Self Evident Presents: “How to Wash Your Brain” (by Boen Wang and A Better Life? Podcast)
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About the episode:
This story from producer Boen Wang and Feet in 2 Worlds begins with a question tailor-made for America’s culture-war present: “Has my mom been brainwashed by the Chinese Communist Party?”
When interviewing his mom — a Chinese immigrant in her 50s who believes American mainstream media is fake news, and that he’s the one whose mind has been warped by U.S. imperialism — Boen finds this question pointed back at himself, and unravels the tangled threads of Chinese and American history that led to the very fabrication of “brainwashing” as a concept.
This story originally aired on the Feet in 2 Worlds podcast, A Better Life, as part of their special online magazines series, Immigrants in a Divided Country. The series reports stories across different mediums to explore the American political landscape of 2023 from the perspective of immigrants.
Self Evident Media helped Boen develop this contribution to the series, and our team is very excited to collaborate with Feet in 2 Worlds as we have in the past to tell true stories from immigrant communities.
Resources:
READ: "China and the Political Myth of 'Brainwashing'" by Ryan Mitchell
READ: "Edward Hunter on Brainwashing," WFMU Blog
About Feet in 2 Worlds
Since 2005, Feet in 2 Worlds has been telling the stories of today’s immigrants and training immigrant journalists. The Feet in 2 Worlds network includes hundreds of reporters and editors. Some have been Feet in 2 Worlds fellows. Others have attended our workshops and contributed to our podcast and website. Together, we’re making American journalism more reflective of the diverse communities that we serve.
A Better Life? and Feet in 2 Worlds are supported by The Ford Foundation, the John D. and Katherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the David and Katherine Moore Family Foundation, the Ralph E. Ogden Foundation, an anonymous donor, and readers like you.
Feet in 2 Worlds, Inc. is a non-profit corporation, fiscally sponsored by the Institute for Nonprofit News.
Credits:
Produced, written, and sound designed by Boen Wang
Hosted by Virginia Lora
Edited by John Rudolph, Quincy Surasmith, and Virginia Lora
Early story edits by Julia Shu and James Boo of Self Evident Media
Fact Checking by Isabela Rocha
Engineering by Jocelyn Gonzalez
Feet in 2 Worlds’ Marketing Manager is Alejandro Salazar Dyer
A Better Life? theme music by Fareed Sajan
Additional music by Evgeny Bardyhuzha and Yehezkei Raz
“Bell, Counter, A" sound effect by InspectorJ of Freesound.org
“Bass Drum Hits | HQ Sound Effects” sound effect by “Everyday Cinematic Sounds” on Youtube