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Post-Truth

Why We Have Reached Peak Bullshit and What We Can Do About It

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Post-Truth

By: Evan Davis
Narrated by: Evan Davis
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About this listen

Low-level dishonesty is rife everywhere, in the form of exaggeration, selective use of facts, economy with the truth, careful drafting - from Trump and the Brexit debate to companies that tell us 'your call is important to us'. How did we get to a place where bullshit is not just rife but apparently so effective that it's become the communications strategy of our times?

This brilliantly insightful book steps inside the panoply of deception employed in all walks of life and assesses how it has come to this. It sets out the surprising logic which explains why bullshit is both pervasive and persistent. Why are company annual reports often nonsense? Why should you not trust estate agents? And, above all, why has political campaigning become the art of stretching the truth?

Drawing on behavioural science, economics, psychology and of course his knowledge of the media, Evan ends by providing listeners with a tool kit to handle the kinds of deceptions we encounter every day and charts a route through the muddy waters of the post-truth age.

©2017 Evan Davis (P)2017 Little Brown Book Group Communication & Social Skills Economics Elections & Political Process Media Studies Organisational Behavior Personal Development Politics & Government Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Social Psychology & Interactions Social Sciences Words, Language & Grammar Workplace & Organisational Behavior Business Socialism

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This is an interesting book. it sets out a case around fake news, admittedly going a little too far into advertising and away from the idea of starting rather than crafting a reality, and having described it decided it twas always thus and after giving a few tips decided that there is nothing much more to be said about the phenomenon

Interesting, just not that interesting.

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I'm in the middle of writing a dissertation on post truthism. Evans Davis methodically goes through everything from the concept of truth itself to the modern phenomenon of post truth politics. He does it through a series of relevant anecdotes which makes for very easy reading (listening in my case)
He's honest and sincere and makes it clear that for him, the truth is all he wishes to find

Brilliantly insightful

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Good content, with lots of interesting stories and ideas discussed, but very repetitive. The book could be half the length and still convey all of its points.

Good ideas, too much waffling

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I love Evan Davis, I find he makes the most complex subjects accessible. I listen to The Bottom Line despite knowing nothing about business and I get it.
I really enjoyed this book and found it helpful in understanding how we got to this world where bullshit is acceptable.

Really helpful framing of the discussion

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I've long been an admirer of Evan Davis ' journalism and broadcast interviewing. He is skilled at cutting through the bullshit. very entertaining book well read by Evan

superb analysis of post-Trump post-Brexit times

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This is well researched which discusses communication, PR and propaganda.
Evan Davis is best known as the host of BBC Newsnight and before this a well known business editor.

There is widespread public interest in the rise of fake news. However, surprisingly this isn’t a book about journalism and there is relatively limited discussion, except in the final chapters, about the rise of fake news in relation to Trump and the Brexit coverage.

The author narrates the book himself and the pace is good and he has a friendly manner.
It is well researched, but those with knowledge of communication theory will realise it isn’t saying anything particularly new and relies heavily on secondhand sources.

Post Truth, but not detailed account of fake news

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It’s Evan Davis so as a general he’s thorough and interesting. But a couple of things... the sub title of this book is “what we have reached peak bull shit...” but I don’t think we have and his argument doesn’t convince me it’s peaked. It definitely covers the second half of the sub title “... and what we can do about it” but it takes a very Brit view especially when it looks at Trump and his followers. Davis talks about people wanting to find the truth and those who do understanding they need to look at other sources of info, or at least more than one. But that doesn’t explain Trump, his voters or the reality of the US (I’ve just recently returned to the UK having lived there during the Trump presidency). And Davis’ arguments don’t stack up against that reality. Trump’s supporters think he is truth or at the very least speaking truthfully about their situation. They love him not because he’s full of facts and policy wonk, but because at last, at long last, he is talking to the working class whites who have get pummeled and ignored for years. Whether they care about truth or not is almost irrelevant and it’s why Trump 2024 is a reality. They aren’t about to look for alternative facts to see if his facts stand up, and they aren’t going to turn off Fox News to watch some other channel. So we arent at peak bull shit; but we are at post truth and alternative facts.

A Brits view of US politics

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Evan Davis, total genius, well, a man (he would be too modest to agree with that term) who can explain a difficult subject in a really cool and indulging way. Great examples back to life through Evan.

I discovered so much and promoted the book to a couple of my communication colleagues who I believe would enjoy it immensely.

Brilliant, truly loved the insight.

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Had some good stories in places but took a long time to get to interesting parts such as Brexit and stories which are more relative than just repetitive politics.

Tough listening

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