Ep 243: The Authenticity Affect (Part I) — Whistlestop Tours, Smarm, and the Art of Channeling 'Folk'
In part 1 of our 3-part series on the uses and misuses of "authenticity," we examine the Real America "listening tour," its propaganda utili...
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Citations Needed
Citations Needed is a podcast about the intersection of media, PR, and power, hosted by Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson.
Episodes
20 of 384 episodes
Ep 242 - The Disempowering Politics of 'Inevitability' Part 2: US Empire as Mysterious, Teleological Force
In this episode, we discuss how circular "inevitability" arguments have been used for centuries to justify war, expansionism and perpetual h...
Ep 241 - The Disempowering Politics of 'Inevitability' Part 1: Data Centers and LLM as 'The Future'
In this episode, we breakdown the popular "inevitability" argument AI companies are using to bulldoze over democracy and how the "inevitabil...
News Brief: Very Serious New Yorker Article Launders Biden Officials' Responsibility for Gaza Genocide
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 official...
News Brief: Why US Media Has Evoked Israel's "Right to Exist" 1,001 Times vs Only 6 For Palestine
In this News Brief, we dissect the Orwellian phrase "right to exist," why it only applies to Israel, what purpose it serves, and why Palesti...
Ep 240: How the Media's "Burden," the "Straining Resources" Framing Manufactures the Expendable Other
In this episode, we discuss the ideological work done by our media's default frame of immigrants, poor seniors, homeless people, and those w...
News Brief: Despite 9-Figure Infusion from Silicon Valley, Abundance Still Seeks Popular Support
In this news brief, we catch up with Dylan Gyauch-Lewis, senior researcher at the Revolving Door Project, to discuss Abundance's PR problems...
News Brief: The ADL's Bogus Origin Story and Its Rise as Ideological Enforcer for Empire and Israel
In this News Brief, we talk with Emmaia Gelman, author of The Anti-Defamation League and the Racial State, about how––despite posing a civil...
Episode 239: The Vague, Capital-Serving Co-Optation of "Affordability" Politics
In this episode, we detail the long history of generic "affordability" discourse and how, post-Mamdani, it's become the go-to establishment...
News Brief: The Call to Boycott—and Delegitimize—the New York Times
In this News Brief, we talk with Chris Mills Rodrigo from Writers Against The War On Gaza about their campaign to boycott the New York Times...
Episode 238: The Fictional, Racist, Paranoia-Sowing "Sleeper Cell" Media Construction
In this episode, we detail the vague, baseless racism-sowing media coverage and pop culture obsession with so-called "sleeper cells," a cons...
Live Show: 'How to Sell a Genocide' Book Talk at The Word Is Change Bookstore in Brooklyn, NY
This is a live recording between Nima and Adam at the Word is Change Bookstore May 7, 2026. In this conversation, we discuss key findings th...
News Brief: "Peak TV," Streamer Studio Accounting Gimmicks, and the Precarity of Hollywood Labor
In this News Brief, we talk with Miranda Banks and Kate Fortmueller, authors of the new book Boom to Bust: How Streaming Broke Hollywood Wor...
News Brief: How the Right Invented — and Exploited — the "Liberal Media" Trope
In this News Brief, we talk with A. J. Bauer, assistant professor at the University of Alabama, about his new book," Making the Liberal Medi...
Ep 237: How Selective, Patronizing 'Deradicalization' Discourse Pathologizes Anti-Colonial Struggle
In this episode, we break down the long history of US media reducing recalcitrant populations' grievances to "terrorism," "hate," and "radic...
Ep 236: Manufactured Austerity and the Media Assisted 'Public-Private Partnership' Rip-Off
In this episode we discuss how privatization was rebranded 'Public-Private Partnerships' and unleashed decades of raiding of the public coff...
News Brief: As American Troops Hide in Civilian Hotels, US Media Ignores Pentagon's Use of 'Human Shields'
In this News Brief we examine CNN, the Atlantic, Washington Post and NYT's blatant 'human shields' double standard as reports emerge of US t...
News Brief: How Decades of Media Distortions and Lies about "Iran's Nuclear Program" Lead to War
In this News Brief, we discuss a recent poll showing 70% of Americans are fundamentally wrong about the nature of Iran's "nuclear program"—i...
"Shadow Fleets," Sanctions & Western Media's International Law-ification of Arbitrary US Dictates
In this episode, we explore how arbitrary—often unilateral—sanctions against Enemy States are given the halo of international legal legitima...
News Brief: As Trump Crushes Academia, the NYT and Atlantic Still Fight 'Woke' Wars from 5 Years Ago
In this News Brief, we are joined by Chenjerai Kumanyika and Todd Wolfson of the American Association of University Professors to discuss Tr...