Most mornings I listen to the (very short) NPR Up First podcast. Basically they run through the headlines. I usually can't stomach The Daily (NYT); the super-slick production and vocal performances turn my stomach.

I feel guilty about not seeking out more alternative-to-mainstream news. I follow some independent journalists on social media so that helps. I need to be better about this.

I probably shouldn't, but I sometimes listen to a Financial Times (UK) politics show. The regular pundits say horrifying shit like "I was talking to a dear friend of mine, an arms dealer." Gallows stuff.

braddock wrote: Wed Apr 16, 2025 7:28 pm Most mornings I listen to the (very short) NPR Up First podcast. Basically they run through the headlines. I usually can't stomach The Daily (NYT); the super-slick production and vocal performances turn my stomach.

I feel guilty about not seeking out more alternative-to-mainstream news. I follow some independent journalists on social media so that helps. I need to be better about this.

I probably shouldn't, but I sometimes listen to a Financial Times (UK) politics show. The regular pundits say horrifying shit like "I was talking to a dear friend of mine, an arms dealer." Gallows stuff.

Oh, the FT Weekly Politics show. At the same time incredibly informative and absolutely horrifying. A couple of the commentators are solid but it can get into Luvvy* territory real fast.

Probably the worst two politics podcasts in the UK are The News Agents, particularly Matlis and Sopel, and The Rest is Politics, which is basically an ex Tory minister explaining why he should run everything and an ex New Labour spin doctor coming up with excuses why the Iraq War II was a good idea.

* a 00s UK slang for certain kind of media personality. The sort that went to all the right dinner parties and was incredibly superficial.

I just read this after seeing a Guardian article on an allegedly fake psychologist.

https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/d ... they-seem/

It’s incredible how lazy some journalists and media outlets are. One of my most formative experiences with the media occurred at a party about 15 years ago. I was talking with this guy and found out he was a prominent hack for the Daily Mail - Americans, think NY Post - . I obviously couldn’t contain the look of distain on my face, especially after a few drinks. He immediately told me not to worry he used to work for the Independent and Guardian but the pay was better at the Mail. This confirmed my growing opinion that journalists generally have zero credibility, they’ll work for whoever will pay them a dollar more an hour. In the UK you see this all the time. A prominent Guardian columnist ended up as Boris Johnson’s press secretary and was forced to resign after a leaked fake press conference where she mocked Covid lockdown parties within the government.

I guarantee if someone paid Dave Rubin one more dollar a year he’d start spouting Third World Maoist propaganda in a heartbeat.

Hacks gunna hack.

Gramsci wrote: Sat Apr 19, 2025 4:50 am Oh, the FT Weekly Politics show. At the same time incredibly informative and absolutely horrifying. A couple of the commentators are solid but it can get into Luvvy* territory real fast.

Yes, this captures it. They are informative but ghouls, yet honest ghouls? At least you know who you're dealing with.

braddock wrote: Sun Apr 20, 2025 6:46 pm

Gramsci wrote: Sat Apr 19, 2025 4:50 am Oh, the FT Weekly Politics show. At the same time incredibly informative and absolutely horrifying. A couple of the commentators are solid but it can get into Luvvy* territory real fast.

Yes, this captures it. They are informative but ghouls, yet honest ghouls? At least you know who you're dealing with.

Yup. That’s what Chomsky has always said about the FT. It reliable because the bias is not hidden.

CNN started a paywall so now online I usually go to AP, The Guardian and BBC. I do like to pop into Fox News and OAN occasionally just to keep an eye on some of the fucked up shit. TV is usually MSDNC but it seems like half the time they are just selling shit (books, podcasts, etc.) and that has started to get under my skin.

Gramsci wrote: Sun Apr 13, 2025 12:51 pm Maybe I’m a vulgar Marxist, but to me The Guardian is centrist slightly right leaning paper. It’s still the main paper I read.

What, if any, news sources do you follow that are left-leaning, in your opinion?

Newspapers - the other forms are far less edible.

jirbling rake wrote: Mon Apr 28, 2025 6:04 pm

Gramsci wrote: Sun Apr 13, 2025 12:51 pm Maybe I’m a vulgar Marxist, but to me The Guardian is centrist slightly right leaning paper. It’s still the main paper I read.

What, if any, news sources do you follow that are left-leaning, in your opinion?

That’s actually pretty tough because many can be just as shrill as the rightwing.

https://tribunemag.co.uk/

I guess Jacobin for the US, but they’ve had some pretty terrible blind spots on Latin America.

The Morning Star is the only leftist newspaper in the UK. The union leader Bob Crowe said his father told him to read The Morning Star and the Financial Times - the reason being that the Morning Star tells you the political truth as an ally, and the Financial Times will tell you something like the 'realpolitikal' truth - if you want to know why things in the world happen the way they do, follow the money, and that's what the FT does. The Guardian is a cancer and I earnestly hope I live to see its demise.