EPISODE 113: Dark PR with Grant Ennis
Added 2023-10-24 10:01:01 +0000 UTCHello, supporters of The War on Cars!
First, some big news.:
1. We're writing a book! You might have seen the announcement on social media already, but we singed a deal with Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House, to turn The War on Cars into a book. We'll be working hard on that as we continue to deliver episodes of the podcast. A big thanks to all of you, as the enthusiasm of our supporters and listeners was a big factor in making this happen. More about this soon!
2. The War on Cars will be doing a live show at the 2024 Winter Cycling Congress this February in Edmonton, Alberta. We are very excited to attend this celebration of all things winter cycling and meet passionate city leaders, planners and advocates from across the globe, all of whom are trying to build a world where cycling year-round is a normal and practical transportation option for people of all ages and abilities. If you'd like to attend the WCC, you can save 10% off the registration fee with code WARONCARS now through November 1st. We can't wait to see a lot of folks in Edmonton!
Now, on with the show...
In his new book, Dark PR: How Corporate Disinformation Harms Our Health and the Environment, Grant Ennis — a lecturer at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia — identifies the "nine devious frames" that corporations such as automobile manufacturers and road builders use to advance their interests, manipulate the public and maintain a status quo that harms human health and the environment. Dark PR is a thought-provoking book that shines a light on the tactics used by major industries to lock in an unhealthy, unsafe and unsustainable status quo. Ennis offers listners of The War on Cars food for thought as we try to improve our world and fight back against these powerful interests.
We hope you find the interview and the book valuable as you do your own organizing and campaigning where you live.
Thanks as always for your support and for listening!
- Aaron, Sarah and Doug
LINKS:
Buy Dark PR as well as titles by other podcast guests at our Bookshop.org page.
Watch "Human Traffic Signals," a PSA from Buick of Shanghai General Motors.
Here's GM's vision of 1976... as imagined in 1956.
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association thinks the solutions to traffic safety are pretty complex.
*****
Patreon supporters who want to listen to this ad-free episode on Apple Podcasts or another podcast app should check out these instructions on how to find and use your private RSS audio link from Patreon. Patreon is now integrated with Spotify. You can also use the Patreon app or listen in your browser.
Comments
Great episode, and an awesome refresh on “Merchants of Doubt.” I did notice several references to epidemiologists who don’t understand or reject the public health crisis of MV-associated road deaths. As a long time epidemiologist in both infectious disease and built environment (CDC, state health depts), I’m curious who/what orgs these came from? In my professional life I have not encountered anyone who would deny the incidence trends in these injuries and deaths. I don’t believe that the views shared in the episode represent the majority of public health professionals, but remain curious about this. Thanks again for all your work, TWOC!
Karlyn Beer
2024-03-15 13:31:43 +0000 UTCHey John, you raise a really important point here. Tactically we need to put pressure on whoever or whatever is most important at a given time, but strategically our goal should never be "better politicians". I'd love to talk with you about this some time if you'd ever like, but for now here is the copy paste from my book on this subject (This is a small piece of the second to last chapter of the book, and you might enjoy the whole chapter, but I thought this might help answer your question): From my book Dark PR: Focusing on politicians’ voluntary ethical behavior distracts citizens from the existing, harmful environments shaping that behavior. As political science professor Murray Edelman puts it, “To personify failure … is to minimize the chance that public restiveness or protest will force institutional change. Individuals are expendable so that established power relationships and modes of allocating resources can continue in spite of unpopular policies.” Focusing on the individual integrity of political leaders like Richard Nixon, Donald Trump, and Silvio Berlusconi distracts us from underlying structural forces. Blaming individuals undermines our ability to repair those structures. Referring to former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, British author Tobias Jones wrote, “Because the story was invariably about him, it was rarely about anything else.” Many are similarly blind to the fact that the Trump presidency resulted from a weakening structural environment that increasingly incentivizes corruption. Securing our democratic future depends on real political changes in these institutions and incentive structures. Demanding voluntary honesty of politicians is counterproductive when we incentivize dishonesty. We must organize and focus not on the false target of putting better politicians in place, but on eliminating the structures that incentivize unethical political behavior. References: Edelman, Murray. Constructing the Political Spectacle. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1988. Jones, Tobias. “We’re All Living in Berlusconi’s World Now.” Foreign Policy, August 21, 2019. Tomasky, Michael. “Trump Is Just the Symptom. The Republican Party Is a Disease Eating Away Our Democracy.” The Daily Beast, April 15, 2019. *Also check out: Kendall-Taylor, Nathaniel. “The Invisible Contest Beneath Our Elections.” Washington D.C., USA: The FrameWorks Institute, January 27, 2023. Nat Kendall-Taylor [@natkendallt]. “Focusing All Our Attention on Elected Officials and the People in Politics Assumes That Our Democratic System Is Just and Well-Designed. Spoiler Alert: It’s Not. We Need to Do More than Elect New Officials. We Need to Change the System.” Tweet. Twitter, February 3, 2023. https://twitter.com/natkendallt/status/1621504779657613312.; Nat Kendall-Taylor [@natkendallt]. “Strengthening Our Democracy Means Changing the Rules of the Game, Not Just the People Playing It. Electing Leaders Who Will Do the Right Thing Is Important but so Is Renovating the Outdated and Inequitable System They Operate in. #MondayMindsets.” Tweet. Twitter, February 6, 2023. https://twitter.com/natkendallt/status/1622591947280900099.; Nat Kendall-Taylor [@natkendallt]. “Why Is It That Even When We Elect the ‘Right’ People, We Don’t See the Change We’re after? It’s Because Creating a Just and Inclusive Country Is about More than Politicians–It’s about the Rules That Govern Our Political SYSTEM.” Tweet. Twitter, February 9, 2023. https://mobile.twitter.com/natkendallt/status/1623679108147294208.; Nat Kendall-Taylor [@natkendallt]. “Hot Take: Blaming/Replacing Political Actors Won’t Actually Achieve Much Truth Is, Many of Our Challenges Are Rooted in Systemic Issues That Extend beyond Individuals. It’s Time We Shifted Our Energy toward Tackling the Structures That Perpetuate These Problems. #MondayMindsets.” Tweet. Twitter, July 3, 2023. https://twitter.com/natkendallt/status/1675847863706742785.
Grant Ennis
2023-11-03 05:24:01 +0000 UTCJust finished the pod, and have requested the book, so apologies if this question is addressed in the book, but I’m struck by the bit at the end of the pod saying what Molly Ivins used to say, that it’s much more important to build movements than to worry about having the perfect people in office. Which is what you two discussed —- but Grant also said that what was needed was to build a mass movement in order to bring “pressure” on elected officials, particularly “good ones.” So what the heck is “pressure” if not “training our fire” on these people? What does it mean to put “pressure” on office holders if you don’t mean exerting force on them (pressure being a force exerted over an area). What is good “pressure” vs. “maybe not the best idea” of “training your fire on politicians?”
John Gear
2023-11-03 04:51:30 +0000 UTC
