November
2006
Episode 23 of Upon Further Review!
This week we willingly court controversy (so to speak) in Episode 23 of Upon Further Review! Inspired by the recent election day festivities, in this episode we dip into the world of politics and policy: first, we ask whether treatment or punishment work better as we look at the war on drugs (yep, the whole thing); second, we tackle the huge issue of the day as we examine the war in Iraq; and finally, we ask whether preaching to the choir is always a good thing in our review of the Wrong Of The Right podcast. As always, we’re grateful for your ideas, suggestions and comments–please spread the word about the show, and thanks for your continued support of the show! (As usual, podsafe intro music is provided by Sharif (“You’re My Girl”), outro by David Henderson (“We Gotta Go”).)
Reviewed in this show:
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Hi Greg and Clea
Gee I wish you’d tackle some big issues for a change ;)
I actually agree with both your ratings on the wars, even though we’re not really on the same political wavelength (for want of a label I tend to put myself in a vaguely libertarian camp but don’t share the complete ideology). I’m of the opinion that modern western governments don’t work as they’re no longer about governing they’re about politics which is a different animal all together. I’m not convinced that either the liberals or conservatives are any more qualified to spend my hard earned money. They both have wasted a lot of it to date. I’d also disagree on the issue of corporate interests being responsible for the war in Iraq: corporations wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for corrupt, or at least ideologically bankrupt, governments.
It was interesting to hear your review of the right-bashing podcast. I watched a documentary this week about the polarisation of America (and I’m sure it applies to the rest of us too) which proposed the theory that our expanding media outlets (cable TV, internet, specialist magazines, blogs, podcasts) are making society more polarised because you can select news/information which only agrees with your views. We’re no longer watching “generic” news which is at least attempting to be unbiased so we tend not to hear views which are contrary to our existing opinions and in fact we hear more extreme views of our existing opinions so we become more extreme ourselves.
Thanks for an entertaining show
Thanks as always, Bernadette…yeah, we must admit to having been a little nervous in posting this show, but we’re glad to hear that it came across well. We entirely agree with you about the polarization thing as well–the trend of everyone yelling at his/her own base to agree with him/her is, we think, one of the most dangerous and counterproductive ones in society today. In part, this show is designed in a very small way to counter that trend.
Happy Thanksgiving from America!
Greg, Clea,
Dare I say… great show?! I’m also of a different political bend (proud to be in a red state, if you know what I mean), but I couldn’t be more proud of you for putting this show out there. Political opinion differences, aside, I, too, think that you’re on the money with your reviews of these topics – or I respect and appreciate your opinions, even when they may differ. War on Drugs – couldn’t be more irresponsible and misguided. War in Iraq – well, I admit that I see your point, and I think it deserves a zero. Can’t think of many wars that would fall at or above the “five” line, but this one is just a bit too much to swallow. And that podcast – blecchh. While it’s unfortunate, the southern accent’s stigma is nearly impossible to ignore – so right off the bat you have someone with limited credibility. Foul language seems out of place, also. Nice that she’s expanding the medium, but at what cost to others?
Thanks, again! Great show! Can’t wait until 24!!!!
– Chris
Thanks, Chris…as we mentioned in our previous comment, this was a tough show for us to do, as we don’t mean to come across as militant. But we felt we had to speak up about some of these things, and we’re glad that even those who disagreed tended to appreciate the dialogue (except Drum Intellected, who wasn’t a big fan of it…which is okay, since he’s cool regardless. :) ) The Wrong of the Right podcast, though, was in our opinion an example of shouting a point of view rather than explaining it, and we certainly think we need a lot less shouting in our world in general!
T.R.