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Hello everyone.
For almost the past decade, I’ve spent my professional and creative energies following and criticizing lunatic right-wing media, which has been an amazing journey of discovery. I’ve learned a tremendous amount about myself, and about the stories that people tell that are designed to fuel incitement and media attention. It was a joy and a critical part of my growing up, but the only constant in life is change, and that project couldn’t last forever.
It is my sincere conviction that misinformation and the lies that bigots tell to facilitate their bigotry cannot be ignored, and my approach to that problem has always been to keep some level of optimism in mind. When discussing a problem, it is central for me to believe that a solution for that problem is possible. To complain about a problem that you don’t think there’s a solution for makes as much sense as spending your time yelling about how humans can’t fly; no amount of talk is going to change that, so you should spend your time building a rocket pack or trying to hack genetics.
I still believe that solutions to misinformation and bigot content exist, and that optimism isn’t gone, but the podcast that I spent the last nine years making was no longer an avenue where that optimism could survive.
As that comes to an end, I was faced with the decision of what to do next. I could try to move on and start a new show about misinformation, but the fact that things were changing gave me a chance to reflect on whether or not that was good for anyone.
I don’t regret the last nine years of work, and I’m proud of a lot of what we accomplished, but ultimately I have said just about all I have to say about misinformation and the deceptive methods propagandists use. Any attempt to make a new podcast that centered around that would run the risk of being trapped in redundancy, and not offer anything new to the understanding that the public can have about these subjects.
I intend to continue pursuing a certain amount of academic coverage of this topic, and my plan still involves finding ways to make sure the things I’ve learned on the way are put to good use, but personally I feel the need to create something that is not centered around discussing hateful liars lying.
This project is the next step, and one that I hope people will enjoy. I’ve discovered in the last couple years of my life that I have a passion for travel, and a very peculiar type of travel. Going to a resort or luxurious locale doesn’t appeal to me, and I don’t really feel a strong urge to find all the cool spots where the locals all hang out like all the haunts and dive bars I’ve spent so much time in.
I want to see some of the amazing things that exist out there, that are also possibly a bit stupid.
We’re not talking strictly about roadside attractions, tourist traps, or that big cross just off the highway. We’re not talking strictly about historically significant landmarks. We’re not talking strictly about places that are haunted or might have magical properties. The places I want to visit and experience may include stuff that could fall into any of those categories, but what’s most important is that these places mean something.
I am currently working on the first episodes of this podcast, and part of me being able to keep finding places that mean something relies on people telling me about places that mean something, which I hope listeners like you will be willing to help with. You can suggest a location for me on the contact page on this site, and if everything goes according to plan, I may end up heading to the place you want to show me.
I recognize that this is a big shift, and a lot of people who have enjoyed the content I’ve produced for the last nine years might not be interested in following along into a new project, and that is totally fair. I can’t thank you enough for enjoying what we’ve made.
