Village SquareCast - UNUM: Invisible Rulers, with Renee DiResta

We’re making our way through a time of extreme disruption, led by rapid transformation in technology, especially in how we communicate information. According to our special guest Renée DiResta, the way power and influence have been profoundly transformed reveals how a virtual rumor mill of niche propagandists increasingly shapes public opinion.

By revealing the machinery and dynamics of the interplay between influencers, algorithms, and online crowds, DiResta vividly illustrates the way propagandists deliberately undermine belief in the fundamental legitimacy of institutions that make society work.

Find the program online here.

This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — “UNUM: Democracy Reignited,” a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives.

The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Tech Won't Save Us - Elon Musk is Remaking the US Space Program w/ Tim Fernholz

Paris Marx is joined by Tim Fernholz to discuss how Elon Musk’s influence in the White House is shaping the US Space Program, why he’s pushing NASA toward Mars instead of the Moon, and whether the Starship rocket is in trouble.

Tim Fernholz is a senior reporter at Payload Space and the author of Rocket Billionaires: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the New Space Race.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

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Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova - What Should Colleges Do about ChatGPT?

Nate and Maria revisit their conclave predictions, and discuss Maria’s recent win in Monte Carlo. Then the talk about college students’ rampant use of ChatGPT to cheat on assignments, and how colleges and professors might be able to catch up.

Further Reading:

From New York Magazine: Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College

For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to their newsletters:

The Leap from Maria Konnikova

Silver Bulletin from Nate Silver 


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The Gist - David Graham on The Project and the Plan to Remake American Government

David Graham author of The Project: How Project 2025 is Changing America, explains how Project 2025 seeks not smaller government, but a more obedient one—politicizing civil service, gutting regulation, and embedding a Trump-aligned worldview across federal agencies. He discusses how its authors blend sincere constitutional theory with radical institutional overhaul. Plus, does the Pope's MAGA-leaning brother demystify the Papacy? Produced by Corey Wara
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1A - What Does The First US-Born Pope Mean For The Church?

On Sunday, Catholic churches across the world celebrated Mass while a new leader took the top seat in Vatican City. That new leader is Pope Leo XIV.

But when white smoke rose last week, some of the faithful may have been surprised when Robert Prevost walked out of St. Peter's Basilica victorious. He's the first US-born pope in history.

What do we know about the man now leading the church? What does it mean for someone born in the U.S. to be the pope?

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Federalist Radio Hour - ‘You’re Wrong’ With Mollie Hemingway And David Harsanyi, Ep. 149: Jake Tapper

Join Washington Examiner Senior Writer David Harsanyi and Federalist Editor-In-Chief Mollie Hemingway as they analyze Jake Tapper's attempt to cover up his cover-up of Joe Biden's mental decline in his new book, discuss President Donald Trump's trip to the Middle East, and share their thoughts on Qatar's jet gift offer. David and Mollie also share their reviews of The Four Seasons, Landman, and Arcade Fire's new album. 

If you care about combating the corrupt media that continue to inflict devastating damage, please give a gift to help The Federalist do the real journalism America needs.

The Bulwark Podcast - S2 Ep1042: Leah Litman and Andrew Egger: Grievance All the Way Down

The five men on the Supreme Court are so easily triggered and seem to be making law based on their emotional needs. Meanwhile, they also see discrimination in some of the best things about America—like equality or the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. And at the White House, the press office got totally bored with the worshipful questions from MAGA media and invited The Bulwark's Andrew Egger over—so Karoline Leavitt could mix it up with a reporter who'd definitely ask tough questions. Plus, Trump's crypto grift reaches new heights, Gorsuch is oddly obsessed with the EPA, and the toadies are getting whipsawed by the constant tariff adjustments.

Leah Litman and Andrew Egger join Tim Miller.
show notes

Time To Say Goodbye - Are White Men Allowed to Write Novels with Andrew Boryga

Hello!

Today we take a break from Trump to bring back one of our favorite guests, Andrew Boryga, the novelist behind the brilliant book Victim, and the author of a funny and incisive substack. We talk about the latest compain-fest in the literary world about white millennial men and how they’re supposedly shut out of the fruits of culture like the NYPL Young Lions Award or whatever. Then we talk a little bit about the Pulitzer controversy surrounding James and Andrew’s own thoughts on who gets to write novels and who does not.



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