Podcasts about pseudo events

In this episode, Jerry and Stably discuss The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America by Daniel J. Boorstin, a book that explores the construction of unreality in American media and culture. Jerry introduces the book as his pick and notes its thematic resonance with previous discussions, particularly those around Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death. The hosts agree that Boorstin's work predates many of Postman's arguments and, in some ways, anticipates the cultural shift toward media-driven realities.Stably and Jerry unpack Boorstin's central argument that American culture increasingly operates within “mirrors upon mirrors of unreality,” where pseudo-events—artificial happenings staged for media consumption—dominate public perception. Boorstin, writing in the late 1950s and early 1960s, critiques how society becomes incentivized to embrace these fabricated realities, constructing what Jerry calls “castles in the air.” This critique extends across multiple facets of public life, including politics, advertising, and entertainment, all of which blur the line between authenticity and illusion.The discussion touches on Boorstin's seemingly conservative perspective, as he neither explicitly condemns the shift toward pseudo-events nor advocates for a return to a previous era. Instead, he opts to describe the phenomenon with striking clarity, allowing the implications to speak for themselves. This ambiguity prompts Jerry to reflect on Boorstin's ultimate goals or desired outcomes, noting that while the book is critical, it refrains from offering solutions or alternatives.Stably and Jerry also draw connections between Boorstin's work and Marshall McLuhan's theories on media, highlighting the shared observation of media as an environment that reshapes human experience. They discuss how Boorstin's observations remain relevant, despite the book's age, as contemporary media landscapes have only amplified the prevalence and impact of pseudo-events.Throughout the conversation, the hosts emphasize the enduring value of Boorstin's analysis, particularly in an era where digital media and social platforms further complicate notions of authenticity. They reflect on specific examples of pseudo-events in modern society, noting parallels to Boorstin's original case studies and illustrating how the themes of the book continue to manifest today.By the end of the episode, Jerry and Stably underscore the significance of The Image as a foundational critique of media culture. While Boorstin stops short of prescribing change, his work serves as a powerful lens for examining how societies construct and consume manufactured realities. The hosts conclude with a shared appreciation for Boorstin's prescient insights, leaving listeners with a deeper understanding of the book's arguments and their implications for contemporary life.

Benjamin Studebaker takes on the co-host role in this first of the new Sublation Magazine streams. In this episode, we'll discuss the idea of the pseudo-event, the assassination of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, and the meaning of the East Coast drone invasion while also covering Toby Green and Thomas Fazi's essay for Sublation Magazine entitled: "A Victory for the Covid Policy Skeptics?" Is Neofeudalism ending, or is it merely rebranding? We will also discuss Donald Barthleme's short story, "Some of Us Had Been Threatening Our Friend Colby." Some of Us Had Been Threatening Our Friend Colbyhttps://www.jessamyn.com/barth/colby.htmlA Victory for Covid Policy Skeptics essay:https://www.sublationmag.com/post/a-victory-for-covid-policy-skepticsSupport Sublation Media on Patreonhttps://patreon.com/dietsoap

Why is there a Parthenon… in Nashville? Jean Baudrillard might have the answer. In Episode 112 of Overthink, Ellie and David pick apart hyperreality: the provocative suggestion that our reality today is so inundated by signs that the gap between reality and simulation has all but broken down. Your hosts talk through the history and experience of hyperreality, from its presence in Superman and Bridgerton to its uncanny role in legitimizing presidential power. And they wonder: does the idea of hyperreality motivate political action, or does it slide into complacent provincialism?Check out the episode's extended cut here!Works DiscussedJean Baudrillard, AmericaJean Baudrillard, Simulacra and SimulationDaniel Boorstin, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in AmericaDon DeLillo, White NoiseUmberto Eco, Travels in HyperrealitySusan Sontag, Regarding the Pain of OthersSadie Plant, The Most Radical GestureGuy Debord, The Society of the SpectacleAn American Family (1973)Superman (1978)Love Island (2023)Bridgerton (2005)Support the showPatreon | patreon.com/overthinkpodcast Website | overthinkpodcast.comInstagram & Twitter | @overthink_podEmail | dearoverthink@gmail.comYouTube | Overthink podcast

Discussing the book "The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America" and interviewing the author Professor Daniel Boorstin.

In this conversation, Erik Torenberg sits down with Antonio Garcia Martinez, founder of Spindl and author of ‘Chaos Monkeys', and Parker Thompson, partner at SAX Capital, TNT Ventures, and AngelList, to explore the influence of social media on society. They discuss media literacy and journalism, how politics change people's views of social media, and the rise of unique religious movements in social activism. This episode marks the first time Erik interviewed Antonio Garcia Martinez on Venture Stories back in 2019 and remains relevant today. If you're looking for an ERP platform, check out NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/zen. -- SPONSORS: NETSUITE NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/zen and download your own customized KPI checklist. -- FOLLOW ON X: @antoniogm (Antonio) @pt (Parker) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @moz_podcast (Moment of Zen) @TurpentineMedia -- BOOKS CITED: Chaos Monkeys by Antonio Garcia Martinez Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man by Marshall McLuhan  Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America by Daniel J. Boorstin The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium by Martin Gurri Seven Types of Atheism by John Gray -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro (01:23) Impact of Facebook (02:41) Evolution of Media and Its Influence on Society (10:10) Journalism and Media Ethics (26:25) Effectiveness of Media Regulation (33:10) Facebook's Content Curation (34:02) Content Control (35:32) Impact of Algorithms on Society and Business (38:50) Generational Shifts in Media Consumption (45:57) Exploring the Ideology of Silicon Valley (49:44) Secular Religions and the Quest for Community (58:39) Future of Religion and Community in the Digital Age (01:03:36) Wrap This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We're launching new shows every week, and we're looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at erik@turpentine.co.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the problems with issue polling and issues with political journalism; the chaos and conflict of Sam Altman and OpenAI; and the failure of the Oslo Accords and perpetual struggle between Israel and Palestine. Send us your Conundrums: submit them at slate.com/conundrum. And join us in-person or online with our special guest – The Late Show's Steven Colbert – for Gabfest Live: The Conundrums Edition! December 7 at The 92nd Street Y, New York City. Tickets on sale now!   Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Nate Cohn for The New York Times: The Crisis in Issue Polling, and What We're Doing About It and We Did an Experiment to See How Much Democracy and Abortion Matter to Voters Claire Cain Miller and Francesca Paris for The New York Times: The Great Disconnect: Why Voters Feel One Way About the Economy but Act Differently The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America by Daniel J. Boorstin What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America by Thomas Frank Eli Saslow for The New York Times: A Jan. 6 Defendant Pleads His Case to the Son Who Turned Him In Brian Beutler for the Off Message newsletter: The 2024 Election Is About Real Things Charlie Warzel for The Atlantic: The Money Always Wins and Karen Hao and Charlie Warzel: Inside the Chaos at OpenAI John Dickerson and Jo Ling Kent for CBS News Prime Time: What Sam Altman's ouster from OpenAI could mean for the tech world Pranshu Verman, Nitasha Tiku, and Gerrit De Vynck for The Washington Post: Sam Altman reinstated as OpenAI CEO with new board members  Louise Matsakis and Reed Albergotti for Semafor: The AI industry turns against its favorite philosophy Emily Bazelon for The New York Times Magazine: Was Peace Ever Possible?  Ezra Klein for The New York Times's The Ezra Klein Show podcast: The Best Primer I've Heard on Israeli-Palestinian Peace Efforts Oslo on HBO John Dickerson for CBS Mornings: Former President Jimmy Carter: “America will learn from its mistakes” The Lady Bird Diaries on Hulu Eleanor Roosevelt in a Coal by Bettman and The George Washington University's Case Study: Eleanor Roosevelt's Visit to Coal Mine (1935)   Here are this week's chatters: John: Julia Simon for NPR: ‘It feels like I'm not crazy.' Gardeners aren't surprised as USDA updates key map and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service: USDA Unveils Updated Plant Hardiness Zone Map Emily: Liran Samuni and Martin Surbeck in Science: Cooperation across social borders in bonobos and The Bonobo Sisterhood: Revolution Through Female Alliance by Diane Rosenfeld  David: City Cast Executive Producer, Nashville, Executive Producer, Austin, and Events Director, remote and The National WWII Museum: WWII Veteran Statistics  Listener chatter from Dimitri in Boulder, Colorado: University of Evansville: Library of Congress Recognizes Plagiarized University of Evansville Archaeologist After 90 Years and Jessica Blake for Inside Higher Ed: Female Archaeologist's Work Receives Overdue Recognition—90 Years Later   For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about the death of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and her 77-year marriage with Jimmy Carter. See also Rick Rojas for The New York Times: The Carters' Hometown Mourns for the Love of a Lifetime and Peter Baker: Rosalynn Carter Helped Shape the Role of the Modern First Lady. In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with James Sturm about Watership Down: The Graphic Novel. See also James Sturm and Joe Sutphin in The New York Times: In Times of Danger, There's Strength in Numbers.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the problems with issue polling and issues with political journalism; the chaos and conflict of Sam Altman and OpenAI; and the failure of the Oslo Accords and perpetual struggle between Israel and Palestine. Send us your Conundrums: submit them at slate.com/conundrum. And join us in-person or online with our special guest – The Late Show's Steven Colbert – for Gabfest Live: The Conundrums Edition! December 7 at The 92nd Street Y, New York City. Tickets on sale now!   Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Nate Cohn for The New York Times: The Crisis in Issue Polling, and What We're Doing About It and We Did an Experiment to See How Much Democracy and Abortion Matter to Voters Claire Cain Miller and Francesca Paris for The New York Times: The Great Disconnect: Why Voters Feel One Way About the Economy but Act Differently The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America by Daniel J. Boorstin What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America by Thomas Frank Eli Saslow for The New York Times: A Jan. 6 Defendant Pleads His Case to the Son Who Turned Him In Brian Beutler for the Off Message newsletter: The 2024 Election Is About Real Things Charlie Warzel for The Atlantic: The Money Always Wins and Karen Hao and Charlie Warzel: Inside the Chaos at OpenAI John Dickerson and Jo Ling Kent for CBS News Prime Time: What Sam Altman's ouster from OpenAI could mean for the tech world Pranshu Verman, Nitasha Tiku, and Gerrit De Vynck for The Washington Post: Sam Altman reinstated as OpenAI CEO with new board members  Louise Matsakis and Reed Albergotti for Semafor: The AI industry turns against its favorite philosophy Emily Bazelon for The New York Times Magazine: Was Peace Ever Possible?  Ezra Klein for The New York Times's The Ezra Klein Show podcast: The Best Primer I've Heard on Israeli-Palestinian Peace Efforts Oslo on HBO John Dickerson for CBS Mornings: Former President Jimmy Carter: “America will learn from its mistakes” The Lady Bird Diaries on Hulu Eleanor Roosevelt in a Coal by Bettman and The George Washington University's Case Study: Eleanor Roosevelt's Visit to Coal Mine (1935)   Here are this week's chatters: John: Julia Simon for NPR: ‘It feels like I'm not crazy.' Gardeners aren't surprised as USDA updates key map and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service: USDA Unveils Updated Plant Hardiness Zone Map Emily: Liran Samuni and Martin Surbeck in Science: Cooperation across social borders in bonobos and The Bonobo Sisterhood: Revolution Through Female Alliance by Diane Rosenfeld  David: City Cast Executive Producer, Nashville, Executive Producer, Austin, and Events Director, remote and The National WWII Museum: WWII Veteran Statistics  Listener chatter from Dimitri in Boulder, Colorado: University of Evansville: Library of Congress Recognizes Plagiarized University of Evansville Archaeologist After 90 Years and Jessica Blake for Inside Higher Ed: Female Archaeologist's Work Receives Overdue Recognition—90 Years Later   For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about the death of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and her 77-year marriage with Jimmy Carter. See also Rick Rojas for The New York Times: The Carters' Hometown Mourns for the Love of a Lifetime and Peter Baker: Rosalynn Carter Helped Shape the Role of the Modern First Lady. In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with James Sturm about Watership Down: The Graphic Novel. See also James Sturm and Joe Sutphin in The New York Times: In Times of Danger, There's Strength in Numbers.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the problems with issue polling and issues with political journalism; the chaos and conflict of Sam Altman and OpenAI; and the failure of the Oslo Accords and perpetual struggle between Israel and Palestine. Send us your Conundrums: submit them at slate.com/conundrum. And join us in-person or online with our special guest – The Late Show's Steven Colbert – for Gabfest Live: The Conundrums Edition! December 7 at The 92nd Street Y, New York City. Tickets on sale now!   Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Nate Cohn for The New York Times: The Crisis in Issue Polling, and What We're Doing About It and We Did an Experiment to See How Much Democracy and Abortion Matter to Voters Claire Cain Miller and Francesca Paris for The New York Times: The Great Disconnect: Why Voters Feel One Way About the Economy but Act Differently The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America by Daniel J. Boorstin What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America by Thomas Frank Eli Saslow for The New York Times: A Jan. 6 Defendant Pleads His Case to the Son Who Turned Him In Brian Beutler for the Off Message newsletter: The 2024 Election Is About Real Things Charlie Warzel for The Atlantic: The Money Always Wins and Karen Hao and Charlie Warzel: Inside the Chaos at OpenAI John Dickerson and Jo Ling Kent for CBS News Prime Time: What Sam Altman's ouster from OpenAI could mean for the tech world Pranshu Verman, Nitasha Tiku, and Gerrit De Vynck for The Washington Post: Sam Altman reinstated as OpenAI CEO with new board members  Louise Matsakis and Reed Albergotti for Semafor: The AI industry turns against its favorite philosophy Emily Bazelon for The New York Times Magazine: Was Peace Ever Possible?  Ezra Klein for The New York Times's The Ezra Klein Show podcast: The Best Primer I've Heard on Israeli-Palestinian Peace Efforts Oslo on HBO John Dickerson for CBS Mornings: Former President Jimmy Carter: “America will learn from its mistakes” The Lady Bird Diaries on Hulu Eleanor Roosevelt in a Coal by Bettman and The George Washington University's Case Study: Eleanor Roosevelt's Visit to Coal Mine (1935)   Here are this week's chatters: John: Julia Simon for NPR: ‘It feels like I'm not crazy.' Gardeners aren't surprised as USDA updates key map and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service: USDA Unveils Updated Plant Hardiness Zone Map Emily: Liran Samuni and Martin Surbeck in Science: Cooperation across social borders in bonobos and The Bonobo Sisterhood: Revolution Through Female Alliance by Diane Rosenfeld  David: City Cast Executive Producer, Nashville, Executive Producer, Austin, and Events Director, remote and The National WWII Museum: WWII Veteran Statistics  Listener chatter from Dimitri in Boulder, Colorado: University of Evansville: Library of Congress Recognizes Plagiarized University of Evansville Archaeologist After 90 Years and Jessica Blake for Inside Higher Ed: Female Archaeologist's Work Receives Overdue Recognition—90 Years Later   For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about the death of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and her 77-year marriage with Jimmy Carter. See also Rick Rojas for The New York Times: The Carters' Hometown Mourns for the Love of a Lifetime and Peter Baker: Rosalynn Carter Helped Shape the Role of the Modern First Lady. In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with James Sturm about Watership Down: The Graphic Novel. See also James Sturm and Joe Sutphin in The New York Times: In Times of Danger, There's Strength in Numbers.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow #POTUS: The pseudo events of Zuccotti Park and the Manhattan Indictment & What is to be done? Dan Henninger, WSJOpinion https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-targeting-of-donald-trump-alvin-bragg-indictment-media-attention-biden-2024-new-york-jury-a8fa2a75

Merriam-Webster's word of the year is 'gaslighting.' The NY Post reports: The newly common term for lying to someone in order to mentally manipulate them topped Merriam-Webster's list of 2022's hottest words and phrases, which also included terms such as “cancel culture,” “oligarch,” and “Queen Consort.” While “gaslighting's” first place spot wasn't due to a single event that drove searches for the term, which saw a 1740% increase in 2022, officials with Merriam-Webster said its rise makes sense given the social climate. “In this age of misinformation — of ‘fake news,' conspiracy theories, Twitter trolls, and deepfakes— gaslighting has emerged as a word for our time,” Merriam-Webster said in announcing the word of the year Monday. Peter Sokolowski, the dictionary's editor at large, said the word was looked up every day in 2022. This is appropriate, as Nicholas Clairmont wrote at the Washington Examiner: Why does everything feel fake? ... The answer to all this is in a book that came out six decades ago this month, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America by Daniel Boorstin. Since it is about “the menace of unreality,” the book is at least as important on its 60th anniversary as it was at the moment of its release. Its simple answer is this: Everything feels fake because, in part, it is. More specifically, everything feels fake because since the invention of the photograph and many technologies that followed from roughly the same time period, the reproduction and dissemination of words and images has become so technologically cheap and easy that ideas, too, have become cheap. Everything is now a copy, often a copy of a copy.        Get exclusive content here!: https://thepetekalinershow.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1-800-POWERS returns from a spring hiatus with a pod noir. An intrepid woman of mystery takes you on a smoky case about abortion rights, teachers' gripes, Magritte's painting of a pipe, and Daniel Boorstin's 1962 book The Image: A Guide to Pseudoevents in America. Kick up your feet and grab a glass of something strong. UPDATE: As of June 24, ROE VS. WADE has officially been overturned by the Supreme Court, making abortion immediately illegal for women in states with Pre-Roe or Trigger bans. Click here for a list of Abortion Access Funds by state and donate to support reproductive justice work, provide transportation, abortion care, and support for women and families. Have something you want to share? It's easy. Send a voice message here! No logging in required. 1-800-POWERS is written and produced by artist, writer, and performer Lex Brown. Visit her website www.lexbrown.com or Instagram at @lex_brown_

Overwhelmed by current events? This is a reading of the essay "Events and Pseudo-Events" from the book Faith and Violence by Thomas Merton.

Happy holidays! As Christmas approaches, the average American prepares to spend nearly $1,000 on presents, decorations, and family feasting. How did an originally religious festival become so caught up in capitalist consumption? What really defines Christmas in an increasingly secular America? This holiday season, David and Ellie try not to be scrooges as they explore the Christmas Industrial Complex. From Hallmark movies to Dickens' A Christmas Carol, the stories we tell around Christmas can be incredibly varied. In looking at these narratives and more, Ellie and David discuss whether Christmas can be separated from the often heavily capitalist rituals around it. Episode 40.Works DiscussedNewSong, “The Christmas Shoes” Megan Garber, “The Cheesy Endurance of the Made-for-TV Holiday Movie”A New York Christmas WeddingDaniel J. Boorstin, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in AmericaCharles Dickens, A Christmas CarolHistory.com, “Saturnalia”Mari Ruti, Penis Envy and Other Bad FeelingsJim Probasco, “Average Cost of American Holiday Spending”Jonathan Berr, “Hallmark's Christmas Movies Are Predictably Popular With Viewers”Website | overthinkpodcast.comInstagram & Twitter | @overthink_podEmail |  Dearoverthink@gmail.comYouTube | Overthink podcast

By popular demand, MJ Corey, the creator of the hit viral TikTok/Instagram account @kardashian_kolloquium, is back on air to dive deep into the post modern theory surrounding the Kardashian's. This episode focuses on the creation of the account and the concept of Pseudo Events in media & relation to America's favorite family

Today I talked to Jessica Helfand about her new book Face: A Visual Odyssey (MIT Press, 2019) Helfand is a designer, artist, and author. She's taught at Yale University for more than 20 years, cofounded Design Observer, and has had additional roles at a variety of institutions ranging from the American Academy in Rome to the California Institute of Technology. We've always visited churches and museums to gaze at faces. So what's now changed? Today, about two billion images get uploaded daily to social media – of which nearly 100 million are estimated to be selfies. As Daniel Boorstin presaged in his seminal 1962 book The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, we've become consumed as a culture by our own self-reflections. In this episode, Helfand guides listeners through everything from caricatures (i.e., loaded portraits), to Facebook and selfie-sticks hitting the mainstream in 2006, to how now every third photograph taken by people from 18 to 24 years of age is of themselves. From the question of who's behind the camera to othering as part of biased behavior, this episode has it all as, indeed, do faces as an enduring centerpiece to how we judge ourselves and others. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill's EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/photography

Today I talked to Jessica Helfand about her new book Face: A Visual Odyssey (MIT Press, 2019) Helfand is a designer, artist, and author. She's taught at Yale University for more than 20 years, cofounded Design Observer, and has had additional roles at a variety of institutions ranging from the American Academy in Rome to the California Institute of Technology. We've always visited churches and museums to gaze at faces. So what's now changed? Today, about two billion images get uploaded daily to social media – of which nearly 100 million are estimated to be selfies. As Daniel Boorstin presaged in his seminal 1962 book The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, we've become consumed as a culture by our own self-reflections. In this episode, Helfand guides listeners through everything from caricatures (i.e., loaded portraits), to Facebook and selfie-sticks hitting the mainstream in 2006, to how now every third photograph taken by people from 18 to 24 years of age is of themselves. From the question of who's behind the camera to othering as part of biased behavior, this episode has it all as, indeed, do faces as an enduring centerpiece to how we judge ourselves and others. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill's EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-technology-and-society

Today I talked to Jessica Helfand about her new book Face: A Visual Odyssey (MIT Press, 2019) Helfand is a designer, artist, and author. She's taught at Yale University for more than 20 years, cofounded Design Observer, and has had additional roles at a variety of institutions ranging from the American Academy in Rome to the California Institute of Technology. We've always visited churches and museums to gaze at faces. So what's now changed? Today, about two billion images get uploaded daily to social media – of which nearly 100 million are estimated to be selfies. As Daniel Boorstin presaged in his seminal 1962 book The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, we've become consumed as a culture by our own self-reflections. In this episode, Helfand guides listeners through everything from caricatures (i.e., loaded portraits), to Facebook and selfie-sticks hitting the mainstream in 2006, to how now every third photograph taken by people from 18 to 24 years of age is of themselves. From the question of who's behind the camera to othering as part of biased behavior, this episode has it all as, indeed, do faces as an enduring centerpiece to how we judge ourselves and others. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill's EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/communications

Today I talked to Jessica Helfand about her new book Face: A Visual Odyssey (MIT Press, 2019) Helfand is a designer, artist, and author. She's taught at Yale University for more than 20 years, cofounded Design Observer, and has had additional roles at a variety of institutions ranging from the American Academy in Rome to the California Institute of Technology. We've always visited churches and museums to gaze at faces. So what's now changed? Today, about two billion images get uploaded daily to social media – of which nearly 100 million are estimated to be selfies. As Daniel Boorstin presaged in his seminal 1962 book The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, we've become consumed as a culture by our own self-reflections. In this episode, Helfand guides listeners through everything from caricatures (i.e., loaded portraits), to Facebook and selfie-sticks hitting the mainstream in 2006, to how now every third photograph taken by people from 18 to 24 years of age is of themselves. From the question of who's behind the camera to othering as part of biased behavior, this episode has it all as, indeed, do faces as an enduring centerpiece to how we judge ourselves and others. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill's EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/performing-arts

Today I talked to Jessica Helfand about her new book Face: A Visual Odyssey (MIT Press, 2019) Helfand is a designer, artist, and author. She's taught at Yale University for more than 20 years, cofounded Design Observer, and has had additional roles at a variety of institutions ranging from the American Academy in Rome to the California Institute of Technology. We've always visited churches and museums to gaze at faces. So what's now changed? Today, about two billion images get uploaded daily to social media – of which nearly 100 million are estimated to be selfies. As Daniel Boorstin presaged in his seminal 1962 book The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, we've become consumed as a culture by our own self-reflections. In this episode, Helfand guides listeners through everything from caricatures (i.e., loaded portraits), to Facebook and selfie-sticks hitting the mainstream in 2006, to how now every third photograph taken by people from 18 to 24 years of age is of themselves. From the question of who's behind the camera to othering as part of biased behavior, this episode has it all as, indeed, do faces as an enduring centerpiece to how we judge ourselves and others. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill's EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/art

Today I talked to Jessica Helfand about her new book Face: A Visual Odyssey (MIT Press, 2019) Helfand is a designer, artist, and author. She's taught at Yale University for more than 20 years, cofounded Design Observer, and has had additional roles at a variety of institutions ranging from the American Academy in Rome to the California Institute of Technology. We've always visited churches and museums to gaze at faces. So what's now changed? Today, about two billion images get uploaded daily to social media – of which nearly 100 million are estimated to be selfies. As Daniel Boorstin presaged in his seminal 1962 book The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, we've become consumed as a culture by our own self-reflections. In this episode, Helfand guides listeners through everything from caricatures (i.e., loaded portraits), to Facebook and selfie-sticks hitting the mainstream in 2006, to how now every third photograph taken by people from 18 to 24 years of age is of themselves. From the question of who's behind the camera to othering as part of biased behavior, this episode has it all as, indeed, do faces as an enduring centerpiece to how we judge ourselves and others. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill's EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight

Today I talked to Jessica Helfand about her new book Face: A Visual Odyssey (MIT Press, 2019) Helfand is a designer, artist, and author. She's taught at Yale University for more than 20 years, cofounded Design Observer, and has had additional roles at a variety of institutions ranging from the American Academy in Rome to the California Institute of Technology. We've always visited churches and museums to gaze at faces. So what's now changed? Today, about two billion images get uploaded daily to social media – of which nearly 100 million are estimated to be selfies. As Daniel Boorstin presaged in his seminal 1962 book The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, we've become consumed as a culture by our own self-reflections. In this episode, Helfand guides listeners through everything from caricatures (i.e., loaded portraits), to Facebook and selfie-sticks hitting the mainstream in 2006, to how now every third photograph taken by people from 18 to 24 years of age is of themselves. From the question of who's behind the camera to othering as part of biased behavior, this episode has it all as, indeed, do faces as an enduring centerpiece to how we judge ourselves and others. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill's EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Does image-based media make us think less about our principles and ideals, and more about pursuing mere appearances? Daniel J. Boorstin thought so. In his book, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, Boorstin breaks down why “The Graphic Revolution,” has built a world where our fantasies are more real than our reality. In this book summary, I'll explain why Boorstin says, “By sharpening our images we have blurred all our experience.” Pseudo-events The thirtieth anniversary of a hotel is coming up. They reach out to leaders in the community to form a committee: A banker, a society matron, a lawyer, a preacher. The committee plans a banquet to celebrate the thirty years of service the hotel has given the community. They invite journalists to the banquet to take photos and report it in the newspapers. This hotel's anniversary banquet is what Boorstin calls a “pseudo-event.” Pseudo-events have these four qualities: Pseudo-events are planned, not spontaneous. Pseudo-events are created so they can be reported. Pseudo-events are only ambiguously related to reality. Pseudo-events are self-fulfilling. The event is evidence of the thing the event was planned to illustrate. The thirtieth anniversary banquet didn't happen spontaneously: The hotel created a committee for it. The main reason to have the banquet was to generate press. If the hotel was so valuable, would they have to task members of the community with planning the banquet? It was hardly real. But since this contrived banquet happened, it served as evidence that the hotel was, in fact, valuable to the community. The Graphic Revolution Boorstin blames the proliferation of pseudo-events on what he calls “The Graphic Revolution,” or our rapidly-growing ability create and disseminate imagery. The Graphic Revolution was cited, by the way – as a trigger to our departure from long-form text – in Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death, which I summarized on episode 252. The foundation of The Graphic Revolution was built when the telegraph was first applied to news reporting in the 1830s and 40s. The first American newspaper was monthly, but when information could suddenly be transferred around the world in seconds, news became a product to be manufactured. The Associated Press was founded in 1848, making news a salable commodity. As printing technology became more sophisticated – such as the New York Tribune's press, which in the 1870s could print 18,000 papers per hour – the capital required to run a newspaper meant it made good business sense to find more and more news to report. The American Civil and Spanish-American Wars, while newsworthy events, made the news machine bigger and more hungry, leaving more space to fill with pseudo-events once the real events subsided. As the term “Graphic Revolution” implies, graphics were a part of the proliferation of news. The first photograph that appeared in a newspaper was published in 1880. But also, audio is a part of the Graphic Revolution. The phonograph was invented in 1877, followed by radio broadcasts in 1900. The birth of Readers' Digest In 1922, De Witt and Lila Acheson Wallace used scissors and paste to put together the first issue of their magazine, in a one-room basement office in Greenwich Village. They carried the magazine copies to the post office and mailed them. It was an instant success. The Wallaces were able to start Reader's Digest with almost no money, because they didn't need editors or writers. De Witt simply went to the New York Public Library, and wrote summaries of articles in the magazines there. Reader's Digest became more popular than the magazines it was summarizing. In fact, it was nearly twice as popular as America's second-most popular magazine. Reader's Digest became so popular, that – according to the company's official historian – they had to help the magazines they were summarizing stay in business. To do this, they would write a short summary of an article. They would then write the article and place it in another magazine. At one point, more than half of summaries published in Reader's Digest were of articles they had placed in other magazines. The copy is more real than the original As Boorstin says, ”The image, more interesting than its original, has itself become the original.” The runaway success of Reader's Digest was a symptom that reading had become not about reading – it had instead become about creating the perception of being “well-informed.” People wanted to browse the summaries to feel that they were aware of what information was out there, not to learn anything from the information itself. As the Graphic Revolution and our ability to reproduce images has strengthened, copies have become more real to us than originals. We go to an art exhibit to see the original of the painting we've seen copies of – visitors to a Gauguin exhibit once complained that colors in the original paintings were less-brilliant than the reproductions they were used to. Movies became important in about 1910, often reproducing stories found in novels – by 1917, Publishers' Weekly was writing about “cinema novels.” In the 1880s, you could only enjoy music if you or someone near you was playing an instrument. By the 1930s, Muzak was mashing together 24-hour mixes of sound to be played in businesses as “background music.” At one point, streaming their “muzak” made them the largest user of telephone networks. And yes, bloggers like myself gain traffic by attracting readers to summaries of books, such as The Image, by Daniel J. Boorstin. Images beget images The proliferation of imagery creates demand for that imagery, which drives demand for pseudo-events. This shapes our culture, driving us away from our principles. Pseudo-events are in higher demand than actual spontaneous events for several reasons: Pseudo-events can be planned to be more dramatic. Pseudo-events are easier to spread (you can have the news release ready to go before the pseudo-event happens – Boorstin points out it should be called a news “holdback”). Pseudo-events are easily repeated. Pseudo-events cost money to produce, so there's more incentive to spread them (the publicist wants to show results, the client wants those results, the journalists need something to write about). Pseudo-events make more sense (they are planned, after all). Pseudo-events are more memetic. They have elements people want to spread. Pseudo-events are social currency. Knowing about pseudo-events happening in the world becomes a test of being “informed” – something that's encouraged on the societal level. Pseudo-events spawn other pseudo-events. The effects of pseudo-events As pseudo-events spread in our image-based media, they change what we value in our culture. Pseudo-events affect who we look up to in society, how we travel, and what art we value. Pseudo-events and heroes Pseudo-events shape whom we choose as heroes. We used to choose heroes based upon their accomplishments, and how those accomplishments represented our ideals. Now we choose our heroes based upon how they appear in media – are they in the news a lot, and do they project an image in which we see ourselves? I shared in my Amusing Ourselves to Death summary that early U.S. Presidents wouldn't have been recognized on the street. We didn't know them by their images – we knew them by the words they wrote or said. Demagogues such as Mussolini, Stalin, or Hitler show what we get when we seek someone who fits our image of a “Great Leader.” Today, our heroes are our celebrities. We don't make them famous because they are great – we think they are great because they are famous. Celebrities know that to be celebrities they need to get in the news and stay there. They create pseudo-events of themselves, including intensifying their images by publicizing relationships between one another. Meanwhile, dead people who deserve to be heroes fall into the background – they won't hire a publicist, and journalists get nothing out of writing about them. Pseudo-events and travel Pseudo-events have shaped the way we travel. The word “travel” used to mean the same as “travail.” In other words, travel meant trouble, work, and torment. We love that we can easily get directly to our destination, and bypass any places that might be along the way. We calculate distance not in miles, but in hours. We don't move through space, we move through time. We expect the faraway to be familiar, and we expect the nearby to be exotic. But travel used to be travailing. It meant spending time with strangers and strange cultures. It meant getting lost and being disoriented. But the capital required to build railroads and then highways meant we needed more people traveling. And to get more people to travel, we had to make travel less travailing. Travel has become a tautology. At the time Boorstin wrote The Image, in 1962, that meant traveling to Mount Sinai to see where they filmed the movie The Ten Commandments – or traveling to Rome to see if the Trevi Fountain really looks like it did in the movie Three Coins in the Fountain. Today, we go to see the places we've seen on Instagram, then take a selfie to…post to Instagram. Pseudo-events and movies I already mentioned how novels were made into movies, which then spawned novels written to become movies. The mass-distribution of actors in movies spawned the star system. Movie-goers wanted to see stars with a distinctive look, such as Mary Pickford's golden curls or Charlie Chaplin's bowed legs and cane. By being put on film, actors no longer get direct feedback from their audiences. Actors aren't tested by how well they interpret the story – the story is tested by how well it displays the actor. The “bestselling” book is a pseudo-event The publishing industry became driven by what Boorstin calls best-sellerism. The Bookman was a literary journal that turned the idea of the best-seller into an institution, around the turn of the century. Printing books costs money, so publishers started planning “reprints” before they even released the originals. A paperback publisher wouldn't plan their paperback until they had a contract to print the hardback. The hardback publishers wouldn't print a hardback until they had a contract to print the paperback. Either contract served as evidence the book was popular, which would drive sales. Booksellers only wanted to order new books they were sure would be bestsellers. Yet the public became so obsessed with purchasing bestsellers, bookstores couldn't carry the really big bestsellers. Retail stores like Macy's would sell them below cost to attract customers, thus making bookstores unable to compete. We want to be deceived Pseudo-events are so ubiquitous in every part of our life, we've come to expect them. We actually want to be deceived. We expect the advertising we encounter to be hyperbolic and non-sensical. Maybe we want to see the originals of the photoshopped model not to change our unrealistic expectations, but rather to marvel at the work that goes into deceiving us? Consider that Schlitz advertised their beer bottles were steam-sterilized, which boosted their sales, or that Lucky Strike advertised the tobacco in their cigarettes was toasted. Nevermind that all beer bottles were already steam sterilized, and all cigarettes toasted. The claim by Ivory soap that their soap is 99.4% pure is just a little modest, so as to be believable nonsense. Are we pursuing images, or are we living life? Boorstin may sound like he wants people to get off his lawn – and he does write with a shrill tone much of the time. But much like Marshall McLuhan would say two years later in Understanding Media, which I summarized on episode 248, Boorstin is mostly trying to make us aware of our own illusions. Boorstin's concern is mostly that, “We fill our lives not with experience, but with the images of experience.” Neil Postman later built on Boorstin's ideas to warn in Amusing Ourselves to Death, that image-based media was devolving our discourse into nonsense. A final quote from Boorstin: Chewing gum is the television of the mouth. There is no danger so long as we do not think that by chewing gum we are getting nourishment. But the Graphic Revolution has offered us the means of making all experience a form of mental chewing gum. There's your The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-events in America summary I hope you enjoyed this summary of The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-events in America, and lest your reading experience consist only of summaries, check out the full book. I personally found it to be a great history of media and publishing. It's one of the major classics of media theory – a must-read for anyone who creates media. The Mind Management, Not Time Management audiobook is here! Listen to the Mind Management, Not Time Management audiobook free with an Audible trial, or search for the audiobook on your favorite platform. About Your Host, David Kadavy David Kadavy is author of Mind Management, Not Time Management, The Heart to Start and Design for Hackers. Through the Love Your Work podcast, his Love Mondays newsletter, and self-publishing coaching David helps you make it as a creative. Follow David on: Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube Subscribe to Love Your Work Apple Podcasts Overcast Spotify Stitcher YouTube RSS Email Support the show on Patreon Put your money where your mind is. Patreon lets you support independent creators like me. Support now on Patreon »     Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/the-image-a-guide-to-pseudo-events-in-america-daniel-j-boorstin/

I talk about Adam Grant's new book, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know, and how it sheds light on creative Christian postures of humility and curiosity. I also mention Beth Allison Barr's new release, The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth. And I make minor note of Daniel Boorstin's classic work, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America.

Jackie Hill Perry and Jen Pollock Michel discuss how Christians should respond to cultural outrage. In their conversation, they discuss:The expectation of outrage against the claims of the Bible that are offensive to cultureThe need to differentiate between righteous outrage and emotional cultural responseThe need to temper our language and aggression when handling disagreementThe need to be slow to anger and quick to love when addressing outrageThe rightful place of outrage that fights injustice—to hate what God hatesThe need to learn from other believers how to be outraged over the right thingsFind more information about our guests:Jackie Hill PerryJackie Hill Perry TwitterJen Pollock MichelJen Pollock Michel TwitterRead more from TGC about this topic:Let the Outrage Culture Help You Share the Good NewsAre Evangelicals Addicted to Pseudo-Events and Media Outrage?

Interview taped on 1/29/19.   David Frum is a senior editor at the Atlantic, and author of nine books, most recentlyTrumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic. He served as a speechwriter and special assistant to the George W. Bush, and served as a senior adviser to Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign. On this episode of Stay Tuned, Preet and David cover a wide range of topics, including: “Made for social media” moments and Frum’s rules for engagement on Twitter The stability of America’s institutions Trump’s handling of the shutdown and what it revealed about the president’s strengths and weaknesses What should be up for debate in modern society The challenges facing 2020 candidates Supplement for various references made in the episode: Frum’s twitter account Frum’s website Frum’s article, Howard Schultz May Save the Democratic Party From Itself Frum’s article, How to Build an Autocracy Frum’s article, Waterloo Frum’s book, Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic Frum’s debate with Steve Bannon, The Rise of Populism, at Munk Debates Daniel Boorstin's book, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America Ian Bremmer’s interview on Stay Tuned Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s social media boot camp for the Democratic Caucus – read about it here. The viral video of Rep. Ocasio-Cortez dancing in college and her response as a Congressman Chief Justice John Roberts’ rebuke of Trump’s attacks on the judiciary A Newsweek article on the ABA ratings of Trump’s judicial nominees The demographics of Trump judicial nominees Mitt Romney’s 47% remark Hillary Clinton’s “deplorables” remark The Post-ABC Tracking poll that found voters believed Trump to be more honest than Clinton Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King’s quintessential political statement, “conscription if necessary…not necessarily conscription” The 1992 Presidential Debate between George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Ross Perot (the specific moment Frum references starts at 50:10) The Black voter turn-out in the 2008 and 2012 elections Do you have a question for Preet? Tweet it to @PreetBharara with the hashtag #askpreet, emailstaytuned@cafe.com, or call 669-247-7338 and leave a voicemail.

On this episode Erik is joined by Antonio Garcia Martinez (@antoniogm), author of Chaos Monkeys, and Parker Thompson (@pt), partner at AngelList. Parker is a returning fan-favorite. Erik describes Antonio’s Chaos Monkeys as half Michael Lewis of Silicon Valley and half Hunter S. Thompson. It's a great read.Parker and Antonio debate whether the corrosion of discourse and the rise of fake news are a result of specific features of social media, like the News Feed, or whether they are a result of humans being interconnected instantly via smartphones. Antonio argues that WhatsApp is “the perfect foil to Facebook” but that it is still a distribution platform for fake news.They discuss why two people can see the same high-quality video of the same event, but still draw opposing conclusions on who was the “victim” and who was the “perpetrator.” They discuss the need for media literacy, the difference between media and journalism, and how Twitter and Facebook might be fixed.They talk about the change in sentiment about social media on the left and the right through the years, starting with the election of Obama, through the Arab Spring, to Trump. They also discuss moral relativism between the US's political parties and the dichotomy of Bay Area political views.The three close with a discussion about the religious instinct that seems to be an innate part of the human psyche, even if it doesn’t always manifest via organized religions. They talk about new manifestations of religion in today’s social movements and talk about the crazy fact that there are actual “religious startups” that pitch new churches to "VCs."____Political Ideology Diagram Mentioned By Parkerhttps://twitter.com/hamandcheese/status/991408394941665285____Books and Articles Mentioned In This EpisodeThe Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America by Daniel BoorstinThe Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium by Martin GurriAmusing Ourselves To Death by Neil PostmanSeven Types of Atheism by John RayMarshall McLuhan’s Playboy Interview in 1969: https://www.nextnature.net/2009/12/the-playboy-interview-marshall-mcluhan/____Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg. Colin Campbell is our audio engineer and the show is produced by Brett Bolkowy.

On this episode Erik is joined by Antonio Garcia Martinez (@antoniogm), author of Chaos Monkeys, and Parker Thompson (@pt), partner at AngelList. Parker is a returning fan-favorite. Erik describes Antonio’s Chaos Monkeys as half Michael Lewis of Silicon Valley and half Hunter S. Thompson. It's a great read.Parker and Antonio debate whether the corrosion of discourse and the rise of fake news are a result of specific features of social media, like the News Feed, or whether they are a result of humans being interconnected instantly via smartphones. Antonio argues that WhatsApp is “the perfect foil to Facebook” but that it is still a distribution platform for fake news.They discuss why two people can see the same high-quality video of the same event, but still draw opposing conclusions on who was the “victim” and who was the “perpetrator.” They discuss the need for media literacy, the difference between media and journalism, and how Twitter and Facebook might be fixed.They talk about the change in sentiment about social media on the left and the right through the years, starting with the election of Obama, through the Arab Spring, to Trump. They also discuss moral relativism between the US's political parties and the dichotomy of Bay Area political views.The three close with a discussion about the religious instinct that seems to be an innate part of the human psyche, even if it doesn’t always manifest via organized religions. They talk about new manifestations of religion in today’s social movements and talk about the crazy fact that there are actual “religious startups” that pitch new churches to "VCs."____Political Ideology Diagram Mentioned By Parkerhttps://twitter.com/hamandcheese/status/991408394941665285____Books and Articles Mentioned In This EpisodeThe Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America by Daniel BoorstinThe Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium by Martin GurriAmusing Ourselves To Death by Neil PostmanSeven Types of Atheism by John RayMarshall McLuhan’s Playboy Interview in 1969: https://www.nextnature.net/2009/12/the-playboy-interview-marshall-mcluhan/____Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg. Colin Campbell is our audio engineer and the show is produced by Brett Bolkowy.

On Monday's Mark Levin Show, the media decided decades ago that they were going to report the news and interpret it for you from a liberal perspective and that’s what we are seeing today. Now the media is claiming we lost the suburbs in the election because of President Trump but that's wrong, its immigration that cost us the suburbs and consequentially some House seats in the election. When Ronald Reagan and the Bush's won, Florida, Texas, and Colorado, they were solid red states. Back then the media wondered how the Democrats would ever win the presidency without physically changing the electorate. Well they're doing it! As assimilation has become extinct, we continue to lose because the population is changing. Mark reiterated his thoughts from his book Liberty and Tyranny in 2008 outline that birthright citizenship is not guaranteed by the 14th Amendment and it is immigration, both legal and illegal, which is fueling our problem with assimilation. Then, we look at new pseudo-events in the media, through the lens of Daniel Boorstin's book "A Guide to Pseudo Events in the Media". Boorstin describes pseudo-events as events that are not spontaneous, not train wrecks, but are planned and planted and exist solely to be reproduced by the media. Ambiguity is also a telltale sign of a pseudo-event. What Jim Acosta did last week at the Presidential press conference is exactly what a pseudo-event is. Later, California is on fire and the media blames Trump for his comments on forest management. Yet, Governor Jerry Brown makes comments blaming climate change deniers and does not get criticized by the media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Monday's Mark Levin Show, the media decided decades ago that they were going to report the news and interpret it for you from a liberal perspective and that’s what we are seeing today. Now the media is claiming we lost the suburbs in the election because of President Trump but that's wrong, its immigration that cost us the suburbs and consequentially some House seats in the election. When Ronald Reagan and the Bush's won, Florida, Texas, and Colorado, they were solid red states. Back then the media wondered how the Democrats would ever win the presidency without physically changing the electorate. Well they're doing it! As assimilation has become extinct, we continue to lose because the population is changing. Mark reiterated his thoughts from his book Liberty and Tyranny in 2008 outline that birthright citizenship is not guaranteed by the 14th Amendment and it is immigration, both legal and illegal, which is fueling our problem with assimilation. Then, we look at new pseudo-events in the media, through the lens of Daniel Boorstin's book "A Guide to Pseudo Events in the Media". Boorstin describes pseudo-events as events that are not spontaneous, not train wrecks, but are planned and planted and exist solely to be reproduced by the media. Ambiguity is also a telltale sign of a pseudo-event. What Jim Acosta did last week at the Presidential press conference is exactly what a pseudo-event is. Later, California is on fire and the media blames Trump for his comments on forest management. Yet, Governor Jerry Brown makes comments blaming climate change deniers and does not get criticized by the media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America by Daniel Boorstein is a classic of cultural criticism first published in 1961. It's still fascinating today as Boorstein identifies trends that set the stage for the modern world with its reality TV, social media and obsession with celebrity.