We Are Being Programmed (Part 7): The World We Live In

We are all affected by it...call it advertising, propaganda, programming, social engineering, psychological operations, or whatever other term could be applied.  The act of a force outside of your mind trying to convince you to do something.  In this installment we take a look at the world of propaganda we are currently stuck with.  At this stage, we have to look past political ideologies to the one true underlying factor that guides the programming...money.  Our coverage begins with the good intentions found within the Church Committee.  But, it turned out to just be a bunch of words on pages.  Corporations continued their financial hijacking of democracy.  Now, the CIA has their own Media Liaison Office, the Government of Mexico bought a scene in 007's newest adventure - Spectre, a retired senator is Hollywood's top lobbyist, NPR and CNN are employing active duty Army officers and the First Lady presents Best Picture at the Academy Awards.  Not since late 1930's Germany have the government and the media been so well separated. [Click to Listen]

Propaganda (1928): Part 4

In this fourth episode of the Mic Check Radio Book Club series we continue with the audio book of Propaganda by Edward L Burnays, published in 1928.  Noam Chomsky has called this book "the main manual of the public relations industry".  It may be 87 years old, but the ideas and concepts are still used (and successful) today.  This book explores the psychology of manipulating the masses in order to influence consumerism, politics, social change and gender dynamics.  On this episode we will hear Chapter 6: Propaganda and Political Leadership & Chapter 7: Women's Activities and Propaganda. [Click to Listen]

We Are Being Programmed (Part 5): CIA Takes Over

We are all affected by it...call it advertising, propaganda, programming, social engineering, psychological operations, or whatever other term could be applied.  The act of a force outside of your mind trying to convince you to do something.  In this installment we take a look at what happened to the enormous propaganda machine after WWII was over.  Once the Office of War Information was disbanded in 1945, the Central Intelligence Agency took over the domestic operations and "assumed many of the information gathering, analyzing and disseminating responsibilities".  So, what would the CIA use its new found domestic propaganda powers for?  In the early 1950's, Frank Wisner (head of the Directorate of Plans for CIA), Allan W. Dulles (Director of Central Intelligence) and Cord Meyer (Office of Policy Coordination) started Operation Mockingbird.  By 1953, Operation Mockingbird had "major influence over 25 newspapers and wire agencies".  We also touch on the House Un-American Activities Committee and the CIA's Project MK Ultra program.  [Click to Listen]

Propaganda (1928): Part 3

In this third episode of the Mic Check Radio Book Club series we continue with the audio book of Propaganda by Edward L Burnays, published in 1928.  Noam Chomsky has called this book "the main manual of the public relations industry".  It may be 87 years old, but the ideas and concepts are still used (and successful) today.  This book explores the psychology of manipulating the masses in order to influence consumerism, politics, social change and gender dynamics.  On this episode we will hear Chapter 5:Business and the Public. [Click to Listen]

We Are Being Programmed (Part 4): The Golden Age of Propaganda

We are all affected by it...call it advertising, propaganda, programming, social engineering, psychological operations, or whatever other term could be applied.  The act of a force outside of your mind trying to convince you to do something. In the forth episode of this series we take a look at the Golden Age of Propaganda, World War II.  We do this by analyzing several audio clips from films played in motion picture theaters during the 1940's.  The clips include: Education for Death (made by Walt Disney), The Batman - The Electrical Brain (an 8-part serial), Japanese Relocation (Office of War Information), Our Enemy - The Japanese (United States Navy Training Film), Remember Pearl Harbor - Buy War Bonds (again, the US Government), Wartime Nutrition (Office of War Information) and It's Your War Too (made by the War Activities Committee of the Motion Picture Industry and the US War Dept.).  [Click to Listen]

Propaganda (1928): Part 2

In this second episode of the Mic Check Radio Book Club series we continue with the audio book of Propaganda by Edward L Burnays, published in 1928.  Noam Chomsky has called this book "the main manual of the public relations industry".  It may be 87 years old, but the ideas and concepts are still used (and successful) today.  This book explores the psychology of manipulating the masses in order to influence consumerism, politics, social change and gender dynamics.  On this episode we will hear Chapter 3: The New Propagandists and Chapter 4: The Psychology of Public Relations. [Click to Listen]

We Are Being Programmed (Part 3): The Lab

We are all affected by it...call it advertising, propaganda, programming, social engineering, psychological operations, or whatever other term could be applied.  The act of a force outside of your mind trying to convince you to do something. In the third episode we play a couple of clips of commercial radio from the 1940's, then we enter 'The Lab'.  Once sound film is perfected (more or less), Hollywood productions are now the great laboratory of for propagandists experimentation.  Any good propagandist would look at the sheer numbers, up to 90 million moviegoers each week, and start drooling at the possibilities.  One homogenized audio/video message seen in just one week by 90 million people?!  This had never been an option in all of human history before motion pictures with sound were invented.  Brave new world.  American politics took notice of the potential for reaching so many people with one homogenized message and took action.  Those white men in power in Washington D.C. started hanging out with those other white men in power in Hollywood...a lot.  This is the moment when American politics had to first, and evermore, deal with what they will look like to the public.  People in politics/industry quickly figured out how to sell the image needed to get citizens/consumers to choose their product.  Oh, and then WWII started and the Golden Age of Propaganda was about to begin. [Click to Listen]

Propaganda (1928): Part 1

On this supplemental episode we kick off a series of the Mic Check Radio Book Club.  It's the audio book of Propaganda by Edward L Burnays, published in 1928.  Noam Chomsky has called this book "the main manual of the public relations industry".  It may be 87 years old, but the ideas and concepts are still used (and successful) today.  This book explores the psychology of manipulating the masses in order to influence consumerism, politics, social change and gender dynamics.  On this episode we will hear Chapter 1: Organizing Chaos and Chapter 2: The New Propagandists. [Click to Listen]

We Are Being Programmed (Part 2): The Switch

We are all affected by it...call it advertising, propaganda, programming, social engineering, psychological operations, or whatever other term could be applied.  The act of a force outside of your mind trying to convince you to do something.  In the second episode of this series we take a look at the early, early days of advertising...before cars took people to stores miles from their house.  Back in this time period, the merits of a consumer good or service were believed to be enough to sell the item.  At the turn of the century (1900) we were still considered 'citizens' by those in positions of power (government and industry), but this was all about to change.  After the success of the Committee on Public Information, a WWI organization in charge of swaying public opinion to support the war, the same techniques used to sell the war to the citizens of the US were adapted by big business to more effectively sell their goods and services.  Edward Burnays was a member of the CPI and the leading proponent of switching the citizenry into consumers in the post WWI years. In the mid 1920's, he successfully combined the philosophy of Wilfred Trotter (and his idea of "herd instinct") with the writings of his uncle, Sigmund Freud.  The successful techniques pioneered by Burnays are still being used to sell us consumer goods today; press release, celebrity endorsement, testimonials, sex, product placement and the idea that buying a consumer good that we don't need will fill that empty hole in our lives. [Click to Listen]

We Are Being Programmed (Part 1)

We are all affected by it...call it advertising, propaganda, programming, social engineering, psychological operations, or whatever other term could be applied.  The act of a force outside of your mind trying to convince you to do something.  In the kick-off episode of this series we go over the etymology and definitions of the above terms and then get into an example of how 'conversations' on this topic usually play out within the corporate media [hint: they suck].  We also take a listen to some shitty pop music and ask 'how do the lyrics affect the human brain', mainly in an unconscious way.  We conclude part 1 with an adaptation of the Zen TV Experiment and how it could be used with any kind of screen, to the benefit of us all.  [Click to Listen]

ISIS Terror Threat Comedy Hour

In this clip show, we take a look at how the Corporate Media (CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, etc.) have used ISIS (or ISIL or IS) as the new international 'boogie man' in order to amp up the feelings of terror on the public and justify more military action in the Middle East.  The result is eerily similar to the build up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003.  The rhetoric used in these clip would be hilarious, if the end result wasn't death and destruction. [Click to Listen]

Activist Cinema 1

The inaugural episode of a new series here at Mic Check Radio that focuses on the political, social and educational value of different films from throughout the 100+ years of the medium.  This episode focuses on THE political propaganda film of all time (so far) and the contradictions it causes by watching the film within today's political environment. [Click to Listen]