Scene on Radio

@sceneonradio.bsky.social

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Two-time Peabody-nominated podcast hosted by John Biewen
at the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University.

Season 7: "Capitalism,” on the history of our current economic system and how we might do better.

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This is what happens when your legal and political infrastructures fail. Don't think it can't happen here.

Breaking News: A Russian court sentenced Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, to 16 years in a high-security penal colony, state media reported. nyti.ms/3ShiYTU

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When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in smiles and carrying mass-produced signs

I've seen a lot of one-offs of people holding these signs, but what is truly chilling is a sea of these being held up by delegates.

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Maybe THIS will be the dumbest thing I read today: Florida’s education commissioner announced Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice as a book of the month to “highlight the importance of American pride.” Can’t make this stuff up. H/t @ericcolumbus.bsky.social

Was American independence about democracy -- or capitalism? How did the U.S. soon surpass its parent to lead the world capitalist order? Episode 5 in our series on Capitalism has dropped. Listen wherever you listen, or here 👇 sceneonradio.org/s7-e5-a-new-...

S7 E5: A New Thing in Human Historysceneonradio.org An age of invention and mass production, propelled by a new mechanism – the corporate research lab – leads to a surge in material wealth like the world has never seen. How does a new nation, the

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The legal max a person can donate to a candidate is $3300. But, when billionaires like Elon Musk exploit our broken campaign finance laws to donate $45 million a month to a candidate, we’re no longer a democracy and it’s no longer an election — it’s an oligarchy and an auction.

Episode 4 has dropped: How shifts in the Western mind made capitalism *thinkable.* And, meet the real Adam Smith, not the one market fundamentalists have sold us. sceneonradio.org/s7-e4-invisi...

S7 E4: Invisible Hand Guy? - Scene on Radiosceneonradio.org Economic change happens in a cultural context. We trace the tectonic shifts in the Western mind that made capitalism thinkable – in part through a look at two Enlightenment thinkers: Baruch Spinoza an...

The #Colombo power pose -- apropos our latest (S7E3) on the dawn of capitalism. Barcelona, 2023

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In this chat, we suggest a distinction between covering something (NYT does great reporting on Trump's autocratic plans), and *crusading.* The latter is wholly different: It uses saturation coverage to alert readers that they should be alarmed. That's just not happening w/r/t Trump's unfitness.

In this pod, we ask you to keep several things in your heads at once: 1) NYT does essential work on Trump threat 2) Biden probably shouldn't run; doubts about his ability to carry this through are too great 3) It's STILL true that NYT is asymmetric on Biden/Trump unfitness

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In their confirmation hearings, the Republican majority swore under oath that the President was not above the law. This week, they insisted that the President is not just above the law, but is entitled to absolute immunity for his actions. Happy 4th! donmoynihan.substack.com/p/strongman-...

New, from me: the last week of decisions by the Roberts court present us with a dispiriting vision of American governance: strongman, weak state. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/strongman-...

Strongman, Weak Statedonmoynihan.substack.com The dispiriting vision of American governance offered by the Roberts Court

Episode 3 of our series on capitalism: "Ships, Swords, and Fences," in your feed. Post-feudalism, capitalism meant liberation and opportunity for ordinary people -- no?? Um, no, says @jasonhickel.bsky.social And, @goingmedieval.bsky.social and Silvia Federici on the enclosure movement.

To fully grasp capitalism, it helps to understand the medieval, feudalistic world it replaced. We take you there in Ep 2, with big help from the brilliant @goingmedieval.bsky.social. Wherever you get your podcasts, or here 👇 sceneonradio.org/s7-e2-bc-bef...

S7 E2: BC: Before Capitalism - Scene on Radiosceneonradio.org To fully grasp capitalism, it helps to understand the system it replaced – and the most meaningful differences between feudalism and capitalism. We visit the British Isles of the Middle Ages. By Joh...

And it's happening. Listen now: Scene on Radio: Capitalism. Our new season, Episodes 1 AND 2. Wherever you get 'em, or here: sceneonradio.org/capitalism/

Capitalism - Scene on Radiosceneonradio.org Capitalism moves mountains, sometimes literally. It’s unchallenged as the world’s dominant economic system. And yet, in its current form, capitalism is on trial as it hasn’t been for at least half a c...

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Donald Trump on George Washington: “You know, they thought he had slaves. Actually I think he probably didn’t.’” www.cnn.com/2024/06/24/p...

Fact check: Trump says George Washington ‘probably didn’t’ own slaves. Washington did | CNN Politicswww.cnn.com Former President Donald Trump delivered another litany of false claims during two speeches on Saturday. And he expressed an opinion on American history that is clearly contradicted by the facts.

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(Ann Telnaes/The Washington Post)

When you kinda, almost, feel like you did the other projects so you could do this one.

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One of the many reasons this is funny / terrifying is that Bitcoin people have spent years now honing their greenwashing / pro-climate pitch, and Trump is now just storming in and yelling BITCOIN MEANS MORE COAL

It's coming. Our first full season since 2021: CAPITALISM. Trailer dropped! Wherever you listen, or here 👇 sceneonradio.org/season-7-tra...

Season 7 Trailer: Capitalism - Scene on Radiosceneonradio.org Welcome to Season 7: Capitalism. The world’s dominant economic system is on trial as it hasn’t been for at least half a century. This season tells the story of capitalism — how people with power...

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The trailer for Season 7 of Scene on Radio recently dropped. It's on capitalism—y'all ready to ROCK?!✊ John Biewen @sceneonradio.bsky.social—WE SALUTE YOU🤘

Scene on Radio: Capitalism — Whimsywww.wearewhimsy.com

So our next season launches in about a month. If you're curious what it's about? You could listen to the bonus ep we dropped this morning. But don't tell anybody. (OK actually tell anybody)

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Man who sells electric cars accuses environmentalists of being secret communists. Business genious.

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Reply to

Kevin Gannon

The pre-civil war abolitionists wanted the immediate abolitionism of slavery, and never ceased to agitate for it, and after the 13th amendment, argued (correctly) that they'd actually drawn the rest of the public to abolition, even if it took 30 years. I think about that a lot

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This a wildly disproportionate response to a peaceful protest at UT-Austin www.statesman.com/story/news/l...

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It was never not going to get here, but jarring nonetheless

he’s finally hit the ‘skull calipers’ level, congrats everyone

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The idea that the system can’t hold Trump accountable because he has the support of “the people” is mostly backwards. Elite signaling matters greatly: “The people” take their cues from the way the system keeps treating Trump as special, as someone who deserves impunity, as an inevitable superpower

The only people who've ever held Trump meaningfully accountable over the last nine years have been ordinary Americans and they've spent that entire time being lectured to and berated by elites who've failed to do anything.

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Reminder that we just shrugged for four years while these people openly monetized the presidency in front of us, and we continue to do it now that they are still monetizing it ex post, because we’re not actually a serious country

“Corruption” is an overused and vague term but this sentence just might capture it. www.nytimes.com/2024/03/17/u...

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The funny thing about the “defeat him at the ballot box, not the court” cliché is how many people with expensive law degrees evidently think it’s fine for the court to legislate on social policy but not penalize officials who do crimes.

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North Carolina's newly minted GOP nominee for governor has: Repeatedly made wildly bigoted comments about women, LGBTQ people, & Muslims. Downplayed the Holocaust. Disparaged MLK as a communist. Flirted with many conspiracy theories such as the Moon landing being faked & 9/11 being an inside job

Mark Robinson wins the Republican primary in North Carolina governor's racewww.nbcnews.com The Democratic primary is still too early to call in the race to replace Gov. Roy Cooper, NBC News projects.

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terrifying graph

“We’re used to having a fairly good handle on things. But the impression at the moment is that things have gone further and faster than we expected. That’s an uncomfortable place as a scientist to be.” www.nytimes.com/2024/02/27/c...

Scientists Are Freaking Out About Ocean Temperatureswww.nytimes.com “It’s like an omen of the future.”

Hey NYC and Jersey! Scene on Radio on your radio. "Echoes of a Coup," a one-hour special drawn from our latest series on the Wilmington massacre and coup of 1898, on WNYC tonight at 8 pm. Tune in?