Podcast appearances and mentions of Peter Maass

On April 9, 2003, a US marine battalion rolled triumphantly into Firdos Square, in the center of Baghdad, two and a half weeks after the US invasion of Iraq began. Hours later, the marines toppled a statue of Saddam Hussein, amongst what seemed like a roaring, jubilant crowd of Iraqis. It became, perhaps, the most televised image of the Iraq War — and it seared itself into the minds of its viewers. Twenty years later, that image is still circulated, and sometimes celebrated. Peter Maass, then a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, stood at the edge of Firdos Square that day. What he witnessed, was vastly different from what viewers were seeing on their television screens across the world. Years later, Maass reconstructed the chain of events that led to the toppling to see what went wrong. For this week's podcast extra, he speaks with Brooke about how the media subconsciously creates events for itself to cover — and how the rampant misconceptions that followed in the wake of the toppling led to a pernicious view of the Iraq War that we're still trying to divorce from today. 

On April 9, 2003, a US marine battalion rolled triumphantly into Firdos Square, in the center of Baghdad, two and a half weeks after the US invasion of Iraq began. Hours later, the marines toppled a statue of Saddam Hussein, amongst what seemed like a roaring, jubilant crowd of Iraqis. It became, perhaps, the most televised image of the Iraq War — and it seared itself into the minds of its viewers. Twenty years later, that image is still circulated, and sometimes celebrated. Peter Maass, then a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, stood at the edge of Firdos Square that day. What he witnessed, was vastly different from what viewers were seeing on their television screens across the world. Years later, Maass reconstructed the chain of events that led to the toppling to see what went wrong. For this week's podcast extra, he speaks with Brooke about how the media subconsciously creates events for itself to cover — and how the rampant misconceptions that followed in the wake of the toppling led to a pernicious view of the Iraq War that we're still trying to divorce from today. 

* Dominion Lawsuit Wasn't Launched to Protect Democracy from Fox News Propaganda; Peter Maass, a senior editor with The Intercept; Producer: Scott Harris. * Willow Project Climate Bomb is Gateway to Open More Oil and Gas Development in Western Arctic; Bridget Psarianos, Senior Attorney with Trustees for Alaska; Producer: Melinda Tuhus. * Supreme Court Justice Thomas' Ethics Violations Demands Congressional Action; Brett Edkins, Managing Director of Policy & Political Affairs with Stand Up America; Producer: Scott Harris.

On this week's edition of Le Show, Harry brings us Let Us Try, News of Crypto-Winter, The Apologies of the Week, and an interview with Peter Maass, senior editor of The Intercept.

In 1978, two luminaries of South Korean cinema were abducted by Kim Jong-Il and forced to make films in North Korea in an outlandish plan to improve his country's fortunes. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Choi Eun-Hee and Shin Sang-Ok and their dramatic efforts to escape their captors. We'll also examine Napoleon's wallpaper and puzzle over an abandoned construction. Intro: In 1891, Robert Baden-Powell encoded the locations of Dalmatian forts in innocent drawings of butterflies. Legal scholar Mark V. Tushnet suggests how a 16-year-old might seek the presidency. Sources for our feature on Choi Eun-Hee and Shin Sang-Ok: Paul Fischer, A Kim Jong-Il Production, 2015. Johannes Schönherr, North Korean Cinema: A History, 2012. Steven Chung, Split Screen Korea: Shin Sang-ok and Postwar Cinema, 2014. Bradley K. Martin, Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty, 2007. "Choi Eun-hee: South Korean Actress Who Was Kidnapped by North Dies," BBC, April 17, 2018. Martin Belam, "Choi Eun-hee, Actor Once Abducted by North Korea, Dies," Guardian, April 17, 2018. "A Hong Kong Kidnap: How Kim Jong-il Had South Korea's Top Actress Abducted From Repulse Bay," South China Morning Post, March 25, 2015. "Famed South Korean Actress Choi Eun-Hee, Who Was Abducted by North Korean Spies in Hong Kong for Film Fan Kim Jong-Il, Dies Aged 91," South China Morning Post, April 17, 2018. Olivier Holmey, "Remembering Choi Eun-hee, the South Korean Film Actor Once Abducted by Pyongyang," Independent, May 14, 2018. Ilana Kaplan, "Choi Eun-Hee Dead: South Korean Actress Once Kidnapped by North Korea Dies Aged 92," Independent, April 17, 2018. Barbara Demick, "Secret Tape Recordings of Kim Jong Il Provide Rare Insight Into the Psyche of His North Korean Regime," Los Angeles Times, Oct. 27, 2016. Euan McKirdy, "South Korean Actress and Former North Korean Abductee Choi Eun-Hee Dies," CNN, April 17, 2018. Julian Ryall, "The Incredible Life Story of Actress Choi Eun-Hee, Abducted by North Korea and Forced to Make Films for Kim Jong-il," Telegraph, April 17, 2018. Nicolas Levi, "Kim Jong Il: A Film Director Who Ran a Country," Journal of Modern Science 25:2 (2015), 155-166. Choe Sang-Hun, "Obituary: Shin Sang Ok, 80, Korean Film Director," New York Times, April 12, 2006. Douglas Martin, "Shin Sang Ok, 80, Korean Film Director Abducted by Dictator, Is Dead," New York Times, April 13, 2006. Alexandra Alter, "North Korea’s Love-Hate of Movies," New York Times, Dec. 31, 2014. Peter Maass, "The Last Emperor," New York Times, Oct. 19, 2003. Chris Knight, "Kim Jong-il's Bizarre Interlude in the Movies," Ottawa Citizen, Sept. 30, 2016, E.5. "A Memoir: Shin Sang-ok, Choi Eun-hee and I," Korea Times, Oct. 5, 2016. "Choi Eun-hee: Beautiful Actress and Doyenne of Postwar South Korean Films Before Her Kidnap by North Korea Where She Lived in a Gilded Cage," Times, June 4, 2018, 48. Ronald Bergan, "Obituary: Shin Sang-Ok: South Korean Film Director Whose Life Read Like the Plot of a Far-Fetched Thriller," Guardian, April 19, 2006, 34. Lawrence Levi, "Lights, Camera, Kidnap," Newsday, Feb. 8, 2015, C.17. "The Incredible Life Story of Actress Choi Eun-hee, Abducted by North Korea and Forced to Make Films for Kim Jong-il," Telegraph, April 17, 2018. An Hong-Kyoon, "More Dramatic Than Movie," Korea Times, Oct. 6, 2016. Hannah McGill, "Acting in the Dictator's Cut," Independent, March 14, 2015, 22. Olivier Holmey, "South Korean Film Actor Abducted by Pyongyang," Independent, May 16, 2018, 36. Peter Keough, "How Kim Jong-il Got What He Wanted," Boston Globe, Sept. 23, 2016, G.8. Peter Keough, "That Time Kim Jong-il Kidnapped His Favorite Movie Star and Director," Boston Globe, Sept. 21, 2016, G.8. Khang Hyun-sung, "Director's Colourful Life Competed With His Cinematic Creations," South China Morning Post, April 15, 2006, 11. Jennifer Hunter, "The Stranger-Than-Fiction Abduction of a Director and His Star," Toronto Star, Jan. 31, 2015, IN.3. "Obituary of Shin Sang-ok," Daily Telegraph, May 6, 2006. Tim Robey, "Losing the Plot: Kim Jong-il Was So Set on Film-Making He Kidnapped Two South Korean Stars," Daily Telegraph, Feb. 28, 2015, 30. Here's Pulgasari, the monster movie that got Shin and Choi to Vienna. In the West it's regarded as a dud. "Pulgasari marked a turn in Shin's career, the first time he had put all his energy into a picture and created a stinker," writes Paul Fischer. "It was a sudden, inexplicable transformation, after which Shin never recovered his magic touch." Listener mail: Ted Chamberlain, "Napoleon Death Mystery Solved, Experts Say," National Geographic, Jan. 17, 2007. "Napoleon Death: Arsenic Poisoning Ruled Out," Live Science, Feb. 12, 2008. "Was Napoleon Poisoned?", American Museum of Natural History, Jan. 21, 2014. J. Thomas Hindmarsh and John Savory, "The Death of Napoleon, Cancer or Arsenic?", Clinical Chemistry 54:12 (2008), 2092-2093. William J. Broad, "Hair Analysis Deflates Napoleon Poisoning Theories," New York Times, June 10, 2008. Max Finkel, "Instead of a Ticket, Some Speeders in Estonia Are Getting a Time Out," Jalopnik, Sept. 28, 2019. Jonathan Schultz, "Speed Camera Lottery Wins VW Fun Theory Contest," New York Times, Nov. 30, 2010. Elizabeth Haggarty, "Speed Camera Lottery Pays Drivers for Slowing Down," Toronto Star, Dec. 9, 2010. DDB, "DDB's Fun Theory for Volkswagen Takes Home Cannes Cyber Grand Prix," June 25, 2010. Wikipedia, "Radar Speed Sign: Effectiveness," (accessed Oct. 19, 2019). "The Speed Camera Lottery - The Fun Theory," Rolighetsteorin, Nov. 12, 2010. Volkswagen, "The Fun Theory 1 – Piano Staircase Initiative," Oct. 26, 2009. Elle Hunt, "Cash Converters: Could This Dutch Scheme Stop Drivers Speeding?", Guardian, May 25, 2018. This week's lateral thinking puzzle is from Paul Sloane and Des MacHale's 2014 book Remarkable Lateral Thinking Puzzles. Here's a corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

Donald Trump received big bipartisan applause at his State of the Union. Vijay Prashad discusses the state of imperialism in the world, the battle for Venezuela, India’s upcoming election, and the history of U.S. dirty operations across the globe. As right-wing media and politicians have gone berserk over the FBI raid on the home of Trump crony, Roger Stone, whistleblower Reality Winner remains behind bars. The Intercept’s Peter Maass discusses the hypocrisy surrounding the two cases and we hear excerpts from the recent play, “Is This A Room: Reality Winner Verbatim Transcription,” created by Tina Satter. The play is based entirely on the verbatim transcript of the FBI interrogation of Winner the day she was arrested.  Plus, a sneak peak at the new film Donald Trump’s Day Off.

If the Democrats retake the House, Rep. Hank Johnson will be the chair of a subcommittee that has subpoena power to continue the investigation of Kavanaugh. He explains his position on Kavanaugh and also Justice Clarence Thomas and his history of alleged sexual harassment of Anita Hill.  Former White House lawyer, Supreme Court clerk and current constitutional law professor Kate Shaw and Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman offer an in-depth analysis of the battle over Kavanaugh.  The Intercept’s Peter Maass got a copy of Kavanaugh friend Mark Judge’s novel about their drunken high school years. We made a radio drama of some of the scenes from the book, including a character named Bart O’Kavanaugh.  We hear brand new music from musician and radical indigenous queer feminist Katherine Paul, aka Black Belt Eagle Scout.  Plus, Donald Trump says he has never had a drink, but how different would he be if he liked beer as much as Brett Kavanaugh?

 While Paul Manafort enjoyed the comforts of his Hamptons mansion on house arrest, Winner was denied bond, kept in a jail and has been subjected to a public smear campaign by Jeff Sessions’ Justice Department. She was the first whistleblower charged under President Trump and her treatment is unprecedented. Former drone technician-turned-whistleblower Lisa Ling talks about the campaign to free Winner. Trevor Timm of Freedom of the Press Foundation breaks down how the government is stripping Winner of her right to a fair trial. The Intercept’s Peter Maass highlights the injustice and hypocrisy of her treatment. Intercept editor in chief Betsy Reed and reporter Sam Biddle talk about the top secret NSA document she allegedly leaked, the irony of the media silence about Winner’s treatment, and why First Look Media is funding her defense. To support Reality Winner's legal defense fund, click here. Come see Intercepted live in Brooklyn, NY on June 21 with featured guest, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh. Tickets are now available.

Former general and CIA director David Petraeus will not go to jail for leaking classified information to his biographer and mistress. Last week, he was sentenced to two years probation and a fine. Meanwhile, other leakers without the stars or stature are spending years behind bars. There are other discrepancies in military justice too. This hour, we talk to journalist Peter Maass from The Intercept.Also we check in on local Nepalese residents who are grappling with this weekend's earthquake in their home country.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Peter Maass - "Surveillance" Starlee Kine - "Native Advertising" Starlee Kine - "Dr. Phil" Jonathan Goldstein - "Why Travel: A journey to Bali" http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/52756

Peter Maass - "Surveillance" Starlee Kine - "Native Advertising" Starlee Kine - "Dr. Phil" Jonathan Goldstein - "Why Travel: A journey to Bali" https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/52756

- "Too Much Information" - "Lt. Timothy McLaughlin" - "Lt. Timothy McLaughlin" - "Tim McLaughlin's American flag used to cover a statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, 2003." [(Photo: Jerome Delay/Associated Press)] - "Invasion: Diaries and Memories of War in Iraq by Peter Maass" https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/50160

- "Too Much Information" - "Lt. Timothy McLaughlin" - "Lt. Timothy McLaughlin" - "Tim McLaughlin’s American flag used to cover a statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, 2003." [(Photo: Jerome Delay/Associated Press)] - "Invasion: Diaries and Memories of War in Iraq by Peter Maass" http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/50160

The Revenue Watch Institute, an OSI partner and grantee, hosts a conversation with journalist Peter Maass about his new book on "the troubled world oil has created." Speakers: Karin Lissakers, Peter Maass. (Recorded: November 11, 2009)

An award-winning journalist and New York Times Magazine writer, Peter Maass speaks about his book, "Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil", a stunning and revealing examination of oil's indelible impact on the countries that produce it and the people who possess it. Series: "Revelle Forum" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 17224]

An award-winning journalist and New York Times Magazine writer, Peter Maass speaks about his book, "Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil", a stunning and revealing examination of oil's indelible impact on the countries that produce it and the people who possess it. Series: "Revelle Forum" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 17224]

From Iraq and Saudi Arabia to Equatorial Guinea and Ecuador, what has been the impact of oil on the countries that produce it? To what extent has petroleum production helped or hurt nations develop not just economically, but also politically and socially? And, how have campaigns like that of Hugo Chávez’s to redistribute oil wealth in Venezuela created new economic and political crises? With a focus on the rebels, royalty, environmentalists, indigenous activists, dictators and CEOs associated with the petroleum industry, Peter Maass examines the world that oil has created. A contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine, Maass has reported from the Balkans, Middle East, Asia, South America and Africa for The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post, and Slate.

Every unhappy oil-producing nation is unhappy in its own way. But each is touched by what’s known as the resource curse — the power of oil to harm rather than help the countries that possess it. Around the world oil vastly enriches small ruling classes, degrades the environment, and destabilizes political and economic institutions as prices fluctuate. Peter Maass, New York Times Magazine writer and author of Crude World, visits Zócalo to explore the consequences of gas-guzzling, the paradox of plenty, and how to cure our addiction to oil.