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Podcast: "RECESSION": A Rhetorical Journey with President Bush

Podcast: "RECESSION": A Rhetorical Journey with President Bush
The Weekly Podcast: "RECESSION": A Rhetorical Journey with President Bush, 2008

When is it time to call a recession -- a recession? Sometimes it's not just about the hard data ... For a president, it could be a rhetorical and messaging challenge, as well. It is for President Joe Biden in 2022, and it was for President George W. Bush in 2008.

President Bush began 2008 in his State of the Union address by describing "a period of uncertainty." As the year went on, "period of uncertainty" became "slowdown", "downturn", "rough patch", "tough times", even "danger." When did he finally use the "R word" -- recession?


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The Power of Outrage and Keeping Everyone Guessing

Question marks on a stack of small blocks.

Getty Images / Sakchai Vongsasiripat

The Power of Outrage and Keeping Everyone Guessing

Donald Trump loves to keep us guessing. This is exactly what we’re all doing as his second term in the White House begins. It’s one way he controls the narrative.

Trump’s off the cuff, unfiltered, controversial statements infuriate opponents and delight his supporters. The rest of us are left trying to figure out the difference between the shenanigans and when he’s actually serious.

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To help heal divides, we must cut “the media” some slack

Newspaper headline cuttings.

Getty Images / Sean Gladwell

To help heal divides, we must cut “the media” some slack

A few days ago, Donald Trump was inaugurated. In his second term, just as in his first, he’ll likely spark passionate disagreements about news media: what is “fake news” and what isn’t, which media sources should be trusted and which should be doubted.

We know we have a media distrust problem. Recently it hit an all-time low: the percentage of Americans with "not very much" trust in the media has risen from 27% in 2020 to 33% in 2024.

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