About this podcast
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 swayed by fake news and misinformation. Get Unspun, because you deserve the truth.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 125 episodes
- Polls have had a bad record the past few cycles - are the still worthwhile? UnSpun Rewind · 36 minIn 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…
- How to keep yourself safe from misinformation · 24 minIn this comprehensive review episode, we tackle the growing crisis of misinformation in our fractured media landscape. As major elections unfold globally, false information…
- How politicians get away with lying: Their supporters like it · 23 minWe 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…
- Attention, Intimidation, and the Objectivity Trap: UnSpun Journal Club · 27 minWhat 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…
- Why the news feels like it's overwhelming: How finite attention is manipulated to manipulate you · 21 minEveryone 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…
- The new censorship and your right to know: UnSpun Journal Club · 23 minWhat 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…
- "So God Made Trump": Christian Nationalism and Media · 29 minChristian 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…
- Who Controls Your News Feed? Algorithms, Inequality, and the News You See (UnSpun Journal Club) · 20 minYou 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…
- Can You Trust Influencers? The Hidden Power of Parasocial Relationships · 24 minWhy 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…
- Science for the rest of us: Why experts need a megaphone (UnSpun Rewind) · 32 minIt's harder to get quality information on science that affects your health and life. Dr. Sturg interviews science communicator and neuroscientist Dr. Ben Rein on how researchers…
- Why quality news matters: Journalism and Democracy (UnSpun Rewind) · 22 minHow can we be drowning in information and at the same time, badly informed? In this week's UnSpun, DrSturg breaks down the relationship of journalism and democracy. Journalism…
- What happens when the rich control the news? UnSpun Rewind: Press in an Oligarchy · 23 minWho really controls the news? And what happens when it's the wealthy? In this UnSpun, rewind, Dr. Sturg explores the role of the press in an oligarchy, which is where a small…
- Why is the government targeting universities and the media? UnSpun Rewind on Authoritarians and the News · 25 minOn this week's UnSpun, DrSturg explores why authoritarian governments target the press and educational institutions, and how these tactics are appearing in democracies worldwide…
- Why does everything feel broken? How newsmakers use sabotage methods to undermine your confidence in your government · 27 minThere was a secret playbook for destroying governments and newsmakers use some of the same tactics on YOU right now. What if the chaos in your government isn't an accident? In…
- Less news, more noise: Why weaker newscasts are bad for democracy · 18 minAmerica has more news shows than ever, but somehow, we have less information. In this episode of UnSpun Journal Club, DrSturg looks as new research analyzing more than fifty…
- The hidden cost of paywalls: How restricting news hurts democracy · 27 minQuality journalism costs money while misinformation is usualy free? But most quality news is behind a paywall and few people want to pay. In this episode of UnSpun, DrSturg…
- Should We Trust AI Fact Checkers? | UnSpun Journal Club · 17 minCan artificial intelligence help stop misinformation—or could it quietly make the problem worse? In this episode of UnSpun Journal Club, check out new research on whether…
- From Waco to Tulsi Gabbard: How the news media struggle to cover cults · 26 minWhat happens when secretive religious movements intersect with politics? In this episode of Unseen, Dr. Sturg begins with the present: recent reporting on Tulsi Gabbard and the…
- The reflecting pool is blue: The Big Lie (UnSpun Rewind) · 44 minIf you repeat a lie enough, people may start to believe it. This idea of the big lie has been around for a while, but the last 8 years it has been so bad that fact checkers had…
- Why do conservatives think the media hates them? UnSpun Journal Club · 14 minWhy is your grandma convinced that the news thinks she's mean or ignorant? In this week's episode of the UnSpun journal club, DrSturg looks at a study on folk theories of media…
