Farhad Manjoo – True Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact Society

“A perceptive analysis of the status of truth in the digital age…Manjoo has produced an engaging, illustrative look at the dangers of living in an oversaturated media world.”

— “Publishers Weekly”

“Narrator Ray Porter maintains a respectful, even tone in describing the examples that reflect both sides of the political aisle…Listeners will be alarmed by the influence of ‘experts on the take’ doling out what Manjoo calls ‘amateur research.’”

— “AudioFile”

Farhad Manjoo is a Senior Writer at Salon, covering politics, technology, science and pop culture. His article debunking the conspiracy theories around the 2004 presidential election (that Bush “stole” Ohio) was one of the most blogged about articles in all of 2006.

Ray Porter is an AudioFile Earphones Award-winning narrator and fifteen-year veteran of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He has appeared in numerous films and television shows, including Almost Famous, ER, and Frasier.

Salon blogger Manjoo dissects how stories in the public consciousness spread, often with little regard to the truth. Through “selective perception,” consumers can omit facts while forming opinions. Narrator Ray Porter maintains a respectful, even tone in describing the examples that reflect both sides of the political aisle, from the right’s faulty Swift Boat campaign to the left’s lack of evidence in support of a stolen election in 2004. Perceptions are analyzed in messages that offer “more theater than truth,” and examples include 9/11 conspiracy theories and even a 1951 football game. But the most shocking examples come in the form of biased broadcast television “news reports.” Again, Porter’s narration never takes sides. Listeners will be alarmed by the influence of “experts on the take” doling out what Manjoo calls “amateur research.” M.B. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine