Episodes
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This episode unpacks how the Culture War feeds on emotional shortcuts, why complexity and nuance is so hard to embrace, and what it means to navigate a society driven by flattened ideas and radicalized identities.
This is DoubleThink, conversations inspired by the themes of This Is Propaganda. If you haven’t yet, please listen to season one of the pod before engaging these conversations.
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Is art propaganda? Is propaganda art? A free flowing conversation about a spectrum that exists between the two and how modern consumer propaganda might benefit from leaning heavier into art.This is DoubleThink, conversations inspired by the themes of This Is Propaganda. If you haven’t yet, please listen to season one of the pod before engaging these conversations.
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Missing episodes?
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In this first episode of DoubleThink — conversations inspired by the themes of This Is Propaganda — Malcolm and Josh revisit the “vibe shift” of the US election when President Biden dropped and the world got coconut-pilled by Kamala Harris, along with predictions of what comes next.
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Social media creates an environment where propaganda becomes our default mode of expression because everyone is a brand.
BRINK is a creative agency dedicated to reshaping the advertising industry through expanding awareness of our impact on the collective conscience and adopting a more humanist approach. Learn more about our work at brink.com
Website: thisispropaganda.show
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: instagram.com/thisispropagandashow
YouTube: youtube.com/@thisispropagandashow
Slack: bit.ly/propaganda-slack
Reddit: reddit.com/r/thisispropaganda
Cohosts: Josh Belhumeur and Malcolm Critcher
Producers: Jaclyn Hubersberger and Reed Chandler
Story Editor: Matt Decker
Additional Audio Engineering: Paul Injeti
Original music: Josh Belhumeur
“Big Red Boot.” MSCHF. https://mschf.com/shop/big-red-boot/
“Black Panther (soundtrack).” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Panther_(soundtrack)
Bradley, Bill. 2022. “US Advertising Sales Projected to Pass $300 Billion for First Time Ever in 2022.” Adweek.
https://www.adweek.com/convergent-tv/us-advertising-sales-projected-to-pass-300-billion-for-first-time-ever-in-2022/
Ferere, Cassell. 2021. “Brand Blasphemy? What Nike’s Move To Sue MSCHF For Lil Nas X ‘Satan Shoes’ Tells Us About Pop Culture.” Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/cassellferere/2021/03/30/nikes-move-to-sue-mschf-for-its-lil-nas-x-satan-shoes-tells-us-about-pop-culture/?sh=58f905dc55fc
Huddleston Jr., Tom, and Zachary Green. 2022. “Liquid Death CEO Mike Cessario: We chose 'the dumbest possible name' for water.” CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/26/liquid-death-ceo-mike-cessario-we-chose-the-dumbest-possible-name-for-water.html
Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Television. 1997. “Colgate Comedy Hour, The.” Television Academy Interviews. https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/colgate-comedy-hour-the
Silbert, Jake. 2021. “MSCHF's At All Costs Clothing Line Plays With Prices.” Highsnobiety. https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/mschf-at-all-costs-clothing-line/
Silbert, Jake. 2021. “MSCHF's Guns 2 Swords took The Met Gala, Thanks to Grimes.” Highsnobiety. https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/mschf-guns-2-swords/
Suess, Jeff. 2017. “Our history: P&G put the 'soap' in 'soap opera.'” Cincinnati Enquirer. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2017/10/04/our-history-p-g-put-soap-soap-opera/732149001/
Whitten, Sarah. 2023. “Barbie is highest-grossing domestic film release in 2023.” CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/24/barbie-is-highest-grossing-domestic-film-release-in-2023.html
“Your Hit Parade.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Your_Hit_Parade
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Our discomfort with propaganda puts us on a quest for authenticity, but do we even know what that means anymore?
Wanna be a guest on our podcast? Hit up Josh and Malcolm at [email protected]
Website: thisispropaganda.show
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: instagram.com/thisispropagandashow
YouTube: youtube.com/@thisispropagandashow
Slack: bit.ly/propaganda-slack
Reddit: reddit.com/r/thisispropaganda
Cohosts: Josh Belhumeur and Malcolm Critcher
Producers: Jaclyn Hubersberger and Reed Chandler
Story Editor: Matt Decker
Additional Audio Engineering: Paul Injeti
Original music: Josh Belhumeur
Dember, Greg. 2018. “Eleven Metamodern Methods in the Arts.” Medium. https://medium.com/what-is-metamodern/after-postmodernism-eleven-metamodern-methods-in-the-arts-767f7b646cae
Dreith, Ben. 2023. “Siegel+Gale creates "authentic" branding for US Army.” Dezeen. https://www.dezeen.com/2023/04/06/us-army-branding-siegelgale/
Flight, Thomas. 2023. “Why Do Movies Feel So Different Now?” YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xEi8qg266g
McPherson, Steve. 2013. “Image Is Nothing: Grant Hill and His Amazing '90s Sprite Ads.” Grantland. https://grantland.com/the-triangle/image-is-nothing-grant-hill-and-his-amazing-90s-sprite-ads/
“OK Soda: The strange, nihilistic Nineties soda that only lasted seven months.” 2022. MeTV. https://www.metv.com/stories/ok-soda-the-strange-nihilistic-nineties-soda-that-only-lasted-seven-months
Resnick, Brian. 2017. “Trump supporters know Trump lies. They just don't care.” Vox. https://www.vox.com/2017/7/10/15928438/fact-checks-political-psychology
Salvanto, Anthony, Kabir Khanna, Jennifer De Pinto, and Fred Backus. 2023. “CBS News poll finds Trump's big lead grows, as GOP voters dismiss indictments.” CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-poll-indictments-2023-08-20/
Schulman, Michael. 2014. “Everything is Going to Be OK.” Believer Magazine. https://www.thebeliever.net/everything-is-going-to-be-ok/
Sorgatz, Rex. 2022. “25 Highest-Rated Shows of the '90s.” TV Insider. https://www.tvinsider.com/list/highest-rated-shows-of-the-90s/#show2
“Stress in America 2022: Concerned for the future, beset by inflation.” 2022. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2022/concerned-future-inflation
Wallace, David F. 2000. “David Foster Wallace on John McCain: ‘The Weasel, Twelve Monkeys, and the Shrub.’” Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/david-foster-wallace-on-john-mccain-the-weasel-twelve-monkeys-and-the-shrub-194272/
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Propaganda helps usher in a new form of tribalism and the modern culture war.
Connect, get merch, and go deeper down the rabbit hole at thisispropaganda.show.
Website: thisispropaganda.show
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: instagram.com/thisispropagandashow
YouTube: youtube.com/@thisispropagandashow
Slack: bit.ly/propaganda-slack
Reddit: reddit.com/r/thisispropaganda
Cohosts: Josh Belhumeur and Malcolm Critcher
Producers: Jaclyn Hubersberger and Reed Chandler
Story Editor: Matt Decker
Additional Audio Engineering: Paul Injeti
Original music: Josh Belhumeur
Bernays, Edward L. 2004. Propaganda. Ig Publishing.
“#BrandsGetReal: Brands Creating Change in the Conscious Consumer Era.” 2019. Sprout Social. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/data/brands-creating-change/
Brooks, Khristopher J. 2023. “Ron DeSantis threatens Anheuser-Busch over Bud Light marketing campaign with Dylan Mulvaney.” CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-ron-desantis-bud-light-dylan-mulvaney-anheuser-busch/
“Corporate Social Responsibility: A Brief History.” Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals. https://accp.org/resources/csr-resources/accp-insights-blog/corporate-social-responsibility-brief-history/
Disney Parks. 2022. “Write The Next Chapter Of Your Life With Disney | Storyliving by Disney.” YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsvA8ZkdL4Q
Dockterman, Eliana. 2016. “Budweiser Just Renamed Its Beer 'America.'” Time. https://time.com/4324384/budweiser-america-rename-beer/
“The Dove Self-Esteem Project.” Dove. https://www.dove.com/us/en/dove-self-esteem-project.html
Ellul, Jacques. 1965. Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes. Vintage Books. https://ratical.org/ratville/AoS/Propaganda-JE-Vintage1973.pdf
Etcoff, Nancy, Susie Orbach, Jennifer Scott, and Heidi D'Agostino. 2004. “THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT BEAUTY: A GLOBAL REPORT”
Findings of the Global Study on Women, Beauty, and Well-Being.” Club of Amsterdam. https://www.clubofamsterdam.com/contentarticles/52%20Beauty/dove_white_paper_final.pdf
Farhi, Paul. 1991. “THE ORIGINAL SPIN DOCTOR.” The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1991/11/23/the-original-spin-doctor/109f782a-5964-4d99-94f7-b4b666bc1f74/
“15 years of Axe Effect: the world's most sexist advertising campaign.” 2011. This is not ADVERTISING. https://thisisnotadvertising.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/15-years-of-axe-effect-the-worlds-most-sexist-advertising-campaign/
Giardina, Henry. 2023. “Bud Light Has Always Been Super Queer, Actually.” INTO more. https://www.intomore.com/culture/bud-light-has-always-been-super-queer-actually/
Klee, Miles. 2023. “‘Woke’ Companies Don’t Go Broke, and the Profits Prove It.” Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/woke-companies-broke-profits-1234710724/
Luttrell, Andy. 2016. “Cognitive Dissonance Theory: A Crash Course.” YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y17YaZRRvY
“Making a Difference in Racial Equity.” 2020. Walmart.https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2020/06/05/making-a-difference-in-racial-equity
Morel, Lindsey. 2009. “The Effectiveness of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty in Terms of Society and the Brand.” SURFACE at Syracuse University. https://surface.syr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1479&context=honors_capstone
Olson, Alexandra, Kate Brumback, and Matt Ott. 2020. “'A slap in the face:' Goya faces boycott over Trump praise.” AP News. https://apnews.com/article/02dc77e29f848bebbc4e1434df056864
Perjurer, Kevin. 2022. “Disney Channel's Theme: A History Mystery.” YouTube: Defunctland. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_rjBWmc1iQ
“21st Century Ad Campaigns: See all Top 15 Winners and eBook.” 2015. Ad Age. https://adage.com/article/news/advertising-age-s-21st-century-ads-top-15-ad-campaigns/296525
Wamsley, Laurel. 2023. “In a new video, Dylan Mulvaney says Bud Light never reached out to her amid backlash.” NPR. https://www.npr.org/2023/06/30/1185356673/trans-influencer-dylan-mulvaney-bud-light-backlash
Youn, Soo. 2018. “Nike sales booming after Colin Kaepernick ad, invalidating critics.” ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Business/nike-sales-booming-kaepernick-ad-invalidating-critics/story?id=59957137
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Previous propaganda techniques struggled to work with the boomer generation in a period of social unrest – until Madison Avenue had a breakthrough.
If you’ve enjoyed this podcast so far, be sure to leave us a review. If you hated it, share it with your enemies, they sound like smart people.
Website: thisispropaganda.show
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: instagram.com/thisispropagandashow
YouTube: youtube.com/@thisispropagandashow
Slack: bit.ly/propaganda-slack
Reddit: reddit.com/r/thisispropaganda
Cohosts: Josh Belhumeur and Malcolm Critcher
Producers: Jaclyn Hubersberger and Reed Chandler
Story Editor: Matt Decker
Additional Audio Engineering: Paul Injeti
Original music: Josh Belhumeur
Beens, Robert E. 2021. “We must stop the sale, manipulation, or theft of our data.” Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/90597583/data-privacy-startpage-founder
Bernays, Edward L. 2004. Propaganda. Ig Publishing.
Curtis, Adam. 2020. “The Century of the Self - BBC Documentary (2002).” YouTube: Gnosis Documentaries https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jymMjNc0igI
“First Measured Century: Interview: Daniel Yankelovich.” PBS. https://www.pbs.org/fmc/interviews/yankelovich.htm
Greenberg, Udi. “Freud and the Miseries of Politics.” The New Republic. https://newrepublic.com/article/165265/freud-miseries-politics-samuel-moyn-civilizations-discontents-review
Hampton, Fred, and Black Panther Party. “I Am A Revolutionary” speech.
“Human Potential Movement.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Potential_Movement
“Mechanisms of Social Movement Suppression – Defend Dissent.” Oregon State University. https://open.oregonstate.education/defenddissent/chapter/social-movement-suppression/
Munteanu, Cătălin C., and Andreea Pagalea. 2014. “Brands as a Mean of Consumer Self-expression and Desired Personal Lifestyle.” Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 109 (January): pgs. 103-107. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042813050593
“1980s: Commerce.” Encyclopedia.com. https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/culture-magazines/1980s-commerce
Rafferty, John P. “America's Boomer Generation.” Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/story/americas-boomer-generation
“7 Lessons From the Golden Age of Advertising That Still Apply.” MoreBusiness.com. https://www.morebusiness.com/lessons-from-the-golden-age-of-advertising/
“Statistical Abstract of the United States 1982-83.” U.S. Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/1978tvsets.pdf
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Following the Great War, Edward Bernays and his contemporaries used the power of propaganda to forever change marketing, and all of Western culture.
BRINK is a creative collective dedicated to helping activist brands change minds. Learn more about Josh, Malcolm, and the podcast at thisispropaganda.show.
Website: thisispropaganda.show
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: instagram.com/thisispropagandashow
YouTube: youtube.com/@thisispropagandashow
Slack: bit.ly/propaganda-slack
Reddit: reddit.com/r/thisispropaganda
Cohosts: Josh Belhumeur and Malcolm Critcher
Producers: Jaclyn Hubersberger and Reed Chandler
Story Editor: Matt Decker
Additional Audio Engineering: Paul Injeti
Original music: Josh Belhumeur
Ambar, Saladin. “Woodrow Wilson: Foreign Affairs.” Miller Center. https://millercenter.org/president/wilson/foreign-affairs
Barnes, Bart. “PUBLIC RELATIONS PIONEER EDWARD L. BERNAYS DIES.” Washington Post, March 10, 1995. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1995/03/10/public-relations-pioneer-edward-l-bernays-dies/985793a8-4bb2-4a98-b54f-7efdf892f5f6/
Beens, Robert E. 2021. “Companies are selling, manipulating, or stealing data. It’s time to do something about it.” Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/90597583/data-privacy-startpage-founder
Bernays, Edward L. 2004. Propaganda. Ig Publishing.
“The Brutal Realities of World War I.” 2020. Facing History & Ourselves. https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/brutal-realities-world-war-i
Buffalo News. “EDWARD L. BERNAYS, 103, DIES; WAS PIONEER IN PUBLIC RELATIONS.” March 10, 1995. https://buffalonews.com/news/edward-l-bernays-103-dies-was-pioneer-in-public-relations/article_53e7d43b-e323-5c8b-a682-32925d29d061.html
Curtis, Adam. 2020. “The Century of the Self - BBC Documentary (2002).” YouTube: Gnosis Documentaries. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jymMjNc0igI
Daly, Christopher B. 2017. “How Woodrow Wilson's propaganda machine changed American journalism.” The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/how-woodrow-wilsons-propaganda-machine-changed-american-journalism-76270
“EAA: Timeline.” Duke University Libraries. https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/eaa/timeline.html
“Edward Bernays – the Father of 'Spin'” 2017. Global Policy Institute. https://gpilondon.com/publications/edward-bernays-the-father-of-spin
Fedewa, Joe. 2023. “Here's Why You'll Never See Movie Villains Use iPhones.” How-To Geek. https://www.howtogeek.com/832279/heres-why-youll-never-see-movie-villains-use-iphones/
Greenberg, Udi. 2022. “Freud and the Miseries of Politics.” The New Republic. https://newrepublic.com/article/165265/freud-miseries-politics-samuel-moyn-civilizations-discontents-review
Gregersen, Erik. 2023. “Edward Bernays | Propaganda, Public Relations & Advertising.” Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-Bernays
Hatcher, Dan. 2015. “The Father of Spin: Edward L. Bernays and the Birth of Public Relations” by Larry Tye.” The Siding Spring. https://thesidingspring.com/2015/09/04/the-father-of-spin-edward-l-bernays-and-the-birth-of-public-relations-by-larry-tye/
Held, Lisa. 2009. “Psychoanalysis shapes consumer culture.” American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/12/consumer
“History of advertising.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_advertising.
The Independent. 1995. “OBITUARY: Edward Bernays” March 22, 1995. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-edward-bernays-1612237.html
Lubin, Gus. 2013. “Birth of Consumer Culture.” Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/birth-of-consumer-culture-2013-2
“Milestones: 1914–1920 - The League of Nations, 1920.” Office of the Historian. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1914-1920/league
The New York Times. “Edward Bernays, 'Father of Public Relations' And Leader in Opinion Making, Dies at 103.” March 10, 1995. https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/10/obituaries/edward-bernays-father-public-relations-leader-opinion-making-dies-103.html
NPR. 1995. “Edward Bernays.” March 11, 1995. https://www.npr.org/1995/03/11/1005340/edward-bernays
O'Toole, Patricia. 2018. How the US Government Used Propaganda to Sell Americans on World War I | HISTORY. https://www.history.com/news/world-war-1-propaganda-woodrow-wilson-fake-news
“Purity, Pornography, and Eugenics in the 1930s (Parts I & II).” 2022. Textbook History. https://textbookhistory.org/purity-pornography-and-eugenics-in-the-1930s/
Reeve, Michael. 2018. “Smoking and Cigarette Consumption | International Encyclopedia of the First World War (WW1).” 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War. https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/smoking_and_cigarette_consumption
Smith, Erika C. 2018. “Organization of War Economies (USA).” 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War. https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/organization_of_war_economies_usa
Statement by the President in Address to the Nation. 2001. George W. Bush White House.
Tye, Larry. “The Father of Spin.” The New York Times. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/t/tye-spin.html
“Women and smoking.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_and_smoking#cite_note-15
“World War I casualties.” U.S. Census Bureau.https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/reperes112018.pdf
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Creative Directors and cultural theorists Josh & Malcolm uncover the marketing profession’s delusions about the origins, techniques and cultural impact of the work they do.
Follow them through an immersive narrative investigating how propaganda became the foundation of all consumer marketing, its omnipresence and evolution across generations of media, and the consequences we are facing today.
You’ll never think of propaganda – or marketing – the same way again.
