Episode 184: Devastating Wildfires, Disappointing Coverage

We’re back!

After a few weeks of family leave for the birth of our baby, Mercedes, the Polilogue team is back with a fresh episode doing what we do best: consuming way too much news in one day and digesting and analyzing the journalistic choices of the Sunday morning political shows.

Today on Polilogue we discuss the lackluster coverage of the wildfires devastating the West Coast. Some shows covered it poorly, some shows missed the story completely. We wonder why journalists often drop the ball when covering natural disasters. We also discuss the 2020 election interviews. In particular, surrogates and defenders of President Donald Trump were featured extensively on the Sunday shows.

Chapters

  • Introduction

  • Highlight / Lowlight

  • Wildfires Coverage

  • 2020 Election

  • Show Rankings

  • Dialogue Challenge

Shows discussed 

Resources

  • Tsunami Risk Communication: Warnings and the Myth of Panic (by Peter M. Sandman and Jody Lanard)

  • Yes, tons of ballots are sent to dead people. Trump shouldn’t worry about them. (WaPo)

  • Rain: A Natural and Cultural History (by Cynthia Barnett)

  • “U.S. federal fire and forest policy: emphasizing resilience in dry forests” (EcoSphere)

Contact us

Email us at podcast@polilogue.com or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

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Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

Naomi Soto