Once my mother asked where she “had gone wrong” with me and I told her “you taught me to read and bought me a radio.” It was a pink boom box for my 8th birthday and it ruined me in the most effective manner, simultaneously developing my lifelong addictions to Motown music, old radio variety shows, and world news. I kept the transistor between my pillow and the wall, allowing the frequencies to shape my mind while I slept. I came to understand the world around me from a broader perspective and that mattered to me, even at a young age. The dulcet tones of WBBM Chicago lulled me to sleep at night and kept me company as I moved about the solitary afternoons granted by eight years of homeschool. I used money earned from my paper route to buy a battery-powered radio with a long strap to sling around my shoulder so I could listen to long stretches of afternoon news reports while I rode my 10-speed bicycle through the quiet streets of West Chicago. I was extremely cool at that age, most evident in my new hobby of watching the Comedy Channel in the basement while my mom worked mornings for the church. I discovered quickly that I would get more jokes by staying abreast of global politics. Left to my own devices, I developed analytical opinions and learned the value of well-placed reference in conversation, especially where grown-ups are concerned.
As an adult myself, I am endlessly infuriated by the corporate media’s iron grip choking journalists into a culture of sensationalized self-censorship and military-industrial apologetics. Isn’t it bad enough Citizens United has corporatized Capitol Hill, disenfranchising We, the People from our “elected” representatives? I’ve had enough. Over the past year, I have cultivated a diverse feed of editorially-independent journalists that amply fill the void left by the pathetic death rattle of the mainstream media complex. If you also demand to know what is going on in our world, you must rise above the mind control programming of the 24 hours news cycle. Disengage. Occupy your own mind. Subscribe to the following programs and newsletters to take back the sanctity of news. In seeking the truth, remember to follow the journalist, not the outlet.
Friend-of-the-show Abby Martin offers revolutionary anti-Establishment coverage the MSM is too chicken shit to touch. Watch as she illuminates the dark corners of corporate oppression and calls to action an awakening of activists demanding progress of the People over profit.
Listen to Everything’s Fine with Abby Martin on The Crisman Show.
TYT is the largest online news show in the world, with over 1 billion views and counting. Hosts Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian break down news, politics, entertainment, and current events without scripts or teleprompters and without any corporate bias.
Author Thom Hartmann introduces his program by reminding us the press is the only industry specifically mentioned in the Constitution, because a free and open press is critical to a functional democracy. The Big Picture reveals what is actually going on in the world, going beyond merely identifying the problem and trying to fix it with rational debate and a real discussion of the critical issues facing America.
Quick, informative, and cheeky as hell, The Resident talks about the insanities surrounding life in these United States.
Activist and Investigative Comedian Lee Camp creatively carries on the ball-busting legacy of Bill Hicks and Lenny Bruce through stand up, documentary shorts, and sketch animation.
Newsletters Worth a Damn
The Bill of Rights Defense Committee provides a fantastic daily rundown of top civil liberties issues.
Make it your homepage.
One of my absolute favorite editorial newsletters, I rarely miss an issue and tend to share most every article I read either on Twitter or Pinterest.
Named “America’s Best Political Newsletter” and easily the most addictive on this list.
Environmental news and critical calls-to-action.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is on the front lines of digital privacy rights, and leading the fight against patent trolls now threatening the podcasting landscape. To learn more about this battle, check out Adam Corolla’s campaign against trolls (then donate to the defense fund here).
