Podcast appearances and mentions of brandy zadrozny

Guests: Josh Marshall, Rep. Ro Khanna, Brandy Zadrozny, Ben TerrisAmerica's rogue executive orders the defunding of public broadcasting. Tonight: the latest executive power grab and the looming lawsuits to stop an unlawful order. Then, on the eve of still more new tariffs, the chaos economy squeeze on small business. And alarming vaccine headlines coming from America's top health official. Want more of Chris? Download and subscribe to his podcast, “Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes podcast” wherever you get your podcasts.

Falun Gong is familiar to many as a spiritual exercise movement, and a sect that has been persecuted by the People's Republic of China. In Sydney you'll often see practitioners demonstrating by Town Hall with flyers sharing stories of organ harvesting of wrongfully imprisoned members. But former devotees have come forward with stories of coercion and abuse, alleging that in one thing the CCP is correct: Falun Gong is a socially harmful cult.Full research sources listed here.Links:“I am the only one propagating true Dharma”: Li Hongzhi's Self-Presentation as Buddha and Greater — by James R. Lewis, ColomboArts Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol II, Issue 2, 2017The life and times of Li Hongzhi: ‘Falun Gong' and Religious Biography — by Benjamin Penny, The China Quarterly 175, 643–661, 2003The power of Falun Gong — By Eric Campbell and Hagar Cohen, Foreign Correspondent-Background Briefing, ABC, 21 July 2020Shen Yun: The Dark Side of a Dance Troupe — The Daily, New York Times Podcasts, 3 April 2025Facebook bans ads from The Epoch Times after huge pro-Trump buy — by Brandy Zadrozny and Ben Collins, NBC News, 23 August 2019This Pro-Trump YouTube Network Sprang Up Just After He Lost — by Craig Silverman, BuzzFeed News, 8 January 2021A key source for Covid-skeptic movements, the Epoch Times yearns for a global audience — by Alessio Perrone & Darren Loucaides, coda, 10 March 2022DoJ accuses far-right Epoch Times of being money-laundering operation — by Richard Luscombe, The Guardian, 4 June 2024Behind the Pageantry of Shen Yun, Untreated Injuries and Emotional Abuse — by Nicole Hong & Michael Rothfeld, The New York Times, 15 August 2024Stepping Into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun — by Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 19 March 2019Their posters are everywhere, but behind Shen Yun lies a darker story — by Anthony Segaert, The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 February 2025Consider supporting Decult in NZ Subscribe and support the production of this independent podcast, and you can access early + ad-free episodes at https://plus.acast.com/s/lets-talk-about-sects. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is making research into autism one of his major initiatives. NBC’s Brandy Zadrozny explains how he’s reinvigorated the anti-vaccine movement in the process. The Los Angeles Times looks at how several Democratic governors, including California's Gavin Newsom, are responding to and contending with the Trump administration. NPR explains how government bureaucracy has disrupted the reintegration of former Marine Paul Whelan, who was released from Russia last year in a prisoner swap coordinated by the Biden administration. Plus, a judge says there is probable cause to hold Trump administration officials in criminal contempt, the Federal Reserve chief addresses tariffs, and how Paris dramatically improved its air quality. Today’s episode was hosted by Gideon Resnick.

Have you or someone you love been confused by the push to 'Make America Healthy Again'? Then you, my friend, are in dire need of our new series: The Road to Make America Healthy Again (MAHA). For the next few weeks, we're delving into some of the origins, conspiracy theories, and power grabs that have led us to this moment, and what it could mean for our health.After visiting the families of measles victims in Texas, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated on X, "The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine." But his history promoting the anti-vaccination cause alongside questionable alternative medicines has public health officials, parents, and even the MAHA constituency on edge.For the second episode in our Road to MAHA series, NPR's senior science and health editor Maria Godoy and NBC News senior reporter, Brandy Zadrozny, walk us through how anti-vaccine rhetoric has led to this moment in public health.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Breaking from a century of tradition, the White House says it will seize control of the press pool covering the president. On this week's On the Media, the new administration is prioritizing access for an array of far-right influencers and news outlets. Plus, what President Trump's pivot toward Russia means for Ukraine after three years of war.[00:00] Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Anna Merlan, senior reporter at Mother Jones covering disinformation, technology, and extremism, to discuss the White House's latest move to control the press pool covering the president.[00:00] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Brandy Zadrozny, senior reporter at NBC News covering the internet, to discuss the rise of Dan Bongino, from right wing podcaster to Donald Trump's new pick for Deputy Director of the FBI, and his history of anti-FBI rhetoric. [00:00] Brooke Gladstone talks to Yaroslav Trofimov, chief foreign affairs correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and the author of No Country for Love, about the ultraconservative embrace of Putin's Russia in the United States and how President Trump has spearheaded a paradigm shift in Republican foreign policy vis-à-vis Russia.Further reading:“Meet the New State Media,” by Anna Merlan“Dan Bongino's yearslong history of FBI criticism and conspiracy theories,” by Brandy Zadrozny“How a U.S. President Pivoted Toward Russia,” by Yaroslav Trofimov“Russia Wants to Erase Ukraine's Future—and Its Past,” by Yaroslav TrofimovNo Country for Love, by Yaroslav TrofimovOur Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine's War of Independence, by Yaroslav Trofimov On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Guests: Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, Brandy Zadrozny, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Former Gov. Jay InsleeAfter all the chaos and a major backlash, the White House backs off on the funding freeze. Then, Sen. Elizabeth Warren on the confirmation hearing for Robert Kennedy Jr. And former Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on how to resist overreach in a second Trump term. Want more of Chris? Download and subscribe to his podcast, “Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes podcast” wherever you get your podcasts.

Guests: Sam Stein, Brendan Buck, Asawin Suebsaeng, Brandy Zadrozny, Doug Bock Clark, Tyler Aquilina, Donna Edwards, Charlie Dent, Tim Miller, Wajahat Ali, April Ryan, Molly Jong=Fast, Dean Obeidallah  Tonight: The plan for Trump's incoming administration. And RFK Jr. and what his potential confirmation to the Department of Health and Human Services may mean for the bird flu outbreak. Then, how North Carolina Republicans plan to undermine elected Democrats. Plus, how the NFL and Beyoncé are changing the streaming landscape. Also tonight, House Republicans prepare to elect their next speaker and how Elon Musk may get involved. And, Trump's tech bros spar with MAGA loyalists online over immigration. Then, the threat to journalism abroad and in Trump's second term. Plus, a few good things that happened this year.  Want more of Chris? Download and subscribe to his podcast, “Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes podcast” wherever you get your podcasts.

Guests: Rohit Chopra, Brandy Zadrozny, Faiz Shakir, David Milliband Bombshell reporting on the Trump transition and the deregulation craze. Tonight: new alarm over the man Donald Trump picked to protect American health and the growing concern over the broad MAGA push for deregulation. And as the Fox News cabinet keeps filling out, why is the future president sending his future daughter-in-law to another continent?  Want more of Chris? Download and subscribe to his podcast, “Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes podcast” wherever you get your podcasts.

Lisa Findley tried to steal Elvis Presley's home. She almost got away with it. A con artist with a long history of scams almost pulled off her biggest scheme yet—stealing Elvis Presley's iconic home, Graceland. Using fake documents and fabricated identities, Lisa Findley tried to claim ownership of the historic estate. In this episode, NBC News reporter Brandy Zadrozny takes us down a rabbit hole and shows us how she unraveled Findley's web of lies, linking her to years of fraud and harassment. This is one of the boldest property scams in recent history, and Findley came dangerously close to succeeding/ We'll also talk about the loopholes that make these crimes possible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump completes his journey from outcast to cool kid, showing off his MAGA clique at a glitzy UFC fight and even getting nemeses Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski to come groveling to Mar-a-Lago. Meanwhile, it may not be such smooth sailing for two of his top cabinet picks, Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth, as questions mount about sexual misconduct. Jon, Lovett, and Tommy break down all the latest, including Democratic governors' plan to constrain Trump's power, the upcoming race for DNC chair, and under-the-radar moves at the FCC. Then, Tommy talks with NBC News's Brandy Zadrozny, an expert in misinformation and the rise of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., about RKF's plans for the medical care you get and the food you eat.

Former President Donald Trump has spent the last days of his 2024 campaign casting doubt on the U.S. election system, even taking the stage at a rally in Pennsylvania to say he “shouldn't have left” the White House in 2020. The rhetoric and lies coming from the Trump campaign have also included a false narrative that non-U.S. citizens are voting illegally in large numbers, setting a stage to justify mass deportations or, if needed, declaring a stolen victory.To put it bluntly, there will likely be no simple resolution to the outcome of this election. Anne Applebaum, a staff writer for The Atlantic, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and co-host of the podcast Autocracy in America, joins host Kai Wright to discuss and dissect the ways the Trump campaign has laid the groundwork for distrust in the election results, no matter what they are.Plus, we hear from NBC News disinformation reporter Brandy Zadrozny about the spaces where these lies are spreading and how to weed through disinformation on Election Day and beyond. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at notes@wnyc.org. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

As the election approaches, conspiracy theories have flooded social media. On this week's On the Media, hear why journalists are struggling to keep up with disinformation, on and offline. Plus, what does The Washington Post's non-endorsement really mean? And, a look at the media coverage of the Uncommitted movement.[01:00] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Brandy Zadrozny, senior reporter at NBC, about the growing swirl of disinformation around the election—and the toll it's taking. [14:26] Host Brooke Gladstone takes a close look at the implications of The Washington Post's decision to skip a presidential endorsement, and what it means to “obey in advance.”[24:07] Host Micah Loewinger interviews democratic strategist Waleed Shahid, a co-founder of the Uncommitted Movement, about how the press has covered Arab and Muslim voters.[37:34] Host Brooke Gladstone talks with historian Ira Chinoy, author of Predicting the Winner: The Untold Story of Election Night 1952 and the Dawn of Computer Forecasting, about how newspapers in the 1800s, radio stations in the 1920s, and television in the 1950s helped to make election night the spectacle it is today. Further reading:“Extremists inspired by conspiracy theories pose major threat to 2024 elections, U.S. intelligence warns,” by Brandy Zadrozny"On anticipatory obedience and the media," by Ian Bassin and Maximillian PotterPredicting the Winner: The Untold Story of Election Night 1952 and the Dawn of Computer Forecasting, by Ira Chinoy On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow and Joy Reid immediately react to VP Kamala Harris' final pitch to voters at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. Then, Brandy Zadrozny, Joyce Vance, Claire McCaskill, and David Hogg join to discuss the state of the race 7 days out.  Want more of Chris? Download and subscribe to his podcast, “Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes podcast” wherever you get your podcasts.

Thinking past the US 2024 Presidential Election, In part three of the series, Rick Howard, N2K CyberWire's Chief Analyst and Senior Fellow, discusses reducing the impact of propaganda in the future elections with Perry Carpenter, Chief Human Risk Management Strategist at KnowBe4 and host of the 8th Layer Insights Podcast, Nina Jankowicz, Co-Founder and CEO of the The American Sunlight Project, and Scott Small, Director of Cyber Threat Intelligence at Tidal Cyber. Check out Part 1 & 2! Part 1: Election Propaganda Part 1: How Does Election Propaganda Work? In this episode, Rick Howard, N2K CyberWire's Chief Analyst and Senior Fellow, discusses personal defensive measures that every citizen can take—regardless of political philosophy—to resist the influence of propaganda. This foundational episode is essential for understanding how to navigate the complex landscape of election messaging. Part 2: Election Propaganda: Part 2: Modern propaganda efforts. In preparation for the US 2024 Presidential Election, Rick Howard, N2K CyberWire's Chief Analyst and Senior Fellow, discusses recent international propaganda efforts in the form of nation state interference and influence operations as well as domestic campaigns designed to split the target country into opposing camps. Guests include Nina Jankowicz, Co-Founder and CEO of the The American Sunlight Project and Scott Small, Director of Cyber Threat Intelligence at Tidal Cyber. References: Rick Howard, 2024. Election Propaganda Part 1: How does election propaganda work? [3 Part Podcast Series]. The CyberWire. Rick Howard, 2024. Election Propaganda: Part 2: Modern propaganda efforts. [3 Part Podcast Series]. The CyberWire. Christopher Chabris, Daniel Simons, 2010. The Invisible Gorilla: And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us [Book]. Goodreads. Chris Palmer, 2010. TFL Viral - Awareness Test (Moonwalking Bear) [Explainer]. YouTube. David Ehl, 2024. Why Meta is now banning Russian propaganda [News]. Deutsche Welle. Eli Pariser, 2011. The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding From You [Book]. Goodreads. Kara Swisher, Julia Davis, Alex Stamos, Brandy Zadrozny, 2024. Useful Idiots? How Right-Wing Influencers Got $ to Spread Russian Propaganda [Podcast]. On with Kara Swisher. Nate Silver, 2024. What's behind Trump's surge in prediction markets? [Analysis]. Silver Bulletin. Niha Masih, 2024. Meta bans Russian state media outlet RT for acts of ‘foreign interference' [News]. The Washington Post. Nilay Patel, 2024. The AI election deepfakes have arrived [Podcast]. Decoder. Nina Jankowicz, 2020. How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News and the Future of Conflict [Book]. Goodreads. Perry Carpenter, 2024. FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deceptions [Book]. Goodreads. Perry Carpenter, 2021. Meatloaf Recipes Cookbook: Easy Recipes For Preparing Tasty Meals For Weight Loss And Healthy Lifestyle All Year Round [Book]. Goodreads. Perry Carpenter, n.d. 8th Layer Insights [Podcast]. N2K CyberWire. Renee DiResta, 2024. Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality [Book]. Goodreads. Robin Stern, Marc Brackett, 2024. 5 Ways to Recognize and Avoid Political Gaslighting [Explainer]. The Washington Post. Sarah Ellison, Amy Gardner, Clara Ence Morse, 2024. Elon Musk's misleading election claims reach millions and alarm election officials [News]. The Washington Post. Scott Small, 2024. Election Cyber Interference Threats & Defenses: A Data-Driven Study [White Paper]. Tidal Cyber. Staff, n.d. Overview: Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity [Website]. C2PA. Staff, 2021. Foreign Threats to the 2020 US Federal Elections [Intelligence Community Assessment]. DNI. Staff, n.d. Project Origin [Website]. OriginProject. URL https://www.originproject.info/ Stuart A. Thompson, Tiffany Hsu, 2024. Left-Wing Misinformation Is Having a Moment [Analysis] The New York Times. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thinking past the US 2024 Presidential Election, In part three of the series, Rick Howard, N2K CyberWire's Chief Analyst and Senior Fellow, discusses reducing the impact of propaganda in the future elections with Perry Carpenter, Chief Human Risk Management Strategist at KnowBe4 and host of the 8th Layer Insights Podcast, Nina Jankowicz, Co-Founder and CEO of the The American Sunlight Project, and Scott Small, Director of Cyber Threat Intelligence at Tidal Cyber. Check out Part 1 & 2! Part 1: Election Propaganda Part 1: How Does Election Propaganda Work? In this episode, Rick Howard, N2K CyberWire's Chief Analyst and Senior Fellow, discusses personal defensive measures that every citizen can take—regardless of political philosophy—to resist the influence of propaganda. This foundational episode is essential for understanding how to navigate the complex landscape of election messaging. Part 2: Election Propaganda: Part 2: Modern propaganda efforts. In preparation for the US 2024 Presidential Election, Rick Howard, N2K CyberWire's Chief Analyst and Senior Fellow, discusses recent international propaganda efforts in the form of nation state interference and influence operations as well as domestic campaigns designed to split the target country into opposing camps. Guests include Nina Jankowicz, Co-Founder and CEO of the The American Sunlight Project and Scott Small, Director of Cyber Threat Intelligence at Tidal Cyber. References: Rick Howard, 2024. Election Propaganda Part 1: How does election propaganda work? [3 Part Podcast Series]. The CyberWire. Rick Howard, 2024. Election Propaganda: Part 2: Modern propaganda efforts. [3 Part Podcast Series]. The CyberWire. Christopher Chabris, Daniel Simons, 2010. The Invisible Gorilla: And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us [Book]. Goodreads. Chris Palmer, 2010. TFL Viral - Awareness Test (Moonwalking Bear) [Explainer]. YouTube. David Ehl, 2024. Why Meta is now banning Russian propaganda [News]. Deutsche Welle. Eli Pariser, 2011. The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding From You [Book]. Goodreads. Kara Swisher, Julia Davis, Alex Stamos, Brandy Zadrozny, 2024. Useful Idiots? How Right-Wing Influencers Got $ to Spread Russian Propaganda [Podcast]. On with Kara Swisher. Nate Silver, 2024. What's behind Trump's surge in prediction markets? [Analysis]. Silver Bulletin. Niha Masih, 2024. Meta bans Russian state media outlet RT for acts of ‘foreign interference' [News]. The Washington Post. Nilay Patel, 2024. The AI election deepfakes have arrived [Podcast]. Decoder. Nina Jankowicz, 2020. How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News and the Future of Conflict [Book]. Goodreads. Perry Carpenter, 2024. FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deceptions [Book]. Goodreads. Perry Carpenter, 2021. Meatloaf Recipes Cookbook: Easy Recipes For Preparing Tasty Meals For Weight Loss And Healthy Lifestyle All Year Round [Book]. Goodreads. Perry Carpenter, n.d. 8th Layer Insights [Podcast]. N2K CyberWire. Renee DiResta, 2024. Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality [Book]. Goodreads. Robin Stern, Marc Brackett, 2024. 5 Ways to Recognize and Avoid Political Gaslighting [Explainer]. The Washington Post. Sarah Ellison, Amy Gardner, Clara Ence Morse, 2024. Elon Musk's misleading election claims reach millions and alarm election officials [News]. The Washington Post. Scott Small, 2024. Election Cyber Interference Threats & Defenses: A Data-Driven Study [White Paper]. Tidal Cyber. Staff, n.d. Overview: Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity [Website]. C2PA. Staff, 2021. Foreign Threats to the 2020 US Federal Elections [Intelligence Community Assessment]. DNI. Staff, n.d. Project Origin [Website]. OriginProject. URL https://www.originproject.info/ Stuart A. Thompson, Tiffany Hsu, 2024. Left-Wing Misinformation Is Having a Moment [Analysis] The New York Times.

In today's episode:Donald Trump's press conference at Mar-a-Lago provides some subtle but provocative momentsVenezuela's Maduro says XformerlyTwitter will be shut down for ten daysSmartmatic indictments and the closing of a years-long "conspiracy theory" loopFake News NBC's Brandy Zadrozny claims on the basis of a contrived Microsoft report that Iran is interfering in our electionLeon Panetta begs for the Israel-Iran escalation the Regime just can't seem to get off the ground.Connect with Be Reasonable: https://linktr.ee/imyourmoderatorHear the show when it's released. Become a paid subscriber at imyourmoderator.substack.comVisit the show's sponsors:Diversify your assets into Bitcoin: https://partner.river.com/reasonableDiversify your assets into precious metals: reasonablegold.comOther ways to support the work:ko-fi.com/imyourmoderatorDonate btc via coinbase: 3MEh9J5sRvMfkWd4EWczrFr1iP3DBMcKk5Make life more comfortable: mypillow.com/reasonableMerch site: https://cancelcouture.com or https://riseattireusa.com/intl/cancelcouture/Follow the podcast info stream: t.me/veryreasonableOther social platforms: Truth Social, Gab, Rumble, or Gettr - @imyourmoderator Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/be-reasonable-with-your-moderator-chris-paul. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today's episode:Donald Trump's press conference at Mar-a-Lago provides some subtle but provocative momentsVenezuela's Maduro says XformerlyTwitter will be shut down for ten daysSmartmatic indictments and the closing of a years-long "conspiracy theory" loopFake News NBC's Brandy Zadrozny claims on the basis of a contrived Microsoft report that Iran is interfering in our electionLeon Panetta begs for the Israel-Iran escalation the Regime just can't seem to get off the ground.Connect with Be Reasonable: https://linktr.ee/imyourmoderatorHear the show when it's released. Become a paid subscriber at imyourmoderator.substack.comVisit the show's sponsors:Diversify your assets into Bitcoin: https://partner.river.com/reasonableDiversify your assets into precious metals: reasonablegold.comOther ways to support the work:ko-fi.com/imyourmoderatorDonate btc via coinbase: 3MEh9J5sRvMfkWd4EWczrFr1iP3DBMcKk5Make life more comfortable: mypillow.com/reasonableMerch site: https://cancelcouture.com or https://riseattireusa.com/intl/cancelcouture/Follow the podcast info stream: t.me/veryreasonableOther social platforms: Truth Social, Gab, Rumble, or Gettr - @imyourmoderator Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/be-reasonable-with-your-moderator-chris-paul. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We dive into the wild story behind The Epoch Times, a fringe conservative newspaper turned right-wing propaganda machine with ties to a mysterious dissident Chinese meditation movement. What are its aims? How did it become one of the biggest pro-Trump ad spenders and a destination for the likes of Candace Owens and Conrad Black?And what will happen now that its CFO is charged in a $67-million money laundering scandal.NBC disinfo reporter Brandy Zadrozny explains.

This week, the Department of Justice accused one of the most influential right wing outlets of laundering tens of millions of dollars. On this week's On the Media, a former reporter on his progression from defining the disinformation beat to running one of the most famous fake news outlets, The Onion. Plus, a satirical movement about birds illuminates the inner workings of conspiracies.[01:09] Host Micah Loewinger interviews Ben Collins, newly minted shareholder and CEO of the satirical site The Onion, about how his background in disinformation reporting led him to his latest gig. [18:03] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Ian Beacock about Birds Aren't Real, a prank conspiracy theory that is itself a case study in how misinformation spreads.[34:41] Lastly, Brooke interviews Annalee Newitz about their latest book, Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind. They discuss how stories have long been spun as a means of controlling people — from the 18th century to today's culture wars. Further reading:“Trump, QAnon and an impending judgment day: Behind the Facebook-fueled rise of The Epoch Times,” by Brandy Zadrozny and Ben Collins“Birds Aren't Real: The Prank That Turned Misinformation on Its Head,” by Ian BeacockStories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind by Annalee Newitz On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

The White House reacts to Israel's isolation on the global stage. NBC News' Brandy Zadrozny takes a deep dive into the controversial worldview of Nicole Shanahan, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s running mate. Three U.S. missionaries are killed in Haiti amid growing violence. Chris Cillizza, Symone Sanders Townsend and Bryan Lanza join the Meet the Press NOW roundtable to discuss former President Trump's potential VP pick and the 2024 race.

This is the fourth official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. This week, Roman and Elliott also sit down with Brandy Zadrozny, a senior reporter for NBC News who covers misinformation, conspiracy theories, and the internet. Brandy recently finished The Power Broker, and she's got a great perspective on what the book says about the press and its relationship to power, what has changed in journalism, and what has remained the same.On today's show, Elliott Kalan and Roman Mars will cover the last section of Part 4 of the book (Chapters 21 through Chapter 24), discussing the major story beats and themes.The Power Broker #5: Brandy ZadroznyJoin the discussion on Discord and our Subreddit

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.racket.newsIf "misinformation" reporter Brandy Zadrozny is the best hit artist NBC News has left on its roster, it might be time to shutter the networkwww.Racket.news

SERIES 2 EPISODE 146: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANNA-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: Sure, the split legal decisions in New York courtrooms matter. Trump got a brief reprieve in the business fraud case ($500 million bond reduced to $175 bond, he gets an extra 10 days grace; but his son said even a $15 million bond was almost impossible) but the Stormy Daniels election hush money case starts as scheduled April 15. But in the span five hours, Trump posted a psalm he claimed to have "received" from somebody in which he was compared to Christ, and said that he would have to sell his "babies" due to Judge Engoron, and he announced to an uncomfortable crowd of reporters "You can't have an election in the middle of a political season." He's NUTS. Besides which, I always thought he'd decide he was not Jesus but Napoleon. RFK JR'S NEVADA OOPSIE: He celebrated getting enough signatures to be a Trump stalking horse on the ballot there. Then somebody noticed that your petitions have to mention just not the presidential candidate but the VICE presidential candidate. And he's not announcing who that is until today. He has to refile all the signatures. Hopefully the likely Veep, the ex-wife of the founder of Google who wanted a divorce settlement of a billion, can front RFK Jr the cash. THE CONTINUING RONNA McDANIEL DISASTER: No, Maddow didn't stop it last night. She could've stopped it last week, or last month if she'd stood up and threatened to quit when her bosses overruled her - live on the air - and reversed her dictum that MSNBC would not carry Trump speeches live. And no, MSNBC's president did NOT say McDaniel won't appear on the network. And no, Chuck Todd didn't put himself at risk by speaking out. And no, don't even get me started about Joe Scarborough.  In the old days we used to have a more direct way of stopping such subversions of journalism. I threatened to quit, on the spot, at least twice. Rachel did it at least once. Scarborough used threats on a regular basis. Brokaw did it.  Ultimately the problem is: people paid big salaries to make essential decisions about the coverage of an election that will decide whether or not we still have a democracy next January, thought she was a GREAT HIRE. And nice as the protests from Todd and Welker and “Golly I hope they reconsider” Scarborough were, bluntly, the moment the hiring of Ronna Romney McDaniel was announced, MSNBC anchors and producers and writers, and NBC NEWS anchors and producers and writers, should have literally walked off the job. Gone on strike. Because it comes down to this: the hiring of Ronna McDaniel didn't represent some kind of political balance. It conceded – STIPULATED – that there can be some kind of balance, some kind of yes-but, some kind of bothsidesism, between the reality of the 2020 election, and election deniers and the Trumpist cult. She IS the flat earther, the climate change denier. She might as well be Q from Q-Anon. She is reality, trying to appease hallucination and mental illness in hopes of making… more… money. Her presence as an NBC News employee LEGITIMIZES the election deniers and the conspiracy theorists… and Trump. It is an act of journalistic self-defenestration and – for the future democracy in this country – an act of self-immolation. B-Block (30:50) IN SPORTS: Shohei Ohtani makes it worse: nobody has explained the money transfer to the bookie. Now the NBA has a burgeoning scandal: the fringe player who everybody placed "prop bets" on (33:40) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: The sad post-mortem for Flaco the Central Park Owl, and farewell to Bill Jorgensen. (50:50) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Rece Davis isn't actually one of them but his dry sense of humor created another mini-sports wagering mess at my alma mater. Now we know what Jeff Yass bought Trump with. And Charlie Kirk wants to use machine guns and whips at the border. C-Block (57:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Since I've asserted that the NBC News/MSNBC protest over Ronna McDaniel is tepid compared to the Him-Or-Me ones we had in the 2003-11 era, I'll tell you everything I know about them. It stars Tom Brokaw, John McCain, Scarborough, Michael Savage, Chris Hayes, Maddow, me, and a cast of thousands. Pull up a chair: it takes 27 minutes.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From Minnesota to Olivia Rodrigo's concerts, Plan B is putting people in a tizzy; Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV proved to us that child acting shouldn't be a thing; and more in news. Then, Brandy Zadrozny discusses anti-vaccine king RFK Jr. and the moms to alt-right misinformation pipeline. Finally, Sani-Petty (dirt makes the world go ‘round). Show NotesBrandy ZadroznySperm fact check: Older fathers associated with increased birth risks, Men's sperm quality decreases at age 35News—MAGA vs. everyone: What today's primary will tell us about the state of the Republican Party [Politico 3/19]Medication Abortion Accounted for 63% of All US Abortions in 2023—An Increase from 53% in 2020 [Guttmacher.org 3/19]Appeals court rules in favor of woman turned away from pharmacy for emergency contraceptive [MPR News 3/18]Abortion Rights Groups Will No Longer Hand Out Emergency Contraceptives on Olivia Rodrigo's Tour [Rolling Stone 3/15]Montana Supreme Court allows proposed abortion ballot measure to move forward [KTVH Montana 3/18]Arizona lawmaker who needs an abortion slams colleagues: 'This Legislature has failed the people' [AZ Central 3/18]Quiet on Set Shows the Darkest Side of Kids TV [Vulture 3/19]Sani Petty— Controversial Ruth Bader Ginsburg event honoring Elon Musk and Rupert Murdoch canceled [NY Daily News 3/19]Soil, the future of farming, policing avocados [Good Food]

A Profile Of 'Misinformation Expert' Brandy Zadrozny - TCRN www.theconsciousresistance.com/ The Conscious Resistance is the moment you recognize that being free goes deeper than just seeing the problems in the political arena. Consciously Resisting means being willing to engage in self-reflection, and pursuing knowledge of the self. Without knowing our own doubts, hopes, fears, dreams, insecurities and strengths we can not truly know what freedom means to us as an individual. To become conscious, and aware of ones actions is one of the most important steps towards claiming your own freedom. Motto: “Leading by example and helping others in their pursuit of Freedom.” The Conscious Resistance Network is an independent media organization focused on empowering individuals through education, philosophy, health, and community organizing. We work to create a world where corporate and state power does not rule over the lives of free human beings. Originally this site and the name revolved around the work of community activist Derrick Broze. However, in November 2013 Derrick and Neil Radimaker relaunched the The Conscious Resistance Network. TCRN aims to be a unique network of entertaining internet broadcasts featuring music videos, how to videos, gardening tips, discussions on current events, Anarchy, community organizing, and many other ideas we are currently working on.' Audio taken from: https://odysee.com/@theconsciousresistance:7/brandy-break-down:4

Guests: Rehema Ellis, Jonathan Dienst, Rep. Chellie Pingree, Jonathan Metzl, Brandy Zadrozny, McKay Coppins, Ellison BarberTonight: The latest on the manhunt for the suspect in the Maine shootings that left at least 18 dead. Plus, what can be done about the epidemic of gun violence in America. Then, Mitt Romney's biographer on the juiciest revelations in his new book. And we go live to the border where Israeli forces have been conducting raids into Gaza. 

My new book Reframe Your Brain, available now on Amazon https://tinyurl.com/3bwr9fm8 Find my "extra" content on Locals: https://ScottAdams.Locals.com Content: Politics, Phil Bump, AOC Oyster Reef, President Trump, Nuclear Sub Secrets, Whistleblower Protection Office, Healthcare Crisis, Presidential Immunity, Hamas Invades Israel, Dastardly, Governor DeSantis, Christopher Rufo, Daily Beast, Mehdi Hasan, Elon Musk, Chaya Raichik, Mike Benz, Brandy Zadrozny, Scott Adams ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you would like to enjoy this same content plus bonus content from Scott Adams, including micro-lessons on lots of useful topics to build your talent stack, please see scottadams.locals.com for full access to that secret treasure. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scott-adams00/support

A New York Judge ruled that Donald Trump committed fraud and lied about his net worth for years, saying the former president's financial statements were “based in a fantasy world.” Meanwhile even more Democrats, including New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, are calling on Sen. Bob Menendez to resign. Plus, a one on one with Walter Isaacson, author of the new Elon Musk biography. Joyce Vance, Tim O'Brien, Sam Stein, Reed Galen, Robert Gibbs, and Brandy Zadrozny join.

Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss how the right-wing of the tech industry are funding media platforms like Rumble to reshape the political discourse and why they're helping Robert F. Kennedy Jr. challenge Joe Biden. Jacob Silverman is a journalist and the co-author of Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud. He's also the host of The Naked Emperor on CBC Podcasts. You can check out Jacob's Substack.Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.Also mentioned in this episode:Jacob wrote about Rumble as a MAGA platform, why tech is boosting Robert F. Kennedy Jr., revolutionary war reenactors getting caught up in Facebook's purge of militia groups, and David Sacks.Mark Zuckerberg chose to go easy on Alex Jones and other right-wing figures on Facebook.Trump Media may be going public via a SPAC merger.Darren Blanton was involved in a scheme to keep Black voters from the polls.Wendy Siegelman put together a chart of the connections between Rumble, Trump Media, and other groups.Rumble went public via SPAC in 2022.Brandy Zadrozny wrote about RFK Jr. and his views for NBC News.Support the show

When a nurse named Tiffany Dover fainted on camera after getting a Covid vaccine, anti-vaxxers assumed the worst. Shortly after, the internet was awash in conspiracy theories that she was dead. NBC News reporter Brandy Zadrozny set out to prove that Tiffany Dover was alive. This turned out to be more difficult than she could have imagined. You can read Brandy Zadrozny's story, “Conspiracy theorists made Tiffany Dover into an anti-vaccine icon,” here: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/misinformation/tiffany-dover-conspiracy-theorists-silence-rcna69401 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hi! This is Lexie of Read by AI. I read human-curated content for you to listen to while working, exercising, commuting, or any other time. Without further ado: Texas mall shooter shared extremist beliefs against Jews, women and racial minorities on apparent social media page by Brandy Zadrozny, Courtney Kube, Ken Dilanian, Erik Ortiz, Scott Friedman, Deon J. Hampton, Char Adams and The Associated Press with NBC News.

Guests: Brandy Zadrozny, Ben Smith, Lisa Rubin, Ronald Klain, Harry LitmanA Tucker tell-all from his ex-producer. Tonight: What we're learning about what finally did Tucker in—with Brandy Zadrozny and Ben Smith. Plus, stunning allegations in opening arguments as the rape and defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump finally begins in court. Then, what we know about the Fani Willis plans amid new reporting of another grand jury investigating election crimes. And former chief of staff Ron Klain on today's re-election rollout for his former boss.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear became emotional when he revealed that he lost a close friend in the tragedy. This, as one of the lawmakers in Tennessee who was expelled for protesting gun violence was reinstated by the Nashville City Council. Jeff Syracuse, Holly McCall, Gov. Wes Moore, Katie Benner, Melissa Murray, Brandy Zadrozny, and Kara Swisher join.

Nine months after this series ended without landing an on the record interview with its subject, host Brandy Zadrozny wakes up to a text message: “While I did not die that day, the life I knew did.” It's signed “Tiffany Dover.” The missive sends Brandy back to Chattanooga and Higdon, where this time she's invited in by Tiffany herself. Now, for the first time, Tiffany Dover tells her side of the story—and describes what life is like at the center of a remarkably durable antivax conspiracy theory. Finally, Brandy goes back to the truthers who promised they'd recant—or pay up—if she produced an interview with Tiffany.

Ali Velshi is joined by Ruth Ben-Ghiat, NYU Professor, Maya King, New York Times Reporter, Maj. John Spencer, U.S. Army (Ret.), Amy Watson, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Professor, Sonia Pruitt, Retired Captain with the Montgomery County Police Department, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, (D) Wisconsin, Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post Opinion Writer, Toomas Ilves, Former President of Estonia, Karen Attiah, Washington Post Columnist, and Brandy Zadrozny,NBC  Senior Reporter

Former Trump White House counsels Pat Cipollone and Pat Philbin testify to a grand jury in Washington for several hours. Meantime, President Biden speaks out against extremism and antisemitic hate. Plus, our Friday Night Cap panel is back to cover extremism, Ye, and controversies in the sports world. Jon Allen, Katie Benner, Glenn Kirschner, Brandy Zadrozny, Rex Chapman, Ali Velshi, Chris Jansing, and Vince August join.

Brandy Zadrozny just made one of our favorite podcasts of the year, NBC's Tiffany Dover is Dead, so we needed to get her on the show to talk about the ins and outs of debunking conspiracy theories with gumshoe reporting.

With Roe v Wade under threat, some politicians and media outlets are trying to turn the national conversation away from abortion and toward civility. On this week's On the Media, how the GOP has mastered the art of setting the narrative. Plus, how moral panics surrounding dangerous TikTok trends follow a century-old pattern of blaming new technology for the deviant behavior of teenagers. 1. Paul Waldman [@paulwaldman1], opinion writer for the Washington Post, on Republicans decrying the draft opinion leak and protests to motivate their base ahead of the midterms. Listen. 2. Micah Loewinger [@MicahLoewinger], OTM correspondent, on alarmist news coverage of TikTok challenges and its misleading influence on panicked parents. Listen. 3. Brandy Zadrozny [@BrandyZadrozny], senior reporter for NBC News, on the story of Tiffany Dover, and how misinformation about her death fueled anti-vax messaging. Listen. Music: Fallen Leaves by Marcos Ciscar The Camping Store by Clive Carroll and John Renbourn Coffee Cold by Galt MacDermot Middlesex Times by Michael Andrews 

This week, we take a look at the latest celebrity trial to ensnare the national attention. Johnny Depp is suing Amber Heard, his ex-wife, for defamation, and she's counter suing him for the same. Depp's suit takes issue with an op-ed Heard wrote back in 2018 for the Washington Post in which she identifies herself as a survivor of domestic violence. She first came forward with allegations against Depp in 2016. In 2018, Depp sued British tabloid, The Sun, for defamation over headlines that accused him of abuse, but he lost that case. Given the history, you might expect to see fewer headlines over this latest trial. But, not so. The ratings for Court TV, which is broadcasting every moment of the trial, have more than doubled. Pair the live visuals with Depp's rabid online fanbase, and you've got a case being watched billions of times over — in fact, the #JusticeforJohnnyDepp hashtag has upwards of 10 billion views on TikTok and it's spawned several viral sounds and trends and … comedy sketches. Guest host Brandy Zadrozny asks EJ Dickson, senior writer for Rolling Stone, about how pro-Depp coverage of the case took over TikTok, and its consequences.

THE THESIS: Either we are witnessing the largest number of simultaneous Black Swan events in history, or The Party is setting up the next stage of the Great Reset by destroying the food supply chain. There is simply no doubt that the Party is carrying out a global war against both the family and information freedom. Through out Biblical history, God feeds his people in times of famine, He will feed us if we will head Him.  THE SCRIPTURE & SCRIPTURAL RESOURCES:  Psalm 33 1 Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;     it is fitting for the upright to praise him. 2 Praise the Lord with the harp;     make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. 3 Sing to him a new song;     play skillfully, and shout for joy.   4 For the word of the Lord is right and true;     he is faithful in all he does. 5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice;     the earth is full of his unfailing love.   6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,     their starry host by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;     he puts the deep into storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;     let all the people of the world revere him. 9 For he spoke, and it came to be;     he commanded, and it stood firm.   10 The Lord foils the plans of the nations;     he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,     the purposes of his heart through all generations.   12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,     the people he chose for his inheritance. 13 From heaven the Lord looks down     and sees all mankind; 14 from his dwelling place he watches     all who live on earth— 15 he who forms the hearts of all,     who considers everything they do.   16 No king is saved by the size of his army;     no warrior escapes by his great strength. 17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;     despite all its great strength it cannot save. 18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,     on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, 19 to deliver them from death     and keep them alive in famine.   20 We wait in hope for the Lord;     he is our help and our shield. 21 In him our hearts rejoice,     for we trust in his holy name. 22 May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,     even as we put our hope in you. Matthew 14: 13-21 Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand 13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” 16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. 18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. THE NEWS & COMMENT:   BLOCK 1 Twitter to ban ads with climate bad-think [AUDIO] -  Economist Pippa Malmgren at the World Government Summit 2022: "We're about to abandon the traditional system of money and accounting...it means digital, it means having a perfect record of every single transaction in the economy and give us greater clarity over what is going on." Fertilizer Manufacturer Warns of Supply Crisis Due to Railroad-Mandated Shipping Reductions Priorities! Buttigieg is in the Netherlands attending Invictus Games as major fertilizer suppliers say Union Pacific train reductions shrinking supply during crucial planting season. They're Not Predicting Food Shortages – They're Planning Them: 20 Food Processing Plants Burned Down In Past 5 Months (Video) Nothing to see here, just food processing plants, pantry, and distribution centers in America "randomly" catching fire and exploding within the space of a few weeks. [AUDIO] -  EU confirming all 27 member states will have to implement the Covid green pass by July 1st. -- The UK just handed out an £18 million contract for further development of the Covid pass. -- A vaccine passport won't set you free, it will enslave you. BLOCK 2 Libs of TikTok Doxing Uncovers Secret Hacker-Government Mercenary Alliance Behind Regime's War on MAGA Americans (language warning at the link) The original doxer of the woman behind Libs of TikTok was an Antifa Twitter user named @karmaonesixone [@karma-one-six-one] who gloated last weekend about using sleuth work to uncover the account's original tweets and name. Another Twitter user, Travis Brown, promoted and confirmed @karmaonesixone's work, then went on to unearth and reveal even more information about the woman behind LibsofTikTok. In the Washington Post, Taylor Lorenz herself credits Brown for confirming Libs Of TikTok's identity. “On Saturday, software developer Travis Brown (who is working on a project with support from Prototype Fund, an organization that backs open-source projects) unearthed the account's Twitter history and posted a thread detailing information about its profile changes.” Who is Travis Brown? In essence, a man paid by the German government to target, dox, and harass the international left's ideological enemies. Brown is the creator of the so-called “Hate Speech Tracker,” a program whose explicit purpose is to aid Antifa extremists in tracking and archiving statements by its enemies, and find “connections” between them to aid in doxxing. This isn't some one-off fluke. Much like Brandy Zadrozny, whom Revolver profiled in 2020, Travis Brown exists as a small part of a much larger ecosystem. Brown's doxxing operation isn't an independent venture. He is backed by the Prototype Fund, a project of the Open Knowledge Foundation Germany, an “independent not-for-profit organization.” The notion that the foundation is “independent” is, of course, a lie. OKFG receives funding directly from the the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The same organization that paid to dox Libs Of TikTok is also paying to teach male-to-female transgenders how not to sound like Barry White. Prototype doesn't limit itself to online flame wars. It also takes an interest in real wars, funding an archive to gather alleged eyewitness reports of atrocities in the Syrian Civil War. [AUDIO] - Will this lady be next to get doxxed for exposing people who agree we should kill 10 month old babies?? (language warning at the link) BLOCK 3 [AUDIO] - They are literally quoting Independence Day to MTG at this point. BlueAnon has lost their ever-loving minds But, when real violence happens on an hourly basis . . . From @johnkizler: How casually it's reported that she stabbed him,  he grabs a rifle and starts shooting at her, someone else starts shooting at her, and he has 3 rifles in his tent.  Seattle is totally out of control . . . [AUDIO] - Shooting, stabbing attack by woman at Seattle homeless camp caught on camera Tammy Mutasa, KOMO News reporter MUSIC REVIEW: [AUDIO] - Singing Dad     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guests: Janai Nelson, Dr. Vin Gupta, Brandy Zadrozny, Marie Yovanovitch, Hugo LowellA federal judge, appointed by a twice-impeached ex-president and deemed "unqualified" by the Bar Association, overrules the Center for Disease Control. So what happens now that the mask mandate for public transit is lifted? Then, as Putin's war enters a new phase and the U.S. sends more heavy weapons, former ambassador Marie Yovanovitch on how we got here. Plus, bombshell text messages from the criminal conspiracy trial of an Oath Keeper—why were they so concerned about protecting Donald Trump's favorite doctor turned member of Congress? 

Tonight on the Last Word: At least seven people are killed in a Russian missile attack on Lviv. Also, Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe says President Biden can liquidate Russia's foreign exchange reserved that's held in the U.S. and is worth tens of billions. Plus, a Trump-picked judge nixes the CDC plane and transit mask mandate. And a Tennessee nurse becomes the focus of an anti-vaccine conspiracy. Ali Arouzi, Ben Rhodes, Claire McCaskill, Eugene Robinson and Brandy Zadrozny also join Lawrence O'Donnell.

The story of Tiffany Dover begins, ironically, in a moment of hope. The COVID vaccine is finally arriving in communities across America. Tiffany, the head nurse in her hospital's COVID unit, proudly gets the shot, and then faints while taking questions about it. As she falls into the arms of the doctors standing behind her, the local news cameras turn away. By the time she returns to the podium 20 minutes later, a new conspiracy theory has been hatched: Tiffany Dover had died and been replaced by a body double. Brandy Zadrozny sets out to trace how the theory started, and to find the people who are keeping it going—those who truly believe that vaccines kill, and those who are just addicted to the game.

Russia promises more strikes on Kyiv after the Pentagon confirms two Ukrainian Neptune missiles caused the flagship of Putin's Black Sea fleet to sink. The Kremlin's stepped-up attacks come as Ukrainian police say more than 900 civilian bodies were discovered in Ukraine's capitol once Russian troops left the area. And with covid threatening to make a comeback, we take a closer look at the trust issues surrounding the agencies that are supposed to keep us safe. Igor Novikov, Amb. Michael McFaul, Peter Baker, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Luke Broadwater, Michael Lewis and Brandy Zadrozny join.

Air Date 3/2/2022 Today we take a look at the not-so-slow transformation of Republicans from a Bush/McCain/Romney party to a Trump/DeSantis/Putin party complete with cultish devotion and a dependence on a near-total dismissal of truth replaced by propaganda. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com  Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) BestOfTheLeft.com/Advertise Sponsor the show! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Trump Victim Act Follows Authoritarian Playbook Drawing In Fanatical Supporters - The Rachel Maddow Show - Air Date 1-8-22 Ruth Ben-Ghiat, professor of history at NYU and author of "Strongmen," talks about right-wing assault on democracy in the United States and familiar patterns between the Trump movement and other authoritarian movements around the world an in history. Ch. 2: Legitimate Political Discourse - Political Gabfest - Air Date 2-10-22 The GOP embrace of Jan. 6 rioters Ch. 3: The NYT's Jeremy Peters on How the GOP Went Batshit Crazy - The Al Franken Podcast - Air Date 2-27-22 Explaining the seeming anomaly of Trump in the line of Republican presidential nominees Ch. 4: Republicans in complete disarray - The Bradcast w/ Brad Friedman - Air Date 2-7-22 Trump's Republican National Committee labeled the violent, deadly Capitol Insurrection 'legitimate political discourse, and censured conservative Rep. Liz Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger for participating in the bipartisan House Jan. 6 Select Committee. Ch. 5: Rick Scott: The Man With The Plan? - The Mehdi Hasan Show - Air Date 2-23-22 What does the Republican Party really stand for — besides attacking liberals? One Republican senator is giving a masterclass in his plan to save America. David Jolly joins to discuss. Ch. 6: How Vladimir Putin won Republicans' approval - Vox - Air Date 1-13-17 He's an authoritarian strongman, and he's never been more popular with GOP voters. Ch. 7: Wagner: Some Republicans Are Uniting Against Biden And Siding With Putin - All In w/ Chris Hayes - Air Date 2-23-22 Alex Wagner: “The shocking thing is when these Republicans look at Russia—its repression and flouting of democratic norms and restriction of essential freedom—when they look at all that they may not see a cautionary tale, but an aspirational one.” MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S) Ch. 8: How Jan 6th Changed Extremism - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 1-5-22 Brandy Zadrozny talks about the landscape of extremism since January 6th and her new investigation that finds some militia and white supremacist groups have shifted tactics, going from protesting to putting energy into local politics and school boards. Ch. 9: The America We Deserve - In The Thick - Air Date 2-8-22 They get into the latest on the January 6th insurrection, and the connection between voter suppression and anti-Black racism. FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 10: Final comments on sheep-dogging, coalition governments and power dynamics MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions): Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr  Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent Activism Music: This Fickle World by Theo Bard (https://theobard.bandcamp.com/track/this-fickle-world) Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere! Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

This week on our Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Ben Collins and Brandy Zadrozny, reporters at NBC News. Writing at NBCNews.com, they report on disinformation and misinformation in health and politics. Their work covers a lot of ground, but for this episode, they discussed one increasingly prominent issue on that beat: QAnon, a conspiracy theory built around anonymous posts on an internet forum claiming that Donald Trump is waging war against a deep state and a vast network of child sex traffickers. The conspiracy theory has inspired acts of violence and is becoming increasingly mainstream, with several candidates for U.S. Congress being QAnon believers. They talked about how QAnon started, why we need to take it seriously and how the internet—and big technology platforms—have allowed the theory to spread. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Guests: Kara Voght, Brandy Zadrozny, Betsy Woodruff Swan, Tom Perriello, Sen. Chris MurphyTonight: New reporting on the growth of the anti-vax movement in America—and its political, cultural and societal impact. Then, the key Trump World figure who apparently didn't need to a subpoena to talk to the January 6th committee. Plus, Senator Chris Murphy on where America stands as the Russian threat to invade Ukraine continues. And how Donald Trump's chosen governor in Virginia is already doing his best to make the boss proud.  

Tonight on the Last Word: The January 6 Committee now has handwritten notes, remarks and talking points tied to Jan. 6 and plans to steal the election. Also, lawmakers call on the Justice Department to oversee the Texas 2020 audit effort. Plus, Sen. Mitch McConnell's remarks about Black voters spark outrage. Extremists use violent rhetoric to attack vaccines. And the U.S. warns of a severe response if Russia attacks Ukraine. Glenn Kirschner, Jill Wine-Banks, Arizona Secretary of State, Rep. Colin Allred, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, Brandy Zadrozny, Ben Collins and Michael McFaul join Jonathan Capehart.

Parker Molloy: My guest today is Matt Negrin, a senior producer for the Daily Show with Trevor Noah. And just about the only person on the planet, I know who gets more irritated about the way politics gets covered in the media than I do. Matt, thank you so much for joining me.Matt Negrin: No, I'm obviously happy to have a contest with you about who is more angry at the media on a daily basis. It's a contest in which we both lose so full in on it.Well, I was thinking about this. So this is going to be the first episode of my podcast for the new year, because I had to take a month off because I was just like, “Why am I doing this?”I take a month off because I celebrate January 6th privately. And so I really just a full-on month of just remembrance.Yeah. Well, I mean, if Christmas starts in November, January 6th starts in December.January 6th creep is a real issue that we need to address, people are putting up their January 6th gallows way too early.So I feel like the two of us started the Trump years as relatively sane individuals who just happened to consume a lot of news media. What happened to us?The question is how did we become totally crazy while also feeling that we're the only sane people in a world in which everyone else is crazy, right?Yeah. Pretty much.To me, it feels like the beginning of the Trump years, or the beginning of the Trump term was like, okay, obviously this is a catastrophe, but maybe, just maybe our trusted news media will do the right thing and we'll hold this guy accountable. We'll check him, we'll provide a level of accountability that you and I haven't seen in our lifetimes really. And obviously, that didn't happen. So I think the ongoing frustration with that is what has, at least for me just made me question what is going on with this industry that I was a part of? That I spent almost a decade in, how did I not see that this was kind of inevitable? And then when I left the industry, I was like, all right, now I feel like I can talk about this stuff freely, which is kind of a bad sign that people in journalism can't talk about what's really happening.And that's been kind of the undertone I think of journalists will tell you privately in the DMs that they agree with what you're saying, but will never say it publicly. And that's bad.The Present Age is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a subscriber.Yeah, well, on that sort of the same kind of thought, I get a lot of people who will text me or DM me to say they liked something I wrote and I'm like, "Cool. I would appreciate a retweet." And they're like, "Sorry, I can't."It's just, "I'll get in trouble if I do that." I've heard from so many people at newspapers and TV networks who say the same thing. And they're like, "God, you're so right. Thank you for doing this. This really needed to be called out." And my response is always, "You are totally in a position to call this out yourself." And they all say, "Ah, you know I can't do that." And it's like, “ha ha.” Yeah. Well, that's fun. Thanks for your help. But I'm just going to sit back and let this profile of Greg Gutfeld just kind of go out and get tweeted about, and I won't do anything about it.Yeah. “I won't criticize it because I don't want to get in trouble with the bosses.”Exactly. I don't want to mention how we gave a platform to Josh Hawley. I don't want to be the person who does that. It's not my role. Yeah.So speaking of giving a platform to Josh Hawley and giving a platform to Ron Johnson and giving a platform to Roger Marshall and Rick Scott and Mike Ron, and all of those. So is Chuck Todd your nemesis? And does he know that he's your nemesis?Okay. The word “nemesis” requires the person to acknowledge your existence. So I think the answer is no, I don't think he has ever once acknowledged at least explicitly, any of the good faith. I would say criticisms about Meet the Press, but I've heard from enough people to know that like yeah, he's aware of it. They're aware of it. They're all aware of it. And one of the NBCPR guys, Richard Hudock has engaged with me on Twitter. So has another producer for Meet the Press. So yeah, they're aware, but they do not respond anymore and I think part of it is because they probably know it's not a good look to be fighting on Twitter. But also I think they know that some of these things are indefensible.So you can't defend Chuck Todd for putting Roger Marshall, who is a Senator who voted to overturn the election on Meet the Press. You can't defend that. It's an obvious message that Chuck Todd thinks it's okay to give a platform to people who tried to overturn the election. And that's simply something that if you're a good faith journalist, you probably don't agree with. So I don't relish the idea that there's a guy on TV who is my nemesis, but at the same time, why aren't more people talking about this? It seems very dystopian. I don't know. What was your feeling after January 6th? I feel like there were a bunch of us on the left who were saying we have to hold these people accountable by not giving them platforms or at least by branding them explicitly every time they're mentioned or on the air with a reminder that they did this thing. Right. Do you remember that feeling?Oh yeah. I mean, I wrote an article for Media Matters in December 2020. So it was before January 6th where I was just like, “What they have done is an unacceptable attack on democracy, et cetera, et cetera.” And yeah, so then of course, then January 6th happens and the-You brought up Mike Braun, that's a triggering person for me because I remember in December, I think it was December 6th, I hope I'm right about that. I'm going to Google it real quick because I'm pretty sure I'm right. I've just ingrained all this stuff into my f*****g head. Yeah. December 6th, 2020, Mike Braun was on ABC's This Week and he floated this conspiracy theory that boxes of ballots were being hidden under a desk in some state and that there was a video showing how the Democrats were trying to steal the election. So this is a month after the election. It's, I guess three weeks after Biden was declared the winner. And you have a sitting senator on ABC talking about this conspiracy theory. That is at the time, the media was feeling out this world, right?“How many senators are going to help Trump try to overturn the election? What is the line?” And Mike Braun was seen as a non-crazy Republican by a lot in the media. And then he goes on This Week and pushes this thing out. To me as a producer or as a host or as a person at ABC that should have been the cutoff line, like okay, we're ending this interview. And it just went on for six minutes. They didn't even talk about the thing they were going to talk about, they just talked about voter fraud and that's millions of people who are seeing that and thinking what is this video? What is he talking about? Maybe there is something to this. That to me was like, Mike Braun is not Josh Hawley, he is not Ted Cruz and that's kind of the point.They can all be pushing this conspiracy theory or different versions of the conspiracy theory. And the media is going to accept them because they don't have this outwardly crazy Marjorie Taylor Greene-ish stain on them. Mike Braun looks like an honorable person, but if you look at what he really does, he goes on Newsmax and talks about the same thing. So that's why that guy is very triggering for me. Months later you have Donie O'Sullivan, who I think is a really sharp reporter at CNN going to these QAnon rallies, interviewing people who are saying the election was stolen. And they specifically cite the thing Mike Braun talked about. So, this is how misinformation spreads. It spreads on mainstream media. And the fact that these networks keep putting these people on, to me, indicates they either don't know their role in it, or they're just totally fine with it. I don't know what another option would be.Yeah. I mean, that's... God, I remember when I first got hired at Media Matters, one of the first things I did was I flew out to DC because we decided to do a thing where I would work in the office one week and then spend a few months working from home and then kind of repeat that. And I flew into DC and I saw a guy wearing a shirt that just had a big letter Q on it, standing on the steps of the Supreme court with a selfie stick, taking a picture where he is making a real tough guy face. And it was just him by himself. And it was the first time I had ever seen anyone in person wearing a QAnon kind of thing. And I thought, “Ha ha, that's so funny.” It's not so funny anymore. Part of the issue is that these views aren't debunked on TV instead what you get is you get, "Hey, do you think Joe Biden won the election?" That's not good. Presenting it as a question is part of the problem.Right. And there are multiple journalists who have done this in GOP primary debates over the past year, there was one in, I think it was Hugh Hewitt who did it in the, oh, what race was it? I can't remember, but he was moderating a debate. And he said, do you believe Joe Biden won the election? Okay. You're a journalist on MSNBC, you should not be allowed to do that. There was another local news reporter in New Mexico who was moderating a special house race primary and, or I think it was actually the general election, and she said, "Who do you think won the 2020 election? And how do you plan to work on work with others who disagree with you?" Don't frame this as an issue, it is not an issue.Part of the problem with the Q stuff that, what you just said made me think of is, when QAnon first started becoming a topic that the mainstream media had to talk about. They did it really poorly. And I remember the Q baby at the Trump rally, someone held up a baby with a Q on the shirt and it was like Q baby. And then QAnon went nuts. And then someone was wearing a Q dress and the letter Q. And so then the media had to be like, all right, let's do QAnon. I remember Lester Holt, the anchor of the NBC Nightly News, doing a whole thing on QAnon, on what is it? And they just really did not do a good job explaining that.This is rooted in antisemitism, a conspiracy theory that feeds a lot of extremist impulses. It's an online-based thing. Ben Collins and a handful of reporters do really good work on this stuff at these networks and the rest of the journalists there just kind of don't, it feels like they don't read it or they don't talk about it. They just kind of say, QAnon, it's part of the right-wing. No, it is so much deeper than that. And it's basically all the people at the January 6th insurrection are QAnon believers. Technically, if you wanted to extrapolate a lot of those views, Kevin McCarthy believes half the s**t in QAnon, but you would never get reporters saying Kevin McCarthy is a QAnon believer because he hasn't said "I'm a QAnon believer." But he does believe that George Soros is in charge of the federal election takeover or whatever. That's a Qanon conspiracy theory. So he is a Q believer. And it shouldn't be weird to say that, it should be the reality.And part of the problem I think is that these things start online and journalists generally seem to not take things that start online seriously, which is a gigantic problem because so much of our lives are online. So you have all these journalists who've been around for 20, 30 years, or whatever. And things are not the same now as they were then. And so you have newer journalists, you have people like Ben Collins who are doing great work with a lot of this internet-based stuff at, in the... Who else? Brandy Zadrozny.Oh yeah. Yeah.Yeah. Brandy Zadrozny and Ben Collins are kind of like the tag team misinformation reporters at NBC.And yet, sometimes NBC will do things that touch on those topics that they don't involve those two and which is just mindblowing.Right. Feels extremely strange. Yeah. Feels extremely weird. Yeah.That's why I find your approach to the internet generally kind of interesting because you're trying to fight misinformation with tweets and with... I like your TikToks.I haven't done them in a while.I know, but they're funny.All right. You know what Parker I'm going to do one today or tomorrow, just because you have formally requested it. I'm taking that as a request.But no, I mean they're good. And TikTok is one of those places where it's one of those things where I start to feel way too old and it's weird kind of aging into something where it's like, “Oh no, a social media platform feels like it's too geared towards the younger kids.”Yeah. But there's a version of TikTok that doesn't have to be that for us. I think TikTok is popular among the generation younger than us because it's so easy to embrace video culture and phone culture. All we have to do is just kind of lean into that. It doesn't have to be us being like, ah, we're the old cranks. It can just be us being like, okay, I'm going to just slightly change the way that I view how to get a message out. There are older people on TikTok who do really, really well. And I think it's because video just comes naturally to them, but the medium is video rather than text. I think that's just the big difference.And I appreciate that you put in the effort to try to find that because I do feel like there's sort of a formula to a lot of the way information travels online and TikTok is a place where a ton of misinformation just thrives because it's harder to check. You can't just do a word search to find something on TikTok. You have to actually find out that some creator on there believes objectively insane stuff.And then go, “Okay, so this person's a Q creator, so what do we do about it?” And I don't know what the answer to that is other than the fact that most of the time, if you bring this up to a lot of the older, the legacy journalists, they will go, well, it's just the internet. That doesn't count.It has the same tone-deafness as an article that's written about people having a reaction to some viral moment. And the headline is like, "The internet loves..." It's like, no, no, no, the internet is a collection of people, they're expressing themselves on the internet. The internet is not a sentient thing. I think the approach to social media has to be, and this might sound very pedantic, but I think that journalists, writers, and kind of like the conversation havers or the conversation starters either rely on social media or use social media to develop their kind of first and second level takes on things. And that's why it's important to get in there early and point out that like, okay, this person, an example from today, Alyssa Farah, who's spreading misinformation about the vaccines, who is hired by CNN, which is insane.Let's get in there early and point out how she was a writer for WorldNetDaily, a conspiracy theorist birther website that was run by her father. And then she worked for Donald Trump for a year, spreading COVID misinformation. And now is hired by CNN. Getting in there early hopefully shapes the way that other people see that story. But a lot of, as you just said, legacy journalists, they might be on Twitter. They might be looking at tweets, but they don't really participate in the conversation.And one example of this that I just remembered was in September 2021. So 3, 4 months ago when Ted Koppel, who is 81 years old, the most legacy journalist you could have, went to Mayberry, the fake town in Andy Griffith. It's like Mount Airy in North Carolina, which is the inspiration for Mayberry. So he goes there to do a trolley tour and talk to Trump voters. And all he did was exactly what you were just saying earlier was like, "Who do you think won the election?" And they're like, "Mm, Donald Trump." And he is like, "Interesting." Like, this was a really bad piece of journalism that CBS Sunday morning aired as how quaint, this cool little town. Oh, the people here have some interesting thoughts. Hey, these are people who are radicalized on Facebook and Fox news. They think that QAnon, they think that Q is the leader of a secret plot. These people are psychos and you should not be giving them this platform. And Ted Koppel has no idea what any of that is about.No. None. He's like, how could you believe this? Well, I mean, because the internet told me. I mean, just as we're discussing this, it was only a couple of days ago that Joe Rogan was pushing some sort of vaccine misinformation on his show, which is kind of his thing.He really leaned into it.Yeah. And someone corrected him and he's like, shifting the goal post to be like, "Well, actually I read somewhere..." And that's all people, I mean, need that's all people need these days is just, "Well, I read somewhere that something agreed with me." I mean, I could write something that says, yeah, the vaccine makes you grow a third arm. I don't know. And, it's not true, but I could put it on the internet.I think the way that this clip, if anyone wants to check this out, I feel like if you go on Twitter and search, Joe Rogan, Josh Zepps, Z-E-P-P-S. You'll find this clip, but it was Joe Rogan pushing this idea that young kids can develop a complication if they get the vaccine. And then this guest was like, you actually have a higher chance of getting it if you get COVID. Rogan was like, no, that's not true. And then they look it up, which is the only thing redeemable about this is, well, at least they looked it up. And then it turns out that Joe Rogan is wrong, what he was saying was false. And then as soon as he realizes he's false, he just questions the nature of journalism.He's like, “Well, how do we know that? When we read these things, it's like, where are we getting this information?” Buddy, you Googled it. You looked it up, this is a reflection of how you do your own research and how you are relying on your own preconceived notions of what is true or false based on what you need to say. And because he knows his listeners want to hear the skepticism, the hesitation, just the falsities, he will lean into it and he'll go back the next day and the day after that and keep pushing it, having not learned a thing, because he's not interested in educating people, he's interested in amassing a following. And that is what you kind of see all across right-wing radio, smaller podcast networks, even these like Fox shows, OAN, Newsmax. It's all people who are probably mostly in on it. They know what they're saying is b******t. And if they happen to believe it, that's even worse. But I feel like most of them don't, they just know that it's really good for them. Although it's impossible for us to know, I'm not in Pete Hegseth's head, he might really not wash his hands. He might really think germs don't exist.See, now you sound like a New York Times reporter circa 2017 where you're like, I” can't say ‘lie.’”“I don't know it's in his heart. I don't know what's in Donald Trump's heart. He might not be lying. He might truly believe, Donald Trump might really believe that Hillary Clinton used the Venezuelan treasury minister's brother to facilitate a deal with Barack Obama's niece. He might believe that. He might believe that and we don't know. And so we have to call it, like an untruth or a false claim.”An “unsupported claim.” “We will give it one Pinocchio.”Oh, man, the Pinocchio system. I mean, if there ever were a metric for how we need to evaluate our world, I love seeing Glen Kessler, the Washington Post Pinocchio guy give Biden four Pinocchios. If you gave Trump four Pinocchios on anything, no one else can ever get four Pinocchios. There cannot be a comparable way to say Joe Biden also did a bad, come on, there is no comparison. Joe Biden misstating a percentage on COVID cases is nowhere close to Donald Trump being like "Ghosts voted in the 2020 election."So in November, Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy tweeted, "The only way fascism wins is if the free press covers fascism versus democracy, like just another cats and dogs political fight." I have bad news for him.First of all, zero Pinocchios.That's true. But that's exactly how it's been so far. And that's what kind of worries me. At the time you quoted that and you wrote "Two hours ago, Chuck Todd invited a fascist big liar on the top-rated Sunday show to state that vaccines don't stop the spread of COVID and didn't offer a chance for a Democrat to respond to anything he said." And I think that kind of sums up where we're at.Parker you giving me the play-by-play of my own tweets is any Tweeter's dream. Let's go back.“And then you got this many likes and then...”Oh my God. Okay. Yeah, it's good. This is net-positive. I think for the cause, which is people in Congress have a bully pulpit. They can go on TV and talk about this stuff. They can tweet stuff. They can give interviews, they can write op-eds. They have an outsized voice in the conversation because of the way that our media respects elected officials for better or worse. So it's good that Chris Murphy, Brian Schatz, Ted Lieu, Eric Swalwell, Tim Ryan, all of these kind of resistors, the lefties are taking up the message for media reform or media awareness, media literacy. I don't really know what to call it. So I like that. I don't think enough of them are doing it to make it as successful as we'd want it to be, but it is good that they're aware of it.And to your point, it also is really unfortunate that the media doesn't really change at all. And it's not just Chuck Todd. I think Chuck Todd is one of the prime examples of it because he has the biggest platform on Sunday mornings and that still has a sizable audience. And it influences a lot of discussion for at least 18 hours on social media. But there are others too, who kind of either agree with the worldview or not the worldview, but agree with the philosophy of we still need to give these people who deny vaccines a real platform, or just giving Ted Cruz a voice on anything seems crazy to me. But there are a lot of journalists in that world who believe it.And so the cats and dogs thing, the political horse race thing is a separate criticism to me. Yes. Politics is covered with this frantic nature of who's up, who did a good zinger, who didn't, and there's a place for that. And it's anything before 2015. That doesn't really longer apply, I think. But that is also different than giving a role or sorry, giving a platform to the people who are rooting for the end of truth and democracy.So it does go hand in hand, obviously, those people who want to cover politics as a horse race also probably think that those people should be given a platform, but they are kind of two different issues for me. And I mean, one of my unpopular among our cohort opinions is that I do think politics can be covered in a horse race way at times.I don't think that's necessarily bad. I think polls are interesting and good for the most part. It's when you're polling things like critical race theory and then running a headline afterward that's calling it education instead of what it really is, which is just racism. And I think the sanitization of those really dark elements of the Republican party is what happens when you cover things through a horse race prism in 2020, 2021, 2022. So that kind of needs to change for us to have a more honest media, but obviously a very low chance of that happening.Yeah. Well, there's, God, there was something recently, let me, I'm just going to find this. So there was a poll that Harvard did and I'm trying to find- Okay. So this poll, this was polled by Harvard's Center for American Political Studies survey.“So how do we even know where we're getting these reports,” I'm being Joe Rogan. “We're Googling stuff and just reading it.” No, I'm kidding. Go ahead.And here was the question. There are only two possible answers. Do you think the schools should promote the idea that people are victims and oppressors based on their race? Or should they teach children to ignore race in all decisions to judge people by their character?Wow, that's amazing. So it was obviously 70% weighted toward the position of “Wait a minute, we shouldn't be doing the bad thing.”It was 63/37 in favor of ignoring race in all decisions.Just great. Wow.And the funny thing is, so someone tweeted, this is an actual question from the survey and Andrew Sullivan responded "And a good one." That's what he said. Well, no, it was not a good question.The idea of doing push polls, in general, is kind of slimy, but something on that, the wording of that is so deliberate and so designed just to get a Fox News headline that it feels, I don't know, it's gross. Ugh. Yeah. I hate hearing that. Oh my God. Some of the words in those things, what was it "completely ignore"?Yeah. Yeah. It was "Should they teach children to ignore race in all decisions to judge people by their character." The fact that they had to add "in all decisions" was like-Isn't Mark Penn part of a polling group that's called Third Way or something, or some middling, his whole, I could be misrepresenting him. I thought he was part of the Third Way thing or No Labels or something.He is the Stagwell group. I don't know what that is even, but…I was going to say some of these fake Democrats, or fake centrist people are part of this idea that there has to be a third option. It doesn't have to be Democrats or Republicans, oh, but your question here is two very extreme options right now. If only there were a third way or a more purpleish answer to this quagmire.The funny thing is, so this poll, the pie chart they used for it is the red and blue, and blue is people are victims based on their race and red is ignore race. So I think it really gets out there.Obvious. Yeah. I remember in 20- I think 14 or 15, Fox News, it might have been Doug Schoen, that guy who did a poll and it was, “Do you think the country is going to hell in a handbasket?” That was the question.There was the Lou Dobbs one that was like, “Is Trump doing great, greater or greatest?” It was basically that old Colbert bit.Okay, that screenshot to me is the defining screenshot of Trump propaganda. “How would you rate President Trump's handling of the China virus,” is what it said. And it was like “Very good, great, and super.”Stuff like that, it is made not just for the Fox News audience, it's made for the internet. And that's why I'm so interested in this topic generally, because the way we talk online, people like to be like, “Well, no, it's not real life. It's the internet. It's not real life.” What do they think real life is?I know. Honestly, but also I'm glad Twitter is not real because real life sucks. Twitter is where I want to be now.Only marginally better than real life, which is also bad.Have you seen real life? It's terribleSo the last thing I wanted to ask you about before I let you go is, so when the New York Times got rid of their public editor position, they told people to tweet. They said it was unnecessary because people could just tweet. Twitter is the public editor, which that seems like a bad idea, but also there is no group of people less inclined to change or reflect based on tweet responses than New York Times reporters, it seems. How do you think that’s been going?I have a feeling that the intention behind that, I think was good. I think the intention being, “We want to hear from readers and we acknowledge that social media is where our readers have the fastest and most direct way to let us know what's going on. And a handful of our reporters engage with people on social media that can all in an ideal world, in which everyone is acting in good faith and willing to acknowledge their own shortfalls or errors, which can lead to a much better transparent reporting process.” That, I think, was the intention. In reality, obviously, it means we pile on the New York Times for bad headlines, and they, I guess we don't know what their real response is, but it feels like they don't change anything in a significant way.But that said, there's no way that all of these comments can't live in their heads at some level, which is why I do feel like having rapid response to bad framings or all these diner stories. I want to think that it's good because it will affect what they do in the future. I don't know if that's true. Part of the reason that I am skeptical of how effective tweeting at journalists is, is because a lot of the journalists at the New York Times are really good and they do really good reporting and exposes and then some f*****g editor will undermine it all with a shitty headline. And people don't understand that reporters don't write headlines, which for the most part, is the case. Reporters have very little to do with the headlines as a...This is my big brag of the day. I used to be an intern at the New York Times. I was on the copy desk and the copy editors write the headlines and they work with the reporters on it if they want to, but editors write the headlines and then a different editor rewrites it. And then a page one editor rewrites that. It goes through a whole process. The headline is normally what we're most upset about because that sets the tone for the story. And we are rightfully upset about that. Those editors should be better at that.It's also the only thing that most people see. Most people don't click on stories. At this point, this thing is so outdated, but it was a 2010 survey [Ed. note: it was a 2014 survey], I hope that there's a new version coming out at some point, but it was an old survey that was basically 60% of Americans haven't clicked on a story in the past week. So they're getting everything from what they see on Twitter and what they see headlines as they pass by.Wow.So that's why you can't just have a little misleading tweet or a little misleading headline Because that's what most people will see.Did you read that story or did you just read the headline that said 60% of people?Just read the headline that said 60%.Sounds good.And the funny thing is, I remember when it came out, Chris Cillizza wrote about it and it was like, "Dude, how do you not understand?!”The clickbait master.Well, as it relates to headlines, yes, I think everyone acknowledges that's a huge issue. And I think that should put more emphasis on the role of editors at newspapers, like the New York Times, which by the way, there are a lot of headline writers there and headline writing is kind of an art at the Times and that needs to be reevaluated because a lot of their headlines have been really bad. And we get a lot of the reaction to it in this, I think, okay. So I think a lot of the reaction to those headlines kind of snowballs into this narrative that the New York Times is being out of touch, being tone-deaf, whatever. And then it's easy to go after the people on the byline, the journalists who write the story are the only ones with their names on it. And the editors aren't.That, I think, is not always fair. That said, if Peter Baker writes a stupid story and is quoting people stupidly and is making bad analysis about how January 6th is just a red versus blue reality thing, sure, he's wrong for doing that. But I think a lot of the times when [people] are going after headlines, it's good to know, it's important to know that the reporters, aren't the ones who write the headlines and this is such a weird thing to try to educate people about because it's not intuitive. You would never think that that's the case, especially because in a lot of new media websites or digital publications, reporters do write the headlines and they often write it tying into the story, which is fine. That's a good way to write for a digital audience, but it's not always the case at these legacy papers that we focus on because they do have a huge circulation.I'm also thinking right now of the cliche Buzzfeed writer, who's like, "Okay, I have to do a story on the 43 greatest kangaroo gifs." And then the editor's like, "How about we do the 43 great kangaroo gifs?" And the writer's like, "That's not the headline I want."“It will restore your faith in humanity.”Yeah. “I would never say that.”And so, yeah, Matt, is there anything else that I haven't asked that you want to mention or any projects you're working on or anything?Oh, man, you covered so much.Anything at all. The floor is yours.I have a perfunctory plug for this thing we did at the Daily Show where we've put up these January 6th monuments. If anyone wants to check this out, just go online and use the hashtag daily show monuments. But it's basically a tribute to our wonderful Freedomsurrection heroes who tried to overthrow the government on January 6th. And we just felt that we needed to honor them, kind of the way that civil war generals are honored in the south. So we put up some monuments to them. I would encourage everyone to just educate yourselves about our history and our heritage before the woke right-wing mob tries to tear them down.See, what we need to do, though. If you really want to be like the way that civil war monuments are celebrated in the south, we should wait 70 years and then put the monuments up just aggressively too.Okay. This is a really crazy thought is in 70 years, what will, Parker you and I will have to do a podcast in 70 years and see if people even know what January 6th is.I hope I'm dead.I hope I'm dead in seven years.Seven, 70, whatever. It's all the same. But Matt, thank you so much. It's been a lot of fun talking to you.This is the least angry I've been in so long.I know. So now it's like, I'm going to close this and go look at Twitter. Yeah. I'm sure things will be fine.We'll go get angry together online.Sounds good.Thanks, Parker. Thank you so much. Get full access to The Present Age at www.readthepresentage.com/subscribe

Brandy Zadrozny, senior reporter for NBC News where she covers misinformation, extremism and the internet, talks about the landscape of extremism since January 6th and her new investigation that finds some militia and white supremacist groups have shifted tactics, going from protesting to putting energy into local politics and school boards.

One year ago tomorrow, extremists stormed the Capitol Building. How have militant groups changed their tactics since then? On Today's Show:Brandy Zadrozny, senior reporter for NBC News where she covers misinformation, extremism and the internet, talks about the landscape of extremism since January 6th and her new investigation that finds some militia and white supremacist groups have shifted tactics, going from protesting to putting energy into local politics and school boards.

Guests: Rep. Eric Swalwell, Brandy Zadrozny, Michelle Goldberg, Jesse Wegman, Dana GoldsteinTonight: New revelations from the Jan. 6 committee, how Donald Trump is solidifying support, and dire warnings about the state of our democracy one year after the insurrection. Then, Jesse Wegman of the New York Times Editorial Board on why his newspaper is now sounding alarms over an authoritarian Republican Party. Plus, new reporting on how Jan. 6 extremism is being felt on the local level across the country. And what we're learning from the chaos of another back to school moment in year three of the pandemic.

Guests: Ian Bassin, Maya Wiley, Brandy Zadrozny, Nancy NorthupTonight: Bombshell reporting from Reuters about how a Kanye West publicist pressured a Georgia election worker to confess to bogus election fraud two days before January 6th. What this revelation means for the investigation of Donald Trump's coup attempt, and what it means for the ongoing march to undermine democracy. Then, what we learned from the alarming Supreme Court decision on the Texas abortion ban. And why there's genuinely good news on the vaccination drive in a place you might not expect.

Tonight's guests are Brandy Zadrozny, NBC News senior reporter covering misinformation, extremism and the internet; and Stacey Abrams, candidate for Georgia governor. 

Guests: Robert Costa, Betsy Woodruff Swan, Rep. Mondaire Jones, Brandy Zadrozny, Ava DuVernayTonight: New details on what was happening inside the Trump War Room during the insurrection—and why new reporting on Republican lawmakers has AOC and others calling for expulsion. Then, “Carol's Journey to QAnon”: explosive new reporting on what Facebook knew about how it radicalized users. And writer, producer and director Ava DuVernay on her new Netflix collaboration with Colin Kaepernick and this American moment. 

Facebook and Instagram are harming young users, according to leaked research discussed in a Senate hearing this week. On this week's On the Media, hear why lawmakers are chasing the white whale that is tech accountability. Also, how do we cover the tightly guarded, and complicated, news that comes from Guantanamo Bay? And, as the documentary industry booms, its ethics standards lag far behind.  1. Brandy Zadrozny [@BrandyZadrozny], NBC senior reporter, unpacks the evolving responsibilities of social media companies for our health. Listen. 2. Jess Bravin [@JessBravin], Supreme Court reporter for The Wall Street Journal, and Michel Paradis [@MDParadis], senior attorney for the Department of Defense, on the lasting difficulties of covering one of America's most notorious military prisons, Guantanamo Bay. Listen. 3. Muira McCammon [@muira_mccammon], doctoral candidate at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School of Communications, on what the library at Guantamo Bay can tell us about the place and the media's coverage. Listen. 4. Patricia Aufderheide [@paufder], University Professor of Communication Studies in the School of Communication at American University, on the tension between production and ethics in the world of documentaries. Listen. Music from this week's show: Nino Rota - Juliet of SpiritsNicola Cruz - ColibriaKronos - FlugufrelsarinnVijay Iyer - Human NatureMerkabah - John ZornBooker T and The MG's - Slim Jenkins PlaceAlex Wurman - Going Home for the First Time

Mehdi Hasan, in for Ali Velshi, is joined by Reps. Madeleine Dean and Stacey Plaskett, NBC's Ellison Barber, Julie Tsirkin, Garrett Haake, Antonia Hylton, and Brandy Zadrozny, MSNBC hosts Yasmin Vossoughian and Kendis Gibson, former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, former adviser to Mike Pence Olivia Troye, Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Carol Leonnig, and author of the book "Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe," Roger McNamee.

Guests: Rep. Joe Neguse, Brandy Zadrozny, Dr. Celine Grounder, Craig Whitlock, Rep. Ro KhannaTonight: Barricades at the Capitol, as threats of physical violence helped scare a United States Congressman into retiring. Then, making sense of the FDA's split decision on vaccine booster shots. And Rep. Ro Khanna on the hearings to investigate fossil fuel's role in climate change. 

One constant--besides death and taxes--is the notion that women need to work to attain that ever-morphing ideal body that doesn't actually exist. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly talk about diet plans like ingesting tapeworms to obtain the consumption look in Victorian times. There's also asides on the many ways humans choose to destroy themselves. Fun! Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands Cite your sources: Collins, Ben, and Brandy Zadrozny. “Ivermectin Demand Drives Some to pro-Trump Telemedicine Website.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 27 Aug. 2021, www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/ivermectin-demand-drives-trump-telemedicine-website-rcna1791. Fuller, Kristen. “What Is the Cotton Ball Diet?” Verywell Mind, www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-cotton-ball-diet-5115569. “Graves' Disease.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 5 Dec. 2020, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/graves-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20356240. Kesa, Ingrid. “Inside the Lasting Legacy of Tapeworm Diets.” VICE, 18 Mar. 2018, www.vice.com/en/article/xw5nnq/inside-the-lasting-legacy-of-tapeworm-diets. Klein, Gavi, and Audrey Gibbs. “Tools of the Patriarchy: Diet Culture and How We All Perpetuate the Stigma.” Ms. Magazine, 12 Aug. 2020, msmagazine.com/2020/07/16/tools-of-the-patriarchy-diet-culture-and-how-we-all-perpetuate-the-stigma/. Migala, Jessica. “What Is The Sleeping Beauty Diet-And Why Are People Doing It?” Women's Health, Women's Health, 11 June 2019, www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/a19908241/sleeping-beauty-diet/. Mullin, Emily. “How Tuberculosis Shaped Victorian Fashion.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 10 May 2016, www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-tuberculosis-shaped-victorian-fashion-180959029/. O'Neill, Therese. “Diet: You're a Little Bag of Pudding.” Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage & Manners, Little Brown and Company, 2016, pp. 75–90. Sommer, Will. “Trump's New COVID Doctor Says Sex With Demons Makes You Sick.” The Daily Beast, The Daily Beast Company, 28 July 2020, www.thedailybeast.com/stella-immanuel-trumps-new-covid-doctor-believes-in-alien-dna-demon-sperm-and-hydroxychloroquine. Starr, Michelle. “Vintage X-Rays Reveal the Hidden Effects of Corsets.” CNET, CNET, 26 Feb. 2015, www.cnet.com/news/vintage-x-rays-reveal-the-hidden-effects-of-corsets/. “Tapeworm Infection.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 16 Mar. 2021, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tapeworm/symptoms-causes/syc-20378174. Wells, Diana. “Tapeworm Diet: Weight Loss, Risks and Side Effects.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 11 June 2019, www.healthline.com/health/diet-and-weight-loss/tapeworm-diet. “What Are Sea-Monkeys?” LiveScience, Purch, 11 May 2012, www.livescience.com/33907-sea-monkeys.html.

With Delta Variant cases surging, public health officials are pleading with Americans to get vaccinated ASAP. This week, we examine at how some journalists are turning anti-vaxxer deaths into COVID-19 fables. Plus, we hear from the reporter who tracked down Jeffrey Epstein's victims. 1. Rebecca Onion [@rebeccaonion], historian and staff writer at Slate, on her latest article "The Fable of the Sick Anti-Vaxxer," and how stories of remorse may only appeal to the vaccinated. Plus, NBC senior reporter and OTM guest host Brandy Zadrozny [@BrandyZadrozny] traces the roots of anti-vaxx propaganda, from the 1980s to today. Listen. 3. Lois Beckett [@loisbeckett], senior reporter at the Guardian, on how a viral anti-trans Instagram video led to a street brawl, and Julia Serano [@JuliaSerano], author of "Whipping Girl, A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity," on where the anti-trans movement gets its playbook. Listen. 4. Julie K. Brown [@jkbjournalist], investigative reporter at the Miami Herald, on her new book, "Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story," detailing what she saw missing in the decade of Epstein coverage before her own investigative series at the Herald which brought his victims' voices on the record for the first time. Listen.

In the wake of the assassination of Haiti's President Jovenel Moïse on July 7th, international media rushed to cover Haiti's latest political crisis—painting a familiar picture of a nation in turmoil, Haitians in need, and an international community offering rescue. In this week's podcast extra, Nathalie Cerin, co-founder and lead editor of the online Haitian media project Woy Magazine, argues that news consumers just tuning in after the assassination after may miss the bigger picture. Haiti is a country with strong grassroots, pro-democracy movements. But it simultaneously remains plagued by a past (and present) of United States and United Nations' invasion, occupation, and election meddling.    To understand the whole story, guest host Brandy Zadrozny talks to Gina Athena Ulysse, Professor of Feminist Studies at UC Santa Cruz and author of Why Haiti Needs New Narratives, about how the international media too often spreads dehumanizing narratives of perpetual chaos — setting the stage for intervention — and then looks away.

This week, we consider whether information should ever be off-limits to journalists. It's a thorny ethical question raised by FBI informants, hacked sources and shockingly intimate personal data. Plus, why a conservative Catholic publication's outing of a gay priest has garnered criticism from all sides.  1. Ken Bensinger [@kenbensinger], investigative reporter for Buzzfeed News, on what new evidence surrounding the plot to kidnap Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer says about the how the government defines, and attacks, domestic terrorism. Listen. 2. OTM reporter Micah Loewinger [@MicahLoewinger] and guest host Brandy Zadrozny [@BrandyZadrozny] examine whether or not it's possible to ethically use information from data breaches. Featuring: Kevin Collier [@kevincollier], cybersecurity and privacy reporter for NBC News, Kim Zetter [@KimZetter], senior staff reporter covering cybercrime for Wired, and Lorax Horne [@bbhorne], writer with Distributed Denial of Secrets. Listen. 3. Sara Morrison [@SaraMorrison], data and privacy reporter at Recode at Vox, discusses the dangers information for sale after a Catholic priest was outed by a newsletter that obtained his location data from an app. Listen.  4. Mike O'Loughlin [@MikeOLoughlin], national correspondent at Catholic media organization America, reflects on how new methods are stoking old fights in the Catholic Church. Listen.  

Ali Velshi is joined by Rep. Debbie Dingell, Rep. Barbara Lee, Texas State Rep. Jasmine Crockett, virologist Dr. Rick Bright, political columnist Rami Khouri, former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance, activist Rev. Dr. William Barber, NBC News senior reporter Brandy Zadrozny, webseries host Roland Martin, and Roger McNamee, an early investor in Google and Facebook. 

Now that COVID is waning, Tucker Carlson and the rightwing hysteria machine have to find a new culture war. Heads up, Concerned Parents, there's a new moral-panic bogeyman—fomented by the far right and Fox News—that's coming for America's children, and it's called critical race theory. n this week's episode of Fever Dreams, Daily Beast reporters Asawin Suebsaeng and Will Sommer talk to senior NBC News reporter and Daily Beast alumnus Brandy Zadrozny about how the battle over CRT has become the “new obsession of the rabid right,” one that Tucker Carlson and well-connected conservative activists are trying to foment in towns nationwide. And don't miss our discussions of the rise of the Barstool Republican and whether it's fair to kink-shame the Proud Boys, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at how Trump tried to shut down Saturday Night Live. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tonight: The stunning emails from the White House pressing the Department of Justice to help steal the election. Then, Manhattan D.A. turns up the pressure on Donald Trump's money man as the New York Times reports prosecutors have obtained Weisselberg's personal tax returns. Plus, incredible new reporting on the moral panic machine scaring school boards across America—and Nikole-Hannah Jones on the history behind it all. And why we may see a summer sequel to the airport run of senator Ted Cruz.Guests: Rep. Jackie Speier, Stuart Stevens, Ryan Goodman, Rebecca Roiphe, Brandy Zadrozny, Nikole Hannah-Jones

In this special episode of Is that a fact? we explore why some people remain hesitant to get one of the COVID-19 vaccines, despite growing evidence that inoculation is the key to getting our lives and the economy back on track. We wanted to find out just how much misinformation might be to blame for that reluctance or if genuine concerns about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines might be giving people pause.To answer this question and more, we spoke with Dr. Erica Pan, the deputy director of the California Department of Public Health Center for Infectious Diseases and Brandy Zadrozny, a senior reporter for NBC News, who covers misinformation, extremism and the internet.Dr. Pan has served as interim health officer and director of the Division of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention at the Alameda County Public Health Department since 2011 and was director of public health emergency preparedness and response at the San Francisco Department of Public Health in 2011. She was also director of the Bioterrorism and Infectious Disease Emergencies Unit at the San Francisco Department of Public Health from 2004 to 2010 and was a medical epidemiologist trainee there from 2003 to 2004. Dr. Pan earned a Doctor of Medicine degree and a Master of Public Health degree from the Tufts University School of Medicine.Before joining NBC News, Zadrozny was a senior researcher and writer at The Daily Beast for five years, where she broke stories about Russia’s Internet Research Agency, as well as President Donald Trump and some of his associates, but she started out as a teacher and librarian. For more information on combating COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, visit newslit.org/coronavirus. There you’ll find links to reliable sources of information on the virus and vaccines, articles addressing the full spectrum of vaccine hesitancy, sites that debunk many of the myths surrounding the shots and the virus and more.

NBC News national reporter Brandy Zadrozny on the coronavirus, anti-vaxxers, and conspiracy-mongers.