Attack Ads! The Podcast

Attack Ads! questions the dominance of media supported mainly by the corrupting influence of commercial advertising sponsorship, and aims to raise both awareness and outrage at the limitations such a system produces.

Here Today… 01/25/2025

Here Today… When we chronicle the efforts businesses have made to influence how the public feels about the government, into Propaganda’s Hall of Fame must go the National Association of Manufacturers. I'll share some of their efforts in this Episode 257: Here Today… Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2025/01/episode-257-here-today.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/35006435

It's In The Cards 12/25/2024

It's In The Cards When one ponders stuff, it's best if one knows the actual facts of whatever it is one ponders, as opposed to made-up crap stuffed into one's head by others. Otherwise you might as well use a tarot deck and see the title of Episode 256: It's In The Cards. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/12/episode-256-its-in-cards.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/34614855

Reasoning & Irrationality 12/11/2024

Reasoning & Irrationality We humans are funny critters, with loves and hatreds and outright loathings that too often bear no real resemblance to any cogent rationality. Yet it's all we've got. I explore this in Episode 255: Reasoning & Irrationality. Find the Show Notes at: http://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/12/episode-255-reasoning-irrationality.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/34388575

It Can't Happen Here 11/24/2024

It Can't Happen Here Not since the late 1800s has America elected a president twice out of order. Should we worry? Or should we worry about the moneyed forces behind our former president? I explore context everyone should know in this Episode 254: It Can't Happen Here. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/11/episode-254-it-cant-happen-here.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/34126206

SaaSsy Pirates Say ARR 10/31/2024

SaaSsy Pirates Say ARR While lots of opinion page ink has been spilled over ASOLs making our lives unpredictable, no one, it seems, has taken the time to think of a good reason why. I explore one both possible and likely reason in this Episode 253: SaaSsy Pirates Say ARR. Find the Show Notes page at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/10/episode-253-saassy-pirates-say-arr.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/33698267

Stupid ASOLs 10/16/2024

Stupid ASOLs When something is new, its very introduction can cause friction, even havoc. People always wonder how good or bad things could get. In this Episode 252, I offer a bit disjointed ranting on the business end of Large Language Models, or Stupid ASOLs. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/10/episode-252-stupid-asols.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/33477532

Let There Be Some Light 10/02/2024

Let There Be Some Light In looking into sources of private propaganda, I am constantly struck on how far back it goes. Today I go back a hundred years to a time when the private electrical power industry was insisting on the title to this Episode 251: Let There Be Some Light. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/10/episode-251-let-there-be-some-light.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/33293457

TANA Addiction Through Engagement 09/18/2024

TANA Addiction Through Engagement In business, simply maintaining the same level of profitability every year is regarded as failing; one must grow to thrive. But what if the product design is clearly dangerous to use? I explore this reality in Episode 250: Addiction Through Engagement. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/09/episode-250-addiction-through-engagement.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/33102127

Advertising Makes You Fat 09/03/2024

Advertising Makes You Fat We see slim and slender people all the time, every day… even when none walk among us. This screws with our brains in ways most of us never consider for a second. The bottom line for this phenomenon is the title of Episode 249: Advertising Makes You Fat. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/09/episode-249-advertising-makes-you-fat.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/32887497

More Reasons For Real Worry 08/21/2024

More Reasons For Real Worry All too often today the forces driving the changes that increase suffering are hidden, unavailable for us to adequately understand, let alone change. Matt Stoller delivers yet another industry machination in this Episode 248: More Reasons For Real Worry. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/08/episode-248-more-reasons-for-real-worry.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/32667027

Swinging the Hammer of Demonetization 07/24/2024

Swinging the Hammer of Demonetization How communities deal with bad behavior should be an ongoing debate. Private companies, though, today use “community standards” to steal both platforms and the cash they deliver. Hence, Episode 247: Swinging the Hammer of Demonetization. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/07/episode-247-swinging-hammer-of.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/32278437

Why The Rent Is Too Damned High 07/09/2024

Why The Rent Is Too Damned High Most people today feel they have can choose from whichever experts best confirm their own deeply-seated beliefs. Sadly, this is wrong, and to understand how wrong, I try to answer the question of Episode 246: Why The Rent Is Too Damned High. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/07/episode-246-why-rent-is-too-damned-high.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/32066747

Don't Trust Mainstream Media. 06/25/2024

Don't Trust Mainstream Media. Too many grapple today with common but un- or poorly-defined terms, especially "mainstream." What is mainstream? When it comes to mainstream news, I've got a simple suggestion, which I give you in this Episode 245: Don't Trust Mainstream Media. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/06/episode-245-dont-trust-mainstream-media.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/31886972

Adam Smith's Invisible Handjob 06/08/2024

Adam Smith's Invisible Handjob All political philosophy is propaganda, an attempt to describe both the way things are and proscribe the way things should be. Let me give you an example written over a quarter of a millennia ago in this Episode 244: Adam Smith's Invisible Handjob. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/06/pisode-244-adam-smiths-invisible-handjob.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/31658512

Dear George 05/08/2024

Dear George It's inevitable. One day, you’ll find a writer who doesn't agree with a topic you wholeheartedly embrace enough to snidely attack it and distort the facts. There goes your remaining trust. I cover this in an open letter called Episode 243: Dear George. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/05/episode-243-dear-george.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/31189267

WAM The Art and Craft of Resublimation. 04/23/2024

WAM The Art and Craft of Resublimation. Advertisers have been stealing good ideas for years and using them to crassly push their products. It's only fair, then, that we mock those ads, perhaps enough to destroy their sales effectiveness. Hence, Episode 242: The Art and Craft of Resublimation. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/04/episode-242-art-and-craft-of.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/30958143

TANA, ATU Edition 04/11/2024

TANA, ATU Edition In my last episode, I questioned use of the word "accidents," which take focus away from the hazards that cause them. Why? Because hazards can be fixed. I'll give you some real-world examples of good places to start in this Episode 241: TANA, ATU Edition. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/04/episode-241-tana-atu-edition.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/30773848

Ten Freakin' Years! 04/01/2024

Ten Freakin' Years! This is merely a brief calendrical announcement and celebration. Enjoy. Find the Show Notes (for what they're worth) at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/03/ten-freakin-years.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/30619178

There Are No Accidents 03/26/2024

There Are No Accidents For too long, the question of what is “safe”—and who should take the blame when it isn't—has been muddled in the name of profits. Maybe we should avoid the word “accident” itself. I'll explore that question in this Episode 240: There Are No Accidents. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/03/episode-240-there-are-no-accidents.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/30557073

What I Do With The Mad That I Feel 03/14/2024

What I Do With The Mad That I Feel My show is reactive: things happen, and I react to them. This happened recently when the number and tone of commercials in my podcast feed spiked. I cover this and speculation on why it happened in this Episode 239: What I Do With The Mad That I Feel. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/03/episode-239-what-i-do-with-mad-that-i.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/30379228

The Third Estate Rising 02/20/2024

The Third Estate Rising Politics in America comes down to the DEMs vs. the GOPs, right? One represents wealth, and the other claims the hearts of regular people, right? Well, it’s more complicated. I'll explore this not so much in this Episode 238: The Third Estate Rising. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/02/episode-238-third-estate-rising.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/30040428

Spare Me The EULAgee! 01/22/2024

Spare Me The EULAgee! We all suspect our devices are increasingly using their microphones and cameras to snoop on us. Over the years, I’ve explored that suspicion. I’ll go over some of that history, and finish with some news, in this Episode 237: Spare Me The EULAgee! Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/01/episode-237-spare-me-eulagee.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/29601673

Madison's Farcical Tragedy 01/10/2024

Madison's Farcical Tragedy I introduce a new word in this episode more to point out that it does not represent a new concept, but rather a very old one. The problem of controlling this recent outbreak due to an old story is the topic of this Episode 236: Madison's Farcical Tragedy. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2024/01/episode-236-madisons-farcical-tragedy.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/29434863

A Winkling In The Making 12/25/2023

A Winkling In The Making Our homes are the greatest asset most Americans have. This should therefore scare the living shit out of us: right now more renting a place to live than getting a chance to own at all. What can be done? On to Episode 235: A Winkling In The Making. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2023/12/episode-235-winkling-in-making.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/29226353

Enshittification 12/12/2023

Enshittification There's a new word out there, doing its part to describe an old type of theft. Rentiers are once again attempting to rake in money, today using technology to make that job easier. I describe this word and some of the acts associated with it in this Episode 234: Enshittification. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2023/12/episode-234-enshittification.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/29046443

Critical Massholes 11/28/2023

Critical Massholes Right now, there are a few under-reported legal attempts being made to rein in the tech giants that today, well, monopolistically reign. Just like I did in my last, I'll cover yet another of these attempts in this Episode 233: Critical Massholes. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2023/11/episode-233-critical-massholes.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/28833853

The Advertising Scorpion 11/07/2023

The Advertising Scorpion Lawsuits are happening! And so many concern advertising and the future of some really big companies! It's time to get not just excited, but really excited, starting with this Episode 232: The Advertising Scorpion. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2023/11/episode-232-advertising-scorpion.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/28548275

The Status Goldfish 10/24/2023

The Status Goldfish In this final sharing of Will Storr's book, The Status Game, I give a glimpse into the tyranny of the cousins, people amongst us who seek to correct behavior in ways that should sound familiar. Watch what you say in this Episode 231: The Status Goldfish. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2023/10/episode-231-ssg-status-goldfish.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/28414469

Erasing Typographic Man 10/04/2023

Erasing Typographic Man Have you ever read a very old book and wondered how the author could keep the argument flowing through the miles of print? I know I have. Today I explore the degradation of our modern attention span with this Episode 230: Erasing Typographic Man. Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2023/10/episode-230-erasing-typographic-man.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/28226852

SSG Sing a Song of Derision! 09/14/2023

SSG Sing a Song of Derision! Status is important to all of us. To maintain relative status for everyone, we need to keep those around us in check. Sometimes we must bring out the biggest means of checking behavior and, like the title of this Episode 229, Sing a Song of Derision! Find the Show Notes at: https://attackadspodcast.blogspot.com/2023/09/episode-229-sing-song-of-derision.html /episode/index/show/attackads/id/28035654

Attack Ads! The Podcast

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