The Project Censored Show

This week, a special roundtable discussion with your Project Censored cohosts and the Freedom of the Press Foundation. Director of Advocacy Seth Stern and Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy Lauren Harper come back on the show to dive into the viscous morass of rights violations, including those of ICE, and the complicit courts and judges that could do more to rein them in, SLAPP suits as a weapon to silence truth-tellers, the issue of over-classification that serves to paper over the publics right to know what our government is doing in our name, and much more. The post A Viscous Morass: SLAPP Suits, Secrecy, and Complicit Courts appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first half of the show, we welcome back the editor-in-chief of Jewish Currents Arielle Angel to talk about the need for new Jewish institutions that reflect not only antizionist Judaism but the myriad traditions of Judaism which zionism has always tried to negate and erase. Arielle also highlights the connections between zionism and American exceptionalism, ideologies that fuel and feed off one another, the power of a grassroots leftist Jewish memory culture, and the pitfalls of self-denial on the Jewish left. Next up, editor for Workday Magazine, Sarah Lazare comes on the show to discuss the purposefully obfuscated connection between labor organizing and immigrants rights. Sarah outlines ways in which workers are building solidarity in the face of violent raids and harassment, and how shallow and extractive corporate media practices perpetuate misinformation and violence. The post Antizionist Futures and Immigrant Rights in Labor Organizing appeared first on Project Censored.

This week we are rejoined by media scholar Nolan Higdon to discuss his latest work, “Unmasking Epstein: Power, Blackmail, and the Press’s Failures.” We also delve into the increasingly problematic world of Artificial Intelligence, the challenges and threats AI poses, and the importance of critical AI literacy. Next, Mickey speaks to Brown University first year student James Libresco about his latest Dispatch on Media and Politics for Project Censored titled, “A Direct Attack on Freedom of Speech: Trump Takes on Higher Ed.” Libresco addresses media freedom and the student press, as well as the massive pushback to Trump’s so-called “Compact for Excellence in Higher Education,” which actually poses major threats to academic freedom. The post Scrutinizing Power: Epstein Coverage, AI Threats, and Higher Ed Under Pressure appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first part of the program, Palestinian-American journalist, translator, photographer, and media analyst Laura Albast joins the show to discuss journalism as memory work, and the narrative as a battlefield upon which ever more advanced technology takes aim at Palestinian voices and lived experiences. Laura frames journalism as a commitment - to people and their stories, and talks about how the chasing of headlines and by-lines in the 24-hour news cycle leads to extractive journalism, and how and why movement media can be the antidote. Next up, Economics PHD students Shakked Noy and Aakaash Rao discuss their recent report: The Business of the Culture War which links the contemporary “culture wars” to changes in media technologies as well as economic incentives for cable news. Shakked and Aakaash discuss how their research shows that the economic drive for viewership has incentivized corporate media to turn away from actual political news and towards sensational infotainment, and how the commodification of legitimate rage leaves us dumber and more divided than ever before. The post Memory Work & Culture Wars: From Palestine to Corporate Media appeared first on Project Censored.

We start this week off with news that didn’t make the news from Sudan. Researcher and analyst Mosaab Baba joins us to contextualize the recent atrocities in El-Fasher, Sudan, highlighting decades-long power struggles not only inside the country but internationally as well. Mosaab explains the goals of these new imperialists and their genocidal beneficiaries, the importance of Sudan’s rich mineral and agricultural assets, and how the guns and money always lead to the familiar players of the UAE, Egypt, the US, and Israel. Next up, John Collins of Weave News comes back on the program to discuss news abuse, using a specific example in upstate New York to highlight how even regional media that did previously stand up to power falls in line behind the fallacy conflating antizioinism with antisemitism. John also discusses the Palestinization of the globe, and prescriptions for both media and media consumers on how to stay critically media literate in these critical times. The post News that Didn’t Make the News: Atrocities in Sudan and Regional New Abuse appeared first on Project Censored.