitalism narrated in his latest book, Radical Hamilton. We open by discussing a series of new cancellations and why this moralistic approach to politics lets institutions and the powerful off the hook. Next, we're joined by Christian who makes a spirited case for revisiting the Developmentalist model of Hamilton's "American School." 

*** Become a patron to hear the remainder of this interview: http://www.patreon.com/deadpundits *** 

Find out more about this book here: https://www.versobooks.com/books/3186-radical-hamilton

Hamilton and the Invention of Actually-Existing Capitalism w/ Christian Parenti

Max Collins of Eve 6 drops by to discuss mysterious cartoon memories, predatory music management, the Trolls franchise, rock ‘n roll for children, evil owls, and more all through Don Bluth’s 1992 animated film “ROCK-A-DOODLE”. We also talk about Eve 6, being a teenage superstar, and finding emotional catharsis through twitter, but this is a ROCK-A-DOODLE ep.

The new EP is called “Grim Value” and it’s available wherever music is streamed/sold!

Songs:
Rock-a-Doodle - Sun Do Shine
Rock-a-Doodle - Rock-a-Doodle
Eve 6 - Inside Out
Eve 6 - Amphetamines
Eve 6 - Can We Combine

And Introducing

BONUS: ROCK-A-DOODLE! (feat. Max Collins of Eve 6)

And introducing, on the ones and twos, it’s RICK RUBIN. One of the superstar producers of the last forty years, Rubin went from Long Island punk to hip-hop pioneer in the 80’s, founding Def Jam Records out of his dorm room with Russell Simmons. He’d go on to produce some of the top recording artists of his era, ranging from Beastie Boys to Neil Diamond, LL Kool J to Metallica, and co-head Columbia Records. And today we’re joined by producer Jesse Cannon to learn all about Rubin from the book “Rick Rubin in the Studio” by Jake Brown

Check out Jesse’s YouTube channel and other work here:
www.Musformation.com
www.Jessecannon.com

SONGS IN ORDER:
T La Rock & Jazzy Jay - It’s Yours
LL Cool J - I Need A Beat
Beastie Boys - Rhymin & Stealin
Public Enemy - Don’t Believe the Hype
Slayer - Raining Blood
Danzig - Mother
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Suck My Kiss
The Chicks - Lubbock of Leave It
The Chicks - Gaslighter
Lady Gaga - Dope

#85 RICK RUBIN! (feat. Jesse Canon)

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.

Ep. 90: How Western Media's False Binary Between "Science" & Indigenous Rights Erases Native People

Citations Needed Podcast