We mark the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War by revisiting some of the classic clips from our cowed and deferential news media circa 2003. PLUS: What is artificial intelligence and what does it mean for the future? Pulitzer-winning columnist Thomas Friedman doesn't know, but that didn't stop him from writing about it.

Michael and Us

#414 - Artificial Intelligence

This civilization is so mentally ill that you'll get treated like a gibbering lunatic for expressing the most sane and rational opinions anyone can possibly express. Something as basic as "The world's most powerful government should stop ramping up nuclear brinkmanship on multiple fronts" will get you treated like a kook, when really it's so obvious and common sense it shouldn't even need to be said. That's how crazy mass-scale brainwashing has made everyone.

Reading by Tim Foley.

This Civilization Is Mentally Ill

The single most overlooked and under-appreciated aspect of our society is the way domestic propaganda is used to shape the way mainstream westerners perceive and think about their world.

Typically the only time you'll ever hear the word "propaganda" mentioned in mainstream discourse is in reference to things other countries do to their own citizenry or as part of foreign influence operations, despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of the times we've encountered propaganda in our day to day lives, the call was coming from inside the house.

The western media have been exposing their role as propagandists for the US-centralized empire a bit more than usual lately. Here are a few recent examples.

Reading by Tim Foley.

Western News Media Exist To Administer Propaganda

The truth of the matter is that you can't vote your way out of a mess you never voted your way into in the first place. You never voted for any of this.

You never voted for your government to circle the planet with hundreds of military bases and continuously work to destroy any government which disobeys it. 

You never voted for your government to imperil the world with rapidly escalating brinkmanship against nuclear-armed nations.

You never voted to base your entire civilization on the pursuit of profit while shoving your biosphere into the capitalist machine like a tree branch into a wood chipper.

You never voted to let plutocrats and war profiteers make decisions for your government while normal people suffer and toil to scrape by.

You never voted to let billionaires live as kings while homeless people shiver in tents.

You never voted for surging authoritarianism with more and more police militarization, surveillance, censorship, propaganda and control.

You never voted to create this freakish dystopia where all political oxygen gets funneled toward vapid culture war debates which threaten the powerful in no way while any effort to effect meaningful change is ground into the dust.

None of those things were ever on the ballot, and they won't be in November of next year either. What will be on the ballot is whether you want all of those things to continue under the office of someone with a D or an R next to their name. 

Reading by Tim Foley.

You Can't Vote Your Way Out Of A Mess You Never Voted Yourself Into

The biggest impediment to free speech is people's belief that they have it. Not censorship. Not refusal to platform critical voices. Not the war on journalism. It's the fact that most people are propagandized into saying what the powerful want them to say, and don't know it.

Reading by Tim Foley.

Propaganda Restricts Speech More Than Censorship Does

On today's episode Brian Becker and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss how Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy have unveiled a “debt ceiling” agreement involving major attacks on workers and the environment. The two are now racing to push through Congress a deal that would see stepped up production of fossil fuels, cuts to food stamps, and the rollback of vital services – all while making it easier for the rich to evade taxes and exempting the Pentagon from any spending limits.

Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com.

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

Biden & Republicans Unite Against the Poor and the Environment

We're changing our release schedule around a little so to make sure you don't have to wait three whole extra days for the next episode we're throwing you a bonus episode as a freebie. Enjoy!
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Lucy, Theo, Andrew, and Ben bring you: Cornwall's most competitive worm-summoning meet-up and a Texas community terrorised by the turkeys they once considered friends.
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Get an extra episode every week with one simple trick: signing up to our Patreon at Patreon.com/BoontaVista

UNLOCKED BONUS EPISODE: White Magic Only At The Worm Jamboree

Bonus Episodes

Now, I know what you’re thinking: what is a Chinese navy vessel doing in the Taiwan Strait, right where US and Canadian warships are peacefully conducting routine navigation exercises?

Reading by Tim Foley.

China Places Country Dangerously Close To US Warship

The destruction of a major dam in southern Ukraine has caused devastating flooding as a highly-anticipated Ukrainian military offensive gets underway. U.S. officials immediately declared that Russia was responsible but where’s the evidence and does that have any military logic? 

Brian Becker is joined by Walter Smolarek, editor of Liberation News.

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at https://patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

Ukraine Dam Bombing: Information War and Endless Escalation

Is this melody in another song???

Readings of all Caitlin Johnstone's articles, usually by her co-writer Tim Foley.