EPISODE

Throughout history, storytelling has taken many forms, ranging from peaceful to nefarious. Today, journalism, social media, and online storytelling have become increasingly adversarial, reflecting a shifting dynamic in today’s culture and politics.

In this episode of Hearsay Culture Radio, we discuss this problem with return guest Annalee Newitz, author of Stories are Weapons: Psychological Warfare in the American Mind. Annalee’s background as a journalist and science fiction novelist offers a unique perspective on how people tell stories and how they can negatively impact human psychological states and, when amplified, threaten democracy. Dave and Annalee discuss the weaponization of stories throughout history, as well as their current use in fueling cultural tensions and undermining the very concept of truth.

“A successful PsyOp changes the fabric of your democracy. It changes your laws. It changes your election procedures. It changes the way people relate to each other, who gets hired, who gets given a mortgage, all of these things are affected by the kinds of stories we tell.” 

-Annalee Newitz

“We are what we are because we have been what we have been, and what is needed for solving the problems of human life and motives is not moral estimates but more knowledge.”

-Sigmund Freud

Lead Photo by David Matos on Unsplash

Headshot Photo by Sarah Deragon