? EARS TO THE GROUND-

Citations Needed is deconstructing propaganda. The self-described intersectionality of media, PR, and power means that hosts Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson take a good, well-rounded approach to current events and happenings that might be flying under the radar.

Delivered like a news brief, this media critique comes in half an hour doses where the facts of the given topic are handled with a thorough play-by-play. The hosts aren’t afraid to let their opinions be known, but rest assured that they will back everything up with varying sources and analysis. It’s impossible to avoid bias, but they do their best not to influence without cause and supporting evidence.

The podcast is a refreshing production in an ever-turbulent media climate. In a recent episode, the pair take a look at “military jargon,” and how damaging it could be. They reveal to us that a lot of times, the media merely parrots the terminology of those in power, such as the Pentagon, and how that can be extremely deceptive. A quite pertinent example would be reporting on Israel’s so called “precision” strikes and the New York Times having to add, “But Civilian Homes Were Hit, Too,” to their headlines or Bloomberg saying, “US Military Footprint in Australia Expands to Counter China,” without acknowledging how the terminology manipulates the narrative to evade actual cause and effect.

Today, unraveling propaganda is necessary: Listeners will benefit from rethinking what they have been told and what they think they know, with the podcast encouraging an environment more conducive to critical thinking and analysis vs what the media feeds us today.

You can listen in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Soundcloud.

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