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Welcome to the episode that gave Kate “the deepest ick” of any we’ve done yet. And don’t worry, it’s not about factory farms or the morality of eating meat.
We all know bacon and eggs as an iconic breakfast combo. But have you ever thought about why we eat it for breakfast?
It’s because it was sold to the American public by a master of propaganda: Edward Bernays.
Bernays revolutionized the advertising industry by using psychology to appeal to people’s feelings rather than their logic. He manipulated the world of fashion to push cigarettes on women, helped overthrow a Guatemalan president to protect banana sales, and pioneered techniques that were used by the Nazis and the orchestrators of the opioid crisis.
It’s one of our wildest rides yet, so buckle up and get ready to question whether your tastes are really your own… and who benefits from them.
On that note, check out Larkin’s sister’s Etsy shop, mentioned in the episode. We promise your purchase won’t secretly benefit big tobacco.
*Kate misspeaks at the beginning of the episode and states that "Propoganda" was written in 1828: She meant 1928.
References
Watch Bernays talk about his bacon and eggs strategy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLudEZpMjKU
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-Bernays
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/12/consumer
https://blogs.loc.gov/preservation/2022/11/housing-bernays-scrapbooks/
http://www.ww1plays.com/2020/08/eugene-brieuxs-damaged-goods-les-avaries.html
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-woodrow-wilsons-propaganda-machine-changed-american-journalism-180963082/
https://www.loc.gov/collections/stars-and-stripes/articles-and-essays/a-world-at-war/timeline-1914-1921/
https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/about-wwi/unrestricted-u-boat-warfare
https://americanillustration.org/project/james-montgomery-flagg/
https://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/educate/other-resources-image/official-bulletin.html?start=567
https://www.britannica.com/money/George-Washington-Hill
https://www.periodpaper.com/products/1923-ad-pall-mall-turkish-tobacco-cigarettes-flapper-wife-smoking-husband-price-127939-col3-335
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Propaganda/p3NDAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA9&printsec=frontcover
https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.163.3.386
https://apsa.org/about-psychoanalysis/
https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/womens-political-participation-after-1920-myth-and-reality
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK44311/#A6558
https://tobacco.stanford.edu/cigarette/img1093/
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/08/16/specials/bernays-father.html?scp=8&sq=bernays&st=cse
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/heart/smoking
https://alswh.org.au/resources/smoking-linked-to-painful-periods/
https://news.weill.cornell.edu/news/2004/01/female-smokers-twice-as-likely-as-men-to-develop-lung-cancer-weill-cornell-study-finds
https://chibe.upenn.edu/news/the-scientists-who-shape-what-and-how-we-eat/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9339402/
https://www.heraldnews.com/story/opinion/2019/04/12/stop-blaming-my-late-husband/5452825007/
https://www.mahf.com/inductee/arthur-m-sackler/
https://www.npr.org/2021/04/13/986929541/empire-of-pain-the-secret-history-of-the-sackler-dynasty-profiles-pharma-family
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2051498/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2622774/
https://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs/651/backgrnd.htm
https://restaurantexpertwitness.com/blog/flashback-friday-2317/
https://thecounter.org/hairnet-food-safety-laws/
https://history.wsu.edu/rci/sample-research-project/
https://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/23/tye.php
https://theconversation.com/the-manipulation-of-the-american-mind-edward-bernays-and-the-birth-of-public-relations-44393
If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!
Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.
You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.
Welcome to the episode that gave Kate “the deepest ick” of any we’ve done yet. And don’t worry, it’s not about factory farms or the morality of eating meat.
We all know bacon and eggs as an iconic breakfast combo. But have you ever thought about why we eat it for breakfast?
It’s because it was sold to the American public by a master of propaganda: Edward Bernays.
Bernays revolutionized the advertising industry by using psychology to appeal to people’s feelings rather than their logic. He manipulated the world of fashion to push cigarettes on women, helped overthrow a Guatemalan president to protect banana sales, and pioneered techniques that were used by the Nazis and the orchestrators of the opioid crisis.
It’s one of our wildest rides yet, so buckle up and get ready to question whether your tastes are really your own… and who benefits from them.
On that note, check out Larkin’s sister’s Etsy shop, mentioned in the episode. We promise your purchase won’t secretly benefit big tobacco.
*Kate misspeaks at the beginning of the episode and states that "Propoganda" was written in 1828: She meant 1928.
References
Watch Bernays talk about his bacon and eggs strategy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLudEZpMjKU
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-Bernays
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/12/consumer
https://blogs.loc.gov/preservation/2022/11/housing-bernays-scrapbooks/
http://www.ww1plays.com/2020/08/eugene-brieuxs-damaged-goods-les-avaries.html
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-woodrow-wilsons-propaganda-machine-changed-american-journalism-180963082/
https://www.loc.gov/collections/stars-and-stripes/articles-and-essays/a-world-at-war/timeline-1914-1921/
https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/about-wwi/unrestricted-u-boat-warfare
https://americanillustration.org/project/james-montgomery-flagg/
https://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/educate/other-resources-image/official-bulletin.html?start=567
https://www.britannica.com/money/George-Washington-Hill
https://www.periodpaper.com/products/1923-ad-pall-mall-turkish-tobacco-cigarettes-flapper-wife-smoking-husband-price-127939-col3-335
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Propaganda/p3NDAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA9&printsec=frontcover
https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.163.3.386
https://apsa.org/about-psychoanalysis/
https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/womens-political-participation-after-1920-myth-and-reality
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK44311/#A6558
https://tobacco.stanford.edu/cigarette/img1093/
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/08/16/specials/bernays-father.html?scp=8&sq=bernays&st=cse
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/heart/smoking
https://alswh.org.au/resources/smoking-linked-to-painful-periods/
https://news.weill.cornell.edu/news/2004/01/female-smokers-twice-as-likely-as-men-to-develop-lung-cancer-weill-cornell-study-finds
https://chibe.upenn.edu/news/the-scientists-who-shape-what-and-how-we-eat/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9339402/
https://www.heraldnews.com/story/opinion/2019/04/12/stop-blaming-my-late-husband/5452825007/
https://www.mahf.com/inductee/arthur-m-sackler/
https://www.npr.org/2021/04/13/986929541/empire-of-pain-the-secret-history-of-the-sackler-dynasty-profiles-pharma-family
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2051498/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2622774/
https://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs/651/backgrnd.htm
https://restaurantexpertwitness.com/blog/flashback-friday-2317/
https://thecounter.org/hairnet-food-safety-laws/
https://history.wsu.edu/rci/sample-research-project/
https://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/23/tye.php
https://theconversation.com/the-manipulation-of-the-american-mind-edward-bernays-and-the-birth-of-public-relations-44393
If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!
Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.
You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.