John Oddo's guest appearances

John Oddo

re:verb

On Humanity

Steven Pinker

Ray Bradbury

Ryan Mitchell

Benjamin Dixon

Paul Elliott

Kendall Phillips

Frank Santoro

Richard Purcell

Liana Maneese

Barbara Johnstone

Dana Cloud

Stephanie R. Larson

Patricia Dunmire

Jenny Rice

Scott Riess

OwlTail

On today’s show, we are joined once again by Dr. John Oddo, Associate Professor of English at Carnegie Mellon University, for a retrospective discussion of “War on Terror” rhetoric 20 years after September 11th, 2001. Ever since the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. government and national news media have consistently used Us and Them categories of enemy- and threat-construction, drawing on a conceptual metaphor of terrorism as an act of war (as opposed to a criminal act) to justify preventative military action. There have also been some notable shifts in U.S. war rhetoric in recent years: for one thing, references to September 11th as an inciting event have become scarcer as leaders have reframed the fight against global terrorism as an end in itself. And whereas earlier in the war, media and political figures tended to conflate specific terrorist organizations and so-called “state sponsors of terrorism”, they are now more likely to advocate a “targeted” approach: opposing large-scale troop deployments while nevertheless supporting missile attacks, special forces operations, cyberwarfare, and other forms of state violence.After John walks us through the material and social reasons for these continuities and shifts, we analyze specific examples of post-9/11 war propaganda, comparing Larry P. Goodson’s November 2001 op-ed “U.S. Troops Must Go In” with Ryan Crocker’s August 2021 “Why Biden’s Lack of Strategic Patience Led to Disaster.” We examine their rhetorical strategies and discuss the greater implications of how some key tropes have evolved across texts and time: framing the war as a “clash of civilizations,” using the oppression of women and children as justificatory narratives, employing euphemisms like “patience” in foreign policy strategies, and zooming in on U.S. enemies’ violence while eliding the violence done by our military and its allies.Lastly, we turn to a discussion of the ongoing drone war in the Middle East and Africa, in which we highlight John’s new research project on media construals of drone strike victims. John concludes with a blistering critique of an enduring problem in U.S. political rhetoric: the metaphor of war deaths as “payments” for which we deserve some return, which obscures how inflicting suffering and killing is always an irrevocable moral act. Texts Analyzed in this Episode:Biden, J. (2021, 31 Aug.). Address to the nation on the end of the war in Afghanistan [Speech audio recording]. Transcript, video, and audio available from American Rhetoric: https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/joebidenendofafghanistanwar.htmCrocker, R. (2021, 21 Aug.). Why Biden’s lack of strategic patience led to disaster. The New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/21/opinion/us-afghanistan-pakistan-taliban.htmlDowd, M. (2001, 18 Nov.). Liberties; Cleopatra and Osama. The New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/18/opinion/liberties-cleopatra-and-osama.htmlGoodson, L. P. (2001, 14 Nov.). U.S. troops must go in. The New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/14/opinion/us-troops-must-go-in.htmlWorks and Concepts Cited in this Episode:Chomsky, N., &amp; Herman, E. S. (1994). Manufacturing consent: The political economy of the mass media. London: Vintage Books.Cloud, D. L. (2004). “To veil the threat of terror”: Afghan women and the ⟨clash of civilizations⟩ in the imagery of the US war on terrorism. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 90(3), 285-306.Goodby, J.E. &amp; Gross, D. (2010, 22 Dec.). Strategic patience has become strategic passivity. The Brookings Institution. Retrieved from: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/strategic-patience-has-become-strategic-passivity/Gopal, A. (2021, 6 Sept.). The other Afghan women: In the countryside, the endless killing of civilians turned women against the occupiers who claimed to be helping them. The New Yorker. Retrieved from: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/09/13/the-other-afghan-womenHodges, A. (2011). The" War on terror" narrative: discourse and intertextuality in the construction and contestation of sociopolitical reality. OUP USA.Oddo, J. (2011). War legitimation discourse: Representing ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ in four US presidential addresses. Discourse &amp; Society, 22(3), 287-314.Oddo, J. (2014). Intertextuality and the 24-hour News Cycle: A Day in the Rhetorical Life of Colin Powell's UN Address. Michigan State University Press.Oddo, J. (2018). The discourse of propaganda: Case studies from the Persian Gulf War and the War on Terror. Penn State Press.Safire, W. (1999, 3 Jan.). On language; Not so fast! The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/03/magazine/on-language-not-so-fast.html [Contextual analysis on the evolution of the term “strategic patience” and Strobe Talbott’s original usage]re:blurb episode on Conceptual MetaphorOur first episode with Dr. Oddo, in which he articulates his theory of war propagandaThe Watson Institute at Brown University’s “Costs of War” Project

On today’s show, we are joined once again by Dr. John Oddo, Associate Professor of English at Carnegie Mellon University, for a retrospective discussion of “War on Terror” rhetoric 20 years after September 11th, 2001. Ever since the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. government and national news media have consistently used Us and Them categories of enemy- and threat-construction, drawing on a conceptual metaphor of terrorism as an act of war (as opposed to a criminal act) to justify preventative military action. There have also been some notable shifts in U.S. war rhetoric in recent years: for one thing, references to September 11th as an inciting event have become scarcer as leaders have reframed the fight against global terrorism as an end in itself. And whereas earlier in the war, media and political figures tended to conflate specific terrorist organizations and so-called “state sponsors of terrorism”, they are now more likely to advocate a “targeted” approach: opposing large-scale troop deployments while nevertheless supporting missile attacks, special forces operations, cyberwarfare, and other forms of state violence.After John walks us through the material and social reasons for these continuities and shifts, we analyze specific examples of post-9/11 war propaganda, comparing Larry P. Goodson’s November 2001 op-ed “U.S. Troops Must Go In” with Ryan Crocker’s August 2021 “Why Biden’s Lack of Strategic Patience Led to Disaster.” We examine their rhetorical strategies and discuss the greater implications of how some key tropes have evolved across texts and time: framing the war as a “clash of civilizations,” using the oppression of women and children as justificatory narratives, employing euphemisms like “patience” in foreign policy strategies, and zooming in on U.S. enemies’ violence while eliding the violence done by our military and its allies.Lastly, we turn to a discussion of the ongoing drone war in the Middle East and Africa, in which we highlight John’s new research project on media construals of drone strike victims. John concludes with a blistering critique of an enduring problem in U.S. political rhetoric: the metaphor of war deaths as “payments” for which we deserve some return, which obscures how inflicting suffering and killing is always an irrevocable moral act. Texts Analyzed in this Episode:Biden, J. (2021, 31 Aug.). Address to the nation on the end of the war in Afghanistan [Speech audio recording]. Transcript, video, and audio available from American Rhetoric: <a href="https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/joebidenendofafghanistanwar.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/joebidenendofafghanistanwar.htm</a>Crocker, R. (2021, 21 Aug.). Why Biden’s lack of strategic patience led to disaster. The New York Times. Retrieved from: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/21/opinion/us-afghanistan-pakistan-taliban.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/21/opinion/us-afghanistan-pakistan-taliban.html</a>Dowd, M. (2001, 18 Nov.). Liberties; Cleopatra and Osama. The New York Times. Retrieved from: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/18/opinion/liberties-cleopatra-and-osama.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/18/opinion/liberties-cleopatra-and-osama.html</a>Goodson, L. P. (2001, 14 Nov.). U.S. troops must go in. The New York Times. Retrieved from: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/14/opinion/us-troops-must-go-in.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/14/opinion/us-troops-must-go-in.html</a> Works and Concepts Cited in this Episode:Chomsky, N., &amp; Herman, E. S. (1994). Manufacturing consent: The political economy of the mass media. London: Vintage Books.Cloud, D. L. (2004). “To veil the threat of terror”: Afghan women and the ⟨clash of civilizations⟩ in the imagery of the US war on terrorism. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 90(3), 285-306.Goodby, J.E. &amp; Gross, D. (2010, 22 Dec.). Strategic patience has become strategic passivity. The Brookings Institution. Retrieved from: <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/strategic-patience-has-become-strategic-passivity/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.brookings.edu/articles/strategic-patience-has-become-strategic-passivity/</a>Gopal, A. (2021, 6 Sept.). The other Afghan women: In the countryside, the endless killing of civilians turned women against the occupiers who claimed to be helping them. The New Yorker. Retrieved from: <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/09/13/the-other-afghan-women" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/09/13/the-other-afghan-women</a>Hodges, A. (2011). The" War on terror" narrative: discourse and intertextuality in the construction and contestation of sociopolitical reality. OUP USA.Oddo, J. (2011). War legitimation discourse: Representing ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ in four US presidential addresses. Discourse &amp; Society, 22(3), 287-314.Oddo, J. (2014). Intertextuality and the 24-hour News Cycle: A Day in the Rhetorical Life of Colin Powell's UN Address. Michigan State University Press.Oddo, J. (2018). The discourse of propaganda: Case studies from the Persian Gulf War and the War on Terror. Penn State Press.Safire, W. (1999, 3 Jan.). On language; Not so fast! The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved from: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/03/magazine/on-language-not-so-fast.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/03/magazine/on-language-not-so-fast.html</a> [Contextual analysis on the evolution of the term “strategic patience” and Strobe Talbott’s original usage]<a href="https://www.reverbcast.com/podcasts/2021/3/26/e54-reblurb-conceptual-metaphor" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">re:blurb episode on Conceptual Metaphor</a><a href="https://www.reverbcast.com/podcasts/2019/2/11/e16-the-discourse-of-propaganda-the-myths-the-legends-the-tropes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Our first episode with Dr. Oddo, in which he articulates his theory of war propaganda</a><a href="https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Watson Institute at Brown University’s “Costs of War” Project</a>

E58: 20 Years of "War on Terror" Rhetoric (w/ Dr. John Oddo)

Ana Cooke

Asao B. Inoue

Cameron Mozafari

On this episode, the re:verb editorial team -- Alex Helberg, Calvin Pollak, Sophie Wodzak, and Ben Williams -- kicks back, relaxes, and reflects on three years of podcasting about politics, culture, and language in action. Last Friday, to celebrate re:verb’s three-year anniversary, we held our first-ever livestream via Zoom / YouTube, complete with special guests, new segments, and a hilarious sound-board controlled by Alex. Note: since this was our first time streaming, we had some occasional technical flubs and sound issues, so please bear with us. Along with us on the stream were some of our favorite past guests and collaborators, who joined us to talk about current conversations in politics and culture as well as more recent research they have worked on since we last spoke. In addition, each guest got into the batter’s box and faced off against Calvin’s Curveball, a trivia question related to their research. We talked to Dr. John Oddo about the foreign policy discourses of Biden vs. Trump; Dr. James J. Brown, Jr. about Clubhouse, Zoom, and other currently-popular digital platforms; Dr. Derek Handley, a re:verb co-founder, about his work on mid-20th-century African-American rhetorics of resistance in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and about the pre-history of re:verb; Dr. Asao B. Inoue about developments in anti-racist writing pedagogy over the last year; Dr. Kendall Phillips about his new project analyzing rhetorics of refusal in contemporary films from Joker to Snowpiercer and the Marvel Cinematic Universe; Dr. Cameron Mozafari about right-wing rhetoric and “cancel culture”; and Dr. Ana Cooke, another of re:verb’s co-founders, about her new project on knowledge-making communities online, as well as the past, present, and future of re:verb. We hope you enjoy this anniversary celebration replay! Stay tuned to our Twitter (@reverb_cast) for future livestream announcements, and join us in raising a glass to toast to three great years of podcasting!

On this episode, the re:verb editorial team -- Alex Helberg, Calvin Pollak, Sophie Wodzak, and Ben Williams -- kicks back, relaxes, and reflects on three years of podcasting about politics, culture, and language in action. Last Friday, to celebrate re:verb’s three-year anniversary, we held our first-ever livestream via Zoom / YouTube, complete with special guests, new segments, and a hilarious sound-board controlled by Alex. Note: since this was our first time streaming, we had some occasional technical flubs and sound issues, so please bear with us. Along with us on the stream were some of our favorite past guests and collaborators, who joined us to talk about current conversations in politics and culture as well as more recent research they have worked on since we last spoke. In addition, each guest got into the batter’s box and faced off against Calvin’s Curveball, a trivia question related to their research. We talked to Dr. John Oddo about the foreign policy discourses of Biden vs. Trump; Dr. James J. Brown, Jr. about Clubhouse, Zoom, and other currently-popular digital platforms; Dr. Derek Handley, a re:verb co-founder, about his work on mid-20th-century African-American rhetorics of resistance in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and about the pre-history of re:verb; Dr. Asao B. Inoue about developments in anti-racist writing pedagogy over the last year; Dr. Kendall Phillips about his new project analyzing rhetorics of refusal in contemporary films from Joker to Snowpiercer and the Marvel Cinematic Universe; Dr. Cameron Mozafari about right-wing rhetoric and “cancel culture”; and Dr. Ana Cooke, another of re:verb’s co-founders, about her new project on knowledge-making communities online, as well as the past, present, and future of re:verb. We hope you enjoy this anniversary celebration replay! Stay tuned to our Twitter (<a href="https://twitter.com/reverb_cast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@reverb_cas</a>t) for future livestream announcements, and join us in raising a glass to toast to three great years of podcasting!

E53: Third Anniversary Celebration (w/ John Oddo, James J. Brown Jr., Derek Handley, Asao B. Inoue, Kendall Phillips, Cameron Mozafari, and Ana Cooke)

The Department of English’s John Oddo explores political rhetoric surrounding war with guest host and national columnist David Shribman, a scholar-in-residence at the Dietrich College. Oddo discusses his research on how the members of the media report on victims of drone strikes.

The Department of English’s John Oddo explores political rhetoric surrounding war with guest host and national columnist David Shribman, a scholar-in-residence at the Dietrich College. Oddo discusses his research on how the members of the media report on victims of drone strikes.

Political Rhetoric with John Oddo