The Deeper Thinking Podcast

The Censoring of the Self – The Deeper Thinking Podcast


Listen Later

🎙️ The Censoring of the Self – The Deeper Thinking Podcast

Apologies for.previously uploading the wrong version in error.

This episode shifts backwards and forwards between different timelines and contexts. The opening starts with  Edward Bernays, an American pioneer in the field of public relations and propaganda, and referred to in his obituary, his techniques have been criticized for manipulating public opinion, often in ways that undermined individual autonomy.

....

What happens when control no longer requires force?

When an algorithm does not need to censor us because we have already learned to censor ourselves?
Are we shaping our identities, or are we simply refining ourselves into the most compliant version of what the system desires?

Inspired by Adam Curtis’s The Century of the Self, this episode unpacks the shift from overt propaganda to the seamless influence of algorithmic feedback loops. Unlike the past, when power needed institutions, executives, and gatekeepers, today’s digital ecosystem operates without a central authority—because it does not need one. We have trained the machine, and in turn, the machine has trained us.

Through the lenses of Jean Baudrillard’s hyperreality, Michel Foucault’s self-discipline, and Edward Bernays’ legacy of manufactured consent, we explore how modern platforms have turned self-expression into a form of labor, attention into currency, and identity into an optimized product.

Have we become self-regulating data points, performing an illusion of freedom?

Or is there still a way to reclaim the self from the algorithm?

🎧 Listen Now On:

🔹 YouTube

🔹 Spotify
🔹 Apple Podcasts

📌 Subscribe for deep-dive episodes every week!

🔥 New episodes every week – Engage with us by liking, sharing, and leaving a review—your support keeps us exploring and thinking deeply.

📚 Further Reading & Recommended Books

For those who want to dive deeper into the mechanics of self-censorship, algorithmic control, and the psychological shaping of society, these books provide essential perspectives.

📌 The following Amazon links are Amazon affiliate links and comply with Amazon’s terms & conditions.

📖 Propaganda – Edward Bernays

🔹 A foundational work on the engineering of consent and the mechanisms of modern influence.
🔗 Amazon affiliate link

📖 Simulacra and Simulation – Jean Baudrillard

🔹 Explores how media and representation have blurred the lines between reality and illusion.
🔗 Amazon affiliate link

📖 Discipline and Punish – Michel Foucault

🔹 A study of how power operates through surveillance, normalization, and self-regulation.
🔗 Amazon affiliate link

📖 The Society of the Spectacle – Guy Debord

🔹 Examines how media turns lived experience into a passive spectacle.
🔗 Amazon affiliate link

📖 The Age of Surveillance Capitalism – Shoshana Zuboff

🔹 Reveals how data-driven platforms commodify personal behavior.
🔗 Amazon affiliate link

📖 Who Owns the Future? – Jaron Lanier

🔹 A critical look at how digital platforms exploit user data for profit.
🔗 Amazon affiliate link

📖 The Medium is the Message – Marshall McLuhan

🔹 A groundbreaking analysis of how media shapes thought itself.
🔗 Amazon affiliate link

📖 The Attention Merchants – Tim Wu

🔹 Explores how corporations have turned human attention into a global commodity.
🔗 Amazon affiliate link

📖 Manufacturing Consent – Noam Chomsky & Edward S. Herman

🔹 Exposes how media systems function as tools of political and corporate power.
🔗 Amazon affiliate link

📖 Reality+ – David Chalmers

🔹 A philosophical investigation into how virtual and digital realities shape truth and perception.
🔗 Amazon affiliate link

🔎 Further Research & Academic Resources:

Baudrillard’s Hyperreality

Foucault’s Biopolitics
The Century of the Self Documentary
Algorithmic Bias and Behavioral Engineering

🔥 Exclusive Offer: Get Surfshark VPN

In a world where algorithms track, profile, and influence every digital move, online privacy is not optional—it’s essential. Surfshark VPN keeps your browsing secure, private, and unrestricted.

➡️ Get Surfshark VPN here and take control of your data!

☕ Support The Deeper Thinking Podcast – Buy Me a Coffee!

Love our deep-dive discussions on AI, philosophy, and media control? Your support helps us:

✅ Produce more in-depth episodes with expert insights
✅ Cover research & hosting costs to keep content free for all

Every coffee fuels our mission to think deeper, ask better questions, and challenge dominant narratives.

➡️ Buy Me a Coffee Here

📌 Thank you for supporting independent thinkers and meaningful conversations!

🔔 Subscribe & never miss a deep-dive discussion.

📌 Follow us on social media for more thought-provoking content!

#ArtificialIntelligence #MediaManipulation #SelfCensorship #TheCenturyOfTheSelf #Baudrillard #Foucault #Chomsky #TheAttentionEconomy #SurveillanceCapitalism #AlgorithmicBias #AdamCurtis

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Deeper Thinking PodcastBy The Deeper Thinking Podcast

  • 4
  • 4
  • 4
  • 4
  • 4

4

88 ratings


More shows like The Deeper Thinking Podcast

View all
Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,615 Listeners

Philosophize This! by Stephen West

Philosophize This!

15,251 Listeners

The Gray Area with Sean Illing by Vox

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

10,728 Listeners

The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast by Mark Linsenmayer, Wes Alwan, Seth Paskin, Dylan Casey

The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

2,107 Listeners

THIRD EYE DROPS by SpectreVision Radio

THIRD EYE DROPS

1,290 Listeners

10% Happier with Dan Harris by 10% Happier

10% Happier with Dan Harris

12,721 Listeners

Philosophy For Our Times by IAI

Philosophy For Our Times

320 Listeners

Team Human by Douglas Rushkoff

Team Human

371 Listeners

Living Myth by Michael Meade

Living Myth

1,016 Listeners

People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast by Zachary Elwood

People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast

298 Listeners

Overthink by Ellie Anderson, Ph.D. and David Peña-Guzmán, Ph.D.

Overthink

446 Listeners

The Paranormal UFO Consciousness Podcast by Grant Cameron

The Paranormal UFO Consciousness Podcast

110 Listeners

Alan Watts Being in the Way by Be Here Now Network / Love Serve Remember Foundation

Alan Watts Being in the Way

787 Listeners

Cosmosis [Formerly The UFO Rabbit Hole] by Kelly Chase & Jay Christopher King

Cosmosis [Formerly The UFO Rabbit Hole]

1,000 Listeners

The Telepathy Tapes by Ky Dickens

The Telepathy Tapes

8,664 Listeners