American Exception
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Episode 98: Propaganda!
🕑 Added 2023-01-13 14:01:00 +0000 UTCWe are joined by Dr. Piers Robinson, founding editor of Propaganda in Focus. We discuss a number of topics, including his 2022 article, "Cock-up or Conspiracy? Understanding COVID-19 as a ‘Structural Deep Event" and the recent tribute to Lance DeHaven-Smith published at Propaganda in Focus—a piece which Piers asked me to co-write with Professor Matthew Witt.
Piers Robinson is also co-director of the Organisation for Propaganda Studies, convenor of the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media, associated researcher with the Working Group on Propaganda and the 9/11 Global ‘War on Terror’, and member of Panda and BerlinGroup21.
Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: “Payroll” by Mock Orange
Comments
DRS
In regards to Covid I have to say it makes my head hurt as well. It’s very difficult to comprehend all of the different angles and apparent contradictions. I also don’t think it helped that it got wrapped up in the side show reality distortion field of the man in charge at the time. Some his fault, some not, but his presence was a net negative no matter who shoulders most of the blame.
Ellen Harold
Many of them are professional researchers who could inform themselves in a matter of hours. There is no controversy or “divisiveness “: it is a matter of consensus that the way to handle an epidemic is by aggressive tracking, testing, and isolation (with compensation). This is what Cuba did. They sent medical personnel door to door. Sweden did have a lockdown. They were one of the earliest to lock down (April 13, per wiki). An epidemic is by definition where infections multiply exponentially (the R factor). And it has to be nipped in the bud before it has a chance to spread.
Cory
It's super tiring but it's an epistemological problem. The commentators I used to follow who have taken what I consider to be an unscientific position on this topic... I can't help but give the rest of their work the side-eye. Sure, they're not medical experts so one can forgive them. But they're not middle east experts either so, this may indicate the quality of evidence they deem persuasive. This has been horrible for me. I used to read piers all the time. And CJ and max and Jimmy etc.... I don't know how to deal with it intellectually so I've basically ignored them for a couple years. I'm not sure what is the best way to get beyond this.
