Citations Needed

Citations Needed episodes:

• 03.27.2024

  Episode 200 - The Rise of the War on Drugs 2.0: This Time It's Different, We Promise

  “Sen. Chuck Schumer warns drug dealers are pushing rainbow fentanyl to children,” CBS News cries. “'It's very challenging': Inside the fentanyl fight at the border,” ABC News reports. “The hard-drug decriminalization disaster,” New York Times columnist Bret Stephens laments. In...

  
• 03.20.2024

  Episode 199: The Golden Age of Crybullyism

  "Ex-officer Amber Guyger testifies in wrong-apartment murder trial: 'I was scared to death,'" a " story reported in 2019. "Starbucks Files Complaints with Labor Board, Accuses Union Organizers of Bullying and Harassment," reported Food & Wine Magazine in April 2022....

  
• 03.13.2024

  Episode 198: How The Atlantic Magazine Helps Sell Austerity and War to Middlebrow Liberals

  “Teachers Unions: Still a Huge Obstacle to Reform.” “Countering Iran’s Menacing Persian Gulf Navy.” “Open Everything: The time to end pandemic restrictions is now.” “The Good Republicans’ Last Stand” Each of these headlines comes from the same magazine: The Atlantic....

  
• 03.06.2024

  News Brief: Media, Billionaires' Attacks on Homeless People May Pay Off Big at Supreme Court

  On this News Brief, we are joined by Jesse Rabinowitz of the National Homelessness Law Center to discuss the upcoming Johnson v. Grants Pass case, which will be heard by the Supreme Court of the United States on April 22nd...

  
• 02.28.2024

  Beg-A-Thon Live Show 1-30-24: The Grim Popularity of Rise-And-Grind TikTok #Influencers

  In this Live Show Beg-A-Thon recorded Jan 30, we break down the worst Rise-And-Grind social media stars and how they've moved from Silicon Valley-adjacent to subprime motivational content helping middle and working class people get through the daily grind. With...

  
• 02.21.2024

  News Brief: How US Media Obscures the Violence of the Generic, Sterile-Sounding "Border Deal"

  In this News Brief we are joined by friend of the show, Maximillian Alvarez of The Real News, to discuss Democrats' pathetic, myopic, and nihilistic attempt to play the Racist Reverse Uno Card on Congressional Republicans.

  
• 02.07.2024

  Episode 197: The "Human Shields" Canard as Catch-All Colonial Absolution

  "Viet Cong Use Children as Human Shields," the Associated Press alleged in 1967. "'Civilian casualty?" That's a gray area," Alan Dershowitz argued in The Los Angeles Times in 2006. "We can’t ignore the truth that Hamas uses human shields,”"Jason Willick...

  
• 01.31.2024

  Episode 196: Benevolent Billionaire Despotism and US Media’s Softball Treatment of ‘Effective Altruism’

  "Join Wall Street. Save the world," The Washington Post urged in 2013. "How to Know Your Donations Are Doing the Most Good," The New York Times proclaimed in 2015. "I give 10 percent of my income to charity. You should,...

  
• 01.26.2024

  News Brief: The ICJ Ruling and the Essentialness of Squishy Western Liberal Support for Genocide

  In this public News Brief, we react to the media spin around the ICJ's genocide ruling against Israel and how framing by the NYT and BBC seeks to uphold the logic of the so called "war" creating said genocide.

  
• 01.24.2024

  Episode 195: David Leonhardt and the Elite Consensus Manufacturing Machine

  "Make sense of the day’s news and ideas," urges The Morning, a daily New York Times newsletter. "Get smarter, faster on news and information that matters to you," Axios assures its readership. "This is how the news should sound," The...

  
• 01.24.2024

  Beg-A-Thon Announcement Jan 30: The Worst Rise-And-Grind TikTok #Influencers

  Get shredded! Get a hot trad wife! Close the Baxter Account! Join us Jan 30 at 8:30pm ET for a live show beg-a-thon with guest Hussein Kesvani, as we break down the most ridiculous and toxic rise-and-grind guys on social...

  
• 01.19.2024

  News Brief: Quantifying the Media's Selective Humanity in Gaza

  In this News Brief, we are joined by Adam's anonymous co-author of their two recent studies—one of print and one of cable news—detailing US's media's double standards when covering the 'Gaza conflict.'

  
• 12.14.2023

  News Brief: 5 Ways US Media Helps Put a 'Humanitarian' Spin on Gaza Ethnic Cleansing

  In this News Brief, we detail how horrific population transfers, mass bombings, and collective punishment are spun as humanitarian gestures to protect civilians.

  
• 12.06.2023

  Episode 194: The "Graying Population" Panic and the 90-Year War on Social Security

  “Aging population to hit U.S. economy like a 'ton of bricks',” Reuters reported in 2021. “Aging Is The Real Population Bomb,” the International Monetary Fund cautioned earlier this year. “How an aging population poses challenges for U.S. economy, workforce and...

  
• 11.21.2023

  News Brief: Media Adopts Israel's Simplistic 'Hunt for Hamas' Narrative, Providing Cover For Ethnic Cleansing

  In this News Brief, we detail how American media focusing entirely on discrete "counter attacks" and adopting cool military-speak play-by-play ignores the much bigger and important reality of forcible population transfers and overt plans to remove Palestinians from Palestine.

  
• 11.15.2023

  Episode 193: How Military Jargon and Cliches Make Mass Death Seem Sterile (Part II)

  “U.S. shipment of 'lethal aid' reaches Ukraine amid Russia tensions,” NBC News reported in January 2022. “U.S. adopting 'deterrence posture' as aircraft carrier heads towards Israel,” France 24 announced in October 2023. The same month, The Hill warned about...

  
• 11.08.2023

  Episode 192: How Military Jargon and Cliches Make Mass Death Seem Sterile (Part I)

  “Israel Called Them ‘Precision’ Strikes. But Civilian Homes Were Hit, Too.,” The New York Times equivocated back in May 2023. “US Military Footprint in Australia Expands to Counter China,” Bloomberg announced in July 2023. “NATO to launch biggest military exercise...

  
• 11.01.2023

  Ep 191: How Media's Use of 'The Economy' Flattens Class Conflict

  “Writers Strike Fallout: $2B Economic Impact May Be Just the Beginning,” the Hollywood Reporter states. “Looming UAW strike could cost US economy more than $5B in just 10 days,” Fox Business announces. “In a Strong Economy, Why Are So Many...

  
• 11.01.2023

  Live Show 10/30/23: 4 Arguments Against a Gaza Ceasefire and Why They're Bullshit

      In this Live Show...

  
• 10.18.2023

  Live Show 10/16: Gaza Siege and the Liberal Handwringing Industrial Complex

  In this impromptu Live Show recorded 10/16, we breakdown the latest efforts by Democrats to support Israel's brutal bombing and collective punishment of Gaza while still looking "deeply concerned" about the logical outcomes of this bombing and collective punishment.

  
• 10.11.2023

  News Brief: US Media, Washington Rush Head First into 9/11 2.0

  In this public News Brief, we discuss the recent escalation in violence in "the middle east" and the quickly-forming bipartisan consensus to jam the issue into a simplistic, dehumanizing War on Terror narrative

  
• 10.04.2023

  Ep 190: Why Media Insists the US is "Forced" to Commit Human Rights Abuses

  "Realities have forced us to remain on diplomatic terms with several dictators," the Pampa Daily News stated in 1958. "U.S. ambassador to the U.N Samantha Power has been forced to look the other way as Saudi Arabia does as it...

  
• 09.27.2023

  Ep 189: PragerU, the 'Product Of His Time' Defense and the White Guilt Amelioration Industrial Complex

  "Hitler was a product of his time," historian Kent Gardner told us in 1975, just thirty years after the end of World War II. "Was Frank Rizzo racist, or just a product of his time?" The Philadelphia Inquirer pondered in...

  
• 09.20.2023

  News Brief: GOP, Corporate Media Attempt to Manufacture Conflict Between Autoworkers and Climate

  In this public News Brief, we break down recent attempts by Politico, Axios, New York Times and faux populist Republicans to pit autoworkers against climate mandates. Our guest Sydney Ghazarian.

  
• 09.13.2023

  Episode 188: How Capital Repackages Substandard Products for the Poor as "Increasing Access"

  "COVAX and World Bank to Accelerate Vaccine Access for Developing Countries," trumpets a World Bank press release. "How AI Is Making Healthcare More Affordable And Accessible," announces Forbes magazine. "How technology is helping improve financial inclusion around the world,"...

  
• 08.17.2023

  News Brief: Attack of the Salt of the Earth Republican Country Music Stars

  In this News Brief we discuss two recent "controversial" country hits, “Try That In A Small Town” by Jason Aldean and "Rich Men North of Richmond" by Oliver Anthony––and their attendant partisan utility. Our guest, Citations' resident Country Music correspondent...

  
• 08.02.2023

  Episode 187: Undercover Boss, Uber-Driving CEOs, and the "Empathetic Executive" Schtick

  “New Starbucks CEO plans to pull barista shifts in stores every month,” CNN announces. “Uber’s CEO moonlighted as a driver and it changed the way he operates the company,” Fortune insists. “Your DoorDash driver? He’s the company’s co-founder,” the Associated...

  
• 07.26.2023

  Episode 186: Nativism in Media (Part III) - IMF, NAFTA and Global Inequality By Design

  "The World Bank and its president have been doing an important, constructive job the past five years," announced The Southern Illinoisan in 1973. "IMF assistance [has] put Jamaica well on the road to recovery," reported The Winnipeg Sun in 1982....

  
• 07.19.2023

  Episode 185: Nativism in Media (Part II) - The Artificial Cold War Distinction Between 'Migrants' and 'Refugees'

  Immigration law should "stop punishing innocent young people brought to the country through no fault of their own by their parents," the Obama White House stated in 2013. "Migrant Caravan Continues North, Defying Mexico and U.S.," The New York Times...

  
• 07.12.2023

  Episode 184: Nativism in Media (Part I) — How Dehumanization and Militarization Manufactured a “Border Crisis”

  "What one photo from the border tells us about the evolving migrant crisis," The Washington Post reveals. "The U.S. immigration crisis through the eyes of a border town mayor," reports Boston's NPR station. "Everyone can now agree – the US...

  
• 07.05.2023

  News Brief: As UPS Strike "Looms," Media Frames Working-Class Revolt as "Threat" to "The Economy"

  In this public News Brief, we break down media coverage of the potential UPS strike––and the trend more broadly in labor coverage––that paints a strike as something that harms "the consumer" or "the economy" rather than what it is: the...

  
• 06.21.2023

  News Brief: 2000s Zombie Neoliberalism Lives On in Obama's New Netflix Doc

  In this News Brief, we review the former President's new docuseries and his attempt to paper over class conflict in favor of a Simply Asking CEOs To Be Nicer brand of politics. With guest Maximillian Alvarez of The Real News.

  
• 06.14.2023

  News Brief: "Go Fly Yourself": Marketing 'Sex' and the Great Stewardess Rebellion of the 1970s

  In this Live Interview with Nell McShane Wulfhart, we discuss the hidden labor and humiliation of the Airline Industry's "Swingin' 60's" image and how the "pretty faces" behind the tawdry ads fought back.

  
• 05.31.2023

  Episode 183: AI Hype and the Disciplining of “Creative,” Academic, and Journalistic Labor

  "Is artificial intelligence advancing too quickly?" 60 Minutes warns. "BuzzFeed CEO says AI may revolutionize media, fears possible 'dystopian' path," CBS News tells us. "TV and film writers are fighting to save their jobs from AI. They won't be the...

  
• 05.24.2023

  A Citations Needed Live Show Beg-A-Thon: The Very Real Social Brain Rot of Ancient Aliens and Ancient Apocalypse

  On this Live Show Beg-a-Thon, recorded on May 17, we discuss the pop culture phenomenon and appeal of pseudoarchaeology in its many forms, from fraudulent alternative history books like Erich von Däniken's 1968 book, Chariots of the Gods? Unsolved Mysteries...

  
• 05.17.2023

  Ep. 182: Hardhats vs Hippies and the Cold War Curation of the Conservative Union Guy Trope

  "Thank God for the hard hats!" declared Richard Nixon during his first term. "Why the construction workers holler, ‘U. S. A., all the way!,’" read a 1970 New York Times headline. "The Day the White Working Class Turned Republican," read...

  
• 05.10.2023

  Episode 181: US Media's 5 Most Popular Revisionist Tropes About the Iraq and Vietnam Wars

  "Charting a different course in the Vietnam War to fewer deaths and a better end," muses a book review in the Washington Post. "The Vietnam War was begun in good faith, by decent people," a Ken Burns PBS documentary tells...

  
• 05.03.2023

  Episode 180: Havana Syndrome and the Power of Mainstream, Acceptable Conspiracy Theories

  "I Was A Teenage Conspiracy Theorist," The Atlantic magazine playfully titled a 2020 essay. "Choose your reality: Trust wanes, conspiracy theories rise," reported The Associated Press in 2022. "Do You Know Someone Who Believes in Conspiracy Theories? We Want to...

  
• 04.28.2023

  News Brief Live: Tucker Carlson's Transparent 'Contrarian Left' Co-Option Strategy

  In this live streamed News Brief from 4/26/23, we discuss the recent firing of Tucker Carlson and the meta-discourse around whether or not "the left" should see any utility in petty, racist demagogues.

  
• 04.19.2023

  Announcement: Citations Needed's Semiannual Beg-A-Thon Live Show on April 26!

  Join us April 26 at 8:30 pm EST for our semiannual Beg-A-Thon live show! This time we will be discussing Ancient Aliens, Ancient Apocalypse, and all manner of racist, ahistorical History Channel and Netflix pseudoscience with Dr. Sarah E. Bond,...

  
• 04.12.2023

  News Brief: Media's Credulous "Labor Shortage" Reporting Helps Lay Groundwork For Repealing Child Labor Laws

  In this public News Brief, we detail how uncritical acceptance by centrist––and even liberal––media that the US is seeing an unprecedented "labor shortage" is helping justify repealing child labor protections in roughly a dozen states.

  
• 04.05.2023

  News Brief: How Brandon Johnson's Win Upends US Media's Patronizing, Simplistic "Crime" Narratives

  In this public News Brief, we break down Johnson's "surprise" win and how it undermines every lazy media trope involving local Democratic politics pushed over the last two years.

  
• 03.29.2023

  Episode 179: From Budget Cuts to Book Bans — The Decades-Long Assault on Public Libraries

  "Parents fighting schools to protect their kids are heroes, not book-banners," Fox News tells us. Are Privatized Public Libraries So Bad?" asks CityLab. "Huntsville Public Library could be privatized in aftermath of pride display dispute," reports Houston Public Media. For...

  
• 03.22.2023

  Episode 178: The Palliative Pop-History of American "Racial Progress" Narratives

  "Our progress has been part of the living history of America," President Jimmy Carter declared in a 1979 speech. "America is a nation of progress, of moving forward," Senator Chuck Grassley stated in 2022 on the Senate floor. "The story...

  
• 03.15.2023

  Episode 177: Popular Anti-Union Talking Points and How to Combat Them

  "Unions used to make sense but are obsolete in today's economy!" Unions are an "outside force" or "third party." "I'm a strong worker. Unionization will harm me personally and only help the weak and lazy workers." "Unions are rigid, old...

  
• 03.01.2023

  News Brief: Defensiveness and Demagoguery in East Palestine

  In this News Brief, we discuss the initial lack of coverage of the devastating February 3rd train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio; the coverage of the lack of coverage; the GOP's "white genocide" exploitation; Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's defensiveness; and...

  
• 02.24.2023

  News Brief: The Battle Over NYT's Lurid, Tabloid Coverage of 'Trans Issues'

  In this News Brief, we break down the recent controversy over the open letter sent by 1200+ NYT contributors pushing back on The Times' salacious coverage of "trans issues," and how the Paper of Record's response has proved to be...

  
• 02.15.2023

  News Brief: How Newspapers Aided Genocide in California - An Interview with Benjamin Madley

  In this extended interview, we speak with UCLA Associate Professor Benjamin Madley about his book, "An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe," and discuss how newspapers, tracts, and paperbacks were an essential element in assisting and...

  
• 02.08.2023

  Episode 176: How the “Parental Rights” Rallying Cry Has Been a Rightwing Stalking Horse for Over 100 Years

  "Surrounded by children, DeSantis signs the 'Parental Rights in Education' bill," ABC13 reports. "Biden partnered with organization which questioned parents' rights to be notified about their kids' transition" Fox News tells us. "Parental rights isn't a partisan issue. It's what's...

  
• 02.01.2023

  Episode 175: Selective Humanitarianism and the US Role in Afghanistan's Post-Occupation Famine

  "History will cast a shadow over Biden’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan," the Washington Post’s David Ignatius warned in April of 2021. "Biden's Betrayal of Afghans Will Live in Infamy," George Packer cautioned in The Atlantic magazine in August...