Two of the boldest, most powerful voices of our time--a historian and a journalist--discuss the precedent for arriving at this day and where we go from here
Compete with MSM. Put all of the best minds together. Soros et all are buying... Comcast is putting MSNBC and CNBC on the block. Meidas says it leads Fox on social media.....
This could be a news item...send press releases....
Wow -- a 5-star piece. Excellent setup questions from Jen. And superlative explanations from HCR that trace the large themes through history, touch on specific details, and make the "so what?" of it all clear. (I confess that I was rocked and maybe even kinda offended by the comparison of Walden and today's tech bros -- I had never thought of Thoreau as a callow youth -- but I take HCR's point.)
HCR's discussion here, while only 10 or 15 minutes long, produced a couple of "Aha!" or "light-bulb moments" that reminded me strongly of my first reading of Howard Zinn's _A People's History of the United States_.
(BTW, if you haven't read _A People's History_" yet, you're in for a treat.)
Heather and Jen are my heros. I'm cancelling my Washington Post and NY Times subscriptions and hope to keep well informed and politically active by reading the Contrarian and Letters daily, along with many other pro-democracy writers. I believe we can win back America.
We will need investigative journalists now more than ever. Your local and national newspapers (such as NYT) are absolutely crucial to uncovering the truth and establishing a factual record.
A free press and investigative reporters in the much-maligned “mainstream media” are foundational to our Democracy. We still need them and they still need our support to survive.
My question is how to we spread this to ordinary Americans. We are the same crowd that watched MSNBC. We are truth seekers. How does the Contrarian and other independent sources reach the people that are getting misinformation from places like Fox News and others. If it’s still just us, how will it work?
As my daughter would say about me, everyone has a right to my opinion. The change, the turning towards towards democracy will not happen quickly. I think the main idea that I take away is to stay involved, stay listening, stay in the know with HCR and The Contrarian and other sources, and get succor from the arts as well. But don't expect to be able to grab someone by the collar and change their minds. I think right now the goal is for us to stay involved, not turn away, not become paralyzed with depression and hopelessness. If the wheel turns in our lifetime, it will be because we stayed with our shoulders to it, and eventually others will become aware of what we already know to be true --- and then we will have the numbers to press for change.
Heather’s “final answer” was to keep asserting reality—bust the myths. Each of us can support the truth tellers who have a large audience, and each of us can speak up in our individual conversations.
I needed a miracle this morning. Nightmares last night, felt adrift, no sense of internal focus. I didn't know what to do with myself. Checked my email first, to find something to divert myself. And at the top of my message list was this. Two of my favorite angels of information speaking together on Contrarian. I clicked in, and knew this is what I needed to bring me out of the doldrums. I had been considering the Contrarian, wondering if I could squeeze it into my budget. This made it imperative. I have to be part of this. Thank you, Jennifer. Thank you, Heather. I am back on earth now, and able to fix breakfast. And to face this day with a sense of possibility rather than the dread that had been dogging me.
Heather is obviously one of the greats. You should talk with Lindsay Chervinsky, too. She has a 'younger generation's take on the Great Issues. Clay Jenkinson, too. https://ltamerica.org
Love this conversation !- Heather has a way of helping me see the connections with our history, making sense of the present and reminding me that I'm part of the great democracy experiment- what's happening now is on our watch, we are making history one way or the other - the question is open ended: what will historians be teaching about our time?
We each have a role in this to speak and support those who hold lights that will eventually take us out of the darkness. Stop using the platforms of misinformation. Only through our eyeballs do they have any power. And stop buying things from the oligarchs. It will be inconvenient for a while, but the prize is worth the fight.
I'm so grateful not to have a TV since I was 19. I don't go in a house if it is on. I'm 80 now. I'm following the Australian open tennis today. Is something else important happening?;-). Oh, the wild fires in California and the pet rescues from the fire.
Great duo! Feel honored to listen to two great minds. You give me hope.
I' ve been supporting both of them.
Compete with MSM. Put all of the best minds together. Soros et all are buying... Comcast is putting MSNBC and CNBC on the block. Meidas says it leads Fox on social media.....
This could be a news item...send press releases....
Love Meidas
Thank you Jennifer Rubin for a great interview. Heather Cox Richardson is an important voice on Substack. We are so lucky to have her.
Wow -- a 5-star piece. Excellent setup questions from Jen. And superlative explanations from HCR that trace the large themes through history, touch on specific details, and make the "so what?" of it all clear. (I confess that I was rocked and maybe even kinda offended by the comparison of Walden and today's tech bros -- I had never thought of Thoreau as a callow youth -- but I take HCR's point.)
HCR's discussion here, while only 10 or 15 minutes long, produced a couple of "Aha!" or "light-bulb moments" that reminded me strongly of my first reading of Howard Zinn's _A People's History of the United States_.
(BTW, if you haven't read _A People's History_" yet, you're in for a treat.)
Heather and Jen are my heros. I'm cancelling my Washington Post and NY Times subscriptions and hope to keep well informed and politically active by reading the Contrarian and Letters daily, along with many other pro-democracy writers. I believe we can win back America.
My DIL sends me WaPo. I can find nothing in it to bother with.
We will need investigative journalists now more than ever. Your local and national newspapers (such as NYT) are absolutely crucial to uncovering the truth and establishing a factual record.
A free press and investigative reporters in the much-maligned “mainstream media” are foundational to our Democracy. We still need them and they still need our support to survive.
My question is how to we spread this to ordinary Americans. We are the same crowd that watched MSNBC. We are truth seekers. How does the Contrarian and other independent sources reach the people that are getting misinformation from places like Fox News and others. If it’s still just us, how will it work?
As my daughter would say about me, everyone has a right to my opinion. The change, the turning towards towards democracy will not happen quickly. I think the main idea that I take away is to stay involved, stay listening, stay in the know with HCR and The Contrarian and other sources, and get succor from the arts as well. But don't expect to be able to grab someone by the collar and change their minds. I think right now the goal is for us to stay involved, not turn away, not become paralyzed with depression and hopelessness. If the wheel turns in our lifetime, it will be because we stayed with our shoulders to it, and eventually others will become aware of what we already know to be true --- and then we will have the numbers to press for change.
Ava, yes! Loved the way you phrased it "right now the goal is for us to stay involved, not turn away..."
And loved " everyone has a right to MY opinion,". Hahahaha
Heather’s “final answer” was to keep asserting reality—bust the myths. Each of us can support the truth tellers who have a large audience, and each of us can speak up in our individual conversations.
Yeah...MSNBC that towering beacon of (t)ruth....
And most of the cowboys were not white… movies have created that vision
Will mouthing his Oath of Office be the first of Trump's 30,000 or 40.000 second term lies?
I needed a miracle this morning. Nightmares last night, felt adrift, no sense of internal focus. I didn't know what to do with myself. Checked my email first, to find something to divert myself. And at the top of my message list was this. Two of my favorite angels of information speaking together on Contrarian. I clicked in, and knew this is what I needed to bring me out of the doldrums. I had been considering the Contrarian, wondering if I could squeeze it into my budget. This made it imperative. I have to be part of this. Thank you, Jennifer. Thank you, Heather. I am back on earth now, and able to fix breakfast. And to face this day with a sense of possibility rather than the dread that had been dogging me.
We went through this for four years ago, now we have to go through it again.
What a great way to start this particular Monday morning! I hope to hear the two of you together again!!
Heather is obviously one of the greats. You should talk with Lindsay Chervinsky, too. She has a 'younger generation's take on the Great Issues. Clay Jenkinson, too. https://ltamerica.org
Love these two strong, brave and intelligent women! Thank you for your work!
Love this conversation !- Heather has a way of helping me see the connections with our history, making sense of the present and reminding me that I'm part of the great democracy experiment- what's happening now is on our watch, we are making history one way or the other - the question is open ended: what will historians be teaching about our time?
So important to refute the lies and bang away at what the current thieves-in-power are REALLY doing
The resistance has begun in joy, hope, and activism. Thank you for this discussion by 2 of my favorite people. I subscribed!
Any chance that the Contrarian will throw some of these conversations onto a podcast feed at some point?
I hope so. My eyes are getting too old for all this reading on a screen.
I also am old. I read on screen so I can blow up the print. All my Kindle books are in large print.
We each have a role in this to speak and support those who hold lights that will eventually take us out of the darkness. Stop using the platforms of misinformation. Only through our eyeballs do they have any power. And stop buying things from the oligarchs. It will be inconvenient for a while, but the prize is worth the fight.
Thank you!! Today is a tough day!! You both help me feel more grounded. Thank you for all you do!!
I'm so grateful not to have a TV since I was 19. I don't go in a house if it is on. I'm 80 now. I'm following the Australian open tennis today. Is something else important happening?;-). Oh, the wild fires in California and the pet rescues from the fire.