The official podcast of George Mason University's Character Assassination and Reputation Politics Research Lab. Join us to explore the science of scandal and how individuals and organizations can protect themselves against attack. Learn more about our mission at https://carpresearchlab.org.
CARP Radio
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Podcast Overview
The official podcast of George Mason University's Character Assassination and Reputation Politics Research Lab. Join us to explore the science of scandal and how individuals and organizations can protect themselves against attack. Learn more about our mission at https://carpresearchlab.org.
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Publishing Since
6/7/2021
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Recent Episodes
June 29, 2026
Behind Caesar's Back: Rumor and Gossip in Ancient Rome with Dr. Caillan Davenport
<p>From the courts of imperial Rome to the modern workplace, rumor and gossip is endemic in human civilization. But what gives rumor and gossip its destructive power, and how can we defend ourselves against its effects? </p><p>In this episode of CARP Radio, we're joined by Dr. Caillan Davenport, Professor of Classics and Head of the Centre for Classical Studies at the Australian National University and author of "<a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/behhttps://bookshop.org/p/books/behind-caesar-s-back-rumor-gossip-and-the-making-of-the-roman-emperors-caillan-davenport/9f25112e647816eb?ean=9780300276459&next=tind-caesar-s-back-rumor-gossip-and-the-making-of-the-roman-emperors-caillan-davenport/9f25112e647816eb?ean=9780300276459&next=t" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">Behind Caesar's Back": Rumor, Gossip, and the Making of the Roman Emperors</a>. Dr. Davenport's book explores how ancient rumor and gossip spread through surprisingly well-developed networks of oral communication, taking down (and elevating) emperors, politicians, and other public figures in the process. </p><p>In this conversation, Dr. Davenport explains the difference between rumor and gossip, why some pieces of gossip fade away while others become full-blown scandals, and the methodological challenges posed by studying the ancient world. He also discusses how studying rumor and gossip in the ancient world helps us understand these phenomena today, and reveals how one ill-judged response to one’s critics might live in infamy in the historical record forever.</p><p>Show Notes: </p><p>If you liked this episode, leave a five-star rating and drop us a comment with your thoughts, feedback, or suggestions. </p><p>In this season of CARP Radio, we'll be looking to the scandals of the past for wisdom we can take into the future. For more updates on our work, visit our <a href="carplab.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">website </a>and on the social media platforms of your choice. </p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/carp-lab" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">LinkedIn </a>/ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/carp2017/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">Facebook </a>/ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@carpresearchlab3344/videos" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">YouTube </a>/ <a href="https://www.instagram.com/carp_research/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">Instagram</a></p><p><br></p><p><br></p>
March 21, 2023
Fake News, Real Money: How the Adtech Industry Monetizes Misinformation (with Dr. Joshua Braun)
<p>Advertising: whether on- or offline, it’s everywhere. However, twenty-first advertisers no longer just operate out of Madison Avenue boardrooms. Today's "mad men" are part of the adtech industry, the complex network of advertisers, platforms, and publishers that operates just below the Internet's surface. In online auction houses known as ad exchanges, the biggest companies in the world bid on a valuable commodity- our attention.</p> <p>Like the adtech industry, online disinformation is big business. In 2020, websites promoting COVID-19 conspiracy theories and disinformation raked in over 25 million dollars in ad revenue in just five months. They hosted ads from some of the world’s biggest brands and organizations, including Pepsi, Comcast, and even the CDC. So how could something like this happen? In this interview with CARP's Deirdre Jane Prigge, digital media scholar Dr. Josh Braun explains how “normal accidents” rooted in the design of the digital world allow bad actors to profit off fake news, spread junk information, and even destroy local journalism. </p> <p>Show Notes</p> <p>Joshua Braun is an associate professor of journalism at the University of Massachusetts Amherst whose work examines sociological questions surrounding online media distribution. Josh's papers have appeared have appeared in Communication Theory, Communication, Culture & Critique, Journalism, Digital Journalism, and Journalism Practice. His book on the digital distribution of TV news, “<a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300197501/program-brought-you/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">This program is brought to you by… : Distributing television news online</a>" was published in 2015 by Yale University Press. Josh is also co-editor of <a href="http://distributionmatters.net" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Distribution Matters</a>, a series of books on media distribution from The MIT Press. In recent years, Josh has begun a second line of research into the ways problems with the digital advertising ecosystem affect the health of news media. He is currently working on a new book for MIT Press about the civic impacts of media distribution. For updates on Josh's work, check out his <a href="https://joshbraun.umasscreate.net/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">website</a>. </p> <p>Josh received his Ph.D. and M.S. in Communication from Cornell University. He also holds a master's in Bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania and an individual-concentration bachelor's degree in "Sciences in the Media" from the University of California Santa Barbara Josh is an affiliated fellow of the Information Society Project at Yale Law School, a former graduate fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, and a founding member of the "Culture Digitally" NSF working group.</p>
February 23, 2023
The Delusion of Power: A Critical Media Literacy Education with Nolan Higdon
<p>Whether they call it misinformation, disinformation, or fake news, most keen observers of contemporary politics understand that the power to rapidly spread large volumes of false information has had seismic effects on our politics, relationships, families, and communities. Today's guest offers a provocative counterpoint to these claims, arguing that much of the current discourse over disinformation has become a “moral panic" in which accusations of fake news are used as reputational attacks to silence outsiders and reify old hegemonies.</p> <p>In this interview with CARP's Deirdre Jane Prigge, critical media literacy scholar Dr. Nolan Higdon offers an alternative diagnosis of what's wrong with our media landscape, pinning the blame on an economic system that misleads consumers about how much power they really hold. Higdon explains what critical media literacy is, how it differs from conventional “acritical” approaches, and what thoughtful media consumers should look out for when trying to determine whether the latest eye-catching scoop is just more fake news. Nolan and Deirdre also chat about the importance of empathy, especially when trying to communicate productively with people who have been misinformed.</p> <p>If you liked this episode, comment, subscribe, leave us a 5-star rating, and share it with your friends and family. We really appreciate it.</p> <p>Show Notes</p> <p>Nolan Higdon, EdD, is an author and university lecturer at Merrill College and the Education Department at University of California, Santa Cruz. Higdon’s areas of concentration include podcasting, digital culture, news media history, and critical media literacy. Higdon is a regular contributor to Savage Minds and a Project Censored National Judge. He is the author of <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520347878/the-anatomy-of-fake-news" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">The Anatomy of Fake News</a>: A Critical News Literacy Education (University of California Press, 2020). His most recent publications include <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Lets-Agree-to-Disagree-A-Critical-Thinking-Guide-to-Communication-Conflict/Higdon-Huff/p/book/9781032168982https://www.routledge.com/Lets-Agree-to-Disagree-A-Critical-Thinking-Guide-to-Communication-Conflict/Higdon-Huff/p/book/9781032168982" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Let’s Agree to Disagree</a>:<a href="https://www.routledge.com/Lets-Agree-to-Disagree-A-Critical-Thinking-Guide-to-Communication-Conflict/Higdon-Huff/p/book/9781032168982https://www.routledge.com/Lets-Agree-to-Disagree-A-Critical-Thinking-Guide-to-Communication-Conflict/Higdon-Huff/p/book/9781032168982" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"> </a>A Critical Thinking Guide to Communication, Conflict Management, and Critical Media Literacy (Routledge, 2022) with Mickey Huff, <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Podcaster%27s+Dilemma%3A+Decolonizing+Podcasters+in+the+Era+of+Surveillance+Capitalism-p-9781119789888" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">The Podcaster’s Dilemma</a>: Decolonizing Podcasters in the Era of Surveillance Capitalism (Wiley, 2021) with Nicholas Baham III, and "<a href="https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/jehr-2022-0014" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Being on the Outside of the Inside of the Ivory Tower</a>: Nontenured Part-Time Faculty’s Attitudes Toward Their Colleagues and Management," an qualitative investigation of elitism in higher education (University of Toronto Press, 2023). Higdon has been a source of expertise for CBS, NBC, The New York Times, and The San Francisco Chronicle.</p> <p>To keep up with Higdon’s latest work and upcoming projects, subscribe to his <a href="//nolanhigdon.substack.com" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Substack </a>and follow his Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/nolan_higdon" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">@nolan_higdon</a>.</p>
12 total episodes available
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