Episode 69: Improvements That Ain't

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Sometimes, you've just gotta rant.

As well anyone who regularly reads these show notes in the pursuit of the show or in search of links hinted at on the show, I've had problems of late getting my links to work. That problem is solved, thanks once again to L33t Minion. But the problem came from an unexpected corner of reality, one on which I rant, once again unscripted, in this Episode 69: Improvements That Ain't. I like to think that behind a very silly rant, there lies a societal blind spot, one comfortably occupied by, of all things, the reason many don't question advertising.

In this episode, I don't play much. I open with KMFDM and Mark Blyth, and close with the Vince Guiraldi Trio doing the seasonal "Skating." Playing music from the Charlie Brown Christmas Special, and releasing this episode on December 25, are indications of a gift for you! I hope you accept it as such.

Episode 68: The Unusual Suspects

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(This episode is part of the series The Powell Movement.)

We know that Lewis Powell, Jr. wrote his memo. But do we know who read it? It turns out several were influenced by that work enough to do work of their own, transforming their fortunes into an effort to push back at that warned-of creeping tide of liberalism supposedly washing against the bulwarks of the free enterprise system. In this Episode 68: The Unusual Suspects, I'll share a few names; some, sadly, will become all the more familiar in coming years.

In this episode, the first of the Powell Movement series, I read from David Brock's Blinded by the Right, and from Jane Mayer's Dark Money.

I also mentioned some claims of fascist tendencies in the episode: this website contains the images and needed explanation of them. The page should dispel any nostalgia for the more than recent past some may hold. (NB: It seems my memory of the exact details of both Henry Ford’s publications and the award he received in his office from Germany, while technically accurate, were nevertheless a bit muddled; I regret the errors.)

Voice-wise, I managed to coax some quite able voice talent into reading throughout this upcoming series from the Memo itself. D. L. Myers is a poet and reader of weird poetry, one who impressed me with his ability to intone the dire and woeful. Many of his readings, both of his own poetry and the work of others, can be found at his online video channel.

Musically, I dove into the unusual suspects with a tune from Jupiter Makes Me Scream entitled appropriately enough, "Dive Into." I opened with a new intro backed by KMFDM, this one voiced by Henry Giroux. The Henry Giroux interview with Bill Moyers is well worth the looksie/listen.

As with all of my episodes, I'm releasing this one under a Creative Commons 4.0 attribution, share-alike and non-commercial license.

Julie and Rolf lead a campfire rendition of "Over the Rainbow" at the close.

Episode 67: Two Paths You Can Go By

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Oh, where would I be without listener feedback? This Episode 67: Two Paths You Can Go By, is a lengthy explanation to longest-time listener L33t Minion about why I used the language I used in that episode. I had to give a little spoiler explanation, given the weirdness that beset the entire United States of America two weeks prior to this episode's release.

As part of that spoiler, I excerpted segments of David Daley, author of Ratfucked: The True Story Behind the Secret Plan to Steal America's Democracy from an interview about the book he gave for a show called This Is Hell. I also played several snippets of "Stairway to Heaven" covers. From start to finish, they include: Rodrigo y Gabriela, The Beatnix, Pat Boone, Dolly Parton, and Frank Zappa.

I opened the show with KMFDM backing Mark Blyth, and closed with Mistle Thrush.

Episode 66: Something Happened

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(This episode is the introduction to the series The Powell Movement.)

Ah, formative moments! Those instances of circumstance that try the soul into reconsideration! In this Episode 66: Something Happened, I look into the before and after life of one of the most influential people in American history, and give due weight to the confluence of circumstance that drove him to his own formative moment.

On this episode you hear quite a bit of me reading from Robert W. McChesney and John Nichol's Dollarocracy: How the Money and Media Election Complex is Destroying America (Nation Books, 2013), and a bit from Jane Mayer's Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right (Random House, 2016). You'll hear more from both of those books in future episodes, I can assure you. I play oral arguments and decision excerpts from the Supreme Court's Buckley v. Valeo case, and Justice John Paul Stevens' oral summation of dissent from 2010's Citizens United, Not Timid*, backed by KMFDM.

Musically, I play a bunch of tunes from Podington Bear’s album Yearning, first "Delphi," then "Clouds Pass Softly Deux," then "Small Bummer," and finally "Rarified." I close the show with Mistle Thrush. There were also more than a few cigarette commercial jingles I found addictive enough to play, but I felt it would be unfair to the makers of this shit to simply play it, er, straight.

*Seriously, if more people insisted on noting the original title for the Hillary Clinton attack group made famous by the decision that bears its name, fewer, I think, would give the group the credence they hardly deserve.

Episode 65: The Commodified Assets of Others

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Just ahead we have in this here nation a presidential election, and a hum-dinger by all accounts. I'm not here to play favorites, since mine have already been tossed to the wayside. I am concerned, though, in this here Episode 65: The Commodified Assets of Others of topics that seem never to be considered by your usual gang of reportage professionals, namely, that we blithely discard key points of self-identfication that no one who has ever lived in actual police states would so casually offer simply for the "privilege" of mere "free" "social media."

No fancy quoting in this episode. You hear only myself a bit peeved at the insistence that I view commercials. I even go off-course without a prepared script to temper the rage.

Episode 64: Spitballing Utopia

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It's not enough to wish things were better, is it? To make things better, it helps to do some planning. In this, Episode 64: Spitballing Utopia, I share and glom onto solutions for newspaper revival and revitalization that allow public inputs without compromising the private ownership of papers.

In this episode, I (of course!) read from Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols' The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution That Will Begin the World Again (First Nation Books, 2010).

Musically, you heard from Graham Bole doing "We Are One," and Jahzzar doing "Ads" (how great a title is that?!). You also hear KMFDM with Bruce Livesy, and Julie and Rolf getting the gang "Over The Rainbow" ukelele-style.

Episode 63: You REALLY Didn't Build That!

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Should our news ecosystem be reserved to the wilds of the "market?" Not only should it not, it never really has been. There are quite a few government investments, subsidies, and protections for news dispersal agencies to allow anyone to claim these outlets exist in a "free" market. That is what I argue in this, Episode 63, You REALLY Didn't Build That! Once we get that delusion debunked, we can move on to solutions involving government tweaks and policies that fix the problem of failing news.

On this episode I read once again from Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols' excellent book, The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution That Will Begin the World Again (First Nation Books, 2010). One more intense dive into that book and I should be able to move on to other books, I promise. I played President Obama on the 2008 campaign trail, and the right-wing reaction to his words from various Faux Newsies and candidate Mitt Romney. A sound that proves more influential than Mr. Romney, I also played a toaster popping.

Musically, I play two from Jahzzar, first "Liar," and then "Origins." Tenacious D's "The Government Totally Sucks" (from "The Pick of Destiny" soundtrack) made a worthy stinger. As usual, I opened with KMFDM's "Attack", this time with Bruce Livesy, and closed with Mistle Thrush’s "It's All Like Today."

Episode 62: No News Is Bad News

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You've heard me touting the news that news is dead, or at least dying. Here's a question: What has that got to advertising? Maybe, everything. In this Episode 62: No News Is Bad News, I trot out evidence that things are much, much more dire than, well, the news is ready to admit, and that not doing anything might be the most disastrous move ever.

On this episode, you'll hear me read from two books by Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols; a bit came from Dollarocracy: How the Money and Media Election Complex is Destroying America (Nation Books, 2013); most from The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution That Will Begin the World Again (Nation Books, 2010, where I also found the quotes from Finlay Peter Dunne, James Madison, and Thomas Paine). I also threw in a couple quoted snippets from Robert McChesney's book Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism is Turning The Internet Against Democracy (The New Press, 2013).

Podington Bear's album Pensive provided all the appropriately downbeat incidental music. From that album you heard, in order, "Down Day," "Little Black Cloud," and "Lonesome." Since I mentioned the On The Media BGs, I had to play a "Staying Alive" stinger a couple of times as well. Bruce Livesy and KMFDM opened the show, and Mistle Thrush closed with "It's All Like Today."

Episode 61: The Sons of Omission

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When we hear folks say that "objectivity is impossible," what do they mean? In the most basic sense, it proves impossible to sort what is and what is not important without assigning a subjective judgment to everything being reported. When 100 things can be mentioned, and the reporter chooses to mention only 99 of them, objectivity goes bye-bye. I explore this tendency for certain stuff to get unmentioned (and, in some cases, why) in Episode 61: The Sons of Omission.

In this episode, I read from: Will Irwin's 1911 article, "The Advertising Influence" (something I found in a collection called "Our Unfree Press: 100 Years of Radical Media Criticism," edited by Robert McChesney and Ben Scott); two books by Upton Sinclair, including "The Brass Check" (1920, self-published) and "I, Candidate for Governor, and How I Got Licked" (1934); Greg Mitchell's "The Campaign of the Century: Upton Sinclair's Race for Governor of California and the Birth of Media Politics" (Random House, 1992); and Andrew Blechman's "Leisureville: Adventures in America's Retirement Utopias" (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2008).

Musically, I played: Jahzzar doing "Circles;" Lee Rosevere doing "Gimmicks Three;" and that campfire singing of "Under the Rainbow" led by my friends Julie and Rolf. Also, KMFDMM's "Attack" opens the show with Jan Wong's observation about limitations reporters face.

Episode 60: Lies, Bullshit, and Journalism

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Humans are ingenuity machines. They like to define things ingeniously, but sometimes for less-than-noble purposes. Or they consider their definitional motives noble, when they aren't.

In Episode 60: Lies, Bullshit, and Journalism, I explore a few new definitions for an old tradition: bullshitting. You can call it "analysis;" you can call it "wisdom;" but sometimes the general term "bull shit" works best. In fact, whereas "wisdom" and "analysis" are terms only applicable based on the quality inherent in the brain droppings being so defined, "bullshit" has the benefit of accurately describing the act of interpretation no matter what the quality might be.

In this episode, I read from "Tweet All About It: From 'user-generated content' to political screeds, the future of news happens to look a lot like the past" by Clive Thompson, an article published in the May, 2016 "Smithsonian" magazine; from Mitchell Stephens' "Beyond News: The Future of Journalism" (Columbia University Press, 2014); and from Robert McChesney's "Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism is Turning The Internet Against Democracy." (The New Press, 2013).

I played an excerpt or two from an On The Media Podcast extra titled "How the 'Fake News' Gets Made" where Brooke Gladstone interviews writers from a few of the fake news comedy shows, including one Daniel Radosh, whose observation about bullshit ends this episode. I also trot out the "Making America 'Great' Again!" stinger, with the "great" graciously voiced by C-Realm host KMO.

Musically, I included two tunes from Dumbo Gets Mad, first "Sleeping Over", then "Limbos Village"; one from Podington Bear, "Tuxes"; and my friends singing around the campfire. Julie has the voice. Her husband Rolf shreds on the ukelele. KMFDM backing Tim Bousquet's declaration about the need for journalists to be assholes provides the intro tuneage.

Episode 59: Mea Culpa

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To err is human, amirite? In this, Episode 59: Mea Culpa, I'm not seeking forgiveness. I know I make mistakes. I've made them before, and I'm sure I will continue to make them. Here, though, I do—for a very specific reason which will become apparent instantly to long-time listeners—feel the need to correct the record lest I be accused not-journalism. Even though, I know, I'm not a journalist.



Trust me. There's a reason for this.

Today, I read from Tim Wu's "The Master Switch" once again; and from Rose George's "The Big Necessity," the best book about the complexities involved in the systems and traditions tied to relieving oneself I have ever read. Shit can be hard, it turns out.

Musically, KMFDM and Mistle Thrush ably open and close this episode.

Episode 58: Warring Assumptions

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In this Episode 58: Warring Assumptions, I look briefly into a topic I haven't covered in a bit lately: commercials and how to avoid them. Specifically I look at developments in commercial-nuking technology; the lawsuits and corporate decisions that kept the best tech from emerging when it was first developed; and the later realizations that allowed it to (in a limited way) finally become available to the viewing and listening public. In the end I manage to Godwin the whole thing, tying corporate decision making to an element that inadvertently hamstrung the fight against Adolf Hitler himself.

My sources for this episode include: Tim Wu's book, "The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires" (Random House, 2010, pp. 184-186); Richard Strauss' "Also Thus Spake Zarathustra;" Orson Welles introducing the 1939 Mercury Theater production of "War of the Worlds;" and Visciera's "Coming Back." I open with Dmitri Orlov backed by KMFDM's "Attack," and close with Mistle Thrush's "It's All Like Today."

Episode 57: Cucumber Monkeys

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The title of Episode 57: Cucumber Monkeys refers here not to long, green vegetable carvings of tiny primates, but to a condition I hope you will understand once you hear the content. Remember, when you do, that we have instincts shared by all the primates, no matter how "developed."

In this episode, I play Dan Baum, author of "Gun Guys: A Road Trip," as people heard him in C-Realm 356: "Gun Guy." You also hear then-candidate Obama commenting on some voters, and Frans de Waal, a primate researcher. I read in this episode excerpts from Baum's "Gun Guys: A Road Trip," Richard Wilkenson & Kate Pickett's "The Spirit Level," and Steven Johnson's "Future Perfect."

Bernie Sanders opens the show with help from KMFDM. Mistle Thrush provides the close.

Episode 56: Existential Dread From Our Grand Uncle

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In Episode 56: Existential Dread From Our Grand Uncle, I try my best to convey the denial I realized in the last episode, 55: Weaving Threads From Carved Chunks, the stripping of that denial, and the cold realization that there is currently approaching at way faster than I had realized a crisis in the making, at least for me, professionally. Or politically. Something has got to give, or … bad things.

I don't like bad things.

In this episode, I read some more from John Maynard Keynes' 1930 essay "Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren;" and from L33t Minion's comment to Episode 53. I mention a fact about how dangerous to children those cars are. The other fact is illustrated nicely by this graph:


We don't drive
as much as we used to.

I also played an excerpt from Costas Samaras as heard on Episode 171 of 99% Invisible; I'll link to the web site I discussed concerning Professor Samaras at the show notes as well. And I played a bit of KMO introducing our conversation, one that took place on C-Realm 489: Muscle Power and Microchips. Musically, I worked Jazzhar's "Starting Point" into the narrative. Bruce Livesy introduces the show with an observation about corporate power, backed, of course, by KMFDM.

Episode 55: Weaving Threads From Carved Chunks

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People should talk to each other. That way, information flows from person to person, and eventually, perhaps someone says something that finally penetrates the thick skull of the listener, which leads the listener, perhaps someone like myself, to realize something very, very important.

In this Episode 55: Weaving Threads From Carved Chunks, listener L33tminion provided a bit of a progress report on a technology I covered in Episode 53: The Fails of Past Futures. This update penetrated my obstinate nature enough for me to realize something I had kept comfortably buried in a thick swaddle of denial for years, even after people have been telling me about it for about forever.

In this episode, I read once again from John Maynard Keynes' "Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren," as far as I know the original source of the term "economic unemployment;" from a couple of Wikipedia entries, one on Thomas Savery, the other on William Lee's stocking frame; from William Rosen's The Most Powerful Idea in the World: A Story of Steam, Industry, and Invention (Random House, 2010); and from William Gibson's The Peripheral (Berkely, 2014). I play Jazzhar's "Reflections," and open the show with Tim Bousquet and KMFDM.

NB: With all the content penned by people named William, I inadvertently added another, misspeaking Thomas Savery's first name as another William. I regret the error.

Episode 54: Formatting Fear, The Knox Formula

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This just in: Boo! Should you be afraid? Stay tuned.

Yes, news tries to suck the viewer in. It's the stuff of stand-up and parody everywhere. But is it such a good idea to try to frighten people when they just need to know the basic news of the day? What possible reason could they have for such silliness? I explore that question in this Episode 54: Formatting Fear, The Knox Formula, where I call as evidence probably the most remembered broadcast that led to a panic, the 1938 Mercury Theater's rendition of The War of the Worlds.

In this episode, you will indeed hear quite a bit of that recording, along with newspaper accounts of what happened the very next day. I also read from a Rolling Stone article by Matt Taibbi concerning news that tries to frighten.

Musically, you will hear bits of Ramon Roquello and his Orchestra, and Full Load of King doing "Gray Walk Oblivion Part 1." KMFDM opens the show with then Mayor of Burlington, Vermont, Bernie Sanders, and Mistle Thrush once again closes with the end to "It's All Like Today."

Episode 53: The Fails of Past Futures

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Some dreams from the past never came to be, and some should just stay permanently unrealized. I'll explore two such dreams in Episode 53: The Fails of Past Futures. Strap on, and hear my take on why the average person should never own a jet pack. Buckle up, and learn why the additional costs of self-driving cars simply don't offer the safety advantages, especially when one considers how some are thinking of paying for this added kit.







In this Episode, I play sound from three videos: the first episode of the 1949 Republic serial "King of the Rocket Men", and two videos celebrating the modern-day rocket man, Yves Rossi. I also play some maddening excerpts from episode 171 of 99% Invisible. I introduce the episode with Bruce Livesey, as always backed by KMFDM.

Episode 52: Exactly When Did That Happen?

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You can tell things are not well on television news. It, well, sucks like it has never sucked before. The quality? Gone. One viewing should inform, yet people continue to watch. In this, Episode 52: Exactly When Did That Happen?, I briefly run down the major changes over the last 40 years that might have causally led to Telly News' demise.

This episode features an observation Jeffry Dvorkin, former head of news for both the CBC and NPR, made in an interview he did on Canadaland's episode 39, first released on June 30, 2014. I play music from Graham Bole, first "Origami" then "Kirigami." George Hrab voices the "great" in the stinger, and Jan Wong introduces the episode with KMFDM.

Episode 51: Scarequotes Required

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Ever notice how some words get used again and again and again, as if those words could be used interchangeably in any situation? That's because they are not, as they sound, declarations of good and mighty, but rather negations of many, many different bad and puny situations. Unless one specifies the specific bad thing when one uses these words, the word lacks specific meaning. So, to be honest about one's intentions, one needs to follow the title of this Episode 51: Scarequotes Required, and give a sign that this is one such term.

In this episode, I play a bit of On The Media's Brooke Gladstone interviewing Curt Guyette, and a snippet from Counterspin with blogger/investigator Chris Savage. Musically, you hear How How doing "Pinkery the Kinght" (yes, that is how they spell their song), and the Army band playing John Phillips Souza's "Stars and Stripes Forever." Jan Wong introduces this episode with backing from KMFDM. Special thanks to George Hrab for supplying the word I intend should be scarequoted with most usages.

Episode 50: Cry Quits On The Deal!

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What fun are odometer moments if you don't make them fun? Here, I hope, is a fun episode for you. Episode 50: Cry Quits On The Deal! has a message, sure, but I have included attempts at humor to bring sarcasm and parody, hopefully to leaven that darned persistent message.

You also hear Counterspin's Steve Rendall, telling a story from October of 2014.

I mention quite a bit of the music played herein, including "Bomb Run", a piece from the Stanley Kubrick movie "Dr. Strangelove"; Mistle Thrush doing a bit of "It's All Like Today", and KMFDM doing a bit of "Attak/Reload" while Mark Blythe mentions bullshit.

And though I didn't mention it in the show itself, I also played a bit of music from Assif Tsahar and Tastsuya Nakatani, doing "West 4th"; Dumbo Gets Mad doing "Harmony"; and Raphae doing "Echo".

Ooo! And this time I get to thank Voices Other Than My Own! You'll first hear Kevin. Then you'll hear Mila. Thanks to both of you for much needed vocal variety! And once again, Kevin, thanks so much for the hard work that went into the ending sketch!

Bonus Episode: The Powell Memo

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This is a Bonus Episode. Rather than look as deeply as I can into a given topic, I've decided to give you, the Listener, the source material for what I consider to be one of the most important documents in recent US political history.

Given its length and the dryness of the content, I in no way hold a grudge against anyone who wishes instead to execute the skip button and leave this unheard. I plan to address this document in my usual excerpting style in the near future, complete with as many jokes as I can muster; so skipping this will be no loss.

For those that do listen, I hope you share with me the awe of hearing a document that may well have shaped more of our recent history than any other.

Episode 49: Product or Packaging?

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Remember that last episode, the one where I accused NPR podcasters of parading themselves inappropriately in front of would-be funders like cheap prostitutes? I'm still not over that, it seems. In this Episode 49: Product or Packaging?, I ruminate about why none of the NPR podcasts ever responded to my years of begging them for an ad-free podcast stream, even after I promised money for the favor. I have an idea, and I'm sticking to it.

Not much this time in way of source material, except the music, this time "Prologue" by The Mystery Artists. And, of course, Dmitri Orlov once again talks over KMFDM's tune "Attack."

Episode 48: The Affront of an Upfront

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Something happened late last April which has been bugging me ever since. I cover the insult not just in the event itself, but in the name given such events, in this Episode 48: The Affront of an Upfront.

To support my notion that this was indeed an insult, I read from an NPR press release concerning the offending event; from Ira Glass's May 13 rebuttal of critics of that event; and from Fairness and Accuracy in Media's magazine "Extra!" and their criticism of both the event and of Glass's dissemination in "Current." I also read a Wikipedia entry giving a specific definition of an "upfront"; and close reading from Upton Sinclair's 1920 book, The Brass Check. (Specifically, the Sinclair passages read come from pages: 104; 130; 196-197; 178; 256; 365-366; 382; and 8-9.)

I provided background noises from various sources, including an online video hyping the public radio podcasting event, and music from Jahzzar (doing "Bankrupt") and Podington Bear (doing "Fragile, Do Not Drop"). Once again, the Bruce Livesey/KMFDM introduction starts the show.

Episode 47: Ludus Interruptus

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Ah, games. What's not to love? How about games being interrupted by constant appeals for money, either from ads or, perhaps worse, the game itself? Episode 47: Ludus Interruptus explores just such aggravations faced by today's gamers, some of them insidious, others merely irritating, some downright deplorable.

In today's episode, I play portions from an On The Media episode that aired November 18, 2011. I read from a publication called Game Career Guide, and another article from the British publication Express. You hear familiar games playing the background on occasion, and two tunes from Teleidofusion: "みなこ" and "Five Minutes of an Autumn."

Though I didn't mention it, this episode has yet another brand new intro, one featuring documentary filmmaker Bruce Livesey commenting on the power of corporate money compared to the power of government. He made these comments in Episode 77 of Canadaland. He was backed, as are all introductory voices to this show, by KMFDM's "Attack."