When it comes to the political news this week, I’ve felt a large range of emotions. I’ve felt just a little bit of “I told you so” vindication, joy over the attention the media is giving to it, anger at the government, pride in some brave politicians, and frustration over the fact that no one else in my life seems to be paying attention to this or even care.
I’ve also felt a certain futility in grasping all off this and being able to distill it in a concise, communicable way. I’m going to do my best next week on this blog, but in the end, I don’t think I could do better than these three shows in doing so.
First, nothing helps ease the shock of learning that your government is storing your entire digital life than a little laughter. And to that end, there’s no place better for that than The Daily Show. Jon Stewart is gone for the summer, but he is being ably covered by John Oliver. This clip below is Oliver’s first night hosting:
Full episode: [Daily Show] [Hulu]
Secondly, if you’re looking for a not-crazy, well-communicated, and comprehensive explanation of this stuff, please, please, please listen to this podcast episode from my favorite podcast, Common Sense with Dan Carlin. You can stream the audio below, download the episode from his site, and even see the show notes with links to every thing he references:
The Big, Long Surveillance Show (released 6/11/13)
If you want a bunch of different perspectives, and even some reasoned debate on the issue, here is a recent episode of To the Point, a daily news show by distributed by Public Radio International. There are some fascinating and diverse facets expressed in this episode. Again, you can stream below, and download at the episode’s site:
Obama, Congress & the Surveillance State
Well, we’ve done some video, some audio, and now may I offer some reading? So much has been written and said about this stuff, and though I’ve been trying to follow it as closely as possible, this isn’t even close to the most definitive writings on this, just some of my favorites:
- On PRISM, partisanship, & propaganda (Gleen Greenwald) | The Guardian
- Why ‘I Have Nothing to Hide’ Is the Wrong Way to Think About Surveillance (Moxie Marlinspike) | Wired
- These programs might well have been legal. That’s almost worse. (Ezra Klein, Evan Soltas) | The Washington Post’s Wonkbook
- Your Smartphone is Watching You, and Power & Privacy on the Internet (a follow-up to the first piece) (Ross Douthat) | The New York Times
Bonus: Watch John Oliver, on night two of hosting the Daily Show, eviscerate politicians for some of their stances on this leak.
Full episode: [Daily Show] [Hulu]
What have between some of your favorite pieces of coverage on these leaks? Feel free to share in the comments below.
the long way home 
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Paul, thanks for collecting this compilation. I, for one, object to your statement that “no one else in my life seems to be paying attention to this or even care.” We may differ in opinion on some things the government does in the name of national security, but these revelations about PRISM are scary to me.
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That is so great to hear. This is why I wish you were still in Philly. I want more people to talk to about these things. Maybe I just haven’t asked enough people about it. Now go vote in the new post I just put up! Haha.
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