The current 24-hour ‘news’ cycle was created to sell products and push agendas. It does not matter which media outlet you subscribe to, they all have a message to send with hopes of manipulating the mind. And, with the discouragement of critical thinking, deciphering fake news from real news becomes harder and harder with every headline we read. For tips on how to delve deeper to find the truth in the news stories we ingest, Positive Psychology Podcast Host, Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with two authors who dissect the way news, past and current, is presented. Nolan Higdon shares tips for identifying fake news and discusses key elements from his current book, The Anatomy of Fake News: A Critical News Literacy Education. John O’Connor details best practices for reconciliation in a hostile political climate and shares information about his book, Postgate: How the Washington Post Betrayed Deep Throat, Covered Up Watergate, and Began Today’s Partisan Advocacy Journalism.
Dr. Nolan Higdon is an author and university lecturer of History and media studies. Higdon’s areas of concentration include youth culture, news media history, and critical media literacy. His most recent publications include United States of Distraction (co-author with Mickey Huff, City Lights, 2019) and The Anatomy of Fake News: A Critical News Literacy Education (University of California Press, 2020). He is co-host of the Along the Line podcast with "Dr. Dreadlocks" Nicholas Baham III, and a longtime contributor to Project Censored’s annual book, Censored.
Book: The Anatomy of Fake News: A Critical News Literacy Education
John O’Connor is an experienced trial lawyer, practicing law in San Francisco since 1972. He has tried cases in state and federal courts throughout the country. He served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Northern California from 1974-1979, representing the United States in both criminal and civil cases. Among his interesting assignments have been representation of the government during the OPEC oil embargo of the 1970s; writing Fifth Amendment and “state of mind” briefs for the prosecution in United States v. Patricia Hearst, and representing W. Mark Felt regarding the revelation of his identity as Deep Throat.
Book: Postgate: How the Washington Post Betrayed Deep Throat, Covered Up Watergate, and Began Today’s Partisan Advocacy Journalism
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