Unspun

Why do people reject information meant to help them?

In this episode of UnSpun, we explore psychological reactance — the instinct to resist control — and how it shapes our reactions to fact-checks, corrections, and even each other. From COVID-19 warning labels to social-media fatigue and holiday-table arguments, DrSturg traces how the need for freedom can make truth feel like pressure. And she offers a better way to get people to stop rejecting facts.

Topics covered:

– What psychological reactance is

– How social media architecture amplifies defiance

– Why corrections often backfire

– How to talk to friends or family who reject facts

– The emotional balance between truth and autonomy

#Reactance #Misinformation #MediaLiteracy #UnSpunPodcast #SocialMediaPsychology

In today’s wars, the battlefield is more than land, sea, or air—it’s information.

This episode of UnSpun examines how media has become both a weapon and a target in the age of hybrid warfare. From Russian deepfakes in Ukraine to meme wars in U.S. politics, information has become the terrain where global power is contested.

Learn how disinformation systems are built, how governments—both authoritarian and democratic—deploy them, and how ordinary citizens can defend themselves.

In this episode of UnSpun, we trace the invisible architecture that keeps truth alive when communication is forbidden.

From Phyllis Latour Doyle’s coded knitting in Nazi-occupied France to encrypted mesh networks during Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests, “The Geometry of Trust” reveals how humans build secret systems of meaning under surveillance.

This episode explores how communication itself becomes resistance when power demands silence.

🔗 Check my book on the #AltGov resistance movement here: https://amzn.to/4qDapCv🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode of UnSpun, we examine a phenomenon hiding in plain sight — the rise of civil religion. From stadium memorials that look like worship services to presidents who sound like preachers, faith and politics have fused into something new — and dangerous. We trace how America’s patriotic rituals became sacred texts, how global leaders have learned the same language, and what happens when dissent becomes heresy.

What exactly is “hate speech”—and who gets to decide?

This episode of UnSpun traces the shifting definitions of hate speech across a century of mass media. From Henry Ford’s antisemitic newspaper in the 1920s to Father Coughlin’s radio sermons, from Rwanda’s radio-fueled genocide to Roseanne Barr’s infamous tweet, Don Imus’s firing, and the recent suspensions of Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert—we follow how governments, corporations, and audiences have drawn, erased, and redrawn the boundaries of speech.

Along the way, we uncover how U.S. free speech law differs from Europe’s, how the Chans incubated extremist movements, how YouTube’s “adpocalypse” reshaped platform rules, and how the FCC’s regulatory power still influences what voices we hear.

👉 Subscribe for more episodes exploring the forces that shape public perception, journalism, and democracy.