How to Confront a Polluted Information System | The Spill

The most serious pollution problem the world faces may just be the corporate contamination of our information systems. In Drilled founder Amy Westervelt’s new book, Brought to You By: How Corporations Warped the Truth, Conned the Public, and Broke Democracy, she reveals how a handful of ideologues, propagandists, and corporate consultants reshaped knowledge production systems using think tanks, courtrooms, universities, and social media. DeSmog investigations editor Matthew Green interviews Amy about the book, followed by a conversation between Drilled senior editor Alleen Brown and Nick Tilsen, founder and CEO of the nonprofit NDN Collective. Nick describes how he and his organization have repeatedly found themselves in the crosshairs of President Trump’s crackdown on the environmental movement. 

Reading list from today's show:

1. Amy Westervelt's new book, Brought to You By: How Corporations Warped the Truth, Conned the Public, and Broke Democracy

2. Matthew Green's interview with Amy Westervelt for Desmog, "Q&A: Amy Westervelt on the Corporate Poisoning of the Information Aquifer — and How to Undo the Harm."

3. Alleen Brown's investigation for Drilled into criminal charges, which appeared to be politically motivated, filed against Nick Tilsen. "An Indigenous Activist was Accused of Trying to Run Over a Cop. Body Cam Footage Shows What Really Happened."

4. Body cam and surveillance footage of Nick Tilsen's arrest.

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