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Latest episodes

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

  October 7, 2026 · 1 hr 20 min

  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…

• News Brief: 2028, Israel's Progressive Rebrand and the Risk of "Genocide" as Rhetorical Box Check

  October 6, 2026 · 30 min

• Ep 244: The Authenticity Affect (Part II) - The Dopey, Power-Flattering, Media-Created "Maverick" Politician

  September 30, 2026 · 1 hr 8 min

  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…

• Ep 243: The Authenticity Affect (Part I) — Whistlestop Tours, Smarm, and the Art of Channeling 'Folk'

  September 23, 2026 · 1 hr 26 min

  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…

• Ep 242 - The Disempowering Politics of 'Inevitability' Part 2: US Empire as Mysterious, Teleological Force

  August 19, 2026 · 1 hr 17 min

  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.

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