Flux Podcasts (Formerly Theory of Change)

Flux Community Media
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  • POLITICS
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Flux Podcasts (Formerly Theory of Change)

Flux is a progressive podcast platform, with daily content from shows like Theory of Change, Doomscroll, and The Electorette.

  1. 12 HR. AGO

    The mainstream media were ‘sanewashing’ Republicans long before Donald Trump

    Episode Summary As he nears the end of his third presidential campaign, Donald Trump is falling apart in public view. He’s holding far fewer public events than ever before where he constantly goes off on bizarre and irrelevant tangents and conspiracy theories about everything from sharks and hurricanes to Kamala Harris’s headphones. But most people don’t tune into his rallies. Instead, they hear about them from the mainstream media, which often delivers a highly sanitized version of Trump’s insane rants that makes them seem much more normal than they really are. My friend Parker Molloy calls this pattern of media behavior “sanewashing,” which I think is an accurate description to describe what mainstream journalists have been doing with Trump since he first began running for president in 2015. Whenever Trump retreats from verbatim interviews and focuses only on his rally speeches, his approval ratings go up. Kamala Harris alluded to this problem during the debate she had with Trump a few weeks ago when she urged the audience to attend a Trump campaign rally to hear the insane and incoherent things he says. Unfortunately, sanewashing isn’t something that began with Donald Trump, however. Using public relations strategies and playing upon people’s natural inclination to assume good-faith in others, reactionary Republicans figured out how to hack the liberal epistemology by lying. Long before Trump began conning America, far-right activists realized that there’s no limit to what you can accomplish once you realize you never have to tell the truth. As a result, the American press has been sanitizing Republican radicalism for many decades now: They cleaned up the image of the Tea Party. They refused to question George W. Bush’s Iraq War. They didn’t tell the full story of Newt Gingrich’s fanaticism. And they didn’t fully cover the radicalism of Ronald Reagan and his staff. One person who knows that story better than almost anyone else is Rick Perlstein, our guest on today’s episode. He’s a historian who’s the author of a series of best-selling books about the American right, including Reaganland: America’s Right Turn 1976-1980. And he’s got another one that’s in the works as well called “The Infernal Triangle: How America Got This Way.” The video of this discussion is available. The transcript of audio is below. Because of its length, some podcast apps and email programs may truncate it. Access the episode page to get the full text. Flux is a community-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, please stay in touch. Related Content The ‘Intellectual Dark Web’ and the long history of Republican re-branding How ‘fictitious Republicans’ like Ronna McDaniel and Hugh Hewitt cover up right-wing extremism Abortion is the first domestic issue where Republicans have actually had to reveal their full motives Right-wing media is the glue that holds the Republican party together White nationalists and jihadists are starting to realize they have a lot in common How the Senate filibuster protected Republicans from electoral accountability and enabled their radicalization Why the Southern Strategy transformed Republicans more than it transformed the South Audio Chapters 00:00 — Introduction 06:47 — Sanewashing is obsolete journalism for a Republican party that no longer exists 10:51 — Flashback: How the mainstream media sanitized the Tea Party 21:51 — How Republicans and Democrats handle unpopular policies differently 25:47 — How Tea Party activists manipulated the media 29:09 — William F. Buckley, inventor of sanewashing 33:57 — Sanewashing as a hack of liberal epistemology 43:23 — The one positive thing about sanewashing 48:32 — A dual approach to combating the problems of sanewashing Audio Transcript The following is a machine-generated transcript of the audio that has not been proofed. It is provided for convenience purposes only. MATTHEW SHEFFIELD

    53 min

  2. 5 DAYS AGO

    How the Threat of Sexual Violence in Electoral Politics is Both Racist & Sexist: A Conversation with Dr. Nicole Bedera

    Sociologist, and sexual violence researcher, Dr. Nicole Bedera, discusses her new book, On the Wrong Side: How Universities Protect Perpetrators and Betray Survivors of Sexual Violence. The book is a must-read, and Dr. Bedera's research often spills over into conversations on social media — like a recent thread in which she unpacks how the implicit thread of sexual violence, has seeped into political rhetoric — and it's employed in a way that's both racist, and sexist. From this Episode On the Wrong Side: How Universities Protect Perpetrators and Betray Survivors of Sexual Violence by Dr. Nicole Bedera Essay: The Complainer as Carceral Feminist The Cultural Betrayal of Black Women and Girls: A Black Feminist Approach to Healing from Sexual Abuse by Jennifer Gomez Listen to All Electorette Episodes https://www.electorette.com/podcast Support the Electorette Rate & Review on iTunes: https://apple.co/2GsfQj4 Also, if you enjoy the Electorette, please subscribe and leave a 5-star review on iTunes. And please spread the word by telling your friends, family, and colleagues about The Electorette! WANT MORE ELECTORETTE? Follow the Electorette on social media. Electorette Facebook Electorette Instagram Electorette Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 6m

  3. 6 DAYS AGO

    The science behind why Donald Trump loves the ‘poorly educated’

    Episode Summary “I love the poorly educated,” Donald Trump famously boasted in early 2016 as he started racking up victories in the Republican primary election. It was an unintentionally hilarious thing to say, but it pointed to a truth that’s since became undeniable: People with less education are more likely to vote for Republicans. Trump has almost certainly never heard of the 19th century philosopher John Stuart Mill, but the disgraced ex-president’s enthusiasm for the poorly educated echoes something that Mill said on the floor of the English parliament in 1866 that “stupid persons are generally conservative.” What if Mill was right? Since 2016, it’s become commonplace to think of having a bachelor’s degree as a sort of proxy for Trump voting among white Americans, but what if there’s something even deeper at work? Republicans don’t want to hear this, but there’s a pretty long-standing body of social science research that indicates people who have right-wing attitudes, particularly regarding religion and epistemology, appear to have lower cognitive capacity. Thinking about this topic can be uncomfortable, but it’s important because understanding that political movements are just as much about psychology as they are about ideology can help us understand the enduring appeal of someone like Trump who is flagrantly stupid, corrupt, and deceitful. I also feel like I can discuss this given my personal history as a former Mormon fundamentalist and Republican activist. Our guest in today’s episode to discuss is Darren Sherkat, he’s a professor of sociology at Southern Illinois University where he focuses the relationships between ideology, cognition, and religious belief. He’s also the author of “Changing Faith: The Dynamics and Consequences of Americans' Shifting Religious Identities,” and another book which will be forthcoming on these topics. The video of this discussion is available. The transcript of audio is below. Because of its length, some podcast apps and email programs may truncate it. Access the episode page to get the full text. Related Content * Have Trump Republicans lost their grip on reality, or are they just lying to pollsters to support him? * JD Vance and the reactionary mind * Far-right pundits aren’t trying to make arguments, they’re affirming the emotions of their fans * How Fox News and talk radio warped a man’s thinking, and what his daughter and wife did to save him * America’s political polarization isn’t about partisanship, it’s about epistemology * Reactionaries do not actually believe in logic, this is why you can’t argue with them * How congressional Republicans made the internet a safe space for disinformation Audio Chapters 00:00 — Introduction 02:19 — Why discussing cognition in a political context is not unfair or deterministic 08:51 — In the 1970s, Republicans were the party with higher verbal ability 10:10 — How the "Southern Strategy" remade the Republican party cognitively 13:01 — Why "poorly educated" is a better term than "uneducated" in this context 14:56 — How religious fundamentalism inhibits sound thinking at individual and the communal levels 20:02 — Cognitive capital and social capital 23:44 — Theodor Adorno's "authoritarian personality" research included cognition 30:46 — Why cognition is a better predictor of Trump support than education 35:38 — Abductive reasoning versus empirical reasoning 44:23 — Trump is an ideal candidate for less-intelligent people 50:58 — Why Ron DeSantis, JD Vance, and intelligent reactionaries have trouble copying Trump 54:53 — Public education as the cornerstone of democracy 01:00:19 — Non-religious Americans need to start advocating for themselves 01:03:00 — Conclusion Audio Transcript The following is a machine-generated transcript of the audio that has not been proofed. It is provided for convenience purposes only. MATTHEW SHEFFIELD: So, these are some very sensitive topic

    1h 6m

  4. SEP 28

    How far-right Christian media brainwash evangelicals

    Episode Summary As everyone probably knows, White Christians with theologically conservative views are the backbone of the Republican Party, and they are Donald Trump's most loyal voters and followers and donors. But far-right Christians were not always the backbone of the Republican Party. They became that way through the work of reactionary Christian media who brainwashed them over decades to believe that Democrats are literally controlled by demons. The days of Jerry Falwell, and Pat Robertson are obviously behind us, but the people who have inherited the world of reactionary Christian media have drastically expanded their reach and power within the Republican party. Unlike Republican leaders of yore like Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, Donald Trump, his children, and the party’s vice presidential nominee JD Vance regularly interact with and support today’s Christian right. Although they have enormous audiences, are awash in hundreds of millions of dollars, and hob-nob with presidential candidates, for the most part the stars of Christian right television are rarely covered by the mainstream media.  And so in today's episode, I wanted to shine a spotlight on some of these figures, including Lance Wallnau (who is hosting a town hall today with Vance), scammy televangelist Kenneth Copeland, and radical anti-abortion activist Janet Folger Porter. Our guide in this episode is Peter Montgomery. He is a senior fellow with the People for American Way, and he's also one of the writers over at Right Wing Watch, which is an essential website to keep tabs on the beliefs and opinions of the radical Christian right. The video of this discussion is available. The transcript of audio is below. Because of its length, some podcast apps and email programs may truncate it. Access the episode page to get the full text. Flux is a community-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, please stay in touch. Related Content * Where JD Vance’s hate-filled and misogynistic ideas came from * How EWTN became the media epicenter of reactionary Catholicism * Far-right ‘tradwives’ are using sex to sell religion on Instagram and TikTok * How Southern evangelicalism colonized and displaced other forms of conservative Christianity * Inside the bizarre and bigoted world of Jewish fascism * Faced with a shrinking demographic base, Republican elites are inventing another ‘Satanic panic’ to scare Americans into voting for them * The story of how gay Republicans helped drive their party toward extremism Audio Chapters 00:00 — Introduction 02:59 — Kenneth Copeland and the Victory Channel 07:47 — Lance Wallnau, Seven Mountains Dominionism, and Pentecostalism 16:16 — The Christian right's new message: Democrats are controlled by demons 22:12 — The theology behind Donald Trump's Big Lie 25:09 — Millions of people are attending Christian right political rallies 30:19 — National Conservatism, JD Vance, and Catholic "integralism" 40:39 — How Donald Trump's rhetoric has become much more religious 43:18 — Janet Folger Porter and Republican abortion bans 46:18 — New poll shows how far removed Trump base is from reality 50:23 — A new far-right Christian sitcom speaks to cultural fears 56:25 — Laura Loomer and reactionary figures from unexpected identity groups Audio Transcript The following is a machine-generated transcript of the audio that has not been proofed. It is provided for convenience purposes only. MATTHEW SHEFFIELD: So, this episode we're going to talk about some figures that I think it's going to be a mix of people that political junkies have heard of, I think, and then ones that they have not heard of. And I, that is kind of the overall sort of. way that the religious right works in general, right? That there's this mix of figureheads and then, the money people and all these other ones. Is that, would you agree with that PETER MONTGOMERY: Sure. Yeah, there are people who, a few people ma

    1h 8m

  5. SEP 27

    Walz and Vance debate might be the first veep forum you’ll actually want to watch

    This Doomscroll episode is available on audio only. As always, it’s not “safe for work.” Audio Chapters 00:00 — A vice presidential debate that you'll actually want to watch? 03:03 — 'Black Nazi' Mark Robinson won't quit his NC gov candidacy, but Trump won't unendorse him 07:46 — Evangelical anti-public school activist revealed as former gay porn actor 14:13 — Trump's social media stock at all-time low so he's got a new watch scam 26:18 — Iranians allegedly hack Trump campaign, find poorly made dossier on JD Vance 32:06 — New York mayor Eric Adams indicted for allegedly taking bribes from Turkish gov't 34:25 — Newsmax settles defamation lawsuit with voting company 36:54 — Naomi Campbell exposed by UK government for charity scam 40:54 — Sydney Sweeney was 'practically begging' for boob jokes on SNL 42:57 — Halle Berry says Prince asked her out via handwritten note Follow or Die! Doomscroll Instagram YouTube Twitter Lisa Instagram Twitter Matt Twitter Mastodon Threads Bluesky Doomscroll is a podcast from Flux. Check us out for more smart, fun, and progressive podcasts and articles! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plus.flux.community/subscribe

    49 min

  6. SEP 26

    What We All Get Wrong About Ohio: A Conversation with Chairwoman of the Ohio Democratic Party, Liz Walters

    Liz Walters, Chairwoman of the Ohio Democratic Party, discusses the November election, what pundits get wrong about Ohio voters, crucial initiatives on this November's ballot, and of course, Ohio's own J.D. Vance, and his regressive views about women, and reproductive freedom. Listen to All Electorette Episodes https://www.electorette.com/podcast Support the Electorette Rate & Review on iTunes: https://apple.co/2GsfQj4 Also, if you enjoy the Electorette, please subscribe and leave a 5-star review on iTunes. And please spread the word by telling your friends, family, and colleagues about The Electorette! WANT MORE ELECTORETTE? Follow the Electorette on social media. Electorette Facebook Electorette Instagram Electorette Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    32 min

  7. SEP 24

    Inside the reactionary ideology of JD Vance

    Episode Summary JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, is a newcomer on the political scene, and as such, a lot of people don’t know very much about his ideas. That’s concerning because Vance identifies with a reactionary far-right tradition that is explicitly and fundamentally at odds with American democracy. Donald Trump, by contrast, has no core ideology and no core beliefs. His main goal at all times and all places is to advance his own personal interests, and that is literally it. Vance isn’t like that. He comes from an authoritarian, reactionary tradition that explicitly rejects conservatism, liberalism, and democracy. Trump wants absolute power, and Vance wants him to have it to destroy what he believes to be a decadent and corrupt society. On today’s episode, we’re going to be talking about some of the core ideas of this very old tradition (which both predates and includes fascism) and what it has in store for the United States, regardless of the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. Our guest on today’s episode is Matt McManus, he is the author of a book called The Political Right and Equality: Turning Back The Tide of Egalitarian Modernity, and a lecturer in political science at the University of Michigan. The video of this discussion is available. The transcript of audio is below. Because of its length, some podcast apps and email programs may truncate it. Access the episode page to get the full text. Flux is a community-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, please stay in touch. Related Content ▪ Arguing with hardcore Trumpers is impossible, because reactionaries do not actually believe in logic ▪ Libertarian oligarchs are trying to take over San Francisco — and the country ▪ The ‘Intellectual Dark Web’ and the long history of right-wing re-branding ▪ How a little-known cable channel for Roman Catholics is radicalizing the faithful ▪ Ronna McDaniel and the twilight of fictitious Republicans ▪ Democrats became more conservative as Republican became reactionary authoritarians, will Kamala Harris reverse this? ▪ ‘Post left’ content creators are getting massively wealthy by promoting far-right ideologies Audio Chapters 00:00 — Introduction 02:29 — Distinguishing between conservatism and reactionism 06:34 — Why telling the difference between conservatism and reactionism can be difficult 10:53 — How the Cold War kept reactionaries in check within the Republican party 18:06 — How neoconservatives prepared Republicans for Trumpism 22:40 — Opposing "decadence" unites right-of-center philosophies 26:08 — Redefining "elite" is core to the reactionary project 33:41 — Why epistemic nihilism collapses into totalitarianism 40:17 — Anti-intellectualism and right-wing philosophy 46:45 — The paradoxes of left- and right-wing intellectualism 53:29 — JD Vance's deep connections to reactionary philosophers 59:14 — Why there are atheist and Jewish Christian nationalists 01:04:44 — As the right overtly embraces authoritarianism, the left can reclaim freedom 01:12:50 — The rise of the Nietzchean right Audio Transcript The following is a machine-generated transcript of the audio that has not been proofed. It is provided for convenience purposes only. MATTHEW SHEFFIELD: So we have a lot to talk about here today. The political philosophy episodes are always one of my favorites, I have to confess, as my audience may already realize. But nonetheless, so JD Vance, we're kind of organizing the discussion here of reactionism and reactionary politics around him because I think he is very obviously the most prominent reactionary figure now in the United States. So, but most people don't know a lot about what he thinks because I mean, he's a poor public speaker and, he's mostly known for kind of his bizarre interactions with people and writing a book.That's kind of the framework that I want to put this in. And then we'll come back to Vance later.

    1h 25m

  8. SEP 23

    Mark Robinson can’t get away with Trump’s creepiness

    There are some audio quality issues on this episode so we apologize for that. As always, Doomscroll is not “safe for work.” Audio Chapters 00:00 — Mark Robinson's scandalous porn forum postings 13:47 — Trump cites imaginary audience at his debate w/Harris 14:59 — JD Vance admits his stories about people eating pets aren't true 21:21 — House Republicans reject Republican bill to avert government shutdown 26:54 — Sean "Diddy" Combs in prison after more sex crime charges 31:46 — RFK Jr reportedly had sexting relationship with New York magazine reporter Follow or Die! Doomscroll Instagram YouTube Twitter Lisa Instagram Twitter Matt Twitter Mastodon Threads Bluesky Doomscroll is a podcast from Flux. Check us out for more smart, fun, and progressive podcasts and articles! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plus.flux.community/subscribe

    38 min
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Flux is a progressive podcast platform, with daily content from shows like Theory of Change, Doomscroll, and The Electorette.

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