Dec 9, 2021 • 1HR 15M

The Media's Psychotic Break (w/ Matt Taibbi)

Is the media just going through a midlife crisis?

 
0:00
-1:15:06
Open in playerListen on);

Appears in this episode

Uncertain Things
Everything is broken. Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk, two jaded journos, interview people far wiser than themselves and ask: "now what?"
Episode details
Comments

Matt Taibbi thrives on the absurd. He used to revel in journalism's culture: caustic, independent, collaborative, and adversarial to those in power. Now, the former Rolling Stone writer and author of Hate Inc. sees little to love in the toxic, "credentialist" media world. We discuss Matt's transition to Substack (the future!), the psychotic break Trump inspired in "mainstream" media, and the future of our broken industry.

Find us on Apple PodcastsSpotifyPodcast Addict, and Stitcher. Check out our Patreon for behind-the-pod updates. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.

On the agenda:

-Journalism cultures, past and present* [3:38-20:22]

-Protest subscriptions, absurdism, and economic anxiety [20:33-37:14]

-Gerrymandering hate and victimhood [37:15-45:39]

-The pernicious chaos of totalitarianism [45:40-50:01]

-A Trump-induced psychotic break [50:02-1:01:54]

-Tech troubles [1:01:55-1:05:35]

-What's Next for Media? [1:05:36-1:09:05]

-The Blindspots Q [1:09:06-1:14:25]

For more media musings…

…check out our conversations with Batya Ungar-Sargon, Nancy Rommelmann, Matt Welch, and Katie Herzog.

Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday rumination, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com.