Ep. 23: Which Media? Whose Bias?
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Politicians and other powerful figures routinely lambaste “the media” for treating them in ways they feel are unfair or for perceived biases. Yet there is no such thing as “the media.” In its broadest terms, almost everything and everyone can be described as part of the media. Even the more restricted classification of “news organizations” span a broad spectrum, often competing against one another. Yet there are commonalities among journalists and media outlets that generate certain kinds of biases – just not the ones the politicians accuse them of. Today we ask who “the...
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Ep. 23 Show Notes
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Front cover of the New Orleans Bee newspaper from April 7th 1917, reporting the U.S. entry into the First World War. Scanned from the Jefferson Parish Library archives. Public domain image. In our next episode, out Tuesday, we ask ourselves what exactly people are referring to when they talk about “the media” and “bias.” Reading List: Intel chiefs presented Trump with claims of Russian efforts to compromise him, by Evan Perez, Jim Sciutto, Jake Tapper and Carl Bernstein - These Reports Allege Trump Has Deep Ties To Russia, by Ken Bensinger, Miriam Elder and Mark...
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Ep. 22: War. What Is It Good For? Pt. 3
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At the same time as the Western world was developing an ethics to describe the difference between a “good” war and a “bad” war, Asian cultures were coming up with their own philosophies on the subject. Today, we complete our exploration of morality and war by examining some of the strains of thought that evolved in China: how they compared with one another and how they differ from European traditions.
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Ep. 22 Show Notes
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Original photo by . Public domain image. In our next episode, out Tuesday, we finish our exploration of the ethics of war with a look at some of the perspectives that took root in Asian philosophy. Reading List: 1 Samuel 15:1-9 (New International Version) – Eddie Izzard: Dressed to Kill – History of China - Silk Road, by Joshua J. Mark – Why Chinese Study the Warring States Period, by J.M. Norton – Mohism – Mohism, Just War, Sovereignty, and Identity, by Chris Fraser – Chinese Just War Ethics: Origin, Development, and Dissent, edited by Ping-Cheung Lo and...
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Ep. 21: War. What Is It Good For? Pt. 2
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At the same time as the Roman Empire was falling, a bishop in the Catholic church was devising an argument that could morally justify Christians going to war. St. Augustine’s “just war” theory, further developed by St. Thomas Aquinas, has been used for centuries to make the case for “civilized” conflict. It continues to influence modern tactics and international agreements. Today on Frameshift we continue our quest to discover whether war can be good by exploring some of the strengths and weaknesses of just war theory.
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Ep. 21 Show Notes
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"Taking of Jerusalem by the Crusaders, 15th July 1099." Original 1847 oil on canvas by Émile Signol. . In our next episode, out Tuesday, we explore the development of Just War Theory in European philosophy. Reading List: The City of God, by Augustine of Hippo – The City of Man, by Glenn Sunshine – Augustine: Just War – Urban II (1088-1099): Speech at Council of Clermont, 1095, Five versions of the Speech – The Siege and Capture of Jerusalem: Collected Accounts – The Summa Theologica: Part II, Question 40, by Thomas Aquinas – The Principle of Double Effect (and...
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Ep. 20: War. What Is It Good For? Pt. 1
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When the Iraq War began in 2003, a majority of Americans favored the invasion. Within just a few years, that perception had reversed itself. U.S. President Barack Obama won the 2008 election in part on a platform that advocated for pulling out of Iraq. At the same time, another, less controversial, war was underway in Afghanistan. Obama called that war a “good” war. So what made the Iraq War “bad,” and why didn’t most Americans think that from the start? Today on Frameshift we try to untangle the reasons people have used for going to war, in Iraq and beyond.
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Ep. 20 Show Notes
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Original photo by the . Some . In our next episode, out Tuesday, we think about the 2003 Iraq invasion and ask what makes a war “good” or “bad.” Reading List: Obama's Speech on Iraq, March 2008 – Obama's Tough Sell on Afghanistan, by Jessica Rettig – Nationalism as a Cause of World War I – Timeline: Greco-Persian Wars – H.J.Res. 114 (107th): Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 – Chuck Schumer explaining his vote on the Iraq war resolution – Iraq - Did America invade Iraq for oil? by Josh Velson - America, Oil, and...
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Ep. 19: This is What Democracy Sounds Like
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The election of businessman Donald J. Trump to the American presidency has frightened and angered many people who worry that his comments about women, immigrants and others could translate into dangerous policies. Some of those people have taken to the streets in the last two weeks, holding rallies around the nation. Today on Frameshift, we spend some time at a protest in New Haven, Conn., and talk to the demonstrators about their worries – and their plans going forward.
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Ep. 19 Show Notes
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Photo by Brandon T. Bisceglia. On the next episode of Frameshift, out Tuesday, we speak with protesters about why they’re demonstrating against the presidential election victory of businessman and reality TV star Donald J. Trump. Reading List: Yes, Donald Trump did call climate change a Chinese hoax, by Louis Jacobson - Trump recorded having extremely lewd conversation about women in 2005, by David A. Fahrenthold – An Exhaustive List of the Allegations Women Have Made Against Donald Trump, by The Cut – Here’s What Mike Pence Said on LGBT Issues Over the Years, by Will...
info_outlineWhere do things like morality and value come from? We tend to think of the meanings we imbue the world with as something akin to physical laws, but all the evidence suggests that we made them up as we went along.
At the grand scale, nothing we do makes much of a difference outside our myopic interests. Even within human history, little that we do will last.
Today on Frameshift we ask why bother, and we don’t come up with any good answers.