Podcasts about undermines democracy

Book banning is not new, but author Ira Wells argues it is taking new forms. He joins us to share his new book, "On Book Banning: Or, How the New Censorship Consensus Trivializes Art and Undermines Democracy."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey everyone. Who'd have thought this would be an issue in 2025? Well. Ira Wells joins me to talk about his latest in the Biblioasis Field Notes series, On Book Banning: Or, How the New Censorship Consensus Trivializes Art and Undermines Democracy. Read it and listen in! But not necessarily in that order.

Writer, professor and cousin-of-Paul Ira Wells was concerned about the rise of censorship coming from both sides of the political spectrum. So he wrote a book about it, diving into the history of people trying to control what you read. That book is called On Book Banning: Or, How the New Censorship Consensus Trivializes Art and Undermines Democracy. He talks to Paul about the personal incident that sent him down this path, how the censors justify their actions, new threats to books in the digital age, and much more.  Season 3 of The Paul Wells Show is sponsored by McGill University's Max Bell School of Public Policy.

Over the past several weeks, hundreds of thousands of people in the Republic of Georgia have taken to the streets to protest against a law making its way through parliament that would force many NGOs to register as foreign agents. The law is modeled on similar measures in Russia that led to the near wholesale criminalization of pro-democracy and human rights civil society groups. This move in Georgia's parliament is being pushed through by a political party led by an oligarch who made his fortune in Putin's Russia. It is also happening at the same time as Georgia is seeking to establish closer ties with the West and join the European Union. On the line to discuss what this law actually says, how it may impact Georgia's future, and human rights inside Georgia is Denis Krivosheev, Deputy Director for Europe & Central Asia at Amnesty International.

Be selfish when using social media. It should be social. Are you feeling like you're more social when you're engaging with the app? How can you make your experience more rewarding for you as an individual, so you're not just a pawn in a capitalist trade game that we never knew we signed up for!?RESOURCES: https://journals.ala.org/index.php/jifp/article/view/6787/9808 and https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jun/25/anti-social-media-how-facebook-disconnects-us-undermines-democracy-siva-vaidhyanathan-reviewTHE BOOK: Antisocial Media: Siva Vaidhyanathan's How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy (available here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/antisocial-media-9780190841164?cc=us&lang=en&) GET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I used uptime.app to check out the brief spark notes version of Antisocial Media: Siva Vaidhyanathan's How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy (available here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/antisocial-media-9780190841164?cc=us&lang=en&) and he said "Facebook is a modern day Skinner Box" which sent me down a rabbit hole to understand what that meant. So today, I am sharing that with you! RESOURCE: https://www.simplypsychology.org/what-is-a-skinner-box.htmlGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists has joined the Writers Guild of America on strike. It's the first SAG strike since 1980 (which strike was largely about the oncoming home video boom). And it's the first dual actors-writers strike since 1960 (when Ronald Reagan was president of SAG and the strike was mostly about residuals for movies licensed to television). Also: The Emmy nominations are out. And: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the 32nd movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the second movie (of an expected seven) in the MCU's Phase Five. It is written and directed by James Gunn, who has written and directed all three Guardians of the Galaxy movies, and who was fired and rehired during preproduction of Vol. 3 in 2018. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the second-highest grossing movie of 2023 so far. Taneisha Duggan's endorsement: Liturgy|Order|Bridge at Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford Helder Mira's endorsements: Secret Invasion on Disney+ Connecticut's state parks Bill Yousman's endorsements: The Twittering Machine by Richard Seymour Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy by Siva Vaidhyanathan Colin's endorsements: The Town with Matthew Belloni The Watch the audiobook of Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane, as narrated by Robin Miles the audiobook of Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, as narrated by Charlie Thurston Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: We Had Relationship Therapists React To The Alleged Jonah Hill Texts To His Ex-Girlfriend, Sarah Brady “[It's] not simply like, ‘This is a thing that I feel,' but ‘This is the thing that I feel plus therapy has condoned this way of feeling.'” The Twitter Watch Party Is Over Ten years after “Sharknado” spun Twitter and TV together, the online water cooler is running dry. Kristen Bell Shared A Photo Of Her Friends Eating Dinner, And It's The Most Intense Guest List Ever Thanks for the invite. Ryan Murphy Muse David Corenswet Is Superman Wait, Was Napoleon Hot? Ridley Scott's new biopic certainly makes it seem like he was. How to Write Music for Rolling Boulders Harrison Ford and the Ravages of Time Go Inside Stephen Sondheim's $7M Manhattan Townhouse The East Midtown home features a music studio on the second floor with a “music library, wood-burning fireplace and baby grand piano.” How Steven Soderbergh and Ed Solomon Straightened Out ‘Full Circle' Their new crime thriller for Max is loaded with twists and layers. But it is actually much simpler than what they originally conceived. Federal Reserve credits Taylor Swift with boosting hotel revenues through her blockbuster Eras Tour “Taylor Swift is a force to be reckoned with,” one local tourism official said, as the pop superstar draws legions of fans nationwide. GUESTS: Taneisha Duggan: Associate producer at Octopus Theatricals Helder Mira: Multimedia producer at Trinity College and co-host of the So Pretentious podcast Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode! Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are joined by Naomi Oreskes, Henry Charles Lea Professor of the History of Science and Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University, and a world-renowned earth scientist, historian and public speaker. Using her latest book that she co-authored with Erik M. Conway, The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loath Government and Love the Free Market as the basis of our conversation, she explains how free-market fundamentalism has had a long history of undermining democracy and exploiting marginalized communities to benefit a small minority of elites. We also discuss the role that libertarian, techno-fundamentalist, and Catholic anti-choice think tanks such as the Cato Institute, Foundation for Economic Education, the Breakthrough Institute, and Population Research Institute have played in fueling anti-Science propaganda on overpopulation denialism, and why these forces must be vehemently opposed for a more just and sustainable planet. See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript: https://www.populationbalance.org/podcasts/naomi-oreskes ABOUT US The Overpopulation Podcast features enlightening conversations between Population Balance Executive Director Nandita Bajaj, cohost Alan Ware, and expert guests. We cover a broad variety of topics that explore the impacts of our expanding human footprint on human rights, animal protection, and environmental restoration, as well as individual and collective solutions. Learn more here: https://www.populationbalance.org/

Nationally syndicated Editorial Cartoonists, Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right), start off this edition of the DMZ America Podcast with a deep dive into the fight for the 2024 Democratic Party nominating process for president. Prevailing wisdom is that President Joe Biden will get the nomination in a cakewalk. Not so fast, says RFK Jr., who is polling at  19% among Democratic primary voters, not to mention Marianne Williamson, tracking at 9%. Ted and Scott go on to look over the Durham Report and its implications, which prompts the question of the Corporate Left and Mainstream Media dismissing the overwhelming evidence that the Russia-Trump collusion story simply isn't real and never was. Finally, in the third segment, Texas' red legislature's decision to strip its blue cities of much of their administrative power is fodder for discussion—is this a constitutional move or will it be allowed to stand? Finally, Ted and Scott wrestle with changing views of trans people and the specific case of a trans person in a sorority. Should this be allowed? You'll have to listen to learn what the guys think of this. 

Nationally syndicated Editorial Cartoonists, Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right), start off this edition of the DMZ America Podcast with a deep dive into the fight for the 2024 Democratic Party nominating process for president. Prevailing wisdom is that President Joe Biden will get the nomination in a cakewalk. Not so fast, says RFK Jr., who is polling at  19% among Democratic primary voters, not to mention Marianne Williamson, tracking at 9%. Ted and Scott go on to look over the Durham Report and its implications, which prompts the question of the Corporate Left and Mainstream Media dismissing the overwhelming evidence that the Russia-Trump collusion story simply isn't real and never was. Finally, in the third segment, Texas' red legislature's decision to strip its blue cities of much of their administrative power is fodder for discussion—is this a constitutional move or will it be allowed to stand? Finally, Ted and Scott wrestle with changing views of trans people and the specific case of a trans person in a sorority. Should this be allowed? You'll have to listen to learn what the guys think of this. 

Independent investigative journalism, broadcasting, trouble-making and muckraking with Brad Friedman of BradBlog.com

Independent investigative journalism, broadcasting, trouble-making and muckraking with Brad Friedman of BradBlog.com

Register for Saturday's The Gathering of Eagles: taking back Oregon's elections: https://oregonlibertycoalition.wordpress.com/2022-stand-your-ground-agenda/ Biden's speech was designed to goad MAGA people into civil war: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/09/stephen-miller-biden-tonight-gave-speech-dictator-style-dictator-visual-dictator-using-words-dicatator-video/ Biden's lecture undermines democracy: https://thefederalist.com/2022/09/02/bidens-democracy-lecture-reminded-americans-how-relentlessly-democrats-undermine-it/ AZ Corp commissioner demands immediate halt to use of electronic voting machines and cites actual evidence: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/09/huge-exclusive-az-corporation-commissioner-jim-oconnor-sends-letter-demanding-county-supervisors-recorders-election-directors-sheriffs-immediately-cease-use-electronic-voting-ma/ OFF helps with Salem-Keizer School board recall effort and leftists start issuing death threats: https://www.oregonfirearms.org/anti-gun-school-board-members-face-recall 

We discuss the corrosive election coverage by corporate media giant Gannett and its paper the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which punishes candidates for being honest and authentic about controversial issues, such as the role of structural racism in American history. Will the endless media thirst for click bait, and the shameless racial division fomented by GOP candidates and campaign operatives, harm the electoral prospects of the U.S. Senate Democratic Primary front runner Mandela Barnes? Is there a chance Congress could finally pass a Budget Reconciliation bill this summer which contains elements of President Biden's stalled domestic agenda? We talk about the apparent deal Senate Democrats made this week on prescription drug price negotiations that could mean a final bill is just around the corner. We discuss the anticipation for this Friday's historic January 6th Investigation testimony from former White House Counsel Patrick Cipollone. Will it be Donald Trump's John Dean moment? In Wisconsin, the Supreme Court deals a significant blow to open records and one of the Republicans running for Governor debate going after legal emergency contraception.

Siva Vaidhyanathan joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career as Professor of Modern Media Studies, his podcast Democracy in Danger and his book "Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy".

In today's episode Ralph speaks with Newsweek's deputy opinion editor Batya Ungar-Sargon (make sure to follow her on Twitter @bungarsargon) about the state of the Western working class, how elitism in the media has become a threat to democracy, and why Donald Trump might have enduring appeal. Ms. Ungar-Sargon has published her first book “Bad News: How Woke Media is Undermining Democracy” in October 2021. You can get it on Amazon and other booksellers (I highly recommend you do) and on May 10th the audiobook read by the author herself will be available as well. In her book she describes how the Media shifted from being critical of those who held powerful positions in society to becoming part of the very powerful elites they were supposed to be critical of. Under the guise of culture wars Ms. Ungar-Sargon detects an actual class conflict that is deliberately (albeit maybe also unconsciously) obfuscated by focusing on cultural issues. he has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Newsweek, the New York Review of Books Daily, and other publications. She has appeared numerous times on MSNBC, NBC, the Brian Lehrer Show, NPR, and at other media outlets. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the1020/support

On January 6, 2021, a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, disrupting the joint session of Congress assembled to count electoral votes that would formalize President-elect Joe Biden's victory. Among the rioters were members of white supremacist groups, and symbols and signs of anti-Jewish hate. In a discussion guest hosted by Melanie Maron Pell, AJC's Chief Field Operations Officer, we are joined by Holly Huffnagle, AJC's U.S. Director for Combating Antisemitism, and Rebecca Klein, AJC's Director of National Outreach, to unpack how the forces that fuel antisemitism also endanger American democracy.  ___ Episode Lineup: (0:40) Holly Huffnagle and Rebecca Klein (27:12) Manya Brachear Pashman and Melanie Maron Pell ___ Show Notes: Listen to our most recent episode: That Time Jewish Comedian Alex Edelman Went to a White Nationalist Gathering Don't forget to subscribe to People of the Pod and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org If you've enjoyed this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, tag us on social media with #PeopleofthePod, and hop onto Apple Podcasts to rate us and write a review to help more listeners find us.

What does Facebook's name change to Meta really signal? We ask Siva Vaidhyanathan, a professor of media studies at the University of Virginia and the author of Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy.

Since 1983, the Forbes magazine list of the 50 wealthiest families in the United States have seen their wealth increase by an average of 1000% while the average American household has seen their wealth increase 93% during that same time. What do these wealthy families do with the wealth and power they've amassed during that time? Rig the rules for their own personal benefit. Chuck Collins, Director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute of Policy Studies, returns to Democracy Nerd to discuss the new report "Silver Spoon Oligarchs: How America's 50 Largest Inherited-Wealth Dynasties Accelerate Inequality" and warns about acceding political power to Jeff Bezos' unborn grandchildren.

Facebook may not be the source of all evils – but at least many of them. In his book Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy, Siva Vaidhyanathan argues that while Facebook has some charms, it holds special responsibility for major social and political ills today. Alongside Will Hitchcock, Siva hosts the podcast Democracy in Danger, where together, they, along with leading thinkers from around the world, put illiberal trends in context and explore ways to turn them around. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

Facebook faces more criticism for its handling of misinformation around the US election, this time by members of Joe Biden's team. Could the next US president lead a crackdown on the social media giant? We speak to Siva Vaidhyanathan, professor of media studies at the University of Virginia and author of Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy. Also on the show: Apple launches a range of new laptops, but it's the chips inside them that are causing a stir. We ask Raspberry Pi creator Eben Upton if it's the end of the road for endlessly faster processors. Plus Hyperloop makes some headlines with a high-speed test in the desert, but is it really going to revolutionise transport systems around the world? Railway engineer and writer Gareth Dennis has his say. Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones with BBC tech reporter Zoe Kleinman. (Photo: Cutouts of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg outside the US Capitol, Credit: Getty Images)

How the social media platform is poisoning politics around the world. A former Facebook employee says she has "blood on my hands" after struggling to contain the misinformation and manipulation conducted through the platform. Azerbaijani journalist Arzu Geybulla describes the coordinated Facebook campaigns against activists and politicians in her country. Berhan Taye, Africa policy manager at digital rights group Access Now, tells us why Facebook isn't doing enough to prevent the spread of hate speech in Ethiopia. And Siva Vaidhyanathen, author of a book 'Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy' explains why Facebook can't stop the spread of toxic content without undermining its business model. (Photo: A mobile phone advert featuring Facebook in Myanmar, where Facebook has been blamed for helping spread hate speech. Credit: Getty Images)

Recently, the Wall Street Journal exposed how Facebook decided not to apply its own rules on hate speech BJP leaders' posts. Ankhi Das, its top public policy executive, it turned out, has links through her family to the party. Such assistance for, or...

 DEMOCRACY IN TROUBLE?  Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. The ways in which Facebook pollutes public discourse are inherent and inescapable features of its business model, argues SIVA VAIDHYANATHAN, author of Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy. In his discussion with political scientist and Mitchell Center interviewer Matthew Berkman, he attributes the platform’s malign effects to its scale, which encompasses 2.2 billion users; the perverse logic of its algorithms, by which attempts to confront hateful messages only serves to amplify them; and its advertising system, which can target and segment audiences in unprecedented ways. Above all, he points to the ways in which Facebook has crowded out other venues of expression more suitable for democratic deliberation, from public libraries to the brief flourishing of blogs on the Internet in the early 2000s. For Vaidhyanathan, the best way to deal with Facebook would be to break it up – and to do everything we can to take back our deliberative spaces.

Ever since 1980 our government has stopped reflecting the will of the people. And yet at every level the Republicans continue to push their neo-conservative agenda that in reality serves to bring ever greater wealth to the already wealthy. Bottom line: will we lose our democracy, or is there a chance Progressive Democrats could take back our government for the people in 2020?Thom checks in with investigative reporter Greg Palast on the private electricity companies that 'have us by the bulbs'. Before he was a reporter, Greg actually helped the State of New York buy the power company in Long Island. And we follow that with a fiery debate between Thom and right-winger Julio Rivera of Reactionary Times on the experiment of privatizing our public schools.

Mark Zuckerberg went before Congress last week and tried to defend facebook's positions on privacy, truth in targeted advertising, and cryptocurrency. And this week we're reading Siva Vaidhyanathan's Anti-Social Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy.

Antisocial Media: A Conversation with Siva Vaidhyanathan In this installment, JNP sits down with Prof. Siva Vaidhyanathan to talk about his latest book, Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy. The conversation delves into questions of how Facebook positions itself as a social good while its very structure provides a platform – unprecedented in its size and scope - for the manipulation of political discourse and the widespread circulation of misinformation. Prof. Vaidhyanathan is Professor of Media Studies at the University of Virginia where he also serves as the Director of the Center for Media and Citizenship. He is the author of several other books, including The Googlization of Everything (And Why We Should Worry), and he also serves as a columnist for The Guardian.

Air Date: 5/7/2019 Today we take a look at the impacts, from personal to global, of the paradigm of companies profiting off of surveillance of their users, otherwise known as surveillance capitalism. Be part of the show! Leave a message at 202-999-3991   Episode Sponsors: Amazon USA| Amazon CA| Amazon UK| Clean Choice Energy Get AD FREE Shows & Bonus Content: Support our show on Patreon! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: A Threat to Global Democracy How Facebook & Surveillance Capitalism Empower Authoritarianism Part 1 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 8-1-18 We speak with Siva Vaidhyanathan, author of “Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy.” He is a professor of media studies and director of the Center for Media and Citizenship at the University of Virginia. Ch. 2: How Facebook Helped Trump...Without Cambridge Analytica - On The Media - Air Date 3-23-18 García is a former Facebook product manager for ads and author of Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley. Ch. 3: A Threat to Global Democracy How Facebook & Surveillance Capitalism Empower Authoritarianism Part 2 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 8-1-18 We speak with Siva Vaidhyanathan, author of “Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy.” He is a professor of media studies and director of the Center for Media and Citizenship at the University of Virginia. Ch. 4: Age of Surveillance Capitalism Part 1 - Ralph Nader Radio Hour - Air Date 1-26-19 The author of many books and papers on the subject of modern corporate capitalism, Professor Zuboff’s latest is entitled “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power.” Ch. 5: Yael Grauer: The Billboards Are Watching You. Really. - Zero Hour with RJ Eskow - Air Date 12-11-18 When billboards can talk to cell phones we end up living in The Minority Report. Ch. 6: Age of Surveillance Capitalism Part 2 - Ralph Nader Radio Hour - Air Date 1-26-19 The author of many books and papers on the subject of modern corporate capitalism, Professor Zuboff’s latest is entitled “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power.” VOICEMAILS Ch. 7: Benefits and problems of algorithmic decision-making - Nick from California Ch. 8: Immigration arguments shouldn't be economic arguments - Zach from Atlanta FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 9: Final comments on algorithmic decision-making and the moral vs economic arguments for humane immigration policy RESOURCES Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Surveillance Self-Defense Online Behavioral Tracking Surveillance Technologies Privacy International Internet of Things Expose Data Exploitation: Data, Profiling, and Decision Making Data Protection Curated by BOTL Communications Director Amanda Hoffman  MUSIC(Blue Dot Sessions): Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr  Inessential - Bayou Birds A Path Unwinding - K4 Open Flames - Aeronaut Long and Low Cloud - The Bulwark Hickory Shed - Onesuch Village Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Thanks for listening! Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Support the show via Patreon Listen on iTunes | Stitcher| Spotify| Alexa Devices| +more Check out the BotL iOS/AndroidApp in the App Stores! Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Review the show on iTunesand Stitcher!

In this episode April Glaser is joined by guest host Siva Vaidhyanathan, director of the Center for Media and Citizenship at the University of Virginia and author of several books about social media and the internet, including a recent one on Facebook, “Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy.”  First they talk about the ongoing elections in India and how fake news and propaganda on Facebook and WhatsApp is wreaking havoc on an electoral process that’s otherwise celebrated for working quite well in the world’s largest democracy. Then they discuss Uber’s recent IPO filing and the litany of ways the company’s reliance on a contractor workforce and business in only a handful of major cities could destabilize the rideshare company’s hopes of ever being profitable.  After that, author and WIRED writer Andy Greenberg joins the show to talk about the recent indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, threats the case poses to press freedom, and how Assange’s ideology has been much more fluid than his alleged co-conspirator, Chelsea Manning. Greenberg is the author of This Machine Kills Secrets: Julian Assange, the Cypherpunks, and Their Fight to Empower Whistleblowers. This episode of IF Then is brought to you by LinkedIn. Post a job today at LinkedIn.com/IFTHEN and get fifty dollars off your first job post. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode April Glaser is joined by guest host Siva Vaidhyanathan, director of the Center for Media and Citizenship at the University of Virginia and author of several books about social media and the internet, including a recent one on Facebook, “Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy.”  First they talk about the ongoing elections in India and how fake news and propaganda on Facebook and WhatsApp is wreaking havoc on an electoral process that’s otherwise celebrated for working quite well in the world’s largest democracy. Then they discuss Uber’s recent IPO filing and the litany of ways the company’s reliance on a contractor workforce and business in only a handful of major cities could destabilize the rideshare company’s hopes of ever being profitable.  After that, author and WIRED writer Andy Greenberg joins the show to talk about the recent indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, threats the case poses to press freedom, and how Assange’s ideology has been much more fluid than his alleged co-conspirator, Chelsea Manning. Greenberg is the author of This Machine Kills Secrets: Julian Assange, the Cypherpunks, and Their Fight to Empower Whistleblowers. This episode of IF Then is brought to you by LinkedIn. Post a job today at LinkedIn.com/IFTHEN and get fifty dollars off your first job post. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roger McNamee was a mentor to a young Mark Zuckerberg and an early investor in Facebook, but now he warns that the social media platform has become a threat to democracy, privacy, competition, and even public health.  He talks about when he noticed the first signs that not all was well at Facebook and what happened when he brought his concerns to his old friend.  He discusses the role that Facebook played in the 2016 election, how its algorithms are actually designed to polarize and spread disinformation, and how Russian trolls and companies like Cambridge Analytica were able to exploit those flaws.  Roger shares how Facebook employs tricks from psychology and slot machines to keep us coming back for more, and how you’re paying for the service with your personal data. Order Roger McNamee's book Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe on Amazon, Audible or wherever books are sold.  Today’s podcast sponsored by Brother INKestment printers, BetterHelp, and season 2 of Breach podcast. Please support the show by taking our annual listener survey at www.podsurvey.com/kick, and register to win a $100 Amazon gift card.   Subscribe to Kickass News on Apple Podcasts and leave us a review, follow us on twitter at @KickassNewsPod, and visit our website at www.kickassnews.com.

Institute fellow and University of Virginia media studies scholar Siva Vaidyanathan discusses his book, Anti-Social Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy

In this episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast we were joined by the cultural historian, media scholar and author of Antisocial Media Siva Vaidhyanathan in conversation with the New Statesman's Helen Lewis. In this wide-ranging discussion, they looked at how Facebook's went from an innocent social site into a force that poses major challenges to our democracy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Host Kristin Hayes and Matthew Nisbet, a professor of communication, public policy, and urban affairs at Northeastern University, discuss effective communications related to complex social problems such as climate change and political polarization. References and recommendations made by Matthew Nisbet: Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy by Siva Vaidhyanathan; https://www.amazon.com/Antisocial-Media-Disconnects-Undermines-Democracy/dp/0190841168

Siva Vaidhyanathan, Robertson Family Professor of Media Studies, College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences If you wanted to build a machine that would distribute propaganda to millions of people, distract them from important issues, energize hatred and bigotry, erode social trust, undermine respectable journalism, foster doubts about science, and engage in massive surveillance all at once, you would make something a lot like Facebook. Of course, none of that was part of the plan. https://alumni.virginia.edu/learn/program/antisocial-media-how-facebook-disconnects-us-and-undermines-democracy/

My guest today is Siva Vaidhyanathan, author of the book Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy. His previous book was "The Googlization of Everything". Siva is a Cultural Historian and Media Scholar at the University of Virginia.   We explore the impact of Facebook and how it will continue to shape our world, and we discuss the mechanics of how social media influences human behavior and societies.   Siva on Twitter: http://twitter.com/sivavaid   Book: Anti-Social Media https://www.amazon.com/Antisocial-Media-Disconnects-Undermines-Democracy/dp/0190841168 __________   More at: https://www.MindAndMachine.io

A conversation about the use and abuse of social media and how it affects our democratic principles with author Siva Vaidhyanathan. Guest: Siva Vaidhyanathan is the Robertson Professor of Media Studies and the Director of the Center for Media and Citizenship at the University of Virginia. He is the author of many books on technology, law, and society, including his latest Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy. About Antisocial Media: It explains how Facebook devolved from an innocent social site hacked together by Harvard students into a force that, while it may make personal life just a little more pleasurable, makes democracy a lot more challenging.  It's an account of the hubris of good intentions, a missionary spirit, and an ideology that sees computer code as the universal solvent for all human problems. And it's an indictment of how “social media” has fostered the deterioration of democratic culture around the world, from facilitating Russian meddling in support of Trump's election to the exploitation of the platform by murderous authoritarians in Burma and the Philippines. The post Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy appeared first on KPFA.

Siva Vaidhyanathan is the Robertson Professor of Media Studies and director of the Center for Media and Citizenship at the University of Virginia. He joined Shorenstein Center director Nicco Mele to discuss his new book, "Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy". This Shorenstein Center Speaker Series event was recorded September 11, 2018, at Harvard Kennedy School.  Apologies for the poor sound quality of audience questions. 

Dr. Siva Vaidhyanathan, Professor of Media Studies at the University of Virginia, joins the podcast to discuss his new book "Anti-Social Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy" (Oxford University Press). We discuss the impact of Facebook, Google, and other tech platforms on politics and society. We also examine the ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, how their technologies are used around the globe, and look ahead to why smart speakers are increasingly becoming the battleground for FANG companies.

Virginia Heffernan talks to Siva Vaidhyanathan, the author of Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy, about the post-IRA indictment struggles at Facebook and whether or not it can be saved. Plus, Steve Waltien and Kate James join with a new Facebook ad and a doctor with a particular set of skills. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Virginia Heffernan talks to Siva Vaidhyanathan, the author of Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy, about the post-IRA indictment struggles at Facebook and whether or not it can be saved. Plus, Steve Waltien and Kate James join with a new Facebook ad and a doctor with a particular set of skills. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Air Date: 7/13/2018 Today we take a look at the media landscape and how it enables rather than challenges our horrific political status quo and we also hear suggested alternatives structures that could help us change the game Be part of the show! Leave a message at 202-999-3991 Episode Sponsors: BetterHelp | Amazon USA | Amazon CA | Amazon UK Support Best of the Left on Patreon!   SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Jeff Cohen on Cable News Hawks - CounterSpin (@FAIRmediawatch) - Air Date 3-30-18 As the US government ramped up for war in the wake of September 11, 2001, TV screens were filled with what seemed a parade of generals. Military men became the sources of first resort, over and indeed against regional experts, historians and peace advocates. Ch. 2: Laura Flanders on media consolidation and its impact on our democracy - #BuildingLocalPower from @ilsr - Air Date 5-4-18 Laura Flanders discusses the consolidation of media companies and its impact on our democracy including the scale of the big problem with gatekeepers like Facebook and Google and media companies like Sinclair as an “extractive machine.” Ch. 3: THE MIDTERMS MINUTE- Support Progressive Primary Candidates - Hawaii (8.11) & Minnesota (and WI, CT, & VT) (8.14) - Best of the Left Activism *Scroll down for the segment info, dates and links. Or click above for the full blog post.* Ch. 4: Sarah Kendzior on how the media enables Donald Trump - Unpresidented (@UnPresidentPod) - Air Date 5-24-18 Author Sarah Kendzior (“The View from Flyover Country”) talks about how the media continues to enable Donald Trump, and how they/we can more effectively confront the Trump “kleptocracy.” Ch. 5: Marc Cooper on media and democracy - Jacobin Radio (@jacobinmag) - Air Date 12-19-17 Journalist Marc Cooper looks at media delivery in the present digital era of democratized information that has introduced new potential as well as new dangers. Ch. 6: Laura Flanders on building the next system of media - @TheNextSystem ‏Project - Air Date 10-18-17 Laura Flanders discusses her latest paper for the Next System Project on the “urgent necessity” of Next System Media including criticisms of for-profit media and some suggested alternatives.   VOICEMAILS Ch. 7: What the math on the cost of health insurance for insurance companies? - Kyle from Portland   Ch. 8: Final comments on private health insurance vs government-run insurance and the perverse incentive for private insurers to want medical costs to go ever-higher   THE MIDTERMS MINUTE Check on candidates endorsed by Justice Democrats | Brand New Congress | DSA | Latino Victory | Our Revolution Check your state registration deadlines and voter ID laws with rockthevote.org For an easy way to donate to candidates, check out DownTicket.com on your mobile browser. August 11th Primary: Hawaii (Reg. Deadlines - Primaries: Online: July 12th, In person: Until August 11th / General: Oct. 9th) U.S. House - 1st District: Kaniela Ing  U.S. House - 2nd District: Tulsi Gabbard(Incumbent) August 14th Primaries: Minnesota (Reg. Deadlines - Primaries: Online: July 24th, In person: Until August 14th / General: Oct. 9th) U.S. House - 5th District: Ilhan Omar  U.S. House - 8th District: Michelle Lee  U.S. Senate (Dem. Primary for Nov. Special Election) - Tina Smith  Governor (Dem. Primary) - Erin Murphy  Due to time, the following states will be featured in depth on a future episode: Wisconsin (Reg. Deadlines - Primaries: Post-marked by July 25th, In person Aug. 10th / General: Post-marked by Oct 17th, In-person: Nov. 2nd) Connecticut (Reg. Deadlines - Primaries: Online & mail-in: Received by Aug. 9th / General: Oct. 30th) Vermont  (Reg. Deadlines - Primaries: Aug. 14th / General: Nov. 6th) Correction: South Dakota was originally listed in the segment, but 8/14 is actually the runoff date. There will not be runoffs.  Researched & Written by BOTL Communications Director Amanda Hoffman    MUSIC: Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr  Vibrant Canopy - Origami (Blue Dot Sessions) The Rampart - Castle Danger (Blue Dot Sessions) Inessential - Bayou Birds (Blue Dot Sessions) Surly Bonds - Aeronaut (Blue Dot Sessions) Loopy - The Balloonist (Blue Dot Sessions) Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Thanks for listening! Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Support the show via Patreon Listen on iTunes | Stitcher| Spotify| Alexa Devices| +more Check out the BotL iOS/AndroidApp in the App Stores! Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Review the show on iTunesand Stitcher!

Facebook is destroying democracy around the world. UVA professor Siva Vaidhyanathan, author of "Anti Social Media," explains. Tomaš Dvořák - "Game Boy Tune" - Machinarium Soundtrack - "Mark's intro" The Daily Show - "Bar Facebook" [excerpt from this video] - "Interview with Siva Vaidhyanathan" - "Your calls and comments 201-209-9368" David Rovics - "Facebook" - The Other Side [Available on the Free Music Archive] http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/79875

In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes: Here's What a 5-Day Break From Facebook Will Do for Your Brain If you need more convincing, check out "Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy" by Siva Vaidhyanathan. Can You Answer the 10 Questions on the US Government's Science Knowledge Survey? The American Accent Is Older Than the British Accent Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day withCody Gough andAshley Hamer. Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chicago shuttered some 50 schools in 2013. Since then, voter turnout and support for Democrats in the affected neighborhoods has plunged. What's the connection? Have You Heard talks to political scientist Sally Nuamah about the political fallout from the school closures--and what the debate about closing schools as a means of raising student achievement is missing.

Although recent decades have brought with them many critiques of international development projects worldwide, Sophal Ear is especially well positioned to have written a book addressing the successes and failures of foreign donor assistance to countries emerging from long periods of violent conflict. A Cambodian trained in political science in the United States who also spent time working at the World Bank, Ear brings a no-nonsense approach to Aid Dependence in Cambodia: How Foreign Assistance Undermines Democracy (Columbia University Press, 2013). Yet, this book is also informed by his personal experiences and reflects his aspirations for himself and his family, as well as for his country of birth. Beginning in the early 1990s with the United Nations' transitional authority and concentrating on the 2000s onwards, Ear asks: has foreign aid made Cambodia's government worse? How can evidence of rapid economic growth be reconciled with the country's patently inefficient and corrupt public institutions? And how might things be done differently? Drawing on a range of data from primary and secondary sources, his answers invite the reader to be more sensitive both to the particulars of Cambodia and to the larger questions with which he is engaged. The book's case studies of how the garment sector succeeds in overcoming state capture where others fail, top-down responses to avian flu, and efforts of donors to subsidize courageous yet constantly threatened civil society groups in the face of persistent authoritarian rule both illuminate and inform. Described as “an important book on the perverse effects of development aid on governance” (James Robinson, Harvard University), and one that is “both passionate and level-headed” (Michael Doyle, Columbia University), Aid Dependence in Cambodia is a “refreshing and badly needed effort at teasing out the relationship between governance and aid” (Sophie Richardson, author of China, Cambodia, and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence), in Cambodia, and in general.

Although recent decades have brought with them many critiques of international development projects worldwide, Sophal Ear is especially well positioned to have written a book addressing the successes and failures of foreign donor assistance to countries emerging from long periods of violent conflict. A Cambodian trained in political science in the United States who also spent time working at the World Bank, Ear brings a no-nonsense approach to Aid Dependence in Cambodia: How Foreign Assistance Undermines Democracy (Columbia University Press, 2013). Yet, this book is also informed by his personal experiences and reflects his aspirations for himself and his family, as well as for his country of birth. Beginning in the early 1990s with the United Nations’ transitional authority and concentrating on the 2000s onwards, Ear asks: has foreign aid made Cambodia’s government worse? How can evidence of rapid economic growth be reconciled with the country’s patently inefficient and corrupt public institutions? And how might things be done differently? Drawing on a range of data from primary and secondary sources, his answers invite the reader to be more sensitive both to the particulars of Cambodia and to the larger questions with which he is engaged. The book’s case studies of how the garment sector succeeds in overcoming state capture where others fail, top-down responses to avian flu, and efforts of donors to subsidize courageous yet constantly threatened civil society groups in the face of persistent authoritarian rule both illuminate and inform. Described as “an important book on the perverse effects of development aid on governance” (James Robinson, Harvard University), and one that is “both passionate and level-headed” (Michael Doyle, Columbia University), Aid Dependence in Cambodia is a “refreshing and badly needed effort at teasing out the relationship between governance and aid” (Sophie Richardson, author of China, Cambodia, and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence), in Cambodia, and in general. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sermon by Rabbi Mark H. Levin, 23 August 2013Torah portion Ki Tavo, Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8Download or play the audio recording(Alternate link)