Unspun

By Amanda SturgillNews Education Self-Improvement News Commentary

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Typical duration
26 min
per episode

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Unspun episodes

November 11The Local News Crisis Is Real—Can Journalism Schools Fix It
Local news is collapsing across America, creating dangerous information gaps. Are journalism educators positioned to be part of the solution? Dr. Sturg examines the real challenges facing regional media, the ethical dilemmas journalism schools face and some innovations that are already making a difference.
The local news crisis explained: What communities lose when local news goes away
Where journalism education falls short: Are we teaching skills for vanishing jobs or preparing students for reality
The hidden opportunities in college newsrooms: How student journalists can fill critical information gaps
The teaching hospital model: Using journalism classes as laboratories for sustainable, ethical community reporting
Solutions: Innovative business models, nonprofit approaches, and audience engagement strategies

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25 min
November 03 Polls have had a bad record the past few cycles - are the still worthwhile? UnSpun Rewind
In this UnSpun rewind, DrSturg talks polling with political scientist Dr. Ken Fernandez. Can polls be trusted after 2016? We separate polling facts from fiction on topics like margin of error. Ken shares his insider take on how campaigns use polls and why solid polling matters for a functioning democracy.
Get an expert take on improving polling for future elections. Get UnSpun.

Follow Ken
Twitter
LinkedIn

Follow Dr. Sturg
BSKY - Prof. Amanda Sturgill
Websites - Unspun’s Substack

Questions and Tips
[email protected]

Be smarter! Check out DrSturg's books
Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538141045/Detecting-Deception-Tools-to-Fight-Fake-News
We are #AltGov
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538162095/We-Are-#ALTGOV-Social-Media-Resistance-from-the-Inside

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37 min
October 27How to keep yourself safe from misinformation
In this comprehensive review episode, we tackle the growing crisis of misinformation in our fractured media landscape. As major elections unfold globally, false information spreads faster than ever—but you have the power to protect yourself.
Learn the essential skills to verify information, recognize persuasive manipulation tactics, and help others think more critically without creating conflict. This episode covers:
Evaluating evidence quality and source credibility
Coded language and tribalism in political messaging
Emotional manipulation through fear, anger, and divisiveness
Setting healthy social media boundaries
Distinguishing between seeing something often and something being true
AND
How to Help Others Without Creating Conflict:
The three-question policy for respectful conversations
Modeling curiosity over confrontation
Understanding reactance and defensive responses
Choosing your battles wisely
Creating conditions for people to change their own minds

Follow Dr. Sturg
BlueSky -Prof. Amanda Sturgill (@DrSturg)
Websites -Sturg says|Unspun’s Substack
Questions and Tips and Enter to be a Guest Co-host
[email protected]
Dr. Sturg’s Books
Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News
We are #AltGov: Inside the Resistance on Social Media.
Read less

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25 min
October 20 How politicians get away with lying: Their supporters like it
We all know politicians lie. But how do they get away with it? One surprising reason is because their supporters don't hold it against them. In fact, the sometimes like it. In this week's episode of UnSpun, DrSturg looks at the research on political truth. Whether a lie is a problem depends on a lot of things: the emotions of the listener, the context it's said in and even if the listener just wishes the lie were true.
Follow Dr. Sturg
BlueSky -Prof. Amanda Sturgill (@DrSturg)
Websites -Sturg says|Unspun’s Substack
Questions and Tips and Enter to be a Guest Co-host
[email protected]
Dr. Sturg’s Books
Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News
We are #AltGov: Inside the Resistance on Social Media.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
23 min
October 12 Attention, Intimidation, and the Objectivity Trap: UnSpun Journal Club
What happens when censorship stops looking like censorship?
In this episode of UnSpun journal club, DrSturg looks at the book The New Censorship: How the War on the Media Is Taking Us Down, which looks at how populist authoritains harm journalism without controlling the press by using society's norms against it. These leaders are all over the world, but have in common a view of a society splot between “the people” and “the elites.” Journalists who don't support the leader are the enemy. The core freedom isn't freedom of speech. It is whether the public still has a meaningful right to know. This is part 2 of a journal club review of this book.
Episode cover image is from Wikimedia Commons by user Mobilus In Mobili

LINKS
The book
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-New-Censorship/Ayala-Panievsky/9781804441114
Follow Dr. Sturg
BlueSky -Prof. Amanda Sturgill (@DrSturg)
Websites -Sturg says|Unspun’s Substack
Questions and Tips and Enter to be a Guest Co-host
[email protected]
Dr. Sturg’s Books
Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News
We are #AltGov: Inside the Resistance on Social Media.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
27 min
October 06 Why the news feels like it's overwhelming: How finite attention is manipulated to manipulate you
Everyone wants your attention. News organizations want it. Politicians want it. Social media platforms want it. And increasingly, AI systems stand between you and the information you’re looking for.
But attention is finite.
In this episode of UnSpun, Amanda Sturgill examines the attention economy and what decades of research can tell us about who gets our attention—and what they can do with it for good and for evil.
LINKS
Herb Simon's original paper
Follow Dr. Sturg
BlueSky -Prof. Amanda Sturgill (@DrSturg)
Websites -Sturg says|Unspun’s Substack
Questions and Tips
[email protected]
Dr. Sturg’s Books
Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News
We are #AltGov: Inside the Resistance on Social Media

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
22 min
September 22 The new censorship and your right to know: UnSpun Journal Club
What happens when censorship stops looking like censorship?
In this episode of UnSpun journal club, DrSturg looks at the book The New Censorship: How the War on the Media Is Taking Us Down, which looks at how populist authoritains harm journalism without controlling the press by using society's norms against it. These leaders are all over the world, but have in common a view of a society splot between “the people” and “the elites.” Journalists who don't support the leader are the enemy. The core freedom isn't freedom of speech. It is whether the public still has a meaningful right to know.
Episode cover image is from Wikimedia Commons by user Mobilus In Mobili

LINKS
The book
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-New-Censorship/Ayala-Panievsky/9781804441114
Follow Dr. Sturg
BlueSky -Prof. Amanda Sturgill (@DrSturg)
Websites -Sturg says|Unspun’s Substack
Questions and Tips and Enter to be a Guest Co-host
[email protected]
Dr. Sturg’s Books
Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News
We are #AltGov: Inside the Resistance on Social Media.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
23 min
September 16 "So God Made Trump": Christian Nationalism and Media
Christian nationalists think their country and their God are related, and they've built a media ecosystem to spread their beliefs. Agreeing with this changes how they understand facts, what they support and even some of what they do. In this week of UnSpun, DrSturg breaks down some of the research on Christian nationalists and the media.

LINKS
NPR piece on the Dilley Meme Team
Original video, shared online by politician
Follow Dr. Sturg
BlueSky -Prof. Amanda Sturgill (@DrSturg)
Websites -Sturg says|Unspun’s Substack
Questions and Tips
[email protected]
Dr. Sturg’s Books
Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News
We are #AltGov: Inside the Resistance on Social Media

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
30 min
September 08 Who Controls Your News Feed? Algorithms, Inequality, and the News You See (UnSpun Journal Club)
You probably saw some news today.
But did you choose it?
Or did it simply find you?
In this episode of UnSpun, DrSturg looks at research examining how people experience news in everyday life—and why that experience differs depending on how much money you have and how educated you are. The industry needs to look at audiences differently, and the implications for democracy are profound.
LINKS
Paper covered in this episode
Follow Dr. Sturg
BlueSky -Prof. Amanda Sturgill (@DrSturg)
Websites -Sturg says|Unspun’s Substack
Questions and Tips
[email protected]
Dr. Sturg’s Books
Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News
We are #AltGov: Inside the Resistance on Social Media

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
20 min
September 01 Can You Trust Influencers? The Hidden Power of Parasocial Relationships

Why does an influencer you've never met sometimes feel like a friend?
In this episode of UnSpun, DrSturg looks at the psychology behind parasocial relationships — the one-sided relationships audiences can develop with influencers, creators, streamers, and other public figures.
We’ll look at how influencers create a sense of intimacy and how those relationships can make advertising more persuasive, reduce our resistance to sales pitches, increase loyalty, and encourage people to spend more time and money with a creator. They can also create enormous pressure for influencers themselves.
And the stakes get even higher when influence moves beyond products and into politics.
As governments, brands, platforms, and political actors recognize how powerful influencers can be, we have to ask a bigger question:
What happens when the person shaping what you think is not a journalist, but someone who feels like your friend?

Follow Dr. Sturg
BlueSky -Prof. Amanda Sturgill (@DrSturg)
Websites -Sturg says|Unspun’s Substack
Questions and Tips
[email protected]
Dr. Sturg’s Books
Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News
We are #AltGov: Inside the Resistance on Social Media

Original image from Fquasie on Wikimedia Commons.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
25 min

About Unspun

From the publisher's feed

Unspun is critical thinking about the news. Hear real examples, past and present, of newsmakers attempting to mislead you and understand how they manipulate the truth. Learn how to avoid being…