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Welcome to In Reality, the podcast about truth and the media with Eric Schurenberg, a long-time journalist and media exec, now the founder of the Alliance for Trust in Media.It's not exactly news that the traditional news business is in decline. Most distressing to those of us who grew up in the profession: that audience levels of trust in the work we do has dropped to the lowest levels ever recorded. Today's guest, Julia Angwin, back for a second time on In Reality, is like Eric a product of the traditional news business. She worked at the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, and also founded startup newsrooms like the Markup and, most recently, Proof News. But that's not why she's here today though...Julia recently penned research for Harvard's Shorenstein Center about what traditional newsrooms can learn from online influencers about trust. According to her paper, you earn trust by convincing others that you are competent to do what you say; that you have integrity and that you have their best interests in mind. Julia and I discuss how influencers support those beliefs about themselves, without benefit of institutional brand names; how traditional newsrooms squandered trust; and ,what journalism needs to do about it.Read Julia's Paper! The Future of Trustworthy Information: Learning from Online Content Creators TakeawaysTrust in media has reached a historic low.The creator economy is significantly larger than traditional journalism.Content creators often have a closer relationship with their audience.Integrity and accountability are crucial for rebuilding trust.Journalism needs to engage more with its audience.The concept of objectivity in journalism is outdated.Benevolence is about serving the audience's needs.Transparency in journalism can enhance trust.The future of journalism may be more about practice than profession.Holding power to account is the core mission of journalism.Website - free episode transcriptswww.in-reality.fmProduced by Tom Platts at Sound Sapiensoundsapien.comAlliance for Trust in Mediaalliancefortrust.com
Erik has spent his entire career in the investment industry and prior to founding Ethos was a Managing Partner leading Abry Partners. During his 20-year tenure at Abry he originated, supervised, and sold companies in information services, digital infrastructure, enterprise systems, healthcare IT, financial services and media, representing an aggregate enterprise value of approximately $11 billion. Additionally, as a Managing Partner at Abry Partners, he served on investment committees, and oversaw recruiting of all investment professionals, research, and information technology. He also managed relationships with limited partners, headed its Heritage Fund and was a key partner in raising $17 billion across 15 funds. Prior to joining Abry Partners, Erik was an investment professional at New Century Holdings, the Baupost Group, and Apax Partners. In addition to Erik's professional activities he serves on the Board of Advisors of the International Council of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University, and the Advisory Board of Think:Kids at Massachusetts General Hospital. As an active alumni advisor for Harvard Business School and Brown University, he spends time with students helping them think about life after academia and how their contributions can make a difference in the world. Previously he served on the boards of the Citi Performing Arts Center in Boston and the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University, and the President's Advisory Council on Internships at Brown University.
Anita R. Gohdes is a Professor of International and Cyber Security at the Hertie School in Berlin. In episode 42 of Tahrir Podcast, we discussed her most recent book, “Repression in the Digital Age: Surveillance, Censorship, and the Dynamics of State Violence,” (Oxford University Press 2023) which theoretically and empirically investigates how governments use cyber controls to support their strategies of violent repression. The book received the 2024 Goldsmith Book Prize, awarded by the Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy. Episode on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=NkF-B9hceXY Anita's book: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/repression-in-the-digital-age-9780197772614 Streaming everywhere! https://linktr.ee/TahrirPodcast Reach out! TahrirPodcast@gmail.com Support us on Patreon for as low as $2 per month ($20 per year)! https://www.patreon.com/TahrirPodcast
In this inaugural episode of AI Horizons, Kathy Pham, vice president of AI at Workday, sits down with Nancy Gibbs, director of Harvard's Shorenstein Center on Media, Public Policy, and Politics, and former editor-in-chief of Time magazine. The two explore the intricate journey toward building a culture of trust in the workplace, especially amidst the growing integration of AI and technology. They also discuss practical strategies for fostering collaboration, enhancing transparency, and addressing interdisciplinary challenges.
**Breaking Ground as a First-Generation Trailblazer** In this episode of SA Voices From The Field Dr. Jill Creighton had the chance to speak with Alejandra Campoverdi, a formidable force advocating for women's health and an inspiration for many first-generation college students. Her memoir, 'First Gen: A Memoir,' beautifully encapsulates the emotional complexities that accompany the breaking of generational barriers, a theme that resonates deeply with many of our podcast's listeners. Alejandra's narrative is both personal and universal, detailing her own struggle with panic attacks and other challenges as she navigated the social ladders of legacy-based institutions. Her experience in the White House, and the pivotal role mentors played in her journey, offers a powerful testament to the lasting impact of educators and advocates across different walks of life. **Legacy and the Emotional Rhyme of Generations** Alejandra poetically introduces the concept of 'generational rhyming,' drawing lines between the past and present experiences. By reflecting on the courage of women in her family—those who confidently stepped away from chaotic relationships while carrying the burden of pregnancy—Alejandra emphasizes the inheritance of resilience and the personal choice to either continue or modify the legacy we carry forward. **The Cultural Tapestry of Health and Sacrifice** This episode also delves into Alejandra's advocacy for women's health, illustrating the interweaving of cultural expectations and individual wellness. Her frank discussion on BRCA mutation and confronting a familial pattern of breast cancer underscores the critical necessity of breaking cycles, not only socially and economically but also health-wise. **Systemic Issues and the Imposter Experience** Alejandra's views on 'imposter syndrome' are particularly enlightening, challenging the notion that it stems solely from personal insecurity rather than also being rooted in systemic disparities. This perspective invites a broader conversation on the structural changes needed to support and validate the experiences of those breaking new ground. **Connecting with Alejandra Campoverdi** Listeners can reach out to Alejandra Campoverdi via her DMs on Instagram, LinkedIn, or her website. Her gracious acknowledgment of her mentors, including her former White House boss, and her thanks to the NASPA family and Dina from the First Gen Center, that manifests an ecosystem of support that many 'firsts' heavily rely on. TRANSCRIPT Dr. Jill Creighton [00:00:01]: Welcome to student affairs voices from the field, the podcast where we share your student affairs stories from fresh perspectives to seasoned experts. This is season 10, continuing our season 9 theme of on transitions in student affairs. This podcast is brought to you by NASPA, and I'm doctor Jill Creighton. She, her, hers, your essay voices from the field host. Welcome back essay voices. It was amazing to run into so many of you at the annual conference, and thank you again for continuing to listen to us. Today, we're gonna be releasing the first of several annual conference episodes, and we were thrilled to sit down with the closing keynote speaker, Alejandra Campaverdi. Alejandra is a nationally recognized women's health advocate, best selling author, founder, producer, and former White House aide to President Obama. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:00:48]: Alejandra's memoir, First Gen: A Memoir, examines the often unacknowledged emotional tolls of being a trailblazer. A national bestseller, 1st Gen is the winner of the California Independent Booksellers Alliance Golden Poppy Martin Cruz Smith Award and long listed for the outstanding works of literature award for the 1st year experience. 1st Gen is also the 2024 Opportunity Matters book club selection for the Council For Opportunity in Education, a national book club for 1st generation and low income students at colleges and universities across the country. Previously, Alejandra served in the Obama White House as the 1st White House deputy director of Hispanic Media. She produced and appeared in the groundbreaking PBS documentary, Inheritance, and founded the Latinos and BRCA Awareness Initiative in partnership with Penn Medicine's Master Center for BRCA. Alejandra holds a master in public policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and graduated cum laude from USC. She currently serves on the boards of Harvard's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, and the California Community Foundation. I hope you enjoy our conversation. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:01:50]: We were able to have this one live in person, so you may notice some slight audio differences in quality. Please enjoy and we're also going to be bringing you couple more bonus episodes throughout the next couple of weeks. Alejandra, welcome to SA Voices. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:02:03]: Thank you so much for having me. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:05]: I am really excited to get to know you a little bit and we really appreciate you taking time out of your schedule to talk to SA Voices here in Seattle. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:02:12]: I know. It's fun to be in Seattle. Right? Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:13]: Is this your first time? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:02:14]: No. I was actually here a few weeks ago for another conference, but I had so much fun eating my way through the city. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:20]: Oh, what was your favorite thing? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:02:22]: That was a lot. The crumpets over at the Pike Place Market, incredible. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:27]: Crumpets. Okay. That's a new one. Most of my friends say Top Pot Donuts is their their jam or, I haven't been to the crumpet spot. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:35]: This is my hometown so it's always fun for me to see people discover it through fresh eyes. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:02:39]: Nice. Well, you have to give us your tips then. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:42]: Really, it's just don't eat downtown. I think it's my biggest tip. Most of my friends and family enjoy restaurants kind of more out in the community. But we are glad to have you here as our closing keynote speaker for NASPA 2024 here in Seattle. On our theme of transitions, you were just an excellent guest to have to talk about all the transitions you've gone through in your life. Your book right now is 1st Gen, a memoir, and that has been just a really beautiful read. I've been able to take a look at least the first couple of chapters and and really kind of get to know you through that lens. But I'm wondering if you can tell us a little bit about your journey as you've written about it. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:03:17]: Well, thank you for reading it, Amy. I feel really honored to be invited to speak at NASPA. As I say in the book, the reason why I felt compelled to write it really was because, you know, as someone who was a Pell Grant recipient myself and grew up in a lot of pipeline programs and nonprofits, when I would go and speak to young people, especially students even before this book was even an idea in my mind, I noticed that there seemed to be a lot kind of hanging in the air. Some mixed emotions and almost like looks on folks' faces that I recognize on my own face at these kind of transitional achievement moments that should kind of be 1 dimensional but kind of weren't. And as I noticed that, I started kind of changing the way that I would speak and the kinds of stories I would share. And the more vulnerable I was about how it was harder than many times we're led on to believe in inspirational speeches, really helped crystallize for me how much of not only my own experience but a lot of our experiences have some shame around them that there are conflicting emotions that we don't always share even though they're so completely widespread. And a lot of it namely about the emotional toll of social mobility and the American dream as it's been presented to us. And, you know, in the book, I really talk about how it's for first and only. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:04:45]: I call us first and only because it isn't just this gatekeeper definition of who has a right to kinda like that first gen experience. I understand that in in academia and in different institutions, you need to have a definition of who qualifies and doesn't qualify. But for this emotional experience in the book, it's about being as inclusive as possible because this experience of cycle breaking and that emotional toll transcends race and gender and and so many different experiences. So that was a lens that I discussed this with, and I really use my own story growing up, you know, as the daughter of a single mom who had immigrated from Mexico a few years before I was born to kind of be the companion of walking through a lot of these different dynamics. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:05:33]: You talk about generational rhyming in your book as part of that transition story. Can you talk to us about what you mean by that? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:05:39]: Well, as a part of this book, I named something called the trailblazer tool. And I don't name that from a position of authority as someone who is a trauma specialist or an academic or a specialist in psychology or so on. The reason why I do that is because as I mentioned, you can't heal from that which you don't name. Mhmm. And so how do we create space for this holistic view that doesn't only include imposter syndrome but includes the way that being a cycle breaker first and only moves throughout our entire life even before we get to school and for many, many years after. You know, once by the time you're a 1st gen student, you've been 1st gen already many times over and you'll continue to be 1st gen. And so to that point, how is it that this even began pre birth? When you're thinking about generational inheritance and emotional inheritances, when you're looking for those answers, they say history doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes. Mhmm. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:06:35]: Well, what is the rhyme that is coming from our family? And they're not just negative. Many are positive. It's not just about generational trauma. It's about emotional inheritances and those I call them invisible inheritances. Many times they're intertwined. Many times, you know, you're looking at the fact in my instance, I have a great grandmother and a mother who both left very chaotic borderline abusive relationships while they were pregnant. Mhmm. Now that's not an inheritance that I would wanna continue. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:07:06]: Yet if you say it a little differently, I have 2 women in my family that left these relationships while they were pregnant. I mean, think of the strength and fortitude it takes to do something like that. So, I mean, I'm proud to be a a beneficiary of that inheritance. And then the third part is the inheritances that we choose to perpetuate as our own future ancestors right now. You know, every day, we have a choice to become a better ancestor. Mhmm. So those are the rhymes that not only we're coming into these lives with, but the rhymes that we're choosing to continue and be intentional about and maybe tweak a little bit. That intentionality is a lot of the end game because I don't have all the answers and this book doesn't pretend like it has all the answers. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:07:51]: But it's about validating and acknowledging a lot of what as first and only is we almost feel like we don't know have the privilege too many times. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:07:58]: I'm wondering if you can talk to us a bit about being a first generation student who entered collegiate spaces that are really legacy based institutions where maybe you're entering with classmates who have multiple generations of people who went to those institutions who know how they work, who understand the nuance and the subtleties of social culture and enter with a lot more social capital on how to engage in those worlds and how you found yourself evolving into those spaces and ultimately thriving in them. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:08:25]: Well, just how Invisible Inheritance is kind of where we start, you know, a couple steps forward is what I call chutes and social ladders. And I don't know if you remember the board game. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Chutes and Ladders. And the reason why I named it that was because that's what it kind of felt like to me. You know, you land on the right spot. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:08:44]: You do everything just right and you shoot into this different social class, into this different just like societal plane that feels so foreign, yet if you've messed up, God forbid don't do it just perfectly, you can backslide completely out of it. Right? Yeah. Without warning sometimes. Absolutely. And it feels really precarious. And to me, that made sense to me as a way to look at it. In the book, I talk about the familial chaos that I was in, this kind of pressure cooker, as well as in the romantic relationship that I highlight in the book. That's also something else that was, you know, leading to a lot of personal angst. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:09:25]: Mhmm. Yet the way that I was dealing with that was in a lot of ways of trying to kind of stabilize and have some semblance of control in my life by overachieving. Mhmm. You know, how that overachieving and sometimes that perfectionism can be as well as ambition, but can also be a coping mechanism for trauma. Right? And so I was making myself a really good college applicant at the same time as I was really struggling with a lot of issues around this kind of dynamics in my home and my relationships. So by the time I get to USC, it was one blurry summer apart from a very different kind of cultural experience where if anything, I was teased for, quote, acting white because I would get good grades. But then you get to college, and I remember by then, I was already struggling very much with panic attacks and panic disorder, and I had my mom be on campus with me. I grew up under 20 miles from USC's campus but had never visited. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:10:27]: You know, you don't visit colleges. Who does that? Like, what is that? So my mom is there with me pushing this running stroller around with my little sister, and I just didn't want her to be out of my sight because I felt so much pressure. Like, a lot of these students I know. I hear from them. I'm traveling around the country right now talking to them. So much pressure that not only did I have to do this to kind of this was my chance to, you know, break that cycle of poverty, but this was also my chance to help my mom, to help my family. You know, it was this kinda like double layer of stress. And my mom went to the parent orientation and I'm sitting there and feeling that, and all of a sudden, my ears start ringing. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:11:05]: Everything starts getting spinny, and I run out of Boulevard Auditorium in USC and pass out in the middle of campus. So when I came to, somebody had gone to get my mom, and we went to the health center, and then they gave me a prescription and, you know, sent me on my way. And I remember sitting on a bench with her and thinking, oh my god. Am I gonna be able to do this? I worked so hard to be able to get there, and it felt like everything was within grasp that I had dreamed of, that we had dreamed of. But I didn't know if I could physically do it because all of these experiences and these emotional experiences that we're talking about had started catching up with me. Mhmm. You know, and that's that's not something that's unique to me. Right? Because there's a saying I point to in the book, when you're skating over thin ice, your speed is your safety. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:11:52]: Mhmm. And many times that's what it feels like when you're cycle breaking and you're kind of trying to adjust to these new kinda stratosphere jumps, you don't have time to really process what's happening. You're just kind of surviving and morphing and adapting however you can. And there was a lot that was coming up for me at that time. I was fortunate that, you know, my mom was able to help me kind of navigate a little bit but in a lot of ways I ended up experiencing a whole another big jump that was difficult to recalibrate. At the time, my mom, not knowing any better, encouraged me to get involved with the Greek system. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:12:30]: Okay. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:12:30]: And we can imagine at that time, USC in the late nineties, early 2000, you know, that was like taking me to the most extreme example of kind of world jumping and recalibrating and understanding what that meant for my Latinidad and how it expressed itself on campus. How I was able to show up and fit into a system that had experiences that were beyond my comprehension and how it is that I was able to do that and manage all that while at the same time trying to keep up with grades. And it it was a lot. And I go into this a lot deeper in the book about what that felt like, but I definitely don't. And I'm not saying now nor do I say in the book that I figured it all out. Mhmm. The point was that I was white knuckling it. The point was that I was surviving in that space in those spaces as best I could, but not really understanding a lot of the dynamics that they weren't personal to me. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:13:32]: Like many women of color who are leading in new spaces, you've had transitions in this academic space, you've had transitions with health, and you've had transitions in career. So I wanna talk a little bit about your transitions in health because you're well known as a women's health advocate. When you were going through your own health transitions, how did you balance that with everything else that was going on in the world? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:13:53]: Well, I didn't know that I because I'm a BRCA mutation carrier, hereditary cancer in my family, but I didn't know that until I was in my thirties. So what I did know was that women in my family tended to all get breast cancer. And until my mom's generation, they would pass away from breast cancer. So it was especially when my mom was diagnosed and I was in my early twenties, that was a really pivotal time as far as just graduating from school and trying to figure out, I call it the lonely hustle, how to kind of go after my dreams without any safety net. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:14:28]: Mhmm. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:14:28]: When my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, I realized I didn't really have the privilege to do that. I had a little sister that I assumed I was gonna be a single mom too. And so I went home to help take care of my mom during that time and, you know, slept on the air mattress in her living room. And as far as I was concerned, that was it. Your parents, a lot of times, you feel like they sacrifice so much for you to have these opportunities and that feels especially in the dynamics and the cultural dynamics in a lot of our communities that that's a collectivist mindset about what it means when you drop everything to be able to take care of the family unit. And so I didn't realize back then that that was something that I was also going to have to face. Mhmm. But breast cancer has been an ongoing drumbeat throughout my entire life. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:15:17]: You know, I don't go into my own journey with breast cancer in this book because this book ends before that happens. But, you know, when you're thinking about cycle breaking even with our own bodies, you know, how it is we disrupt these cycles in our families and the choice that I made to have preventative surgery at the time, not knowing that when it was after the fact of the surgery, we would discover in retrospect that actually I did have an active breast cancer already developing, which validated that choice. But all that to say is our health is another way that we're able to try to break some of these cycles. And I always say, you know, like one of the the biggest cycles that we can break and we don't always think about is to give ourselves the privilege of rest and balance and that kind of wellness on every different level because we can break cycles of poverty. We can be the first to go to college. We can be the first to have a job or buy a house or so on. But unless we do some of this inner work, one of the biggest cycles that can lead to illness in our body but for sure in our minds and our emotional health is not gonna get broken. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:16:32]: When you think about cycle break in your own life, what advice do you give to others on how they can also engage in that work? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:16:36]: I think that the first step is to be conscious of it, to acknowledge it. And that's the energy that this book is written in for us to know ourselves and for us to know each other and for us to know that we're not alone in these experiences because a lot of it feels so isolating and a lot of it feels just really personal. And if I I've learned anything I mean, I've been to dozens of colleges now across the country. I've been really blessed to speak to so many educators as well. And it's the same experience of nodding everywhere that I go. Mhmm. Nodding in tears and acknowledgement. And sometimes people will raise their hands and I remember I was speaking in Miami, and this gentleman raised his hand. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:17:17]: He said, how do you deal with, like, the loneliness? And he started crying. And I looked out at the crowd, and I and I tell you, there were so many people crying. And I told them, I said, well, take a look around. Do you feel alone? Look at all these people that that are feeling the same thing you're feeling. And that's what the energy that this book is hopefully calling us to, which is to take a look around and acknowledge all the nodding heads. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:17:45]: I think one of the most powerful things you do in this book is give voice to a common experience that a lot of people are afraid to talk about or afraid to say out loud because we live in a capitalist society. We're fearful of being perceived as, you know, not always out in front of things sometimes. So I really appreciate that you're naming a lot of this, and it's clearly resonating with audiences around the country, and I'm sure will be very resonant for our NASPA members here, especially for our professionals who are 1st and onlys or are there 1st gen in their family to attain a university degree and then likely an advanced degree, and now we're all working in this field where a lot of people don't really understand our work. It's kind of an ongoing joke in student affairs that even our own parents don't understand what we do on a daily basis. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:18:26]: And I write about that in the book that that's a loneliness inducing experience as as well that I write about when you go home. And I mean, I would come home from the White House and I wouldn't get questions about my work, and that's at a neutral level. Then there's the hands of the students where they raise their hands and say, I'm dissuaded from doing these things. They're told, like, why are you doing this? Why don't you get a more job where you make more money? Why would you study abroad? That's a waste of your time. Almost kind of getting this negative messaging. But to your point, that's why I feel so honored to be speaking here at NASPA because on so many different levels, a, you guys are the ones on the ground. You guys are the ones on the ground with these students every day working so hard and doing so much to support the leaders of the future. And also because I see very clearly how many of the educators I'm speaking to are literally these students who also had the same experience. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:19:23]: You know, we get called to the work that we do, whether it's writing books or being an educator because of something usually very personal. We're called to something because of the empathy many times that we have for experiences. And like I said earlier, the book is written not just about that part of the student experience. There's many many chapters about what happens when you're on the other side of the sausage maker, which is all of us. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:19:49]: Mhmm. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:19:50]: And you're gonna spit out the other side and you're like, okay, woah, what happened? Because there is a point where you're the arc of the first gen experience kind of concludes. That doesn't mean that you don't have ambitions for the future and you don't have all these other things you wanna accomplish, but that initial kind of ascension into breaking out of certain cycles, same things that originally was driving me? Are they the same things or have they shifted? And if they've shifted, then how is it that I show up differently? You also name feelings of imposter syndrome in Dr. Jill Creighton [00:20:31]: the book, especially when you're first invited into the White House spaces and during your process of getting top secret security clearance and all of those things. How did you work through those feelings of imposter syndrome even though you're sitting in some of the most powerful spaces in the world at that point in time and knowing that so many of our listeners are facing impostor syndrome in their own careers even though, you know, we're all qualified to be in the spaces we're in? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:20:53]: Well, one of the things that I really make a point to highlight in the book is I actually really have a problem with the idea of impostor syndrome as it was presented to me. I'll make it personal, as I've seen it be presented also in general, is the idea that it really is about this crisis of confidence singularly and not about the second part of it, the other side of the coin, which is no matter how confident we are, how it is that the way that we show up or we're received in these spaces and in these kind of constructs that is reflected back to us sometimes that we don't belong in ways that are subtle and not so subtle at times. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:21:29]: I think imposter syndrome syndrome's a system issue personally. Right? It's 2 ways. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:21:34]: Exactly. I mean, it's 2 ways. We we still have to acknowledge our contributions and show up in that space and there's systemic issues at play too. And so that's the lens through which I talk about it at that time at the White House and not just at the White House, but that nuance, I think, is helpful because I know when I used to blame myself for feeling a lack of confidence, it's not fair on top of everything else. It's also we're pointing the arrow directly back at students to just feel more confident and not acknowledging the dynamics with which they're operating. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:22:14]: Is there anything else you want our NASPA membership to hear from you today? Just that Alejandra Campoverdi [00:22:18]: I had several inflection points that I talk about in the book that really had to do with either an educator or a mentor, someone in a position of power saying something, doing something that completely changed my life. And I wasn't someone who had mentors that would follow my life for decades. You know, it was these angels that sometimes would step in and sometimes would derail, you know. Sometimes people help you in ways that are positive and negative to kinda get you back on track. Mhmm. But the point is that these people in my life and certain things they said and didn't encourage me to do changed everything. And so I like I said, my message is gratitude to this community for being the in the spaces between the bullet points because that's what I call it in the book. That's what the book is. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:23:08]: I wanted to write something that didn't just look at the bullet points on my resume or in my bio the same way that all of us have our schools and our achievements and our jobs, but that's not where the real story lies. It's really in the spaces between those bullet points and that's where you guys are. That's where the whole story goes one way or another. And so it's just expressing my gratitude for the work that you do and for the way that you're changing lives every day. Before we go to our break, I Dr. Jill Creighton [00:23:37]: would be remiss if I didn't ask how cool is it to be on Air Force Alejandra Campoverdi [00:23:40]: There's nothing cooler. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:23:43]: It's time to take a quick break and toss it over to producer Chris to learn what's going on in the NASPA world. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:23:49]: Thanks so much, Jill. Really excited to be back in the NASPA world. And today, I am really excited to be able to share some amazing news. If you missed it, an email was sent out after the annual conference that NASPA has selected a new president. We are thrilled to share with you that the outcome of the national search of the NASPA president has concluded. And after a thoughtful and deliberate process spanning the past 6 months, the NASPA board of directors have selected Dr. Amelia Parnell as the next President of NASPA. You may know Amelia the from her work as vice president for research and policy at NASPA, a position that she's held since 2015. In this role, she has selected the association's research policy and publications portfolio, providing critical thought and support to the membership. She oversees large scale projects, represents NASPA globally, is speaking engagements in the media, and leads analysis of applicable federal and state legislation and regulatory developments. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:24:53]: Over the past 8 years, Amelia has secured over $22,000,000 in philanthropic funding, represented NASPA through service to over 20 organizations, including the US Department of Education, and served as the chair of the governing board for the Higher Ed Equity Network and Chair of the Finance and Investment Committee for the EDUCAUSE Board of Directors. Additionally, she has led an 18 month examination of the future of student affairs, overseeing a large volunteer and staff task force and engaging in listening sessions with NASPA members. Prior to NASPA, Amelia served as Director of Research Initiatives at the Association For Institutional Research and Director of National Survey Research for the Association For Institutional Research. From 2005 to 2012, she served as education policy analyst for the Florida Legislature. Amelia has authored numerous scholarly articles and has been regularly quoted in national and trade publications. She is author of the recent book, You Are a Data Person, Strategies for Using Analytics on Campus, which has sold over 3,000 copies to date and is widely used by institutions across the country. She is also a faculty member for the Institute on ePortfolios of the American Association of Colleges and Universities. Amelia holds a BS and MBA in Business Administration from Florida A&M University and a PhD in Higher Education from Florida State University. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:26:21]: Beyond Amelia's credentials and organizational knowledge, the search committee and the board were most impressed by her vision for continuing to position NASPA as an indispensable organization serving the student affairs profession and higher education more broadly. Her collaborative leadership style combined with her extensive experience and genuine commitment to student success set her apart in a strong and diverse field of applicants for the position. Emilia will begin her tenure as president on July 1, 2024, at which time Kevin Kruger will become president emeritus. As we continue to move toward this next chapter in NASPA's story, we wanna thank the NASPA president search committee and especially the co chairs, Betty Simmons, retired vice president of student development enrollment management at County College of Morris and Pat Whiteley, senior vice president for student affairs and alumni engagement at the University of Miami. These volunteers gave so much of their time to ensure that the next leader of NASPA would be someone who can build on the successes of the last 12 years and position the organization to help its members face the challenges that we know lie ahead. In selecting Amelia, they have done exactly that. We would also like to extend our thanks to the team at Korn Kari for their counsel and support in this search. Our largest congratulations go out to doctor Amelia Parnell, past guest of the show, and we will be having her in the future to talk about that vision for NASPA. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:27:47]: Every week, we're going to be sharing some amazing things that are happening within the association. So we are going to be able to try and keep you up to date on everything that's happening and allow for you to be able to get involved in different ways, because the association is as strong as its members. And for all of us, we have to find our place within the association, whether it be getting involved with a knowledge community, giving back within one of the the centers or the divisions of the association. And as you're doing that, it's important to be able to identify for yourself where do you fit? Where do you wanna give back? Each week, we're hoping that we will share some things that might encourage you, might allow for you to be able to get some ideas that will provide you with an opportunity to be able to say, Hey, I see myself in that knowledge community. I see myself doing something like that. Or encourage you in other ways that allow for you to be able to think beyond what's available right now, to offer other things to the association, to bring your gifts, your talents to the association and to all the members within the association. Because through doing that, all of us are stronger and the association is better. Tune in again next week as we find out more about what is happening in NASPA. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:29:12]: Chris, thank you so much for this week's edition of NASPA World. We always appreciate you keeping us updated on what's going around in and around NASPA. And, Alejandra, we have our lightning round questions now. I've got 7 questions for you in about 90 seconds. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:29:26]: Okay. Let's go. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:29:27]: Alright. Question number 1. Since you are a conference keynote speaker, if you got to choose your entrance music, what would it be? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:29:33]: Well, I don't know if it's a known fact but First Gen has a playlist cause each chapter title is a song. So I'm gonna pick one of the songs off of the playlist which is Fast Car, Tracy Chapman version though. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:29:46]: Oh, she just performed recently. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:29:47]: Oh, so good. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:29:47]: Love her. So good. I'm gonna sidetrack us and say where can people find your playlist? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:29:51]: It's on Spotify and in the back of the book, there's a link. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:29:54]: Alright. Number 2, when you were 5 years old, what did you wanna be when you grew up? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:29:58]: When I was 5 years old, I wanted to be Cinderella. I actually write about that in the book. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:30:05]: Number 3, who's your most influential professional mentor? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:30:08]: My most influential professional mentor was my boss at the White House for a lot of reasons and I I actually there's a whole scene in the book about the way she modeled to me what true leadership was like and really had the power to be able to either support me or not support me in a very pivotal moment at the beginning of the book. And she, to this day, is somebody who's still in my life and threw me a book party when the book came out, which meant a lot. So I would have to say her. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:30:38]: Number 4, your essential higher education read. I'd be remiss Alejandra Campoverdi [00:30:41]: if I didn't say 1st gen. Come on. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:30:43]: Number 5, the best TV show you binged during the pandemic. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:30:47]: I watched Breaking Bad again. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:30:48]: Number 6, the podcast you've spent the most hours listening to in Alejandra Campoverdi [00:30:51]: the last year. So because I actually, over the past year, have been so crazy promoting the book. I haven't listened to a lot of podcast. I'm gonna give a shout out to this one. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:31:00]: Thank you. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:31:02]: So SA Voices from the Field. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:31:04]: And finally, any shout outs you'd like to give personal or professional? I just like to Alejandra Campoverdi [00:31:08]: thank the NASPA family for welcoming me and of course to Dina over at the First Gen Center. I've had such an incredible experience getting to know folks in this world and a lot of the folks in student affairs and 1st gen programs. And so shout out to everyone here and the work that they're doing and to you for having me. I appreciate it. Again, the Dr. Jill Creighton [00:31:28]: book is First Gen, a memoir by Alejandra Campoverdi. You can pick it up in the NASPA bookstore or wherever you buy books. Now if folks would like to book you for a speaking tour on their campus or reach you otherwise, how can they find you? Well, Alejandra Campoverdi [00:31:40]: I'm super in my DMs. So you could DM me on Instagram or send me a LinkedIn message or on my website. There's an email that you can also reach out to me there. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:31:50]: And what's your website? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:31:51]: Alejandracampoverdi.com. Thank you Dr. Jill Creighton [00:31:54]: so much, for sharing your voice with us today. Thank you. This has been an episode of Student Affairs Voices from the Field, a podcast brought to you by NASPA. This show continues to be possible because you choose to listen to us. We are so grateful for your subscriptions and your downloads and your engagement with the content. If you'd like to reach the show, please email us at sa voices at nasa dotorg or find me on LinkedIn by searching for doctor Jill L. Creighton. We always welcome your feedback and your topic and guest suggestions. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:32:26]: We'd love it if you take a moment to tell a colleague about the show and give us a 5 star rating on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening now. It really does help other student affairs professionals find the show and helps raise the show's profile within the larger podcasting community. This episode was produced and hosted by doctor Jill Creighton, that's me, produced and audio engineered by doctor Chris Lewis. Special thanks to the University of Michigan Flint for your support as we create this project. Catch you next time.
At INFORMED 2024, a conference hosted by the Knight Foundation in January, one panel focused on the subject of information integrity, race, and US elections. The conversation was compelling, and the panelists agreed to reprise it for this podcast. So today we're turning over the mic to Spencer Overton, a Professor of Law at the George Washington University, and the director of the GW Law School's Multiracial Democracy Project.He's joined by three other experts, including: Brandi Collins-Dexter, a media and technology fellow at Harvard's Shorenstein Center, a fellow at the National Center on Race and Digital Justice, and the author of the recent book, Black Skinhead: Reflections on Blackness and Our Political Future. Brandi is developing a podcast of her own with MediaJustice that explores 1980s era media, racialized conspiracism, and politics in Chicago;Dr. Danielle Brown, a social movement and media researcher who holds the 1855 Community and Urban Journalism professorship at Michigan State and is the founding director of the LIFT project, which is focused on mapping, networking and resourcing, trusted messengers to dismantle mis- and disinformation narratives that circulate in Black communities and about Black communities; andKathryn Peters, who was the inaugural executive director of University of North Carolina's Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life and was the co-founder of Democracy Works, where she built programs to help more Americans navigate how to vote. These days, she's working on a variety of projects to empower voters and address election mis- and disinformation.
As our discourse and our politics have become both more polarized and paralyzed, Harvard Kennedy School faculty members Erica Chenoweth and Julia Minson say we need to refocus on listening to understand, instead of talking to win. In mid-2022, the School launched the Candid and Constructive Conversations initiative, based on the idea that frank yet productive discussions over differences are not only vital to democracy and a functioning society, but that the ability to have them was also an essential skill for students, staff, and faculty in the Harvard community and beyond to learn. The effort—which uses techniques and principles based on surveys and decision science—took on even greater urgency after the recent events in Israel and Gaza and their fallout in the U.S., including at Harvard and other universities. Erica Chenoweth is the Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment and the academic dean for faculty Engagement at HKS, as well as one of the world's leading authorities on conflict and alternatives to political violence. Associate Professor of Public Policy Julia Minson is a decision scientist who studies the psychology of disagreement, and has developed research-based, practical methods that nearly anyone can use to make difficult conversations into productive ones.Policy Recommendations:Erica Chenoweth's Policy Recommendations:Have local governments invest more in creating opportunities for bridging divides in civil societyMaking election day a national holiday and supporting activities that are about participating in the political process and so it feels like something we all do togetherUse the Chatham House Rule and other tools to create conversational spaces that encourage open and inclusive dialogue.Julia Minson's Policy Recommendations:Create a curriculum for teenagers to learn the skills of constructive conversation across differencesTeach HEAR and other easy-to-understand conversational receptiveness training methods widely to enable candid and constructive conversations between individuals.Erica Chenoweth is the Academic Dean for Faculty Engagement and the Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment at Harvard Kennedy School, Faculty Dean at Pforzheimer House at Harvard College, and Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Professor at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute. They study political violence and its alternatives. At Harvard, Chenoweth directs the Nonviolent Action Lab, an innovation hub that provides empirical evidence in support of movement-led political transformation. Chenoweth has authored or edited nine books on mass movements, nonviolent resistance, terrorism, political violence, revolutions, and state repression. Their recent book, “Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know,” explores what civil resistance is, how it works, why it sometimes fails, how violence and repression affect it, and the long-term impacts of such resistance. Their next book with HKS Lecturer in Public Policy Zoe Marks, “Bread and Roses: Women on the Frontlines of Revolution,” investigates the impact of women's participation on revolutionary outcomes and democratization. Chenoweth maintains the NAVCO Data Project, one of the world's leading datasets on historical and contemporary mass mobilizations around the globe. Along with Jeremy Pressman, Chenoweth also co-directs the Crowd Counting Consortium, a public interest and scholarly project that documents political mobilization in the U.S. since January 2017.Associate Professor of Public Policy Julia Minson is a decision scientist with research interests in conflict, negotiations and judgment and decision making. Her primary line of research addresses the “psychology of disagreement” – How do people engage with opinions, judgments and decisions that are different from their own? She is particularly interested in simple, scalable interventions to help people be more receptive to views and opinions they strongly oppose. Much of Julia's research is conducted in collaboration with the graduate and post-doctoral members of MC² – the Minson Conflict and Collaboration Lab. At the Kennedy School Julia is affiliated with the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, the Center for Public Leadership, and the Taubman Center for State and Local Government. Julia teaches courses on negotiations and decision-making as part of the Management, Leadership and Decision Science area, as well as through HKS Executive Education. Prior to coming to the Kennedy School, Julia served as an Adjunct Lecturer at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, where she taught Negotiations at both the MBA and the undergraduate levels. She received her PhD in Social Psychology from Stanford University and her BA in Psychology from Harvard University.Ralph Ranalli of the HKS Office of Communications and Public Affairs is the host, producer, and editor of HKS PolicyCast. A former journalist, public television producer, and entrepreneur, he holds an AB in Political Science from UCLA and an MS in Journalism from Columbia University.Social media promotion and support is provided by Natalie Montaner and the OCPA Digital Team. Editorial support is provided by Nora Delaney. Design and graphics support is provided by Delane Meadows, Laura King, and the OCPA Design Team.
In this episode of the Whistleblower of the Week, Jane speaks with online disinformation specialist Dr. Joan Donovan, the former Technology and Social Change Research Project Director at the Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center.Dr. Donovan blew the whistle on alleged improper donor influence at the KennedySchool. She claims Harvard officials took cues and acted on behalf of Meta'sinterest while questioning her research methodologies, specifically regardingFacebook.In this week's podcast, Joan tells Turner, “I wasn't going to just sit there andlet this happen around me. I wasn't going to say, ‘If you don't want me toresearch Facebook, I'll just turn my eye onto something else,' and I probablycould have, and the heat probably would have died down. But, because I kept thepan hot, I got thrown into it.”Listen to the podcast on WNN or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Amazon. Subscribe on your favorite platform!
The documentary industry has seen huge changes in the last decade. So where does the industry stand today? What are some of the greatest challenges documentary filmmakers face? And what kind of work do industry gatekeepers want to support?Our guest, Sara Archambault, is leading a new initiative at Harvard University's Shorenstein Center that is trying to answer these questions. The program, “Documentary in the Public Interest”, surveys scholars, filmmakers, journalists, and industry leaders to find out the most prominent trends in the doc industry and the biggest challenges filmmakers face. Sara Archambault has been a documentary producer and programmer for more than a decade. She was Program Director at LEF Foundation for 10 years, and was the Founder/Programmer of The DocYard.Note that is the last episode with Rough Cut's Creator and Host Jennie Butler. If you'd like to get in touch, she can be reached at jenniebtlr@gmail.com Host Jennie Butler on InstagramExecutive Producer Sky Dylan-RobbinsProducer Caley Fox Shannon on InstagramEditor Audrey Horowitz on InstagramGot an idea for an episode? Email podcast@videoconsortium.orgClick here to support the Video Consortium
Award-winning documentarian Dawn Porter talks about bringing journalistic principles and standards to documentary filmmaking and treating documentary subjects as collaborators and partners rather than “subjects.” We also discuss the need to keep having the difficult conversations needed to keep up with the changing documentary landscape. We also talk about how she got into the business by way of another profession, and discuss one of my favorites of her films, Gideon's Army, which premiered at Sundance and was nominated for both the Independent Spirit Award for Best Doc and an Emmy.Dawn's 2023 film, The Lady Bird Diaries was called “mesmerizing” and “elegant” by The Guardian. She is also known for the HBO film Trapped, about the last abortion providers in Mississippi, as well as films about Civil Rights icon John Lewis and the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. More about Dawn here.Films mentioned in this episode:All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022), Dir. Laura PoitrasHoop Dreams (1994), Dir. Steve James The Territory (2022), Dir. Alex PritzGideon's Army (2013), Dir. Dawn PorterThe Interrupters (2011), Dir. Steve JamesJesus Camp (2006), Dir. Heidi Ewing and Rachel GradyFive Broken Cameras (2011), Dir. Emad Burnat and Guy DavidiOther Mentions:Nan GoldinFollow us on Instagram! @ThousandRoadsPodSpecial thanks for helping make this series happen: Sara Archambault, Florence Barrau-Adams, Jon Berman, Ben Cuomo (music), Jax Deluca, Pallavi Deshpande, Nancy Gibbs, Kathleen Hughes, Caroline Kracunas, Laura Manley, Alexis Pancrazi, Liz Schwartz, Jeff Seelbach, Lindsay Underwood (logo/graphics)This episode was supported by a fellowship at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
Brian Newman is one of the more trenchant observers on the documentary scene. He's worn many hats in the industry: as an indie film producer, as the CEO of the Tribeca Film Institute, as a programmer for the Atlanta Film Festival, and much more. He currently leads a consultancy called Sub-Genre, doing content, strategy, development, distribution and marketing, for which he writes the Sub-Genre newsletter that a lot of media folks read. He has, as you'll hear in this conversation, some hope for the independent documentary world, even in the face of recent media consolidation, as we talk about how an ecosystem friendly to independent documentary once sprung up, and also how it might be sustained in the world of commercial media. More about Brian here.Note: In this episode, we mention that one of my favorite films of 2022, Reid Davenport's “I Didn't See You There,” is not streaming. Reid says he hopes to have it available on iTunes and Amazon on 1/10/24. Highly recommended!Films mentioned:Shored Up (2013), Ben KalinaI Didn't See You There (2022), Reid DavenportOther mentions:Atlanta Film FestivalTribeca Film InstituteTed SarandosCara MertesFrontlinePOVIndependent LensCamden International Film FestivalThe D-WordInternational Documentary Association (IDA)Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers (AIVF)Sundance Film FeFollow us on Instagram! @ThousandRoadsPodSpecial thanks for helping make this series happen: Sara Archambault, Florence Barrau-Adams, Jon Berman, Ben Cuomo (music), Jax Deluca, Pallavi Deshpande, Nancy Gibbs, Kathleen Hughes, Caroline Kracunas, Laura Manley, Alexis Pancrazi, Liz Schwartz, Jeff Seelbach, Lindsay Underwood (logo/graphics)This episode was supported by a fellowship at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
Julie Cohen and Betsy West are best known as a team for their Oscar-nominated documentary RBG about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. They're also both former network news journalists. We talk about the differences and similarities between those two worlds (hint: one of them sounds more fun), the films that helped shape their sensibilities, and their films RBG, Gabby Giffords Won't Back Down, about the former Congresswoman's recovery from an assassination attempt, and My Name Is Pauli Murray, about the non-binary lawyer who played a key role in the civil rights movement.Julie Cohen's 2023 film, Every Body, premiered at Tribeca and was released theatrically by Focus Features. Called “a master class in how a documentary should be done” by The Boston Globe, it tells of three courageous intersex people who've overcome shame and secrecy to become their true selves. Betsy West is a filmmaker, journalist, and professor emerita at the Columbia Journalism School. A 21-time Emmy Award winner, she served as executive producer of the ABC News documentary series Turning Point and as VP of News at CBS, where she oversaw 60 Minutes and 48 Hours. More about Julie & Betsy here. Films mentioned in this episode:RBG (2018), Dir. Julie Cohen and Betsy WestHoop Dreams (1994), Dir. Steve James Gabby Giffords Won't Back Down (2022), Dir. Julie Cohen and Betsy WestFlee (2021), Dir. Jonas Poher RasmussenHaulout (2022), Dir. Maxim Arbugaev and Evgenia ArbugaevaThe Endless Summer (1966), Dir. Bruce BrownThe World At War series (1973-74), Dir. David ElsteinRoger And Me (1989), Dir. Michael MooreBuena Vista Social Club (1999), Dir. Wim WendersMy Name is Pauli Murray (2021), Dir. Julie Cohen and Betsy WestOther Mentions:Senator Mark Kelly Turning Point (ABC News)Cinque NorthernFollow us on Instagram! @ThousandRoadsPodSpecial thanks for helping make this series happen: Sara Archambault, Florence Barrau-Adams, Jon Berman, Ben Cuomo (music), Jax Deluca, Pallavi Deshpande, Nancy Gibbs, Kathleen Hughes, Caroline Kracunas, Laura Manley, Alexis Pancrazi, Liz Schwartz, Jeff Seelbach, Lindsay Underwood (logo/graphics)This episode was supported by a fellowship at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
June Cross is a documentary filmmaker who has Emmy, Peabody, and DuPont-Columbia Journalism awards under her belt. She also founded and directs the doc program at the Columbia University Journalism School. So you could say she's helped bring not only documentary films into the world but also a lot of documentary filmmakers. We talk about her own films, which include the autobiographical Secret Daughter, a film with many twists about her upbringing as the daughter of a white mother and a Black father, and Wilhemina's War, about a grandmother caring for her HIV-positive granddaughter in South Carolina. We also discuss what she teaches her students about the craft and ethics of documentary filmmaking and how her own thoughts about those things have evolved over the years. More about June here.Films mentioned in the episode:Wilhemina's War (2015), Dir. June CrossSecret Daughter, June CrossThe Territory (2022), Dir. Alex PritzImitation of Life (1959), Dir. Douglas SirkA Kid Kills (1992), Dir. June CrossFahrenheit 9/11 (2004), Dir. Michael MooreOther Mentions:Bill MoyersFredi WashingtonAmiri BarakaAnna Deavere SmithDavid FanningFrontlineJigsaw ProductionsFollow us on Instagram! @ThousandRoadsPodSpecial thanks for helping make this series happen: Sara Archambault, Florence Barrau-Adams, Jon Berman, Ben Cuomo (music), Jax Deluca, Pallavi Deshpande, Nancy Gibbs, Kathleen Hughes, Caroline Kracunas, Laura Manley, Alexis Pancrazi, Liz Schwartz, Jeff Seelbach, Lindsay Underwood (logo/graphics)This episode was supported by a fellowship at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
What's it like for independent doc filmmakers, accustomed to making all their own decisions, to work with a top-notch doc series like PBS's Frontline, with its strict journalistic guidelines? That's the main topic I discuss with award-winning doc filmmakers Yoruba Richen and Brad Lichtenstein, whose terrific 2022 film American Reckoning began as an indie project but eventually turned into a Frontline project.Yoruba Richen and Brad Lichtenstein are well-known both separately as a team, Yoruba for films including 2023's The Cost of Inheritance, which premiered at DOC NYC, Brad for films including 2022's Emmy Award-winning When Claude Got Shot. More about Yoruba here, and Brad here. Films mentioned in this episode:American Reckoning (2022), Dir. Yoruba Richen and Brad LichtensteinThe Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show (2020), Dir. Yoruba RichenWhen Claude Got Shot (2021), Dir. Brad LichtensteinThe Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks (2022), Dir. Yoruba Richen and Johanna HamiltonBlack Natchez (1967), Dir. Ed Pincus and David NeumanOther mentions:St. Clair BourneBill MoyersThe Un(re)solved ProjectDawn PorterFrontlineHillary BachelderRaney Aronson-RathThe Emmett Till Anti-lynching ActFollow us on Instagram! @ThousandRoadsPodSpecial thanks for helping make this series happen: Sara Archambault, Florence Barrau-Adams, Jon Berman, Ben Cuomo (music), Jax Deluca, Pallavi Deshpande, Nancy Gibbs, Kathleen Hughes, Caroline Kracunas, Laura Manley, Alexis Pancrazi, Liz Schwartz, Jeff Seelbach, Lindsay Underwood (logo/graphics)This episode was supported by a fellowship at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
I think it's safe to say Jennifer Tieixiera and Camilla Hall have created a documentary unlike any other. It's called Subject, and it profiles people whose stories have appeared in some of the most acclaimed documentaries of the last three decades or so, including Hoop Dreams, The Square, The Wolfpack, and The Staircase. But what makes Subject different is that it focuses on what happened to these folks after their participation in documentaries made them famous. It's a film that asks filmmakers to take a hard look at their own processes and motives, and we discuss not only filmmaking practices and ethics, but also the state of the doc world both from a creative and business perspective.More about Jennifer and Camilla here.Films mentioned in this episode:Subject (2023), Dir. Jennifer Tiexiera & Camilla HallThe Staircase series (2022), Dir. Leigh Janiak, Antonio CamposHoop Dreams (1994), Dir. Steve James Capturing The Friedmans (2003), Dir. Andrew JareckiThe Square (2013), Jehane NoujaimWinter On Fire: Ukraine's Fight For Freedom (2015), Evgeny AfineevskyOther Mentions: Gordon QuinnPat AufderheideMargie RatliffKirsten JohnsonMichèle StephensonJoe BrewsterAssia Boundaoui Sam PollardBruce ShapiroDart Center for Journalism & TraumaDocumentary Accountability Working GroupSonya ChildressDr. Kameelah Mu'Min Rashad aka Oseguera Ahmed HassanRita BaghdadiFollow us on Instagram! @ThousandRoadsPodSpecial thanks for helping make this series happen: Sara Archambault, Florence Barrau-Adams, Jon Berman, Ben Cuomo (music), Jax Deluca, Pallavi Deshpande, Nancy Gibbs, Kathleen Hughes, Caroline Kracunas, Laura Manley, Alexis Pancrazi, Liz Schwartz, Jeff Seelbach, Lindsay Underwood (logo/graphics)This episode was supported by a fellowship at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
Robert Greene is a professor at the University of Missouri's Journalism School, where he runs the Murray Center for Documentary Journalism. But he's better known as a filmmaker whose documentaries are anything but “traditional” journalism. These include two that we talk about in this podcast, Procession, about the pedophilia scandal in the Roman Catholic Church, which was shortlisted for the documentary Oscar in 2021, and the award-winning Bisbee ‘17, about a mass deportation of immigrants that took place in the American Southwest about a century ago. We also discuss his influences, his filmmaking philosophy, and some of his favorite documentaries.Robert's other films include Kate Plays Christine and Actress. More about Robert here.Films mentioned in this episode:Procession (2020), Dir. Robert GreeneSpotlight (2015), Dir. Tom McCarthyBisbee ‘17 (2018), Dir. Robert GreeneWritten On The Wind (1956), Dir. Douglas SirkImitation of Life (1959), Dir. Douglas SirkRacetrack (1985), Dir. Frederick Wiseman Strong Island (2017), Dir. Yance Ford Cameraperson (2016), Dir. Kirsten JohnsonHale County This Morning, This Evening (2018), RaMell RossTime (2020), Garrett Bradley Primary (1960), Dir. Robert DrewGimme Shelter (1970), Albert and David MayslesOther Mentions:Eric HynesMuseum of the Moving ImagePeter WatkinsChantal AckermanRobert FlahertyMichael MooreDirect Cinema movementFollow us on Instagram! @ThousandRoadsPodSpecial thanks for helping make this series happen: Sara Archambault, Florence Barrau-Adams, Jon Berman, Ben Cuomo (music), Jax Deluca, Pallavi Deshpande, Nancy Gibbs, Kathleen Hughes, Caroline Kracunas, Laura Manley, Alexis Pancrazi, Liz Schwartz, Jeff Seelbach, Lindsay Underwood (logo/graphics)This episode was supported by a fellowship at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
The Documentary Accountability Working Group (DAWG) is making quite an impact in the documentary film world, promoting a framework for values-based documentary ethics and practices. Natalie Bullock Brown is its director, and she's my guest this time around. We talk about DAWG's suggestions as to how people agreeing to appear in documentaries ought to be treated, with regard to compensation, psychological services, community outreach and more. There's some great overlap between this conversation and my podcast conversations with Byron Hurt and Jennifer Tiexiera & Camilla Hall, so please check those out too. Along with her work at DAWG, Natalie is an award-winning film producer who also teaches at North Carolina State University. She's held several fellowships, including one at the Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. More about Natalie here. Films mentioned in this episode:Hazing (2022), Dir. Byron HurtSabaya (2021), Dir. Hogir HiroriSubject (2023), Dir. Jennifer Tiexiera & Camilla HallOther Mentions:Documentary Accountability Working GroupDocumentary Magazine“Documentary Future: A Call For Accountability”Sonya ChildressBhawin SuchakYouth FXMolly MurphyHannah HearnGetting RealDr. Kameelah Mu'Min Rashad aka OsegueraFollow us on Instagram! @ThousandRoadsPodSpecial thanks for helping make this series happen: Sara Archambault, Florence Barrau-Adams, Jon Berman, Ben Cuomo (music), Jax Deluca, Pallavi Deshpande, Nancy Gibbs, Kathleen Hughes, Caroline Kracunas, Laura Manley, Alexis Pancrazi, Liz Schwartz, Jeff Seelbach, Lindsay Underwood (logo/graphics)This episode was supported by a fellowship at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
Byron Hurt wears a lot of hats: filmmaker, journalist, activist, mentor and more. He's also brave, if his 2022 film Hazing is any indication. Hazing takes on the subculture of humiliation and often violence that people endure when they wish to join certain organizations, including college fraternities and sororities. It's taboo to talk about hazing if you've taken part in it, but Byron, a fraternity member who's seen it from both sides, does just that. We talk about the challenges he encountered in making Hazing, including something that could have scuttled the film's release two days before it premiered on the PBS Independent Lens series. We also talk about Byron's evolving philosophy as to how he treats the participants in his films, as well as his influences as inspirations in the documentary business. Byron's other films include 2023's Lee & Liza's Family Tree, for the PBS NOVA series, as well as Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes and Soul Food Junkies. More about Byron here. Films mentioned in this episode:Hazing (2022), Dir. Byron HurtSoul Food Junkies (2012), Dir. Byron HurtHip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes (2006), Dir. Byron HurtTongues Untied (1989), Dir. Marlon RiggsBlack Is… Black Ain't (1995), Dir. Marlon RiggsEthnic Notions (1987), Dir. Marlon RiggsColor Adjustment (1992), Dir. Marlon RiggsOther mentions:Documentary Accountability Working GroupMarlon RiggsStanley NelsonAndrew P. JonesOrlando BagwellMichael MooreBill MoyersFollow us on Instagram! @ThousandRoadsPodSpecial thanks for helping make this series happen: Sara Archambault, Florence Barrau-Adams, Jon Berman, Ben Cuomo (music), Jax Deluca, Pallavi Deshpande, Nancy Gibbs, Kathleen Hughes, Caroline Kracunas, Laura Manley, Alexis Pancrazi, Liz Schwartz, Jeff Seelbach, Lindsay Underwood (logo/graphics)This episode was supported by a fellowship at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
David Siev, a first-time feature filmmaker, made a splash in 2022 with his film Bad Axe, which began with his documenting the mundane proceedings of his family's restaurant in the small town of Bad Axe, Michigan, and wound up a stunning, personal portrait of America in the Black Lives Matter summer of 2020. The film was shortlisted for an Academy Award for its portrayal of the events of 2020. We talk about what it was like to come out of seemingly nowhere to earn that honor, what it meant to him, as well as what it cost him. He also shares his thoughts about the intersection of documentary film and journalism, as well as what kinds of doc films he'd like to see made and honored by the industry. David is a first-generation Cambodian-Mexican-American. His first film was an award-winning narrative short, Year Zero, based on his father's escape from the killing fields of Cambodia. More about David here.Follow us on Instagram! @ThousandRoadsPodSpecial thanks for helping make this series happen: Sara Archambault, Florence Barrau-Adams, Jon Berman, Ben Cuomo (music), Jax Deluca, Pallavi Deshpande, Nancy Gibbs, Kathleen Hughes, Caroline Kracunas, Laura Manley, Alexis Pancrazi, Liz Schwartz, Jeff Seelbach, Lindsay Underwood (logo/graphics)This episode was supported by a fellowship at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
Tia Lessin and Carl Deal are filmmaking partners whose careers have run the gamut from directing their Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning Trouble The Water about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, to producing several of Michael Moore's films, and more. Tia also directed, with Emma Pildes, 2022's Emmy Award-winning The Janes, about women providing abortion care in pre-Roe v. Wade Chicago. Tia started out as a labor organizer and an activist. And while Carl has an activist background as well, he also attended Columbia University Journalism School. We talk about how journalism and activism play out in their filmmaking, the creative use of stock footage, and documentary ethics.More about Tia and Carl here.Films mentioned in the episode:Trouble the Water (2008), Dir. Tia Lessin and Carl Deal The Janes (2022), Dir. Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes Where To Invade Next (2015), Dir. Michael MooreThe UnRedacted (originally Jihad Rehab) (2022), Dir. Meg SmakerFollow us on Instagram! @ThousandRoadsPodSpecial thanks for helping make this series happen: Sara Archambault, Florence Barrau-Adams, Jon Berman, Ben Cuomo (music), Jax Deluca, Pallavi Deshpande, Nancy Gibbs, Kathleen Hughes, Caroline Kracunas, Laura Manley, Alexis Pancrazi, Liz Schwartz, Jeff Seelbach, Lindsay Underwood (logo/graphics)This episode was supported by a fellowship at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
Carrie Lozano has played a lot of important roles in the documentary field. Until not long ago she headed the Sundance Institute's Documentary Film and Artist Programs. Before that, she designed and directed the International Documentary Association's Enterprise Fund. Her gig right now is heading up ITVS, the Independent Television Service, which, among other things, funds and distributes public TV docs, and brings us the long-running, much-decorated PBS series Independent Lens. All her experience puts her smack in the middle of a lot of the conversations going on in the documentary world about cinema, journalism, and about the role of both in a democracy, and we talk about all that and more. More about Carrie here. Note: In this episode, we mention the fact that one of my favorite films of 2022, Reid Davenport's “I Didn't See You There,” is not streaming. Reid tells me he hopes to have it available on iTunes and Amazon on 1/10/24. Highly recommended!Films mentioned in this episode:I Didn't See You There (2022), Dir. Reid DavenportThe Day After Trinity (1981), Dir. Jon ElseThe Devil Never Sleeps (1994), Dir. Lourdes PortilloOppenheimer (2023), Dir. Christopher NolanOther mentions:Independent LensFault LinesIndependent Television Service (ITVS)FrontlinePOVAmerica ReframedFirelight MediaFollow us on Instagram! @ThousandRoadsPodSpecial thanks for helping make this series happen: Sara Archambault, Florence Barrau-Adams, Jon Berman, Ben Cuomo (music), Jax Deluca, Pallavi Deshpande, Nancy Gibbs, Kathleen Hughes, Caroline Kracunas, Laura Manley, Alexis Pancrazi, Liz Schwartz, Jeff Seelbach, Lindsay Underwood (logo/graphics)This episode was supported by a fellowship at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
Caty Borum heads the Center for Media and Social Impact at the American University School of Communication, and she's the author of Story Movements: How Documentaries Empower People and Inspire Social Change. She studies “creative, independent investigative documentary,” her term for docs that are as thoroughly artistic as they are journalistic. We chat about the techniques and challenges that make these stories and their storytellers unique. More about Caty here.Films mentioned in this episode:Newtown (2016), Dir. Kim SnyderAn Insignificant Man (2016), Dir. Khushboo Ranka and Vinay ShuklaCitizenfour (2014), Dir. Laura PoitrasThe Feeling Of Being Watched (2018), Dir. Assia Boundaoui The Murder of Emmett Till (2003), Dir. Stanley NelsonAttica (2021), Dir. Stanley NelsonOther mentions:Tabitha Jackson Errol MorrisDoc SocietyInternational Documentary AssociationWorld Press Freedom IndexExposé: America's Investigative ReportsPeter NicksJon ShenkTom JenningsFollow us on Instagram! @ThousandRoadsPodSpecial thanks for helping make this series happen: Sara Archambault, Florence Barrau-Adams, Jon Berman, Ben Cuomo (music), Jax Deluca, Pallavi Deshpande, Nancy Gibbs, Kathleen Hughes, Caroline Kracunas, Laura Manley, Alexis Pancrazi, Liz Schwartz, Jeff Seelbach, Lindsay Underwood (logo/graphics)This episode was supported by a fellowship at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
A new podcast about the intersection of documentary film and journalism, hosted by filmmaker Tom Casciato.Follow us on Instagram! @ThousandRoadsPodSpecial thanks for helping make this series happen: Sara Archambault, Florence Barrau-Adams, Jon Berman, Ben Cuomo (music), Jax Deluca, Pallavi Deshpande, Nancy Gibbs, Kathleen Hughes, Caroline Kracunas, Laura Manley, Alexis Pancrazi, Liz Schwartz, Jeff Seelbach, Lindsay Underwood (logo/graphics)This episode was supported by a fellowship at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
Connecticut author and lawyer Anne Howard is known for her work writing true crime, but her recent book is a departure from her prior work. Today, we talk about her new book that she worked to translate, entitled Escape from Mariupol: A Survivor's True Story. Anne first met Adoriana Marik through mutual friends. They exchanged letters, and Adoriana sent her hand-drawn cards and other artwork over the years. When the war in Ukraine broke out, Anne was desperate to contact Adoriana to hear that she was safe. What followed was a months-long exchange and a collaborative effort to write a book about her experience. Adoriana suffers from many symptoms of PTSD. Due to this and a language barrier, Adoriana will not be joining us this hour, but here to tell us about her story, is Anne Howard. Plus, Joan Donovan is the Research Director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy and author of the book Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America. Donovan discusses talk the evolution of memes as political devices, and how they shaped the far right. GUEST: Anne Howard: co-author and translator of Escape from Mariupol: A Survivor's True Story Askold Melnyczuk: English professor at University of Massachusetts, Boston and author Joan Donovan: Research Director for the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University and author of the book Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America Cat Pastor contributed to this episode which originally aired on February 13 and March 23.Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jordan Klepper has heard a lot of 9/11 conspiracy theories at Trump rallies, including this shiny emerald: Osama bin Laden was a CIA operative named Tim Ossman. Together with Dr. Joan Donovan, research director of Harvard's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Jordan unpacks how the early days of the internet and social media have shaped 9/11 conspiracy theories that are still popping up in more places than rallies two decades later. They are joined by veteran and filmmaker Korey Rowe who co-produced “Loose Change,” one of the first viral conspiracy theory films on 9/11. They discuss the legacy of the film, how the right wing has weaponized conspiracy theories for political gain, and what conversations we should be having about the role of the media.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Happy Holiday and welcome to this Juneteenth edition of Midday. In 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law the measure that established this date as the Juneteenth National Independence Day holiday. Tom begins today's show on Juneteenth in a conversation about Black history's past and present with Brandi Collins-Dexter. She's the associate director of research at the Technology and Social Change Project (TaSC) housed in the Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. She's also the author of Black Skinhead: Reflections on Blackness and Our Political Future. Before joining the leadership team at the Shorenstein Center, she was the Senior Campaign Director at Color of Change. Brandi joined Tom in studio. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Stand Up is a daily podcast. I book,host,edit, post and promote new episodes with brilliant guests every day. Please subscribe now for as little as 5$ and gain access to a community of over 800 awesome, curious, kind, funny, brilliant, generous souls Jay Rosen has been on the journalism faculty at New York University since 1986; from 1999 to 2005 he served as chair of the Department. He lives in New York City. Rosen is the author of PressThink, a blog about journalism and its ordeals (www.pressthink.org), which he introduced in September 2003. In 1999, Yale University Press published his book, What Are Journalists For?, which is about the rise of the civic journalism movement. Rosen wrote and spoke frequently about civic journalism (also called public journalism) over a ten-year period, 1989-99. From 1993 to 1997 he was the director of the Project on Public Life and the Press, funded by the Knight Foundation. Since 2017 he has been the director of the Membership Puzzle Project, which studies membership models for the support of public service journalism. In 2008 he was the co-publisher, with Arianna Huffington, of OffTheBus.net, which allowed anyone who was interested to sign up and contribute to campaign coverage for the Huffington Post. As a press critic and reviewer, he has published in The Nation, Columbia Journalism Review, the Chronicle of Higher Education, The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, the New York Review of Books Daily and many others. In 1990 he and Neil Postman (friend, colleague, mentor) hosted a radio show on WBAI in New York called “The Zeitgeist Hour.” In 1994 he was a fellow at the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University, and in 1990-91 he held a fellowship at the Gannett Center for Media Studies at Columbia University. A native of Buffalo, NY, Rosen had a very brief career in journalism at the Buffalo Courier-Express before beginning graduate study. He has a Ph.D. from NYU in media studies (1986). On Twitter: @jayrosen_nyu Facebook: jayrosen Check out StandUpwithPete.com to learn more Pete on Tik Tok Pete on YouTube Pete on Twitter Pete On Instagram Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page All things Jon Carroll
Betsy Morgan is the Co-Founder of Magnet Companies, a private equity-backed company focused on media and commerce, and an Associate Professor at Columbia Business School and Columbia College. Prior to Magnet, Ms. Morgan served as an Executive in Residence of LionTree, an advisory and merchant bank firm specializing in technology and media. Ms. Morgan was the CEO of TheBlaze, an early multi-platform and direct-to-consumer news and entertainment company. Prior to TheBlaze, Ms. Morgan was the first CEO of The Huffington Post. Ms. Morgan currently serves on the board of directors of the following privately-held companies: Cox Media Group, Trusted Media Brands and TheSkimm. She is also on the board of the publicly-traded company, Tripadvisor where she serves as Chair of the Compensation Committee. Ms. Morgan has an M.B.A from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from Colby College, where she served as a member of the Board of Trustees for eight years. She is also a contributor to Riptide, an oral history of journalism and digital innovation created by Harvard's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. Listen to this Takin' Care of Lady Business® Jennifer Justice speaks with Betsy Morgan to discuss Magnet Companies, an operator and investor company backed by private equity. Their three portfolio companies, Dear Media, Love Seen, and Togethxr, specialize in audio podcasting, beauty products, and women in sport content respectively. Here is what to expect on this week's show: - Women-focused podcasting network & the rise of women's storytelling - The benefit of working with people diametrically opposed to your interests. - Addressing the disparity in women's sports and asset value. - The power of women in male-focused industries. Quotes: “Don't let anyone in the marketplace, male or female, say, ‘stay in your lane'.” – Betsy Morgan “Being a good listener means you can open up people [with different opinions] to new ideas.” – Betsy Morgan “I love exposing [things that have been traditionally male] more and more to women.” – Jennifer Justice Contact Betsy: Betsy@magnetcompanies.com Magnet Companies: https://www.magnetcompanies.com Dear Media: https://dearmedia.com LoveSeen: https://loveseen.com TOGETHXR: https://www.togethxr.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Harvard Kennedy School professors Nancy Gibbs and Tom Patterson say local news is civic infrastructure. And it's crumbling. Like bridges, local news organizations use facts to help people connect with each other over the chasm of partisan political divides. People need reliable information to make important decisions about their lives—Where should I send my child to school? Who should I vote for? Should I buy a bigger house or a new car?—just as much as they need breathable air, clean water, and safe roads. Unfortunately, internet-driven market forces have cut traditional sources of revenue by 80 percent, and vulture capitalists have bought up local newspapers, sold off their physical assets and gutted newsroom staffs. Across America, more than 2,000 local news organizations have shut their doors in just the past two decades. Meanwhile, studies show that when local news declines, voting and other key forms of civic participation decline with it. Gibbs and Patterson join host Ralph Ranalli to talk about how to rebuild the local news ecosystem and with it, the civic health of America's community life.Nancy Gibbs is the director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics Public Policy and the Edward R. Murrow Professor of Practice of Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. Until September 2017, she was Editor in Chief of TIME, the first woman to hold the position. During her three decades at TIME, she covered four presidential campaigns and she is the co-author, along with Michael Duffy, of two best-selling presidential histories: The President's Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity (2012), and The Preacher and the Presidents: Billy Graham in the White House (2007). She has interviewed five U.S. presidents and multiple other world leaders, and lectured extensively on the American presidency. She holds a bachelor's degree in history from Yale University and a master's degree in politics and philosophy from Oxford University, where she was a Marshall Scholar. She has twice served as the Ferris Professor at Princeton University, where she taught a seminar on politics and the press.Thomas Patterson is Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press at HKS. He has authored numerous books, including Informing the News: The Need for Knowledge-Based Journalism; How America Lost Its Mind: The Assault on Reason That's Crippling Our Democracy, and Is the Republican Party Destroying Itself?. An earlier book, The Vanishing Voter, examined electoral participation, and his book on the media's political role, Out of Order, received the American Political Science Association's Graber Award as the best book of the decade in political communication. His first book, The Unseeing Eye, was named by the American Association for Public Opinion Research as one of the 50 most influential books on public opinion in the past half century. His articles have appeared in Political Communication, Journal of Communication, Public Opinion Quarterly, and other academic journals, as well as in the popular press. He received his PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1971.Ralph Ranalli of the HKS Office of Public Affairs and Communications is the host, producer, and editor of HKS PolicyCast. A former journalist, public television producer, and entrepreneur, he holds an AB in Political Science from UCLA and an MS in Journalism from Columbia University.The co-producer of PolicyCast is Susan Hughes. Design and graphics support is provided by Lydia Rosenberg, Delane Meadows and the OCPA Design Team. Social media promotion and support is provided by Natalie Montaner and the OCPA Digital Team.
On this week's episode of the TechTank Podcast, guest host Mishaela Robison will sit down with Dr. JoanDonovan, Research Director of Harvard Kennedy's Shorenstein Center and Emily Dreyfuss, a journalist,who leads the Shorenstein Center News Leaders Program, to discuss their book, Meme Wars: The UntoldStory of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2022). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Joan Donovan is the Research Director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy and author of the book Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America.Today, we talk about the evolution of memes as political devices, and how it shaped the far right. We hear from Joan and learn about her journey to mapping out the darkest corners of the world wide web. What questions do you have about memes, meme culture and how it shapes the internet? GUEST: Joan Donovan: Research Director for the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University and author of the book Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America. Dr. Evan Perkoski: Assistant Professor at the University of Connecticut Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, vulnerable communities have been hit especially hard by disruptive online attacks. But calling these attacks "violent" could jeopardize the future of disruptive protests designed to protest those same communities. Guests: Erica Chenoweth, professor of human rights and international affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and author of Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs To Know. Dr. Joan Donovan, research director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. Oren Segal, vice president of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism. 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
In this episode, Shawn talks to Dr. Joan Donovan, Research Director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. Dr. Donovan specializes in disinformation and media politics. Shawn and Dr. Donovan discuss current social media and the effects of disinformation campaigns in recent history. They also dive into the concept of memetic warfare to better understand how political movements compete and battle in the online world.
Do you recognize a meme when you see one? Online disinformation expert Joan Donovan defines memes as pithy words or images — like “Black Lives Matter” or “Build That Wall” — that contain a coded meaning. They often work as badges of identity, and they can be powerful shortcuts to provoking an emotional response in the viewer. And thanks to the internet, they're more influential than ever. Her new book, “Meme Wars,” details how memes and the online communities that produce them intensify the culture wars, erode trust in institutions, and even drive acts of violence, like the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. On the anniversary of that attack, MPR News host Kerri Miller talks with Donovan about the history of memes in America, how various conspiracy theorists use them to advance their ideologies, and how the current power of memes threatens to undermine democracy. Guest: Joan Donovan is the research director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. Her new book, which she co-wrote with Emily Dreyfuss and Brian Friedberg, is "Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America." To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations.
(This conversation was originally broadcast on November 2, 2022) Today, we'll revisit a conversation Tom had in November with Brandi Collins-Dexter, a keen observer of politics, race and the cultural landscape. Historically, voter turnout in American elections is horrible, and turnout in midterm elections is particularly lousy. But the midterms in 2018 set records for turnout, and in some states, turnout in this year's midterms rivaled the historic participation of four years ago. Does high turnout favor Democrats? There is conflicting data about that. It does appear to have been the case in the runoff election between Sen. Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker in GA, a race in which Sen. Warnock prevailed by nearly 100,000 votes. Concerns that Democrats will generally benefit from high turnout elections is why so many GOP-dominated state legislators have passed so many laws that target people of color and restrict access to the polls. Brandi Collins-Dexter's book takes a new look at the relationship between Black voters and the Democratic party, an alliance that began during the Civil Rights movement of the mid-20th century. She argues that there are many reasons that old assumptions about that relationship need to be re-examined. Brandi Collins-Dexter is associate director of research at The Technology and Social Change Project (TaSC), housed in Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. She is the former Senior Campaign Director at Color of Change, a 7 million-member social justice organization. Her new book is a provocative and persuasive collection of essays called Black Skinhead: Reflections on Blackness and Our Political Future. Brandi Collins-Dexter was raised in Chicago. After several years in Oakland, CA, she now lives in Baltimore. She joined us on Zoom from Dublin, Ireland, six days before the November, 2022 election. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jordan Klepper has heard a lot of 9/11 conspiracy theories at Trump rallies, including this shiny emerald: Osama bin Laden was a CIA operative named Tim Ossman. Together with Dr. Joan Donovan, research director of Harvard's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Jordan unpacks how the early days of the internet and social media have shaped 9/11 conspiracy theories that are still popping up in more places than rallies two decades later. They are joined by veteran and filmmaker Korey Rowe who co-produced “Loose Change,” one of the first viral conspiracy theory films on 9/11. They discuss the legacy of the film, how the right wing has weaponized conspiracy theories for political gain, and what conversations we should be having about the role of the media. Jordan Klepper Fingers The Conspiracy is a podcast from The Daily Show. Check out more episodes wherever you get your podcasts or YouTube.com/TheDailyShowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jordan Klepper has heard a lot of 9/11 conspiracy theories, including this shiny emerald: Osama bin Laden was a CIA operative named Tim Ossman. Together with Dr. Joan Donovan, research director of Harvard's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Jordan unpacks how the early days of the internet and social media have shaped 9/11 conspiracy theories that are still appearing two decades later. They are joined by veteran and filmmaker Korey Rowe, who co-produced “Loose Change,” one of the first viral conspiracy theory films on 9/11. They discuss the legacy of the film, how the right has weaponized conspiracy theories for political gain, and what conversations we should be having about the role of the media.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Washington Post co-host of "Post Reports" and reporter covering media Elahe Izadi speaks with Kimi Yoshino, editor in chief at the Baltimore Banner, and Nancy Gibbs, director of the Shorenstein Center at Harvard University, about the changing media landscape, strengthening public trust and the future of journalism. Conversation recorded on Nov. 18, 2022.
Dr. Joan Donavan, research director of Harvard's Technology and Social Change Research Project at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics & Public Policy and coauthor of the new book Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America, charts how the impact of GamerGate is still shaping our political landscape today. Check out Dr. Donavan's book MEME WARS: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/meme-wars-9781635578638/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Historically, voter turnout in American elections is horrible, and turnout in midterm elections is particularly lousy. But the midterms in 2018 set records for turnout, and with six days left in this cycle, there are indications that turnout this year will rival the historic participation four years ago. For a long time, common wisdom held that high turnout favored Democrats. At least that's what Republicans thought, which is why so many GOP dominated state legislators passed so many laws that targeted people of color and restricted access to the polls. Tom's guest today is Brandi Collins-Dexter, a keen observer of politics, race and the cultural landscape. In her new, first book, she takes a fresh look at the relationship between Black voters and the Democratic party, an alliance that began during the Civil Rights movement of the mid-20th century. She argues that there are many reasons that old assumptions about that relationship need to be re-examined. Brandi Collins-Dexter is associate director of research at The Technology and Social Change Project (TaSC), housed in Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. She is the former Senior Campaign Director at Color of Change, a 7 million-member social justice organization. Her new book is a provocative and persuasive collection of essays called Black Skinhead: Reflections on Blackness and Our Political Future. Brandi Collins-Dexter was raised in Chicago. After several years in Oakland, California, she now lives in Baltimore. She joins us today on Zoom from Dublin, Ireland…See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
They're is a lot of misinformation and messaging trying to influence our behavior online and off. Dr. Claire Wardle is the executive director of First Draft, a nonprofit dedicated to educating journalists about reporting in an age of information disorder. Previously, she was a research fellow at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School; the research director at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia Journalism School; the head of social media for the UN Refugee Agency; and director of news services for Storyful. Wardle holds a PhD in communication and an MA in political science from the University of Pennsylvania. Good Risings is a mindset. Join Jacqueline MacInnes Wood & Bryan McMullin for a daily dose of Good Vibes & Mindfulness. Presented By: Cavalry Audio Producers: Jason Seagraves & Margot Carmichael Audio Editing: Revision Sound Music: Gramoscope Music Executive Producers: Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, Bryan McMullin, Dana Brunetti & Keegan Rosenberger Follow Good Risings on Apple Podcasts to receive new episodes daily! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A new book, “Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America,” explains how the “Stop the Steal” movement started online and resulted in the January 6 insurrection, using examples from Gamergate, the Occupy Wall Street movement and Donald Trump's rise to the presidency to develop its playbook. "Meme wars are about the struggle or battle over the definition of a situation or the definition of what it means to be on one side of an issue," book co-author Dr. Joan Donovan told The Takeaway. Donovan is the research director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. "In a lot of ways, [meme wars] are an insurgent attack on the mainstream in some way. And in that sense, the idea is to bring fringe outsider ideas into the realm of the powerful," added co-author Emily Dreyfuss, Senior Managing Editor of the Shorenstein Center's Technology and Social Change Research Project project. Dreyfuss and Donovan co-authored "Meme Wars" with Brian Friedberg, Senior Researcher on the Technology and Social Change Research Project.
Just how dangerous are memes? The power of memes has grown and is now a weapon used to push disinformation, spread ideologies, and deepen partisanship. They are fueling a cultural war that continues to accelerate and intensify. Joan Donovan and Emily Dreyfuss recount how “Stop the Steal” went from online to real life. They reveal startling secrets from the digital war rooms and the troubling developments led by conspiracists and extremists to upend our country's democracy. As the battle continues, learn more about what could be at stake for the future of our country Show editorially warning Note: This program contains EXPLICIT language SPEAKERS Joan Donovan Research Director, Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center; Co-author, Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America Emily Dreyfuss Journalist; Co-author, Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America In Conversation with Lauren Goode Senior Editor, Wired In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded live on October 3rd, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The word “meme” might bring to mind a viral picture of a weird-looking cat with silly text, a tweet or video showing up everywhere online. But some political memes can be downright dangerous, according to a new book — “Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America.” Its authors argue that memes have inspired cultural battles over the last decade both on- and offline. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams spoke with Emily Dreyfuss, a senior editor at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center and one of the book’s co-authors, about how far-right or extremist groups use memes as weaponized tools in their attempts to influence American politics.
The word “meme” might bring to mind a viral picture of a weird-looking cat with silly text, a tweet or video showing up everywhere online. But some political memes can be downright dangerous, according to a new book — “Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America.” Its authors argue that memes have inspired cultural battles over the last decade both on- and offline. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams spoke with Emily Dreyfuss, a senior editor at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center and one of the book’s co-authors, about how far-right or extremist groups use memes as weaponized tools in their attempts to influence American politics.
Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by talking with listeners about their MBTA woes. Trenni Kusnierek talks about the possibility of Kevin Durant coming to the Celtics, Lebron James' comments about racism in Boston sports, and the latest in the running world and the state of the Red Sox. Kusnierek is a reporter and anchor for NBC Sports Boston, and a weekly Boston Public Radio contributor. Joan Donovan discusses her team's research affirming former President Donald Trump's role in the events of Jan. 6, including the new role of social media in inciting political violence. Donovan is the research director of Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy where she examines internet and technology studies, online extremism, media manipulation and disinformation campaigns. Judge Nancy Gertner shares her thoughts on the possibility of Trump being criminally charged based on the findings of the Jan. 6 committee. Gertner is a retired federal judge and a senior lecturer at Harvard Law School. Corby Kummer debates the merits of bringing back happy hour in Massachusetts, discusses the end of the Choco Taco, and explains why “50 Best Restaurants in the World” lists are problematic. Kummer is executive director of the food and society policy program at the Aspen Institute, a senior editor at The Atlantic and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. John King talks about the possibility of the U.S. Supreme Court repealing the right to contraception following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling, what to expect from the Jan. 6 hearings and President Joe Biden's plans to combat climate change. King is CNN's Chief National Correspondent and anchor of "Inside Politics,” which airs weekdays and Sunday mornings at 8 a.m. We end the show by asking listeners what their comfort shows are.
One of the many shocking aspects of the Capitol attack was that it revealed how thoroughly the nation had cleaved into alternate realities. How did we get to this point? How did misinformation come to create beliefs embraced by millions? In this episode, experts in social media, cults, and the history of science join us for a discussion about how these alternative realities formed, why people are drawn to them, and the benefits of a shared reality. Guests: Joan Donovan – Research Director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy in the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and leader of the Technology and Social Change Project. Lee McIntyre – Research fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University, Instructor in Ethics at Harvard Extension School, and author of “Post – Truth.” Steven Hassan – Mental health counselor who has written on the subject of mind control. Former member of the Unification Church, and author of “The Cult of Trump.” Originally aired January 25, 2021 Featuring music by Dewey Dellay and Jun Miyake Big Picture Science is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Please contact sales@advertisecast.com to inquire about advertising on Big Picture Science. You can get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Twitter users and investors have been trying to guess what’s ahead for the social media platform since the company agreed to a $44 billion buyout from Tesla and SpaceX CEO — and Twitter superuser — Elon Musk. Musk has praised Twitter as an important platform for public discourse and says he plans to make it better by cracking down on bot accounts, increasing transparency around its algorithms and making it a more free speech-friendly space. But what happens when that free speech happens to be false speech? Emily Dreyfuss, a journalist and senior editor at Harvard's Shorenstein Center, spoke to Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams about how the change of ownership, which is subject to regulatory approval, could affect Twitter’s attempts to crack down on misinformation.
Twitter users and investors have been trying to guess what’s ahead for the social media platform since the company agreed to a $44 billion buyout from Tesla and SpaceX CEO — and Twitter superuser — Elon Musk. Musk has praised Twitter as an important platform for public discourse and says he plans to make it better by cracking down on bot accounts, increasing transparency around its algorithms and making it a more free speech-friendly space. But what happens when that free speech happens to be false speech? Emily Dreyfuss, a journalist and senior editor at Harvard's Shorenstein Center, spoke to Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams about how the change of ownership, which is subject to regulatory approval, could affect Twitter’s attempts to crack down on misinformation.
Recode Media's Peter Kafka talks to three reporters about the realities of covering the war in Ukraine and sorting truth from disinformation -- from the ground, from afar, and online. In Ukraine: CNN's Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward discusses the challenges of war reporting in 2022, everything from planning food and exit routes to working with a remote team to analyze online videos. In DC: Puck co-founder and Washington correspondent Julia Ioffe talk about how hard it is to learn what Russians think about what's going on, and how long she expects the war to hold the American people's interest. Finally, Jane Lytvynenko, a senior research fellow at Harvard's Shorenstein Center, gives us a crash course on Russia's history of disinformation dissemination. She also tells us about Telegram, which essentially functions as “Eastern European Twitter." Featuring: Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward), Chief International Correspondent for CNN Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe), Co-Founder and Washington Correspondent for Puck Jane Lytvynenko (@JaneLytv), Senior Research Fellow at Harvard's Shorenstein Center Host of the Recode Media podcast: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to business titans, journalists, comedians, and more to get their take on today's media landscape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices