Ministry of Truth
Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past
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Narrated by:
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Rachel Maddow
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By:
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Steve Benen
About this listen
A searing, vital investigation of the Republican Party’s dangerous campaign to rewrite history in real time, from the Emmy Award-winning Rachel Maddow Show producer and bestselling author of The Impostors.
“There is nobody…who has more influence on the way I think about politics than Steve Benen.” —Rachel Maddow
For as long as historical records have existed, authoritarian regimes have tried to rewrite history to suit their purposes, using their dictatorial powers to create myths, spread propaganda, justify decisions, erase opponents, and even dispose of crimes.
Today, as America’s Republican Party becomes increasingly radicalized, it’s not surprising to see the GOP read from a similarly despotic script. Indeed, the party is taking dangerous, aggressive steps to rewrite history—and not just from generations past. Unable to put a positive spin on Trump-era scandals and fiascos, GOP voices and their allies have grown determined to rewrite the stories of the last few years—from the 2020 election results and the horror of January 6th to their own legislative record—treating the recent past as an enemy to be overpowered, crushed, and conquered. The consequences for our future, in turn, are dramatic.
Extraordinarily timely and undeniably important, Steve Benen’s new book tells the staggering chronicle of the Republican party’s unsettling attempts at historical revisionism. It reveals not only how dependent they have grown on the tactic, but also how dangerous the consequences are if we allow the party to continue. The stakes, Benen argues, couldn’t be higher: the future of democracy hinges on both our accurate understanding of events and the end of alternative narratives that challenge reality.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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- By: Michael Pollan
- Narrated by: Michael Pollan
- Length: 2 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
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Michael Pollan, known for his best-selling nonfiction audio, including The Omnivores Dilemma and How to Change Your Mind, conceived and wrote Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World as an Audible Original. In this controversial and exciting listen, Pollan explores caffeine’s power as the most-used drug in the world - and the only one we give to children (in soda pop) as a treat.
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Leaves much to be desired
- By Melody H on 02-02-20
By: Michael Pollan
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Mythology: Mega Collection
- Classic Stories from the Greek, Celtic, Norse, Japanese, Hindu, Chinese, Mesopotamian and Egyptian Mythology
- By: Scott Lewis
- Narrated by: Madison Niederhauser, Oliver Hunt
- Length: 31 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Do you know how many wives Zeus had? Or how the famous Trojan War was caused by one beautiful lady? Or how Thor got his hammer? Give your imagination a real treat. This Mega Mythology Collection of eight audiobooks is for you....
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An interesting set of introductions.
- By Kevin Potter on 05-30-19
By: Scott Lewis
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I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn’t)
- Telling the Truth about Perfectionism, Inadequacy, and Power
- By: Brené Brown
- Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Based on seven years of ground-breaking research and hundreds of interviews, I Thought It Was Just Me shines a long-overdue light on an important truth: Our imperfections are what connect us to each other and to our humanity. Our vulnerabilities are not weaknesses; they are powerful reminders to keep our hearts and minds open to the reality that we're all in this together.
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I'm sure its great if you are a mother ....
- By Leslie A Hill on 08-09-11
By: Brené Brown
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The Strange Death of Europe
- Immigration, Identity, Islam
- By: Douglas Murray
- Narrated by: Robert Davies
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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The Strange Death of Europe is a highly personal account of a continent and culture caught in the act of suicide. Declining birth rates, mass immigration, and cultivated self-distrust and self-hatred have come together to make Europeans unable to argue for themselves and incapable of resisting their own comprehensive alteration as a society and an eventual end.
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Fear-mongering
- By Kat Cat on 01-22-19
By: Douglas Murray
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Disinformation is designed to evoke a strong emotional response to push us toward more extreme views, unable to find common ground with others. The false claims that led to the breathtaking attack on our Capitol in 2020 may have been only a dress rehearsal. Attack from Within shows us how to prevent it from happening again, thus preserving our country's hard-won democracy.
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In 1981, a young lawyer, fresh out of Harvard law school, joined the Reagan administration’s Department of Justice, taking up a cause that had been fomenting in Republican circles for over a decade by that point. From his perch inside the Reagan DOJ, this lawyer would attempt to bring down one of the defining pieces of 20th century legislation—the Voting Rights Act. His name was John Roberts.
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Great story — uneven performance
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Required Reading
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Minority Rule
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The mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, represented an extreme form of the central danger facing American democracy today: a blatant disregard for the will of the majority. Through voter suppression, election subversion, gerrymandering, dark money, the takeover of the courts, and the whitewashing of history, reactionary white conservatives have strategically entrenched power in the face of a massive demographic and political shift.
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SO much great information!
- By CharlieSeymourJr on 05-01-24
By: Ari Berman
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Erasing History
- By: Jason Stanley
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Combining historical research with an in-depth analysis of our modern political landscape, Erasing History issues a dire warning for America and the world: the worst fascist movements of humanity’s past began in schools; the same place so many of today’s right-wing political parties have trained their most vicious attacks. Yale professor Jason Stanley exposes the true danger of the right’s tactics and traces their inspirations and funding back to some of the most dangerous ideas of human history.
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The bias attitude of the author
- By Elizabeth ohanna on 09-30-24
By: Jason Stanley
What listeners say about Ministry of Truth
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Christian Erik
- 08-30-24
Great book - scary as it is!
Rachel tells the unsettling and important story of the unbelievable descent of the GOP into Orwellian absurdity in her trademark tight and direct style. As usual, she has her research down with details that makes the storytelling all the more gripping. I listened to it all in one go. One minor shortcoming: your intonation gets a bit repetitive. Suggest you consider a professional actor to read the story.
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- Felicia Hedgepeth
- 09-03-24
Good Read -Politics in America
For all those that would like a better understanding of recent political events, this is a good book or to hear the another perspective. It shows just how distorted truth is only based on one’s perception on political bias. January 6 was not a tourist visit.
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- debbie
- 09-03-24
An important Short Read before the election!
This book provides a great recap of all of the terrible lies by Trump and the Republicans and their “War on the Recent Past”. It describes the Republicans strategy of “organized lying” to rewrite their recent history on issues that in reality don’t turn out so well for them. Just keep telling the lies and unfortunately too many people will believe those lies!!! A great book to read in this election season.
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- Adam
- 10-19-24
Essential reading!
Loved the facts and truth contained in this book. Recommended reading and more essential than ever in the era of Trump.
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- K. Masheter Deal
- 09-29-24
Outstanding Depth of Information & Great Narration
The topic breakdown and relatively linear timeline of information makes it more accessible to go back and review (listened to it twice so far) … amazing how much I remembered while listening to Steve Benen’s book … Rachel Maddow did another brilliant reading - such a good storyteller!
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- Dennis M Olson Jr
- 08-18-24
Reinforced long held suspicions
This is a clear, strong, meaningful work that absolutely identifies the tendencies of the GOP to rely upon and embellish their “alternative facts” defense to everything Trump. As a lifelong conservative, I hang my head in disgust and shame at how far this party has strayed from its moorings.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 10-03-24
Potting all the pieces together.
Logically well constructed, and presented. One of the best books I have read. I will recommend it to my friends.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Aida Benitez-Rexach
- 11-01-24
Accurate, interesting, and a warning.
The book is accurate, without misinformation. It shows the current situation, past and present, and the dangers of voting for as second Trump administration.
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- Kindle Customer
- 08-14-24
The truth
I hope this country takes the blinders off and lets the charlatans know we are on to the deception and will stand for it no more!
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- Eve Castle
- 08-16-24
Great overview
Great overview of our recent political history with a focus on how leaders use various tactics to change public impression or narrative. As I follow politics fairly closely, most of the examples were familiar to me. I may try to come back to add specific examples from the book for things I was not aware of and add more later. Each section focused on a specific moment in politics which I thought was a great way to have the book organized.
The chapters included January 6th insurrection (was it Antifa, FBI, peaceful tourists, or people dressed as Trump supporters; etc.?); the Covid Pandemic (Too much counting; it will just go away; Trump left Biden a beautiful plan; Trump had no plan for it from Obama; etc.) the border wall (Mexico paid for it; Was it 50 miles or 500 miles of wall completed?; It was perfect and worked perfectly; etc.); plus many more.
Basically we were presented with examples where points of rhetoric “were thrown at the wall to see which would stick” in order to change the public’s understanding of what took place.
No answer was given as to why someone can “see” something with their own eyes and yet believe narratives that discount what they actually saw. That’s probably a psychological or sociological journal topic.
It does cover why the use of propaganda tactics being used by GOP leaders is dangerous to a Democracy and gives examples of how those tactics have been used by Authoritarian governments in the past. I would have enjoyed a glossary on that. I think I read the synopsis of a book that does cover that. (I’ve added the info below - haven’t read it but sounds like it fits the bill.)*
The only issue I can see with this book is that it may be out just in time but also it’s out way too soon. We continue to see these kinds of tactics in our politics today and it doesn’t look like that will end anytime soon. Sadly, an update will be needed by this time next year with several additional chapters (in my opinion).
*Book for a broader understanding:
Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes (1965/1973) (French: Propagandes; original French edition: 1962) is a book on the subject of propaganda by French philosopher, theologian, legal scholar, and sociologist Jacques Ellul.
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1 person found this helpful