Ralph talks to maverick former FCC Commissioner, Nicholas Johnson, about his two new books, the memoir, “Catfish Solution: The Power of Positive Poking” and “Columns of Democracy” and his views on social media and how to repair our democracy.
Catfish Solution
Ralph Nader Radio Hour
Ralph Nader
4.8 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 23 November 2019
⏱️ 57 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Nicholas Johnson is best known for his controversial term as a dissenting FCC commissioner in the Johnson/Nixon era. His most recent work is twofold: a memoir entitled Catfish Solution: The Power of Positive Poking and Columns of Democracy an examination of the institutions needed to support democracy.
“In the last twenty years or so, [civics] has really kind of faded from the curriculum. Students need training in media literacy. They need training in what a democracy requires of them as a citizen. Until we start that with the young, it’s going to be hard to accomplish anything.”
Nicholas Johnson, Catfish Solution: The Power of Positive Poking
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| 0:00.0 | It's the Ralph Nader Radio Hour. |
| 0:05.0 | Stand up, stand up. |
| 0:07.0 | You've been sitting way too long. |
| 0:10.0 | Welcome to the Ralph Nader Radio Hour. My name is Steve Scrovan along with my co-host David Feldman. Hello David. |
| 0:20.0 | I'm going to watch what we say today because we have an FCC commissioner on. |
| 0:24.0 | That's right. You don't want to get busted. No. |
| 0:28.0 | And we also have the man of the hour, Ralph Nader, low Ralph. |
| 0:32.0 | Hello everybody, this one is going to be really unique, wait and see listeners. |
| 0:36.4 | That is right, Ralph. |
| 0:37.9 | On the show today, we welcome back media expert and law professor Nicholas Johnson. |
| 0:43.0 | In the late 60s, early 70s, Mr. Johnson was a commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission. |
| 0:48.0 | He also later served as an advisor to President Jimmy Carter for the White House Conference on Libraries and Information Services. |
| 0:56.5 | And for decades he taught law at the University of Iowa and has been recognized in the Yale |
| 1:01.3 | Biographical Dictionary of American Law as one of the 700 most influential lawyers from, get this, from the colonial era to the present day. |
| 1:12.0 | When you say colonial era, you mean going back as far back as the 1970s? |
| 1:17.0 | I'm talking about going back as far as the 1770s. |
| 1:21.0 | Only 700. |
| 1:22.0 | Okay, only 700. |
| 1:22.8 | Okay, Boomer. |
| 1:23.8 | This landmark book, how to talk back to your television set was prescient in its critique of media |
| 1:32.2 | consolidation and the manufacturing of news. |
| 1:35.0 | So we're going to talk to him about his latest work. |
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