In this News Brief, "Despite 9-Figure Infusion from Silicon Valley, Abundance Still Seeks Popular Support," we talk to @dylangyauchl.bsky.social about her recent report on the obscene amounts of money going into pushing Abundance and the PR hurdles the latest neoliberalism rebrand is facing.

I’m a little backed up with books but this one about the patently evil and exploitive ADL sounds amazing

In this News Brief, we talk with Emmaia Gelman, author of the new book The Anti-Defamation League and the Racial State, about how––despite posing as a civil rights organization––the ADL functions as defender of colonialism and enforcer for reactionary western ideologies.

In this News Brief, we talk with @mishmoshk.bsky.social, author of The Anti-Defamation League and the Racial State, about how––despite posing as a civil rights org––the ADL functions as defender of colonialism and enforcer for reactionary western ideologies. soundcloud.com/citationsnee...

In Ep 239, "The Vague, Capital-Serving Co-Optation of 'Affordability' Politics," we detail the history of generic "affordability" discourse and how, post-Mamdani, it's become the go-to buzzword justifying deregulation, tax breaks for developers and minor tweaks to our for profit healthcare system.

In this Patreon-only News Brief, we break down the popular media trope that Democrats are "divided" over Israel when, in reality, its now a 80-20 issue in favor of Palestine, and—to the extent there are divisions—it's almost entirely between rank and file Dem voters and pro-Israel Dem leadership.

Hi, all! We'll be taking a short spring break and returning later this month. In the meantime, in case you missed them, check out some of our recent releases, like this News Brief about the Writers Against the War on Gaza's campaign to boycott the NYT: soundcloud.com/citationsnee...

New episode! @ahjohnson.bsky.social of the @citationspod.bsky.social podcast joined us to discuss his book, "How to Sell a Genocide: The Media's Complicity in the Destruction of Gaza." This is a heavy one, but understanding how media narratives enable horrendous violence is absolutely essential

So thrilled that the authors of BOOM TO BUST: HOW STREAMING BROKE HOLLYWOOD WORKERS were part of this lively conversation, about movie industry labor woes, on the Citations Needed podcast (@citationspod.bsky.social). citationsneeded.libsyn.com/news-brief-p...

great episode of CN where they go over some key points from Adam’s new book How to Sell a Genocide: The Media's Complicity in the Destruction of Gaza that I can’t wait to read!! Got my order in for it!

In Ep 238, "The Fictional, Racist, Paranoia-Sowing 'Sleeper Cell' Media Construction," we detail our media obsession with so-called "sleeper cells," a trope that has consumed post-9/11 America but suffers from one major problem: there's no evidence it exists.

This is a live recording between Nima and Adam at the Word is Change Bookstore May 7, 2026. In this conversation, we discuss key findings that can be found in Adam's new book, How to Sell a Genocide: The Media's Complicity in the Destruction of Gaza.

In continued book promotion… @mirandabanks.bsky.social and I spoke about the state of Hollywood on @citationspod.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

In this News Brief, we talk with Miranda Banks and Kate Fortmueller, authors of the new book Boom to Bust: How Streaming Broke Hollywood Workers, about precarity in Hollywood, studio consolidation, and how the dream of fame, 100 years on, is still used to concentrate power and drive down wages

Excellent @citationspod.bsky.social on how "deradicalization" discourses are not only drenched in hypocrisy but also weaponized to suppress dissent. 🔥interview w/ @premthakker.bsky.social of @zeteo.com in conversation w/ @nimashirazi.bsky.social/@ahjohnson.bsky.social soundcloud.com/citationsnee...

Great @citationspod.bsky.social news brief with author and professor @ajbauer.bsky.social on the origins of the "liberal media". It was especially informative, and could easily have been a full episode. #StraightBanger

In this News Brief, we talk @ajbauer.bsky.social about his new book, "Making the Liberal Media," and the corporate and ideological forces that shaped the popular idea mainstream media was crawling with fifth columnist agitators hostile to the values of Real America.

highly recommend this book by Adam Johnson of @citationspod.bsky.social, which soberly lays out the hard data of the discourse that center-left media has decided is acceptable, in which Palestinians are not allowed humanity

Great in depth analysis w/@premthakker on the framing of resistance (even secular) as “radicalism” while open racism, genocide, and ethnic cleansing by western powers is never framed as “radical” if it’s even mentioned

In Ep 237, "How Selective, Patronizing 'Deradicalization' Discourse Pathologizes Anti-Colonial Struggle," we break down the long history of US media reducing recalcitrant populations' grievances to "terrorism," "hate," & "radicalism" in urgent need of re-education w/ guest @premthakker.bsky.social.

I am eternally thankful for this @citationspod.bsky.social podcast from years ago that rewired my brain from seeing gambling as a stupidity tax to a targeted attack to drain resources from vulnerable populations who have less and less hope for any kind of "honest" financial stability

Great timing.

great recent @citationspod.bsky.social episode on this. "Shadow fleet" is generally used by US media to refer to ships that are conducting completely legal trade between sovereign nations...that the US doesn't like

“Public-Private Partnerships” always mean privatization of public resources and/or extraction from the public. Up to now the greatest expansion of this has been under Clinton and Biden. Fight this wherever it appears!

Essential listening if you live in a place governed by liberals or republicans

In Ep 236, "Manufactured Austerity and the Media Assisted 'Public-Private Partnership' Rip-Off," we discuss how privatization was rebranded 'Public-Private Partnerships' and unleashed decades of raiding of the public coffers by Wall Street. with guest Donald Cohen.

US mainstream media does a terrible job at holding the US government and business elite to account, because they don't believe it's part of their job description.

we'd all be better off if more people listened to citations needed

Once again begging everyone to shut this shit off and commit to listening to @citationspod.bsky.social to develop media literacy. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

Well, this is probably the podcast to beat all podcasts. Well worth a listen. Trust me.

In this News Brief, “As American Troops Hide in Civilian Hotels, US Media Ignores Pentagon's Use of ‘Human Shields’,” we examine CNN, the Atlantic, Washington Post and NYT’s blatant ‘human shields’ double standard as reports emerge of US troops hiding from Iranian attacks in civilian infrastructure.

Thanks to @citationspod.bsky.social for their ep pointing out the accepted premise in most media that Iran has or could very quickly have “the bomb” at all when it’s actually that they have some semblance of a civilian nuclear power infrastructure that is years away from weaponization

Everything you’ve been told about “Iran’s nuclear weapons program” has been a lie. If you remotely care about truth in media, @citationspod.bsky.social is a must-listen

In this News Brief, we discuss a recent poll showing 70% of Americans are fundamentally wrong about the nature of Iran's "nuclear program"—including 1 in 4 who think Iran currently possesses a nuclear weapon, and detail how decades of sleazy media innuendo and fabrications got us to this point.

And this is another podcast I did on Venezuela earlier this year, aka a life time ago. Just came out today. bsky.app/profile/cita...

Fascinating episode. The broad sweeping power of US imposed sanctions, as if they hold international clout, is incredibly dangerous. No country should be able to unilaterally impose law, much less internationally, but the US operates with relative impunity.

In Ep 235, "'Shadow Fleets,' Sanctions and Western Media's International Law-ification of Arbitrary US Dictates," we explore how unilateral US sanctions against Enemy States are given the halo of international legal legitimacy by print and cable news. With guest @msjamshidi.bsky.social .

We're live: www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiIq...

HI ALL: we will be going live again, tomorrow on YouTube at 530ET/430CTpm to discuss Trump’s Iran attack, the media downplaying the killing of 150+ school girls in Minab, and Democrats’ bumbling hall monitor routine which still hasn’t held a War Powers vote. Link forthcoming.

In this News Brief, "What Does 'Progressive Foreign Policy' Mean in an Age of Genocide?" we break down recent "AOC Discourse," what comes after liberal interventionism, and lay out what it means to turn the page on Bidenism without first holding Biden officials accountable for backing a genocide.

I loved doing this pod with @citationspod.bsky.social and @chenjerai.bsky.social !!

In "As Trump Crushes Academia, the NYT and Atlantic Still Fight 'Woke' Wars from 5 Years Ago," we are joined by Chenjerai Kumanyika & Todd Wolfson of @aaup.org to discuss Trump's gutting of higher education, neoliberalism's college takeover and the possible end of academic independence as we know it

In this New Brief, we detail how the New York Times, Atlantic, and others are using the specter of ICE's extreme violence and kidnappings to create a narrative of successful post-George Floyd police reform that simply does not exist.

In Ep 234, "TikTok, Gen Z's Move to Social Media and Elite Panic Over Unsanctioned News," we examine our political class' TikTok neurosis, how Gaza fueled its sell to US and Israeli military contractors, and the long history of elite panics around unsanctioned information flows. with Omar Zahzah.

the best media criticism pod in the game

In this News Brief, "ICE, Senate Dems' Counterinsurgency PR, and the Limits of Body Cam Liberalism," we detail the fundamental problems with Senate Democrats' cosmetic reforms, the strategy of letting outrage blow over and the conspicuous absence of any proposal that touches ICE's obscene budget.

As usual, Citations Needed is great and worth a listen. They do a great job examining the text, subtext, and meta-text of contemporary media, capturing how and why media frames issues the way they do. This episode makes very clear why our political imagination has to extend beyond politicians.

In Ep 233, "How US Media Naturalizes Capital Strikes and Helps the Rich Undermine Democracy," we examine how billionaires and corporations threatening capital strikes and capital flight to discipline populist politicians and movements is treated as normal, obvious, and healthy by US media.

In this News Brief, "As Dem Leadership Waffles—Labor, Organizers, Immigrants Fight Back in Minneapolis," we break down Dem leadership's fatuous "body cam" and "training" response to ICE brutality, and how organizers in the Twin Cities are not settling for cosmetic reform. w/ guest Janette Corcelius

In this News Brief, we discuss corporate media uncritically framing a potential military attack on Iran by Trump as being motivated by concern for human rights—a premise that, while laughable on its face, has quickly morphed into elite media consensus.