In June 2020, founders of the ride-request app Lyft announced that they had launched “allyship dialogues“ and were committed to fighting “systemic racism” which they said is “deeply rooted in our society.” The same month, an Uber marketing campaign proudly recommended to “racists”...
2021-09-15 14:58:48 +0000 UTC View Post
In lieu of another 9/11 retrospective we decided on covering the absurdity of what came after. In this Patreon-only listicle, we break down some of the strangest, most cultish moments during the early years or the War on Terror.
Show Notes
In this Patron News Brief, we break down the way pro-war pundits––who have been wrong for 20 years––are now using the final act of their wrongness as evidence they were, in fact, right all along.
2021-08-17 00:31:45 +0000 UTC View Post
"Concerns rising inside White House over surge in violent crime," CNN tells us. "America's Crime Surge: Why Violence Is Rising, And Solutions To Fix It," proclaims NPR. "Officials worry the rise in violent crime portends a bloody summer," reports The Washington Post.
Over and over ...
2021-08-04 16:37:37 +0000 UTC View PostHi all, hope you are having a good summer. Here's this fortnight's newsletter. Thanks a million again for your support and look out for tomorrow's episode--it's a beast!
Thanks again!
- Marco, Julianne, Adam, Florence, and Nima
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In this recording of a Live Interview for Patrons from 7/22, we discuss the scheduled shock doctrine of global sporting events like FIFA and the Olympics and how they use the PR spectacle of sports––and the emotional blackmail of "supporting athletes"–– to enhance security states, displac...
2021-07-28 14:50:27 +0000 UTC View Post
"America's 50 best cities to live in," reveals USA Today. "These rising U.S. cities could become the top places to live and work from home," reports CNBC. "The best U.S. cities to raise a family," lists MarketWatch.
Over and over again in American media we hear stories cen...
2021-07-21 15:28:32 +0000 UTC View Post
An ambitious young man is lured into a world of drug use, his life soon in a shambles. A family is forced to kick their drug-addicted son out of their home. A woman resists rehab, then embraces it, finding it the most affirming experience of her life. These plot lines exemplify the melodrama of c...
2021-07-07 17:04:16 +0000 UTC View PostHi all, thanks again for all your support. Truly, we are very grateful. Here is this fortnight's newsletter, hope you enjoy!
-- Florence, Marco, Adam, Julianne, and Nima
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"Beef. It’s what’s for dinner," the baritone voices of actors Robert Mitchum and Sam Elliott told us in the 1990s. "We’re not gonna let Joe Biden and Kamala Harris cut America’s meat!" cried Mike Pence during a speech in Iowa last year. "To meet the Biden Green New Deal targets, America h...
2021-06-30 15:50:16 +0000 UTC View Post
In this public News Brief, we examine 24 hours of CNN's mindless police stenography undermining modest bail reform in New York.
The Thin Blue Lies Behind Crime Wave H...
2021-06-26 03:00:44 +0000 UTC View PostHi all, here's this fortnight's newsletter. Thanks again for all your support! Hope you are having a good summer thus far.
-- Marco, Adam, Florence, Nima, and Julianne.
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Hi Patreon supporters!
Thank you as always for your support making this show possible. We are extremely grateful.
We will be holding our next one-hour live audio and text AMA Thursday, June 24 at 10pm ET / 7pm PT. So save the date, postpone your other Zoom calls, and prep your quest...
In this public News Brief, we discuss a recent advice column in the New York Times advocating upwardly mobile professionals dump their fat and depressed friends and how it's part of a much broader trend of pop sociology repackaging cruelty and soft eugenics as "science-driven" self improvement. W...
2021-06-16 16:21:21 +0000 UTC View Post
In this Patreon News Brief, we break down the recent wave of business lobby-curated media attacks on the already paltry supplemental unemployment insurance.
2021-06-12 23:00:49 +0000 UTC View Post
Oligarch. Hardliner. Regime. All common terms seen in Anglo-American media when describing politicians and power structures in official villain states; yet - mysteriously absent when talking about ourselves or our allies.
This Part II of our Citations Needed countdown of the Top 10...
2021-06-09 16:20:55 +0000 UTC View Post
Hand-picked successor, firebrand, proxy — In Anglo-American media, there are certain Enemy Epithets that are reserved only for Official Enemy States of the good ol' US of A and their leaders, which are rarely, if ever, used to refer to the United States itself or its allies, despite th...
2021-06-02 17:52:15 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello, kind supporters,
The Citations team is intent on getting you as much content as possible and will be rolling out more patron-only events in the coming months!
In April, we did an Ask-Me-Anything on our Discord channel, which was open to all patrons. We were joi...
2021-06-01 16:08:48 +0000 UTC View Post
In this public News Brief, we take a critical look at a recent wave of sensationalist "Organized Crime" "Shoplifting Epidemic" stories in national and Bay Area media and how they fit into a resurgent "Tough on Crime" narrative.
We are joined by Fred Sherburn-Zimmer, Director of Housing Righ...
2021-05-26 17:09:08 +0000 UTC View Post
In this Patreon-only News Brief, we examine the Washington Post, NYTimes, Politico's uncritical reporting parroting anonymous, self-serving claims Biden is super secretly working to stop Israeli bombing of Gaza despite Biden's unwavering public support of Israel at the UN, pledge for more aid, an...
2021-05-20 12:41:17 +0000 UTC View Post
"A good, hard working kid." "A 4.0 student." "He's asking for too much money." "They get paid to play a child’s game." "He shows up and does his work and never complains."
Despite the fact that the concept of paying college athletes has gained some mainstream support in recent years, much...
2021-05-19 16:11:21 +0000 UTC View Post
In this public News Brief, we breakdown the most common anti-Palestinian tropes and why they're based on sophistry, ignorance, racism, or some combination of all three.
2021-05-14 18:00:18 +0000 UTC View Post
In this public News Brief, we recap a recent internal USAID report that details the group's role in Trump's 2019 Venezuela coup attempt, American media cheering on the obvious PR op like trained seals, and break down how Biden's weaponization of "aid" will likely not be very different. With guest...
2021-05-12 15:35:11 +0000 UTC View Post
In this News Brief, we breakdown the entirely predictable cycle of media coverage, liberal handwringing, vague "progressive" outrage, and why the most recent "clashes" should compel nominal progressive leaders like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to formally support BDS.
2021-05-12 01:33:03 +0000 UTC View Post
In this public News Brief, we dissect recent news that the Biden administration backs a TRIPS waiver at the WTO and why the terms of their upcoming TRIPS waiver matter more than the splashy headlines.
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In this News Brief, we breakdown the anti-TRIPS waiver corporate and ideological forces behind the seemingly good-hearted #VaxLive concert on May 8th. Namely, the Gates Foundation, Johnson and Johnson and a who's who of g...
2021-04-30 16:46:02 +0000 UTC View Post"Trucking Shortage: Drivers Aren't Always In It For The Long Haul," NPR tells us. "The U.S. Is Running Out of Nurses," reports The Atlantic. "There's A Nationwide STEM Teacher Shortage. Will It Cost Us The Next Einstein?" Forbes laments. '"'The Future Depends on Teachers,' PSA launched targeting ...
2021-04-29 00:19:26 +0000 UTC View PostHi all,
Here's this fortnight's newsletter. We hope you are doing well and we can't thank you enough for your support. New episode drops tomorrow, it's on phony "labor shortages"--be sure to check it out!
- Adam, Florence, Marco, Nima, Julianne
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Almost every wealthy country in the world has some type of universal healthcare system--except for the United States. With over 170 million of its citizens left to fend for themselves in a sprawling and complex maze of Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, tax credits, child care subsidies, co-p...
2021-04-21 16:55:15 +0000 UTC View Post