154. Objectivity
The Allusionist
Helen Zaltzman
4.7 • 3.8K Ratings
🗓️ 14 May 2022
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Couple of easy straightforward questions for us to chew on: 1. What is ‘objectivity’ supposed to mean? And 2. does it exist? Lewis Raven Wallace, a journalist and audiomaker fired from his public radio job over his blog post entitled ‘Objectivity is dead and I'm okay with it’, considers the principals and practice of objectivity, and what might be fairer ones.
Find out more information about the topics in this episode at theallusionist.org/objectivity, plus a transcript and the full dictionary entry for the randomly selected word.
Sign up to be a patron at patreon.com/allusionist and not only are you supporting independent podcast, you get fortnightly patron-exclusive video livestreams and a Discord community full of language chat, craft pics and word game camaraderie.
The Allusionist's online home is theallusionist.org. Stay in touch at twitter.com/allusionistshow, facebook.com/allusionistshow and instagram.com/allusionistshow.
The Allusionist is produced by me, Helen Zaltzman. The music is by Martin Austwick. Hear Martin’s own songs via palebirdmusic.com.
Our ad partner is Multitude. To sponsor the show, contact them at multitude.productions/ads. This episode is sponsored by:
• Bombas, whose mission is to make the comfiest clothes ever, and match every item sold with an equal item donated. Go to bombas.com/allusionist to get 20% off your first purchase.
• Tab For a Cause: turn your browsing into charity fundraising at tabforacause.org/allusionist.
• Squarespace, your one-stop shop for building and running a sleek website. Go to squarespace.com/allusionist for a free 2-week trial, and get 10 percent off your first purchase of a website or domain with the code allusionist.
Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is the illusionist in which I, Helen Salzman, ask language if actions speak louder than words, |
| 0:09.8 | how come I can't hear semaphore when my back is turned? |
| 0:12.8 | Today's show is about the term objectivity and how it plays out in journalism. |
| 0:18.4 | Ooh, it's a tricky one. |
| 0:20.1 | On with the show. |
| 0:29.9 | Well, a couple of easy questions to start. |
| 0:32.4 | One, what is objectivity supposed to mean? |
| 0:36.2 | And two, does it exist? |
| 0:37.8 | Have you ever asked someone my desk by Monday? |
| 0:42.8 | What is objectivity supposed to mean? |
| 0:45.5 | I think about this all the time and I think the way that it's often used is to mean a |
| 0:54.2 | neutral viewpoint, but it's almost more like a universal viewpoint, like an objective |
| 1:00.3 | truth and objective fact is something that anyone could see. |
| 1:04.1 | Everyone can see that same thing. |
| 1:06.0 | If we all looked at it, that's what we would see. |
| 1:08.0 | So that's objectivity, objective truth. |
| 1:11.7 | And then there's many layers of how that's interpreted. |
| 1:14.7 | I don't believe in objective truth. |
| 1:19.6 | So in a sense, I really don't believe in objectivity and when it comes up these days, it's |
| 1:24.4 | almost like a joke. |
| 1:25.4 | People will be like, that person is objectively hot. |
| 1:29.0 | Or, you know, this is objectively a bad movie or something like that, which are, I mean, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Helen Zaltzman, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Helen Zaltzman and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.