Ep 245: The Authenticity Affect (Part III) - Left Politics as Effete, College Kid Artifice

In this Live Show Beg-a-Thon, "Ben Shapiro, Sex-Pest Actor Comebacks and the New Elevated Rightwing Cinema," we discuss the Daily Wire's new cinematic universe—its unhinged racism, overtly fascist storylines and their feeble attempts to revitalize Hollywood stars accused of sexual misconduct.

Please join us Wednesday Oct 21 for our Beg-A-Thon live show, "Ben Shapiro, Sex-Pest Actor Comebacks, and the New Elevated Right-Wing Cinema," @ 8:00ET/7:00CT! We will be joined by writer Josh Olson to discuss the rise of the Ben Shapiro's extremely racist astroturf film empire and how rightwing cinema has evolved in recent years into something more mainstream, more ironic and more designed to directly engage the so-called "culture wars." 

In part 3 of our three-part series on the uses and misuses of "authenticity" in political media, we examine the popular media trope that progressive politics are exogenous to core Democratic constituencies who, we are told, are axiomatically conservative, pro-Israel and anti-welfare state.

In Part 2 of our 3-part series on the uses and misuses of "authenticity," we examine the media obsession with "political mavericks" who "buck party orthodoxy"—almost aways with either trivial interventions or, as is most often the case, throwing vulnerable populations and causes under the bus. With guest Jack Mirkinson, senior editor at The Nation magazine.

In part 1 of our 3-part series on the uses and misuses of "authenticity," we examine the Real America "listening tour," its propaganda utility, and how it uses the superficial aesthetics of rural simplicity to sell class-flattening, power-serving narratives. With writer and teacher John Patrick Leary.

In this episode, we discuss how circular "inevitability" arguments have been used for centuries to justify war, expansionism and perpetual hostility — most recently against China. Our guest is organizer and writer Tobita Chow.

In this episode, we breakdown the popular "inevitability" argument AI companies are using to bulldoze over democracy and how the "inevitability" line has been used to sell everything from Manifest Destiny to poverty-creating "free trade deals".  We are joined by guest Amy Woodson Bolton, professor of British and Irish history at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.

In this News Brief, we are joined by Kaleem Hawa to discuss David K Kirkpatrick's 10,000 word PR job that feigns criticism of Biden officials, but ultimately serves to distance them from the horrors of Gaza.

In this News Brief, we dissect the Orwellian phrase "right to exist," why it only applies to Israel, what purpose it serves, and why Palestinians are never said to have such a right.