Perspectives and Propaganda

Fake news, yellow journalism, and urban legends are catching even careful readers and researchers with false stories. Trolls have a field day on the internet, and legitimate leaders have a hard time breaking through with their ideas. Ryan Holiday, author of Trust Me I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator, says media manipulators don’t care if they’re caught. In fact, that’s what they want. They trade in the currency of attention — good, bad, or indifferent. What’s the effect of trolling (fake news) on the general population about our ability to trust words? How do we combat this?

To talk about that, Holland and Amy sit down with Chris Worthy and Thomas Riddle. Chris is a wife, mom of adult children, and a lawyer-turned-writer. She has spent 20 years writing for local and regional publications and is currently crafting a book about cultivating experiences of awe for a better life. Thomas is a long time social studies educator who now serves as the assistant director of the Roper Mountain Science Center, a multi-functional facility with a living history farm, planetarium and rotating science programs.

Listen to Perspectives an Propagada, Part One

Listen to Perspectives and Propaganda, Part Two

Meet Your Hosts

Holland Webb is a full-time freelance writer and editor. He spends his days writing about higher education, B2B technology, and nonprofit organizations. His clients have let him write for U.S. News & World Report, The Learning House, The Red Lantern, and Sweet Fish Media. Holland’s favorite writers are Malcolm Gladwell, Olive Ann Burns, and Flannery O’Connor. In his spare time … are you kidding, what spare time? You can reach him through www.theafterwordpodcast.com or on Twitter at @WebbHollandLyle.

Amy Bowlin is a veteran teacher. She works with 6-year-olds in literacy intervention and shares with college seniors the art of teaching literacy. Balancing both worlds involves commuting which allows her to listen to her favorite podcasts, “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me,” “This American Life” and “Revisionist History.” When she is not traveling to Greece to work with refugees, she likes to write, hike, kayak and spend time with family and friends. You can reach her through www.theafterwordpodcast.com or on Twitter at @albowlin1.