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mostlysignssomeportents · 6 months

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A media literacy handbook for Israel-Gaza

Next Tuesday (Oct 31) at 10hPT, the Internet Archive is livestreaming my presentation on my recent book, The Internet Con.

Media explainers are a cheap way to become an instant expert on everything from billionaire submarine excursions to hellaciously complex geopolitical conflicts, but On The Media's "Breaking News Consumers' Handbooks" are explainers that help you understand other explainers:

https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/breaking-news-consumers-handbook-israel-and-gaza-edition-on-the-media

The latest handbook is an Israel-Gaza edition. It doesn't aim to parse fine distinctions over the definition of "occupation" or identify the source of shell fragments. Rather, it offers seven bullet points' worth of advice on weighing all the other news you hear about the war:

https://media.wnyc.org/media/resources/2023/Oct/27/BNCH_ISRAEL_GAZA_EDITION_1.pdf

I. "Headlines are obscured by the fog of war"

Headline writers have a hard job under the best of circumstances – trying to snag your interest in a few words. Headlines can't encompass all the nuance of a story, and they are often written by editors, not the writers who produced the story. Between the imperatives for speed and brevity and the broken telephone between editors and writers, it's easy for headlines to go wrong, even when no one is attempting to mislead you. Even reliable outlets will screw up headlines sometimes – and that likelihood goes way up in times like these. You gotta read the story, not just the headline.

II. Know red flags for bullshit

The factually untrue information that spreads furthest tends to originate with a handful of superspreader accounts. Whether these people are Just Wrong or malicious disinfo peddlers, they share a few characteristics that should trip your BS meter and prompt extra scrutiny:

High-frequency posting

Emotionally charged framing

Posts that purport to be summaries or excerpts from news outlets, but do not include links to the original

The phrase "breaking news" (no one has that many scoops)

III. Don't trust screenshots

Screenshots of news stories, tweets, and other social media should come with links to the original. It's just too damned easy to fake a screenshot.

IV. "Know your platform"

It used to be that Twitter got a lot of first-person accounts from people in the thick of crises, while Facebook and Reddit contained commentary and reposts. Today, Twitter is just another aggregator. This time around, there's lots of first-person, real-time reporting coming off Telegram (it runs well on old phones and doesn't chew up batteries). Instagram is widely used in both Israel and the West Bank.

V. "Crisis actors" aren't a thing

People who attribute war images to "crisis actors" are either deluded or lying. There's plenty of ways to distort war news, but paying people to pretend to be grieving family members is essentially unheard of. Any explanation that involves crisis actors is a solid reason to permanently block that source.

VI. There's plenty of ways to verify stuff that smells fishy

TinEye, Yandex and Google Image Search are all good tools for checking "breaking" images and seeing if they're old copypasta ganked from earlier conflicts (or, you know, video-games). The fact that an image doesn't show up in one of these searches doesn't guarantee its authenticity, of course.

VII. Think before you post

Israel-Gaza is the most polluted media pool yet. Don't make it worse.

There's plenty more detail on this (especially on the use of verification tools) in Brooke Gladstone's radio segment:

https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/on-the-media-breaking-news-consumers-handbook-israel-gaza-edition

The media environment sucks, and warrants skepticism and caution. But we also need to be skeptical of skepticism itself! As danah boyd started saying all the way back in 2018, weaponized media literacy leads to conspiratorialism:

https://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2018/03/09/you-think-you-want-media-literacy-do-you.html

Remember, the biggest peddlers of "fake news" are also the most prolific users of the term. For a lot of these information warriors, the point isn't to get you to believe them – they'll settle for you believing nothing. "Flood the zone with bullshit" is Steve Bannon's go-to tactic, and it's one that his acolytes have picked up and multiplied.

It's important to be a critical thinker, but there's plenty of people who've figured out how to weaponize a critical viewpoint and turn it into nihilism. Remember, the guy who wrote How To Lie With Statistics was a tobacco industry shill who made his living obfuscating the link between smoking and cancer. It's absolutely possible to lie with statistics, but it's also possible to use statistics to know the truth, as Tim Harford explains in his 2021 must-read book The Data Detective:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/01/04/how-to-truth/#harford

There's a world of difference between being misled and being brainwashed. A lot of today's worry about "disinformation" and "misinformation" has the whiff of a moral panic:

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/10/are-we-having-a-moral-panic-over-misinformation.html

It's possible to have a nuanced view of this subject – to take steps to enure you're not being tricked without equating crude tricks like sticking a fake BBC chyron on a 10-year-old image with unstoppable mind-control:

https://sts-news.medium.com/youre-doing-it-wrong-notes-on-criticism-and-technology-hype-18b08b4307e5

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/28/fog-o-war/#breaking-news

#pluralistic #media literacy #fake news #disinformation #misinformation #israel gaza #gaza #israel #palestine #conspiratorialism #hoaxes #infowar #on the media #breaking news #npr #flood the zone

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quinton-reviews · 3 months

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Hi Quinton!! I have been a HUGE fan of your stuff since a friend sent me the Tobuscus Fallen Titans (I used to watch him back in high school and was like "huh, wonder what happened to him after those allegations") and I gotta say, it is REALLY FUNNY every time my fiancé and I watch the iCarly videos again, because when you cover Gibby's stunt double breaking his ribs, you cut to a clip of The Official Podcast. I used to play D&D with one of the main dudes from the podcast, so when he talks during that clip I do a goddamn double take literally every time.

Anyways, I remember an original Patreon stretch goal being a Fallen Titans on Homestuck! I was really big into Homestuck in my early 20s, and was wondering if that's still on the table at some point? If not that's fine, I understand plans change! I just love Fallen Titans lol, the Fred episode and the Neil Cicierega unFallen Titans are some of my favorite videos of yours!

That's a real funny story!

So here's the rundown on the Homestuck video. When I first started making long videos, they were actually inspired by the relationship I had with other YouTubers at the time. I used to watch, like, H3H3 and Filthy Frank, etc; and I'd always see people obsessed with the versions of creators from the past. Like, "Oh 2015 H3 was the best" and "Oh 2012 Frank was peak." So I had this idea that it would be crazy if H3 posted, like, a video he spent a decade on and you got a new video with 2015 H3 10 years on. (I don't watch H3 anymore ironically)

So the original idea for the "long video" format was that it would be cool if, throughout a long, analysis/review/recap video, you kept noticing someone get older. Maybe my months, maybe by years. That's why I always like to get a haircut when I start one of these videos. If you scrub through and you see my hair get longer and messier as it goes on I think that adds something magical you can't fake.

So... My pitch to the Homestuck video was that it would be funny to work on it just once per year. To record one segment, say "That's it for 12 months", and then come back around to it. And when I was making the iCarly and Victorious videos I actually recorded a few minutes of the video! I think it was two segments in total. But then I had a bunch of personal stuff happen and my work drive has been much lower, so any "back burner" video hasn't gotten much attention since then.

Now that the iCarly mini-series is done with, I want to focus on some short one-off videos I can make before April. But once that's done with, I would REALLY love to start work on a few more long-term projects which will take months or years to finish. I think returning to work on the Homestuck video, to at least get the first 20-30 minutes done, would be a great idea this summer.

Now, if you want to know my pitch for that video, here it is. The video is not a recap of the creative history of the franchise. I do not get into drama, community hell, lawsuits, or other YouTubers. My idea is this: you always hear about Homestuck as an outsider but you never hear about the actual content. Most franchises on Earth I know something about, even and especially if I've never been interested in them. I can tell you a bunch of facts about wrestling and MLP and the Fast and the Furious simply through cultural osmosis and having friends who are into those things.

I can't tell you the plot of Homestuck, who the characters are, what the themes are, nothing. I've known a lot of people who were into Homestuck but nothing about the series!

So I thought it would thus be funny to make a video about a bunch of people who know nothing about the series starting from the beginning and giving their reactions, even if it's been years since it all started. I call this part of the video the "Homestuck Book Club." So the next step is me picking out the members (who all have to have no history with it) and making sort of a podcast setup. We'd then read and record every six months or so, IDK.

This is why the video has been stuck in production hell! Everyone who wants to work on it and messages me about it already knows the franchise. I don't want spoilers, I don't want people writing for the video who get it already. I want to capture the "what the fuck is this" energy of three dudes just getting in the middle of it.

Also, I think that I really like the theme of the video capturing our lives as they go by, capturing us aging and changing. If you came back from the future and told me this video comes out in five years, I'd say great. If you told me it comes out in ten years, I'd say awesome. Until then, the latest edit will always be on Patreon, even if you have to dig a little.

#homestuck #quinton reviews #long videos

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merrybloomwrites · 1 month

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A Podcast Love Story

Summary: The story of Shayne & Y/N, as told through a series of podcasts

AN: This story was inspired by a request from someone that tumblr isn't letting me tag, so that's dumb lol

Also, I tried to follow the actual timeline of when these podcasts were posted but I did take some creative liberty, so some things might not match up with when the were really posted irl

Wordcount: 3.4K

CW: very light mention of smut, talk about pregnancy

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SmoshCast #75 – How Shayne and Courtney Feel About Being Shipped Together

Dating someone who’s in the public eye was not entirely unexpected. You live in Los Angeles after all. When you and Shayne started dating in 2019 you decided to keep it a secret for a while. Neither of you were ready to share your relationship with the Smosh viewers yet.

This became more difficult when you decided to quarantine together in 2020 during the pandemic. Two weeks after he returned from Australia, when you were sure that neither of you had Covid, you packed your necessities and headed to Shayne’s. It was nice being together, but it did get complicated when he needed to film videos.

Sometimes you would go for a walk while he was filming. Other times you would hide in the other room. He’d triple check all his footage before submitting it to make sure you, and any of your belongings, weren’t in frame.

One day, a few months in, he and Courtney are recording an episode of the SmoshCast. He sets up at the small dining table in the corner of the living room. You’re on the couch, meaning you can’t be seen on the camera, but you are in Shayne’s view. It might not have been the smartest decision since you’re now stuck there for the entire time they record, but you have a book and a snack, so you get cozy.

You can only hear Shayne’s side of the conversation, so you’re not fully paying attention. That is, until you hear Shayne say, “If we so much as say hi to each other, Shartney fans poop themselves.” The mention of this ship between him and his castmate has you more focused on the conversation. Not because you’re jealous, because that would be ridiculous, but because all of you find it quite funny how hard the two of them are shipped.

He can’t stop looking over to you for the entire ten-minute segment. It’s subtle, but there’s definitely a connection between the two of you. It’s obvious that he’s reassuring you that there’s nothing to worry about. You especially like when he says, “You can ship me with anything. Ship me with bananas.” And you nearly lose it when he says, “I am begging you, please, make a ship edit of me and Kathy Bates.”

They continue to talk and the conversation steers towards how fans make assumptions based on what they see in videos. Shayne brings up how people were concerned about him for a few weeks at the beginning of quarantine. He starts to explain, “I was very quiet in those early podcasts, but the reason was, one, I was not getting enough sleep. I kept staying up late,” here he looks at you before quickly saying, “playing video games.” You again struggle to keep quiet, knowing that was not the truth. Unless “playing video games” has now become code for “having intimate moments with my girlfriend”.

He continues to talk about how his setup for recording was less than ideal and finishes by saying, “I wasn’t sad at all, I was actually having great days.” Again, you share a quick look, showing that you agree with him about how wonderful it’s been since you started living together.

They wrap up the podcast a little while later and Shayne is officially done with work for the day.

“Playing video games, huh?” you say teasingly.

“Oh yea, totally a pro gamer now,” he replies.

“You think so?” you say with a laugh.

“I mean, I could always use more practice,” he answers as he lifts you from the couch, carrying you to the bedroom.

SmoshCast #85 – American Horror Story: Adulting

A few months later and things are looking better in the world. This means a return to the office for everyone. You’d landed a job at Smosh, working in post-production, so now you and Shayne work together. You were nervous about being around each other all the time, but luckily there’s still a fair amount of the day when you’re apart. Shayne is often filming or in meetings or busy writing, and you spend most of the time at your desk working on the next video.

But sometimes, you get a break to see him. Shayne, Damien, and Coutney are filming a new SmoshCast episode, and you sneak in to watch from the back. The theme is “Adulting”, and they somehow start by talking about how they interact with the younger generation. You can’t help but smile as Shayne talks about his niece, endeared by the relationship he has with her. He also mentions grandchildren, which makes your imagination run away thinking about your future together.

You stay for a little while and just watch your boyfriend. He’s not saying anything crazy, or doing anything special, but you love listening to him give advice. You also love how attentive he is to his friends, how closely he listens to everything they say. When you do go back to your desk you take a moment to think about how lucky you are that this man, with a solid head on his shoulders and more emotional maturity than you’ve ever seen before, is your other half.

Smosh Mouth #5 – Shayne and Y/N Share Their Love Story

“Welcome back to Smosh Mouth, I’m Shayne.”

“And I’m Amanda.”

“And today we have a very special guest. We have my lovely wife, Y/N Topp,” Shayne says, smiling at you as he finished the introduction.

“Hello everyone,” you say into the microphone.

It’s weird being in front of the camera. It’s only happened a few times in the years that you’ve been with Shayne. Even though you also work at Smosh, you’re always behind the scenes. You’ve only really been in videos that highlight the crew, so the focus has rarely been on you.

But today you’re finally sitting down to do a podcast for the channel. They’d just revived the podcast after a nearly three-year hiatus.

So much has happened in your personal life since then. At the time that SmoshCast was airing, your relationship with Shayne was fairly new, and you weren’t ready to share it yet. Within a year of that last episode going live, you two had gotten engaged. This led to you guys getting married, and as of 22 weeks ago, you being pregnant with your first child.

“Well, I for one am very excited to have you here today,” Amanda says. “I cannot wait to grill you on every last detail of your relationship.” You all laugh at that, knowing that while you’re sharing more personal information than you ever have before, no one is going to push you or Shayne too much.

“So,” Amanda continues. “Tell me, how did you meet?”

You look to Shayne, encouraging him to start the story.

“We met in 2019,” he begins. “Someone had recommended a book to me, so I was at the library to pick it up. While I was looking through the shelf Y/N came over and started looking through the section as well. We kind of started at opposite ends and moved to meet in the middle. Turns out we were both looking for the same book.”

“No you were not!” Amanda interjects.

“We really were,” you say to confirm. “We basically have the most cliché meet-cute story.”

“Ya, no kidding! So, what happened next?” she asks.

“Well, I had picked up the book first and noticed Y/N glance at it. So we started talking and I told her she should take the book first and I’d read it when she’s done.”

“And then he very smoothly said he could give me his number so I could tell him when I was returning the book,” you add.

“Look at you,” Amanda says. “Making the bold moves.”

“I had to give it a try,” Shayne says with a laugh.

“And it worked. I texted him a couple weeks later, the day before I returned the book.”

“I didn’t have her number,” Shayne says. “And I was kicking myself for not getting it because waiting to hear from her was pretty torturous I’m not gonna lie. So as soon as she texted about the book I asked her on a date.”

“Which actually shocked me at first. I really though he only was interested in the book.”

“Did you know who he was?” Amanda asks. “Like, had you watched Smosh or seen him on TV before you met?”

“I did know who he was. I had just started watching Smosh, so I recognized him but really didn’t know much about him.”

“Did you start watching old videos and try to get to know more about him after you met? Or after he asked you out?”

“I tried not to. I wanted to get to know him naturally, not through videos online. But there was a video posted after he asked me out but before our date called ‘Why We’re Bad at Dating’ and I couldn’t resist. And I truly think it helped us hit it off on that first date.”

“How so?” Amanda inquires.

Shayne takes that question, saying, “In the episode I talked about what I do on dates that kind of lead to there not being a second date. And Y/N/N called me out on that.”

You chime in, adding, “He said he puts on a ‘CW’ version of himself. I told him not to do that. And I admitted to being just as anxious about the date as he was so we should just forget the pressure and hang out and get to know each other.”

“Well, that’s adorable,” Amanda says. “So obviously you started dating and kept dating. When did you take the next step?”

Shayne takes this question and says, “I asked her to be my girlfriend a couple months later. And then we moved in together shortly after the start of the pandemic. Which was slightly challenging when it came to filming at home for Smosh since we wanted to keep the relationship a secret for a while.”

“Yea, how in the world did you make that work?”

“We were very, very careful,” you say. “I definitely hid in the bathroom more than once to stay out of frame.” At this you all laugh, and you add, “Totally worth it, though.”

“Ok, next juicy question. Shayne, how did you propose?”

“So, I hired a sky writer,” he says before laughing and continuing, “No, just kidding. We’d been dating for a year and a half, living together for almost a year at the time. We rented a cabin in Colorado for a few days and on the second day we went on a hike. Packed a picnic, did the whole thing. And I uh, I proposed at the top of the mountain.”

“You guys are literally a romcom,” Amanda quips.

“Would a romcom do a hike proposal? I feel like they’re always at fancy restaurant or the beach. Or like, yelling ‘Will you marry me?’ As the girl walks away down a street in the pouring rain,” you say.

“Oh, a hike proposal is very Lifetime or Hallmark.”

“Good point, it’s totally been in at least one of those movies.”

“Did you like that it was on a hike?” Amanda asks.

“Yea, Y/N/N, did you like it?” Shayne says, pretending to be truly concerned and worried about your answer.

“Hated it,” you say jokingly. “No, honestly, I loved it. Shayne and I always bonded over how much we love nature, so it was perfect for us. I can’t imagine it being any other way. I know a lot of girls want to make sure their nails are done so they get that perfect ring picture, which totally fine, not judging at all. But it definitely felt right that I literally had dirt under my nails and scrapes on my palms from slipping up the hill. Much more authentic that way.”

“And the wedding, anything you want to share about it?” Amanda asks.

“We actually got married in New Mexico,” you say. “It was the central spot for both our families. It was last April, so, beautiful weather during the day. And we lucked out that the temperature didn’t drop too much at night.”

“Very nice,” Amanda replies. “Shayne, anything to add?”

“We kept it pretty small, just family, and close friends. I feel like it was a very typical wedding, but it was ours, you know? So, it was special.” Shayne blushes and you know that your wedding day means more to him than he’s letting on. And that’s fine with you. It was a private event, and even though you’re sharing your relationship now, neither of you want to give away too much about your wedding.

“Aw, he’s getting red,” Amanda jokes. “Did you go on a honeymoon?”

“We did. We went to Hawaii. Neither of us had been before so we knew it would be special for us. We wanted to experience something new together,” you answer.

“Cute!” she replies. “Now, dedicated fans know you guys are together, know you’re married and all that. But there is some news you two have to share that no one knows, is that correct?”

“That’s right,” Shayne says. He looks at you, silently asking if you want to say it. But you can tell he’s bursting to tell everyone, so you give him a nod to continue.

“Y/N and I are having a baby,” he says.

“Hell yea you are! Smosh baby!” Amanda cheers. “Congratulations to you both! Y/N, how are you feeling?”

“Pretty good right now. I’m in the second trimester so my morning sickness is mostly gone, thank god. We’re very excited, got some classes we’re planning to take and we’re reading all the books so I’m sure we will still be extremely unprepared,” you say with a laugh.

“If there’s anyone I trust to figure it out and be great parents, it’s the two of you,” Amanda replies earnestly.

“Thank you, Amanda,” Shayne says.

The podcast continues with Amanda continuing to ask questions and you and Shayne sharing more stories about your time together.

You wrap up recording by mid-afternoon. You have an appointment with your doctor scheduled and since it’s so close to the end of the day, Shayne was also given time off to join you. Everything goes well and as he drives you both home you can’t help but be grateful that the two of you were brought together.

Smosh Reads Reddit Stories: Office Nightmares

It’s been a month and a half since recording your episode of SmoshMouth, and three weeks since it aired. The news that you and Shayne are expecting a baby spread faster than anything you’d experienced before. You’d both received messages of congratulations from more people than you had ever expected: from Smosh fans to Disney fans, and even Goldbergs fans. You never imagined the amount of support you’d receive.

You had the morning off for yet another checkup with your doctor. You get back to the office early, but technically you’re still scheduled to be off, so you opt to sit in as they record the next Reddit Story video/podcast. It’s one of your favorite series currently, and you love listening to Shayne read all the stories.

He begins the third story, reading the title, “Am I the asshole for telling my wife that I’m not taking off of work to be present at our daughters’ birth?”

They joke around for a bit, and then he dives into the story, reading how the man explains that he couldn’t take off work cause there’s a project and they need him there. The wife finds out that’s a lie, and it mad that he didn’t take time off. He says he wants to work more so they’d have more money after the birth, and that the baby wouldn’t even remember him being there. He finishes by saying he doesn’t know why it’s such a big deal to be there at the birth, and even blames the wife’s hormones for her being upset about it.

Shayne, along with Spencer and Tommy begin to share their thoughts on the story. You smile and nod as Shayne makes the point of, “He keeps saying the baby’s not gonna remember, but you’re fucking wife will!”

They even give reasons why they’d understand him not being there, with Tommy saying, “If they were really desperate for cash then I’d get it,” and Spencer saying he’d understand if he were terrified of being around childbirth.

The boys then look over to you and Spencer says, “Y/N, you’re pregnant, how do you feel about this story?”

“Yea,” Tommy adds, “would you kill Shayne if he did this?”

“Oh, for sure!” you call out.

“C’mere,” Shayne says. “You’re probably the one most qualified to give an opinion here.”

You look to Kiana who’s directing the video and she gives you a nod, so you walk onto the set and stand behind Shayne, leaning down so your face is next to his and your voice will get picked up on his microphone.

“What are you’re thoughts on this?” Tommy asks.

“You guys definitely made a lot of great points. I mean, childbirth is terrifying, and I keep trying to ignore the fact that I do have to actually, you know, birth a human. But I know that Shayne will be there and is studying to be the best support person. I mean, he’s read enough books about it, I think he could deliver the baby himself if necessary,” you say with a laugh.

“I will add, if this was the father of my child, I’d wonder what he actually deems important. Because this is arguably one of the biggest days of everyone’s life. First of all, it should be important to him. It’s literally his child entering the world. It’s a privilege to be one of the first people that baby will ever meet. And then, what will be a big enough deal for him to take off work in the future? Baby’s not gonna remember her first birthday, is he gonna go to that? She has a dance recital at three years old, is he going to think that’s silly and not go?”

“Oh, I didn’t think of that, but it makes sense,” Spencer replies. “He definitely seems to have his priorities and being there for his family isn’t one.”

“I truly cannot imagine not being there when our kid is born,” Shayne says. “My worst fear would be if something kept me from being there.”

“Because you’re a good person,” Tommy says bluntly, and everyone laughs.

You head back off camera as they continue on.

After a few more stories Shayne begins another entry, titled, “And I the asshole for eating the last doughnut before my pregnant coworker could have one?” He looks at you once he reads it and laughs before saying, “Y/N’s face says, yes absolutely you are.”

He reads the story which explains that the young employee ate his allotted two doughnuts, and when the pregnant coworker didn’t show up after half an hour, he ate her two as well. She gets there shortly after and explains she had car trouble and is upset to see everyone had a treat but didn’t save her any. Later, the boss pulls aside the employee to tell him he’d been rude to his coworker.

After he finishes the post the boys discuss the etiquette of eating communal snacks in the office before Shayne says, “Also, if there is one thing I know, it’s that you never mess with a pregnant woman’s food unless you want to die.” You laugh so loudly at this that you know for sure the mics picked it up from across the room.

“Y/N, anything to add?” Spencer says.

You walk over again and state, “Listen, all I’m say is that I’m mad you guys are just talking about doughnuts when we don’t have any. Cause cravings are a bitch and now I am literally not going to stop thinking about doughnuts until I get one.”

After moving offscreen you realize you need to pee, again, so you leave the studio to head to the bathroom. Once you’re out of the room Shayne says, “Hey Kiana, can I have my phone a second?”

“Why do you need your phone?” Spencer asks.

“I gotta doordash some doughnuts.”

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AN: Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have any requests for Shayne stories!

Taglist: @american-girl001 @tatumrileyslover @queenofcaradelle @1nkm0nster

#shayne topp x reader

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transmutationisms · 9 months

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Long time listener first time caller (well not really I'm pretty sure we've talked about Succession before). I wanna read up more on anti psychiatry but I'm fucking shithouse at reading, are there any like videos or podcasts or audiobooks you'd recommend, because that would make my life ten times easier

yes great question honestly. i haven't heard all of these podcast episodes, but i curated the list based on knowing the speakers' work (not necessarily the podcast hosts/shows!), and i think these are good places to start.

"Debunking the Myth of the Chemical Imbalance with Dr. Joanna Moncrieff" interviewed by Dr. Caroline Leaf

Revolution Health Radio: "Reviewing the Evidence on the Serotonin Theory of Depression, with Dr. Joanna Moncrieff"

Mad in America Radio: Lucy Johnstone on the Power Threat Meaning Framework

NPR Fresh Air: Anne Harrington on psychiatry's "troubled search" for a biological understanding of mental illness

New Books Network: Mical Raz on her book "What's Wrong With the Poor: Psychiatry, Race, and the War on Poverty"

The Mental Breakdown Morning Show: "Bruce Cohen and Psychiatric Hegemony" (Cohen, unlike most on this list, explicitly aims for a marxist explanation and understanding of mental illness)

Madness Radio: "Bipolar Medication Myths" (Joanna Moncrieff interviewed by Will Hall)

What Your GP Doesn't Tell You: "David Healy Discusses SSRI Drugs, Suicide and Sexual Dysfunction"

Coming From Left Field: "The Political Economy of Mental Health Systems with Joanna Moncrieff"

States of Mind: "Mental Illness in America" (includes segments with Katherine Bankole-Medina, Jonathan Metzl, Allan Horwitz, Jamie Cohen-Cole, and Elyn Saks)

Jesse Meadows's podcast on ADHD, "Sluggish" (haven't listened to this one, but have read a lot of their writing; they're challenging the psychiatric view of ADHD as a person who struggles with the symptoms and behaviours the diagnostic label describes)

audio books: i'm honestly not sure where's the best and cheapest place to actually download these from, but i know there are audio books of 'mind fixers' by anne harrington (narrated by joyce bean) and 'desperate remedies' by andrew scull (narrated by jonathan keeble). uh, if anyone has a good list of audiobooks on this lmk :-)

#psychiatry

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breelandwalker · 4 months

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Attention Business Witches!

I'm currently putting together the 2024 schedule for my monthly show, Hex Positive (a proud member of the Nerd and Tie Podcast Network), and I'm looking for witchy businesses to promote during the midroll ad segments.

If you have a witchcraft-related business, shop (online or brick-and-mortar), publication, or event that you would like to promote to a wider audience, I offer 1-2min custom ads with narration and music. Creation of ad copy is also available if you do not have something pre-written, or I can run an existing ad if you have one. Rates will vary accordingly.

Wholesale rates are also available if you'd like to carry any of my books in your shop! Shipping for vendor orders is available worldwide.

If you're interested, please send an ask or contact me by email at [email protected].

Happy Witching!

#pagan #witchcraft #witchblr #witchcraft community #witches of tumblr #podcasts

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thedevilinmybrain · 2 months

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Hi Jen

I have been following you for some years now. Wow can't believe this.

But I am in the process of creating a podcast which discusses art, books and movies.

In one of the episodes, we are talking about books being made into movies and one of the segments is fanfiction into movies. I wanted to gather some first hand opinions of fic writers and their thoughts on this.

Why is it always hetro-fics being made into movies and would a fanfic writer be open to it.

And why the choice of stories bad?

Have you watched a fanfic movie, which was good and that you felt like it did justice to the writers.

I think that fanfics being turned into movies are okay, as long as they change the source material until it can't be linked to the original inspiration. I'm thinking of say, 50 Shades. Like, if you know it's Twilight fanfiction, then you relate it back to Twilight. That being said, it can stand on it's own without you saying every two seconds 'Oh! That's Edward!' Same for things like Shadowhunters. I know it's Harry Potter fan fiction because I'm an old dweeb on the internet, but it doesn't define the story itself because there is enough original ideas to keep it unique.

Please note, I'm not endorsing 50 Shades or Shadowhunters as good. Just relating.

I think you could also say like The Chronicles of Narnia is kinda fanfiction. It's like the retelling of Jesus with Aslan, but you don't need to be close to the original source or inspiration to enjoy the stories. You can appreciate them as separate.

We all know why it's hetero fics that keep getting turned.

I will say though, as I'm sure you're relating this to the new movie coming, making a fanfic about an actual living person into a movie is just - absurd. Like, how can this not be copyrighted? It's one thing to self insert fantasize on your little corner of the internet. It's another to create a movie that is so closely related to not only one person - but five. I think we all are upset about the use of Harry as a prop, but he's not the only one being referenced in this movie. I do wonder how the other boys feel being basically back up dancers to someone's wattpad fantasy about their friend.

#writer things

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dathen · 2 years

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Lately I’ve been hyped to get people into listening to audio dramas for the first time, but since recs are often “have 100 podcast names at once!!” or “if you like [audio drama], try this other audio drama,” I’m going to try to put together posts for some of my favorites based on what fans of non-podcast things may like! Let’s see how long I can keep this going.

To start off, my current obsession!

Malevolent

Premise: A private investigator in the 1930′s finds himself blinded with a voice in his head after reading a strange book. He must rely on the voice’s guidance to investigate what happened to him, even as otherworldly threats begin to close in.

For if you like:

The Locked Tomb - The relationship between the investigator and the voice is by far the #1 sell of this story. It’s messy and ugly and beautiful and complicated and terribly, wonderfully intimate. It ended up overlapping a lot of my feelings about Harrow and Gideon, and lyctorhood in general.

Kingdom Hearts - Not the Micky Mouse stuff, but the ‘cry your eyes out about goofy-looking anime characters’ stuff. If like me, you were wrecked by the Sea Salt Trio and things that weren’t meant to be people fighting for a place in the world, this will be a TREAT.

TTRPGs - Malevolent has the unique format of being a scripted show loosely based on a Call of Cthulu format. Each episode is made up of 4-5 segments, at the end of which patrons vote on which choice for the characters to take: from fleeing to hiding, whether to take a risk to retrieve a useful artifact, etc. Because of this, it has the close-to-the-action feeling of watching or playing a TTRPG, where each choice feels like it has stakes to change the path, while being much more concise and driven.

Warning: In addition to being a horror podcast with heavy topics, folks with misophobia may be affected by the soundscaping at times.

If you have any similar comparisons (I KNOW you Venom lovers have things to say here), feel free to reblog and add on! Just try to keep it spoiler-free.

#malevolent podcast #malevolent #podcast recs

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glittertomb · 8 months

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Nobody asked but these are some of my favorite podcasts!

I’ve gotten really into podcasts the past couple of years because of social isolation, my knitting addiction, and because they really help me get through tedious chores like folding laundry and washing dishes (this is honestly my favorite adhd hack, besides turning on instrumental fantasy music so I can focus when reading). So I’ve definitely cultivated a little mind garden of spooky, magical, and informative podcasts that I wanted to share with you. Some are more mainstream, some are a little more obscure, but all of them are dear to me and have comforted and nourished me during dark days.

National park after dark~ my current favorite podcast is hosted by two new englanders with backgrounds in conservation, animal care, and park exploration who share stories about dark happenings, mysterious sightings, perilous treks, and deadly experiences at national parks across the globe

Your magic~ an inclusive and open-minded modern magic podcast hosted by popular author, tarot fanatic, and lifelong witch Michelle Tea that features an amazing lineup of diverse guests including scientists, musicians, actors, social justice advocates, fledgling magic practitioners, and people who were practicing magic without even realizing it

Pleasing Terrors~ hosted by a former tour guide of haunted locations, this podcast explores morbid histories, creepy folktales, and unexplained circumstances from the perspective of a person who has devoted their life to researching and sharing ghost stories for over 20 years

Out There~ this queer host with a voice like melted butta tells dramatic tales about the encounters with, descriptions of, and theories about the cryptids that haunt our imaginations (the podcast used to include a weird club segment at the end where they would invite their hilarious friends to discuss the believability of the featured cryptid, but it’s been missing for a few months and I hope it comes back 🥺)

Lore~ most people are probably aware of this delightfully spooky podcast about frightening folklore, but I had to include it because this is one of my go-to podcasts for when I’m taking a nighttime bath by candlelight and need a good spooky story to soak to, because I’m a little weirdo like that

The Strange and unusual podcast~ intoxicating and beautifully-told macabre stories that range from dark fairytales, mysterious murders, tainted histories, and hand-woven tales crafted by the host herself (it’s accompanied by melancholic music and the occasional low budget sound effects of people grunting/dying lol)

Morbid~ my emotional support murder podcast 😭😹. I was never really one to follow true crime, but I discovered this popular podcast when researching the haunted past of lake Lanier and I fell in love with these girls and their wonderful storytelling, hilarious banter, and thoughtful perspectives. Plus, getting extra insight from Alaina’s autopsy background is fascinating to me. And who doesn’t love the delightful nonsense and off-the-cuff witticisms that spout from Ash.

Cults~ this is the podcast that got me into daily listening! I was a big fan of welcome to night vale since the beginning, but Cults is the podcast that truly got me hooked on podcast listening and I even fall asleep to it (I guess listening to horrifying stories about mass manipulation is… soothing? Am I okay?). The podcast has unfortunately been on a year long hiatus but it has an ton of archived episodes that will thrill and chill you. Now I guess I need to start a new cult so they can have more content 🤔🤫

Coffee & Cauldrons~ this podcast is hosted by two professional tarot readers with mentoring personalities who want to make the world of magic accessible to everyone. Their show includes book recommendations for beginners, insights on how to practice during different lunar phases, tips on creating your own altar, and stories about their personal practice.

Spooked~ the latest podcast I’ve added to my very long list is hosted by a black creator who shares ghost stories from the first-person perspective. I really like this podcast because it’s produced by a team of people who are very diverse in race, age, gender, location, and background, and the guests they feature on the podcast to tell their own stories are just as varied.

If you made it to the end, thank ya and love ya! Happy spooking! 💜🌸👻

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lily-orchard · 1 year

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So after years of not reading fiction, I thought I would give it another chance and I don't know if this is a confirmation bias on my end, but it seems to me that there isn't a variety of stories and characters anymore. Like I know everything was done already, but no kidding: I've spend hours in my local library only to see the same story over and over again. Always a blank protagonist and either an over sexualized female love interest or the mysterious brooding bad boy. I can not stress enough how much I hate the mysterious brooding bad boy archetype. I don't know if I see those stories more, simply because I am more aware of them through media critism, but when I look back ten years ago I really don't think is was this prevelant. Ten years ago I could always find something in different genres that seem interesting. Some novels had romance, others not, but it wasn't the same kind of borderline abusive romance every time like it is now. U am reminded of why I have given up fiction novels in the frost place. I am sure that there is good stuff out there, but it is really a chore to find something now. Idk maybe this is a me-thing and I didn't search hard enough or was looking in the wrong genres, but it really feels like a lack of variety. Sorry for the rant and sounding like a "back in my day-boomer", I was just thinking of that segment in your podcast where you said you don't read fiction anymore and related to that a lot.

You're not just being old, there's been a plague of AO3 stories having the serial numbers sanded off and published as actual novels, and on AO3 it is extremely popular to make abusive romance for fandom-brained dipshits.

However, it is actually very easy to sift through most of the garbage: Look for authors who aren't white.

One major problem schools always had with getting kids to read is that they wouldn't let them read anything that wasn't written by old white men who never experienced life in any way. And in the 21st century literature is dominated by disposable romance written by white women who haven't logged off AO3 since the site launched and have been reading the same fics their entire lives.

And that's why literature goes through these periods of stagnation. Because it's good to experience a broad range of perspectives on life, the universe and everything. But The Classics/Book Twitter are fundamentally opposed to the idea of a broad range of perspectives. And if you only hear about stories directly relevant to you and people like you then your thinking becomes stagnant, like a gene pool in Florida.

This means you have to go looking for them. You're going to have to do some google-fu for books written from different kinds of authors. Because there are entire lists out there.

I mean hell, just googling around I found a book called Honey Girl which I'm compelled to buy immediately because it's a very goofy sapphic premise.

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onwacollective · 3 months

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I created this Womb Healing Masterpost a year or so ago. Since then, I’ve continued to grow this list of resources, adding more info as I learn it. Every book, interview, podcast on the list I’ve read or listened to and found useful in my own healing. But I realize all this info can be overwhelming, confusing, and time consuming to get through to create the real change needed to balance your hormones. So, I’ve created cycle syncing wallpaper habit reminders to support women and menstruating individuals in balancing their hormones HERE.

How to use:

These are specifically created for the 80% of women experiencing hormonal imbalance. I’ve designed them to make integrating the information and ancestral wisdom needed to balance hormones easily accessible. Switch each wallpaper background as you transition through each phase of your cycle. Every time you glance at your phone you get a reminder of what to focus on at a specific point in your cycle.

Each wallpaper contains:

🌟 A hormonal phase specific grocery list informed by the Autoimmune protocol (AIP) which means it excludes largely known gut irritants like nuts, seeds, beans, eggs, nightshade vegetables etc.

🌟 A list of herbal teas specific to the needs of each hormonal phase

🌟 A list of self-care practices specific to each hormonal phase

🌟 A journaling prompt

🌟 An affirmation

🌟 Basic overview of the hormonal changes occurring within the body during each phase

🌟 A list of vitamins/minerals to focus on in each phase (grocery list includes foods that contain these vitamins/minerals!)

🌟 Best care practices and tips for each phase

I have a vision of these hanging as posters in schools to teach children about the changes in each cycle. I wanted to make balancing hormones so easy that teenage me could do it. The info on the habit reminders connects to the practices and teachings described in the original tumblr post so if you ever want to dive deeper into a segment of info you can. You can find more info on how to download HERE.

If we let it, womb healing can be a beautiful initiation into feminine power. Be gentle with yourself 💗

#if you use it let me know how it works for you!#cycle syncing #hormonal imbalance #hormones #endometriosis #dysautonomia #PCOS #uterine fibroids #womb health #reblog to save a womb #womb healing #onwa collective #autoimmune protocol #sex ed #teaching black children #lunar cycle #womb work #chronic illness #chronic pain

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art-of-manliness · 2 months

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Nature’s Prescription: The 20-5-3 Rule for Spending Time Outdoors

We’re big proponents of getting outdoors here at AoM. Spending regular time in nature comes with a whole host of benefits. It reduces stress, fights depression, improves focus, and can even speed up recovery from injuries and illness. Spending time outdoors is also just good for a man’s soul. The wild can induce awe and wonder, which keeps us humble and grounded. So, how much time in nature do you need to get these benefits? In The Comfort Crisis, Michael Easter (check out our podcast interview with him about the book) highlighted research from Dr. Rachel Hopman, a professor of psychology at the University of Utah, that provides a prescription for spending time in nature to improve our health and well-being. Hopman based her prescription on the idea of a “nature pyramid,” first developed by Tanya Denckla Cobb at the University of Virginia. Hopman simplified the nature pyramid idea into an easy-to-remember rule: 20-5-3. The 20-5-3 Rule for Spending Time in Nature The 20-5-3 Rule translates into the following guidelines for spending sufficient time in nature: * 20 minutes in green space, three times a week * 5 hours in a semi-wild environment, once a month * 3 days completely off-grid, annually Let’s delve further into how to fulfill each segment of this formula and the benefits of doing so: Your Weekly Dose: 20 Minutes X 3 According to Hopman’s research, you can start to get the health-boosting benefits of nature by spending 20 minutes in a green space at least three times a week. These short outdoor jaunts can lower cortisol levels, boost cognition, and improve mental health. Here’s the good news about this component of the 20-5-3 Rule: your thrice-weekly jaunts in green space don’t have to take place in a wilderness area to reap the benefits. You can spend your 20-minute allotments in any natural environment nearby — a pocket park, a community garden, or even a tree-lined street. So, even if you live in a city, getting in an every-other-day dose of nature is very doable. That being said, the more leafy and bucolic and the less cement-covered and civilized the setting of your outdoor interludes, the better they’ll make you feel. Regardless of where you take your thrice-weekly dips into nature, put your smartphone away when you engage in them; Hopman found “that people who used their cell phone on the walk saw none of [the] benefits.” Use your lunch break for a walk through a local park or stroll around your neighborhood after dinner (the benefits of an after-dinner walk extend beyond the nature exposure!). Make it a daily part of your routine, and start reaping the benefits of vitamin N. Monthly Immersion: 5 Hours in Semi-Wild Nature Think of your thrice-weekly 20-minute green space doses as the bottom of the nature pyramid. To start ratcheting up the benefits of nature, Hopman’s research suggests that we should aim to get 5 hours a month in semi-wild nature — a place with minimal urban intrusions. As mentioned above, the wilder the space you spend time in, the greater the effect it has on your health and psyche, so the aim as you move up the nature pyramid is to get a progressively deeper connection with the great outdoors. The higher the level of nature exposure, the happier and less stressed people feel. To get your more immersive monthly dose of nature, take a hike in a state or national park, spend the day at the beach, or go fishing at a local lake. Annual Reset: 3 Days Off the Grid This is the top of the nature pyramid. Once a year, go somewhere off-grid — with few signs of human civilization and hardly any human contact — and spend three solid days there. Research has shown that spending three days off the grid can relax the brain and boost creativity. Military vets with PTSD who spent four days in the wilds saw a 29% reduction in symptoms. Spending this much time in the wild is like rebooting your brain to its factory settings. An annual backpacking trip can get you your yearly three-day nature reset. You can also… http://dlvr.it/T3zHMY

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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 4 months

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By: Anonymous

Published: Jan 9, 2024

I’m a school librarian in a major UK city and I wanted to write to you about what is going on inside education at the moment. The final straw for me came when I received an email from the (US) School Library Journal about their trans and NB spotlight with the line “J.K. Rowling’s recent transphobic tirades on social media”. And check out the line-up on the Zoom panel!

Enough is enough.

I will admit that several years ago I was pretty full-on with my alphabet-soup allyship and then I got peaked by Mumsnet when I had my children. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

My issue is with how the indoctrination has seeped into books and materials unchecked. Last year I read the book “Nothing Ever Happens Here” written from the POV of a young girl about her father transitioning and it was utterly awful. The ending was the family all happy with two “mums”. It was a Stonewall pamphlet in disguise. Any possibility that the child would be upset by what was happening at home was quickly brushed aside. It turns out that its author, Sarah Hagger-Holt, is a Stonewall employee.

There are so many books like this finding their way into libraries and the library staff do not appear to be questioning the content or even the quality of the writing as long as the books tick the “inclusivity” box. For example, “If I Was Your Girl” is an award-winning story about a trans girl who gets surgery and hormones and “passes” in her new school. It’s written by Meredith Russo, a trans-identified male, who has a history of sexual and emotional abuse, but no matter! It reads like a TRA wet dream: the pretty young teen smoothly transitions and gets the life she wants, which includes getting a gorgeous, straight boyfriend. A young person reading this may not realise that this is simply wish-fulfillment wrapped up in Young Adult (YA) fiction and nothing in it is remotely feasible.

Recently I was being nosy on a secondary school’s website and discovered their library’s LGBT section was made up of “Some Girls Bind”, “Being Jazz”, and “The Trans Teen Survival Guide”. That was it. Nothing else for the LGB kids. “The Trans Teen Guide” explains to young people how easy it is to legally change your name, and signposts websites where you can buy binders. Mermaids are listed as a place to find support, of course.

Meanwhile, JKR is Satan for standing up for women and girls. It is painful reading discussion board threads written by librarians questioning what they should do about the “problematic author.” Facebook groups are particularly interesting as I’ve witnessed the group moderators remove the comments that support JKR because they were repeatedly reported by other members of the group. Some say they won’t buy her books, or they will remove them from circulation or stock them but not promote them.

No more Harry Potter events, no more displays of her work. It’s not all librarians, but there are plenty of vocal ones who have bought into the idea that JKR is literally murdering trans kids with her words. Last year I unsubscribed from a favourite Young Adult podcast for their segment on what to promote as an alternative to Harry Potter. It’s madness.

I think the thing I really object to in libraries overall is the lack of questioning going on. I know you have covered the Drag Story Time in public libraries, but I’m really shocked by the lack of research and critical thinking from information professionals who are supposed to be champions of these skills. I’m sure that many of them believe they are doing the right thing. I know I did.

The School Library Association made Juno Dawson one of their Patrons at the end of 2020. I met Dawson many years years ago at a library event and I really appreciated hearing an honest and frankly, painful story of a young gay boy being bullied and how much of a lifeline the school library was. Dawson struck me as a very kind and deeply sad person at that point. School libraries are a safe space for the vulnerable, and it’s no coincidence that often you will find the LGBT students seek it as a place of sanctuary. We do need someone popular and well-known to speak up for us as patron. Let’s be honest though; Dawson has made a tremendous career from being trans. From speaking to packed-out auditoriums of young readers to writing non-fiction books educating us as “she knows everything about gender because she’s been both.” A few years ago, over 300 copies of Dawson’s book “What’s the T” were bought and donated to schools by well-meaning people on Twitter. So heart-warming and kind. Nobody seems to be questioning this.

I’ve been a huge supporter of my LGBT students for the whole of my twenty-plus year career. It hurts to see these brilliant young girls telling me they’re non-binary or trans. The vast majority of our female students in this ever-growing group are on the autistic spectrum or have mental health issues. I don’t understand why this isn’t being questioned more vocally. I’m worried that I’ve made this much, much worse by promoting this propaganda dressed up as YA fiction for years. LGBT History Month? Here, have this book telling you being a lesbian is bad and you’re probably trans.

I’m scared that at some point the trans ideology train is going to come for the “forbidden” books in my library. Will my Head tell me I need to remove all the Harry Potter books? What about the non-fiction books that tell these girls the biological truth about periods and puberty? Cancel culture is coming for school librarians in the UK; how long before we become like the US school system where books are regularly banned for being offensive to individual, captured parents?

Librarians were struggling to keep our jobs before Covid-19 and now it is even harder. We are being made redundant to save money. Lots of school libraries were closed and became temporary classrooms, COVID testing centres, or spill-over staff rooms in 2020. Some of us haven’t recovered. Are librarians really going to poke their heads above the parapet if it means they might be marked as “transphobic” and made unable to get a job in a school again? Or maybe have to move sectors and end up working at university libraries which are even more indoctrinated?

For the moment I’m concentrating on trying to undo some of the damage I’ve done. Last year I purchased a pile of Young Adult books featuring happy, gender non-conforming girls. I’ve researched YA love stories about positive LGB relationships. I want our girls to realise they are perfect just the way they are.

To parents I would say, try to talk to your children about what they are reading. Honest, open communication is key.

Please remember that there are people in schools who are trying to make a difference. We just can’t say it openly.

(Author’s name has been witheld on her request. If you have a story on how gender ideology is affecting your place of work, please write to [email protected])

Reminder, Juno Dawson is the same self-hating gay man who said:

"There are a lot of gay men out there who are gay men as a consolation prize because they couldn't be women. That was certainly true of me."

He has no business giving any advice to anyone, least of all gay kids.

#Graham Linehan #librarieans #libraries #school libraries #school librarians #woke librarians #gender ideology #queer theory #propaganda #corruption of education #indoctrination #institutional capture #ideological capture #ideological corruption #religion is a mental illness

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tanadrin · 3 months

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Which podcasts are you listening to / do you recommend? You've started to refer to some new ones (Ultra, Why is This Happening?), and you've been a good source of podcasts in the past (I started to listen to Data Over Dogma because you talked about it so much, for instance).

Ultra is a limited series from a while back that I'm just now getting around to, because I needed more history-themed audio content. It's pretty good, if you like 20th century American political history.

I've been listening to Why is this Happening for ages, but it is sometimes unfortunately kinda dull. Definitely has its moments, though. It's basically just interviews, mostly about semi-current events.

I'm not sure I have any other new recommendations. Current standbys include If Books Could Kill (part of the Michael Hobbes Extended Podcasting Universe), You're Wrong About, Maintenance Phase, and Know Your Enemy. That last one is a nice mix of contemporary politics and political history, but sometimes it absolutely disappears up its own ass on the sort of things that really only someone deeply invested in the inside baseball of conservative philosophy is going to care about, like on extended discussions of West Coast vs East Coast Straussians. But the discussions are high-quality at least, even if the subject matter isn't always of the greatest interest to me.

I've also been watching a lot of the back catalogue of Well There's Your Problem on Youtube (it's a podcast with slides, though I think there's an audio-only version of it too). The engineering disasters they talk about are really interesting, but it's a podcast much closer to the "three friends just shoot the shit for an hour and a half" spectrum. Sometimes they get lost on really long tangents that just have nothing to do with anything, and their news segment at the beginning of each episode is, I fear, slowly cannibalizing the whole thing. But it's pretty good background listening while you're getting other stuff done.

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astrangergivingthestrangewelcome · 2 years

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Journaling vs. Podcasting in Dracula/Murrary Mysteries

No spoilers provided you are caught up to dracula daily

So I love Murray Mysteries, to date it's the best adaptation I've seen of Dracula and the only one that gets the found family down. But as I have occasionally said, my biggest criticism is the Podcast format does not work for me. A great example is all this with the Demeter. In the book Mina just pastes the newspaper in her journal, ok she's interested by this and is saving it for herself later. Totally works for me.

In Murray Mysteries Mina airs the frantic dying logs of a captain who we can audibly hear slowly losing her mind as the trip continues and then she ends her podcast segment like "cool mystery huh we'll give you updates as the story progresses" and I found that I just had to ignore it in order to still like Mina. Who just airs something like that, to get views on their podcast?? You do not have the right to do that to that poor woman and her loved ones, and is that even legal?? Girl literally just died. In general, the podcast's heavy emotional moments pretty much always hit for me, but I would have to forcibly over look that in no way would anyone actually experiencing these things be ok with putting them on the internet forever.

Then we got to the section in the book, and I realized that Murray Mysteries did face a difficult challenge in translating the epistolary style (which is a cool style I emulate it when I write fic for Dracula too) into the 21st century. Why doesn't the correspondent publishing the logs feel as icky to me? Well for one it is news, and he's publishing it, like, the captain went to an awful lot of work to make sure there was an account of the last days of the Demeter, seems that somebody should. Mina is not a news reporter, she's doing it for entertainment, and it just feels so wrong to me that her response to hearing this tragedy that Just Occurred is immediately "ooohh I can use this for profit." I don't want to get too hypocritical, we all love true crime stories and what not but her delivery just felt really insensitive to me. And there's something much more invasive about hearing the captain's despair rather than reading it that just made me go "wow this is not your place to share and the Mina Murray I know would think so too, she recorded this for the authorities not for people to oogle at her demise."

But then, what other possibility other than podcast was really open to these writers? The reason the framing device of Dracula works is journalling is naturally more private. You journal in order to put down your thoughts and experiences for posterity, and you probably are writing with the thought that someone will read them one day, but you can have control over that. You can be more intimate because you can decide which hands its going into. And you can always destroy the pages and the information is gone. Writing down all his horrors really is just Jonathan's way of processing what is going on in his life first, and is meant as a record for really really loved ones like Mina second. That makes all the sheer intensity of these entries and this novel possible in a believable way for me anyway.

That's just... not really done in the same way today. Who journals anymore? If you tried to tell the story of Dracula through a bunch of 21st century journalers I would be extremely skeptical. I'm sure some people still do, I know I was enamored with the thought of being a diary keeper when I was a kid (not that I had the perservance for it though many attempts were tried). It's all become blogs, vlogs and podcasts and although you can be an unreserved, open sort of person very authenticly on these sort of things if you have that personality, there's still a difference in how you present yourself when you're putting yourself out there to the whole internet. The manufactured authencity is so much more real- I mean you literally edit yourself before posting.

I don't really have a conclusion to make for this post, other than I never realized how much ye olde journalling has transforming into mediums that are by and large public with an audience the producer can only marginally control. This really makes it difficult for anyone wanting to adapt the framing device of an old epistolary novel into a modern setting with the same intimacy and sincerity. We're really not a private world anymore at all.

#murray mysteries #dracula daily

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