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This Is Propaganda

BRINK 20 Episodes Oct 12, 2026

In this Webby Award-winning narrative podcast, co-hosts Josh & Malcolm from BRINK media group reveal the hidden influence of the propaganda all around us and how it continues to profoundly shape our culture today.

Episodes

Paid for by the U.S. Government: Trump's Midterm Propaganda Oct 12, 2026 2636 Since September 23rd, if you watched an NFL game, a college game, Face the Nation or Fox News Sunday, you saw various commercial spots with dark authoritarian undertones that you paid for, if you're an American taxpayer. Professional propagandists Josh Belhumeur and Malcolm Critcher discuss and decipher the strategy and whether it will help or hurt the Republican party in the midterms. Watch

Everybody Loses: The Rise of American Sports Gambling with author Danny Funt Sep 25, 2026 3242 Between every down and inning is an ad for BetMGM, Fanduel, Draftkings, or the latest sports betting upstart with VC money and a celebrity sellout. Alongside author Danny Funt, we dissect how language shapes perception and policy and how industry lobbying influenced legalization in the world of “sports gaming”. — Buy Danny Funt's book here. X: @dannyfunt Bsky: @dannyfunt.bsky.social LinkedIn: htt

What Comes Next? Sep 18, 2026 316 We have a Patreon now. It's free and comes with bonus content including a full debrief on season 2: https://www.patreon.com/thisispropaganda

S2E5: Hegseth’s War on Woke and Women Sep 4, 2026 1176 Pete Hegseth’s entire life has been leading to this moment. A war for the very soul of our nation. But can he save the institution responsible for his sense of self from the woke mind virus, or is it too late? — A production of BRINK Website: thisispropaganda.show Instagram: instagram.com/thisispropagandashow Email: propaganda@brink.com — CREDITS Written, Produced, and Hosted by Malcolm Critcher

S2E4: Forever Wars: Embedded Feminism from the Middle East to the Marvel Cinematic Universe Aug 21, 2026 1212 As female soldiers get elevated from object to equal, they become both the army’s greatest PR asset, and greatest PR liability. — A production of BRINK Website: thisispropaganda.show Instagram: instagram.com/thisispropagandashow Email: propaganda@brink.com — CREDITS Written, Produced, and Hosted by Malcolm Critcher and Joshua Belhumeur Co-Producer: Reed Chandler __ Some dialogue and quotations

S2E3: Betty Crocker the Psy-Op, Rosie the Riveter, and the Feminist Revolution Apr 3, 2026 1517 From flappers to factory workers, and suffrajitsu to cold war kitchens, we track how the 20th century woman was imagined time and again to meet the needs of a nation. — A production of BRINK Website: thisispropaganda.show Instagram: instagram.com/thisispropagandashow Email: propaganda@brink.com — CREDITS Written, Produced, and Hosted by Malcolm Critcher and Joshua Belhumeur Co-Producer: Reed Cha

S2E2: Hollywood Declares War: From WWII Pinup Girls to Playmates in Vietnam Jan 2, 2026 1567 How propagandists getting into bed with Hollywood caused the military to lose control of what women mean to their warriors. Or: How I learned to stop worrying, and love the military entertainment complex. — A production of BRINK Website: thisispropaganda.show Instagram: instagram.com/thisispropagandashow Email: propaganda@brink.com — CREDITS Written, Produced, and Hosted by Malcolm Critcher an

S2E1: Horny for War: The History of How Sex Became A Weapon Oct 31, 2025 1423 White feathers, red light districts, and the rise of the military edging complex. How governments weaponized horniness to win WWI, and began to reimagine what women represent to a nation at war. — A production of BRINK Website: thisispropaganda.show Instagram: instagram.com/thisispropagandashow Email: propaganda@brink.com — CREDITS Written, Produced, and Hosted by Malcolm Critcher and Joshua Belh

This Is Propaganda Season 2 Oct 7, 2025 66 This Is Propaganda is back, and more patriotic than ever. From WWI posters to TikTok E-Girls, strap in for an immersive narrative investigation into how the military uses sex to define the image of the soldier, and the weird and unexpected ways it has changed our culture. New episodes through Fall of 2025.

Bot Armies, Dead Internet, and Misinformation Farms with Amil Khan May 30, 2025 2383 With endless bot armies infiltrating social media feeds and harnessing the algorithm to control narratives and public opinion, our media system is becoming increasingly polluted. How long will it be before the internet is officially “dead,” where more comments and views are bots than human? Our conversation this week is with Amil Khan, a former Reuters foreign correspondent and BBC investigative

Media Literacy with Renee Hobbs May 12, 2025 1934 The average American's worldview is under constant assault from propaganda. Between the 5,000 advertisements we see daily, for profit journalism, and virtually every post on social media, the gulf between reality and the myths we are surrounded by has never been wider. And with the widespread adoption of algorithms guiding this entire process, we are in desperate need of a new set of skills to nav

Hollywood and The Pentagon with Tom Secker Apr 16, 2025 2011 It probably won’t come as much of a surprise that the Pentagon was involved in the making of Top Gun. What may be more surprising is the sheer scope of film and television projects the Pentagon has had a hand in—and just how deeply involved it is in the production process. From Pitch Perfect 3 to the reality show Wife Swap, today we’ll explore how the Pentagon became one of the most powerful force

The Death of a Millennial Brand with Eugene Healey Mar 18, 2025 1857 What aesthetics and ideas defined the branded propaganda targeting millennials in the 2010s, and why do they increasingly fail to resonate with Gen Z audiences? Joining us is special guest Eugene Healey, brand strategy consultant and educator. Follow Eugene at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elkhealey This is DoubleThink, conversations inspired by the themes of This Is Propaganda. If you haven’t yet,

Howard Gossage: 20th Century Master of Propaganda with Justin Oberman Feb 19, 2025 1674 San Francisco ad man Howard Gossage (1917–1969) is a bit more under the radar than his Madison Avenue contemporaries, but his work in both consumer marketing and advocacy messaging was brilliant. His unconventional and interactive approaches to advertising felt like a harbinger of what was to come a half-century later with the advent of social media. We discuss his work and what it can teach us ab

Abortion Messaging in Post-Dobbs America with Amelia Bonow Jan 20, 2025 1408 Liberal “pro choice” messaging has historically conceded the moral high ground (“safe, legal and rare”). Amelia Bonow helped change that as the leader of the Shout Your Abortion movement. In this episode, she shares her journey and discusses why the persuasion war is far less important than educating people on the options they still and will always have, regardless of legality. Find safe abortions

Luigi Mangione, Trump and the Art of Cultural Disruption with David Shields Dec 20, 2024 1993 David Shields (best-selling author / filmmaker) joins us to dissect the brutal reality of politics as performance. We dive into Trump’s media mastery, Luigi Mangione’s provocative symbolism, and why the Democrats are stuck playing an obsolete game. Be sure to check out David’s latest work, How We Got Here, a film and book companion. This is DoubleThink, conversations inspired by the themes of This

Nuance has a PR Problem Nov 20, 2024 1525 Unpacking how the Culture War feeds on emotional shortcuts, why complexity and nuance is so hard to embrace, and what it means to navigate a society driven by flattened ideas and radicalized identities. This is DoubleThink, conversations inspired by the themes of This Is Propaganda. If you haven’t yet, please listen to the Webby Award season one of the pod. — BRINK media group is re-imagining how

The Art / Propaganda Spectrum Nov 5, 2024 1334 Is art propaganda? Is propaganda art? A free flowing conversation about a spectrum that exists between the two and how modern consumer propaganda might benefit from leaning heavier into art. This is DoubleThink, conversations inspired by the themes of This Is Propaganda. If you haven’t yet, please listen to the Webby Award season one of the pod. — BRINK media group is re-imagining how brands, cau

Narratives of the US Election Oct 19, 2024 1956 Malcolm and Josh revisit the “vibe shift” of the US election when President Biden dropped and the world got coconut-pilled by Kamala Harris, along with predictions of what comes next if Kamala is able to stay the course and not let the DC consultant class screw it up. — BRINK media group is re-imagining how brands, causes and artists compete in the oversaturated attention marketplace through origi

S1E5: Everything Is Propaganda, Even You Jan 3, 2024 1158 Social media creates an environment where propaganda becomes our default mode of expression. Because everyone is a brand. — A production of BRINK, original productions and branded entertainment Website: thisispropaganda.show Instagram: instagram.com/thisispropagandashow Email: propaganda@brink.com — Co-Hosts: Josh Belhumeur and Malcolm Critcher Story Editor: Matt Decker Producers: Jaclyn Hubersber

S1E4: You Have My Permission to Believe What I Say Dec 18, 2023 1235 Our discomfort with propaganda puts us on a quest for authenticity, but do we even know what that means anymore? — Co-Hosts: Josh Belhumeur and Malcolm Critcher Story Editor: Matt Decker Producers: Jaclyn Hubersberger and Reed Chandler Additional Audio Engineering: Paul Injeti Original music: Josh Belhumeur — Dember, Greg. 2018. “Eleven Metamodern Methods in the Arts.” Medium. https://medium.com/w

S1E3: The Sound of One Hand Clapping Nov 8, 2023 1327 Propaganda helps usher in a new form of tribalism and the modern culture war. — Co-Hosts: Josh Belhumeur and Malcolm Critcher Story Editor: Matt Decker Producers: Jaclyn Hubersberger and Reed Chandler Additional Audio Engineering: Paul Injeti Original music: Josh Belhumeur — Bernays, Edward L. 2004. Propaganda. Ig Publishing. “#BrandsGetReal: Brands Creating Change in the Conscious Consumer Era.”

S1E2: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, It Will Be Sold Oct 23, 2023 959 Previous propaganda techniques struggled to work with the boomer generation in a period of social unrest – until Madison Avenue had a breakthrough. — Co-Hosts: Josh Belhumeur and Malcolm Critcher Story Editor: Matt Decker Producers: Jaclyn Hubersberger and Reed Chandler Additional Audio Engineering: Paul Injeti Original music: Josh Belhumeur — Beens, Robert E. 2021. “We must stop the sale, manipul

S1E1: After the War, I Could Really Use a Cigarette Oct 23, 2023 1545 Following the Great War, Edward Bernays and his contemporaries used the power of propaganda to forever change marketing, and all of Western culture. — Co-hosts: Josh Belhumeur and Malcolm Critcher Story Editor: Matt Decker Producers: Jaclyn Hubersberger and Reed Chandler Additional Audio Engineering: Paul Injeti Original music: Josh Belhumeur — Ambar, Saladin. “Woodrow Wilson: Foreign Affairs.” M

Season 1 Trailer Oct 18, 2023 117 Creative Directors and cultural theorists Josh & Malcolm uncover the marketing profession’s delusions about the origins, techniques and cultural impact of the work they do. Follow them through an immersive narrative investigating how propaganda became the foundation of all consumer marketing, its omnipresence and evolution across generations of media, and the consequences we are facing today.

This Is Propaganda

Episodes

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