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Jake Siegel talks about his new book The Information State, which explores how government and technology joined forces over the past century to squash dissent. Siegel is an editor at Tablet, an original thinker with great writing chops (our kinda guy), and he talks with Nancy and Sarah about the tools of information warfare he saw while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, how the “war or terror” evolved into the “war on disinformation,” why Obama still has a lot to answer for, and the bizarre story of how a review of his book (on censorship, keep in mind) was mysteriously taken down.
Also discussed:
* Jake has the best voice
* “I held my anger very dear …”
* The hoax of the century, explained
* Cynical v. honest deception
* Why the DSA will always run your request up the comms chain
* What is it that constitutes property online?
* How much damn time did we spend on the Steele dossier?
* Did Jake go soft on Trump?
* Nancy credits Jake with getting her to report on Portland
* Institutional journalism is valuable (NR: Suck it, Nick Sortor)
* “The recognizable aesthetics and attitudes of American manhood by figures as diverse as Andy Griffith, Muhammad Ali, and Kurt Cobain.”
* “I feel like Dallas has the best-dressed people in America.”
Plus, R. Crumb comix, a movie that defies categorization, a visit to West Point, and much more!
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