{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"All the News That's Fit to Spin with Ashley Rindsberg","description":"How much power does The New York Times really have , and what happens when that power is used to shape narrative instead of pursue truth? In this episode of The Curious Middle, we speak with Ashley Rindsberg, author of The Gray Lady Winked, about the Times\u2019 reporting on some of the most important stories of the last century: the Nazi invasion of Poland, Stalin\u2019s Soviet Union, the Holocaust, Israel, the 1619 Project nd more. Ashley Rindsberg is an investigative journalist and author focused on media malfeasance, information warfare, and the hidden systems influencing public discourse. Ashley joins us to explain why he believes the paper has repeatedly protected power, buried inconvenient truths, and helped shape public opinion in ways that changed history. We also talk about the Sulzberger family, the culture inside elite newsrooms, the collapse of trust in journalism, and how listeners can build a healthier media diet today. Follow Ashley's Substack In this episode: What first inspired Ashley to write The Gray Lady Winked Why the New York Times is unlike any other media institution The Times\u2019 Holocaust coverage and what was buried How tne NYT Created a Narrative on the Soviet Unioo, Hitler, Cuba, Iraq, Israel and the Intifada, The 1619 Project and narrative-driven reporting The Tom Cotton op-ed controversy, safe spaces, silencing dissent and newsroom ideology How to find better journalism in a fractured media environment More reading: Books: Buried by the Times by Laurel Leff Stalin\u2019s Apologist: Walter Duranty: The New York Times\u2019s Man in Moscow by S.J. Taylor Articles About the NYT Nazi Correspondent from Tablet Magazine NYT journalist Walter Duranty, who downplayed the Ukraine famine. \u201cCommitted to protecting his own influence and to a future \u201cgreater good\u201d promised by the Soviet regime, Duranty at first dismissed rumors of the Ukrainian Famine. Then he downplayed them. Then he claimed that Ukraine\u2019s \u201cfood shortages\u201d were the result of local mismanagement and the work of \u201cwreckers\u201d and \u201cspoilers\u201d intent on undermining Soviet progress.\u201d   More podcasts with Ashley: Ashley on the Coleman Hughes podcast Ashley on the Winston Marshall podcast Key Quotes \u201cThey set cultural agendas, they set the news agenda, they influence politics, they influence culture.\u201d \u201cThey didn\u2019t want to appear to be the Jewish newspaper that was advocating for Jewish lives or Jewish people. So they did the exact opposite.\u201d \u201cYou don\u2019t bury a story about tens of thousands of people being murdered in Europe by accident.\u201d \u201cThe narrative was so overpowering for them that it obliterated what was in front of their faces." \u201cIt became a culture of silence." Timestamps 05:13: Origin Story of the Book Spark: reading The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich Shock discovery: NYT reported Poland invaded Germany (1939) Core question: \u201cIf they got that wrong, what else did they get wrong?\u201d 08:42 \u2013 Why Focus on The New York Times 11:32 \u2013 Ochs-Sulzberger Family Ideology German-Jewish assimilation philosophy: Judaism = religion only (not identity) 14:23 \u2013 Holocaust Coverage Critique Only 6 front-page Holocaust stories in 6 years 17:56 \u2013 Historical Parallels to Today Narratives like: \u201cJews cause wars\u201d \u201cIsrael manipulation\u201d 20:34 \u2013 Could Coverage Have Changed History? 21:12 \u2013 Fascination with Power \/ Dictators 24:15 \u2013 Ukraine Famine Denial (Walter Duranty) 26:43 \u2013 Publishing Barriers Publishers avoided book due to: Fear of NYT retaliation Bestseller list control Insight: NYT bestseller list = editorial, not purely sales-based 30:12 \u2013 NYT Power Today Less local dominance, more global reach ~600 million monthly users Now a digital ecosystem 32:32 \u2013 NYT Lack of Accountability 35:30 \u2013 State of Journalism Today 38:48 \u2013 Misleading Image Example (Second Intifada) Photo falsely captioned: Palestinian victim \u2192 actually Jewish man being saved Example of narrative overriding facts 41:20 \u2013 Mohammed al-Dura Case Widely reported killing blamed on Israel Later forensic evidence contradicted it NYT never corrected narrative 43:10 \u2013 The 1619 Project Claim: U.S. founded on slavery, not liberty Criticism: Historians said key claims were false Still: Won Pulitzer Entered school curricula 51:54 \u2013 Tom Cotton Op-Ed Controversy 57:55 \u2013 Future of Media 59:27 \u2013 Advice for News Consumers (GREAT CLIP) \ud83d\udd25 \u201cUnbundle the news like Spotify unbundled albums\u201d 1:01:09 \u2013 Closing + Current Work Focus on: Narrative spread across platforms Wikipedia, Reddit, AI manipulation Company: NPOV   Follow @thecuriousmiddlepod Contact us: thecuriousmiddlepod@gmail.com ","author_name":"The Curious Middle","author_url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/i-want-her-job\/id1036108112","html":"