I’m joined by Noam Chomsky, the Father of Modern Linguistics, world-renowned political dissident and activist, and one of the world’s most respected intellectuals. With appointments at M.I.T. and the University of Arizona, Professor Chomsky remains academically and politically active, well into his 94th trip around the sun.
We start with a discussion of America’s fraught relationship with democracy, before moving on to some contemporary manifestations of the ubiquitous pressure for freedom and democracy coming from the citizenry below, and efforts at elite control and domination coming from above. We finish by tying U.S. exceptionalism into our global environmental crisis. The episode begins and ends with Billy Bragg singing “Not Everything That Counts Can be Counted”.
There were a few moments where some mystery sound paid us a visit and Professor Chomsky couldn’t put his finger on it, so I sent the file to Brodie Cates, production engineer-master at KGLT in Bozeman, Montana. He used the spectral display in Audition to isolate the noises but said they’re embedded in his voice and can’t be cut /reduced without losing some voice. So, if Noam and Brodie can’t figure it out, then I guess the noises are there to stay…
Our Social Landscape is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
All episodes of Our Social Landscape can be found on iTunes, simply type oursociallandscape into the search box. If you have any questions or comments, email me at jr@oursociallandscape.com.
Comments