EPISODE

Aggressive, adversarial political discourse on social media and news reporting has worsened in recent years and threatens democracy and freedom. However, veteran political strategist Simon Rosenberg, host of the Substack “Hopium Chronicles,” has been a voice for reasonable and accurate political analysis and understanding. With 30 years of political strategist experience starting with Bill Clinton’s 1992 POTUS campaign, Simon offers insights into how social media fuels American political discussion and pushes false narratives that incite malicious behavior. In this timely interview, recorded in October 2023, Dave and Simon discuss how political parties operate in our information ecosystem, Simon’s experience when he appeared as a regular on Fox News (a couple of thousand times), and the sharp elbows often found in political reporting. 

“If you fraudulently represent yourself to somebody in the mail or over the phone, there can be legal consequences, and on social media, there isn’t.” 

-Simon Rosenberg

“As long as anger, paranoia, and misinformation drive our political debate, there are unhinged souls among us who will feel justified in turning to violent remedies for imagined threats.”

-David Horsey

Lead Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash