X Latest Writings Red White & Blind Double Happiness Connect with Me Recent Entries Archives
Where realism and idealism meet Tony Brasunas, author of Double Happiness

Home

  • Audiobook Landing Soon & Much More

    I’m delighted to announce that the audiobook of Red White & Blind is complete. Putting it together has been a long labor of love, and now it will launch in a matter of weeks—no later than the first week of September. If you prefer listening to books with your ears over reading them with your eyes, you will now get to enjoy this book in your desired format.

    When I first considered how to create the audiobook, I reviewed the manuscript and realized that many segments would be best delivered in my own voice. So I set out to read the entire thing, from start to finish, forgetting for a moment how huge an effort it is to record an audiobook. And this book is longer and more complex than the narrative nonfiction of my first book, Double Happiness, so it took a bit more to get it over the finish line. The project even grew a bit as I went. I realized it needed audio breaks to indicate section breaks and new chapters, so I sat down and recorded some guitar riffs and interspersed them into the audio flow. I also employed a female voice to read the primary sources authored by women, and that female voice belongs to a human very important to me: my amazing wife Pamela.

    So this audiobook turned into something approaching a radio play.

    And now it’s done. I think you’ll enjoy the final product quite a bit if I do say so myself. It will be released and ready for your enjoyment in just a few weeks.

    More From This Newsletter

    In other news—and there’s a lot of it these days with all that’s going on in the world—I believe I can help people see the world more clearly if I engage more fully with this newsletter. I will be adding more features here and on the video channel, and I hope you’ll let me know what you find valuable and useful.

    From Joe Biden’s sudden departure from the upcoming presidential election, to the immediate entry of Kamala Harris; from the horrifying assassination attempt on Donald Trump, to the troubling global internet outage; from the ongoing bloody wars abroad, to the battles here at home over cultural issues and social media censorship—it has probably never been more important to be informed.

    The corporate media, of course, would have you believe something strange about becoming informed: It’s impossible for you, poor citizen, to become truly informed about our scary complex world if you think for yourself. Your only hope is to trust us to tell you what’s going on.

    Here at RW&B, whether you’ve read the book, watched some video episodes, or simply paid close attention to the news over the past few years, you know those disingenuous pronouncements are only designed to rob you of your power.

    It’s actually possible today—for the first time in world history, thanks to this internet thing you’re using right now—to be truthfully informed most of the time about your world if you’re willing to put a little time into it.

    These are the things I’m aiming to add, develop, and deliver here:

    • An Enhanced Balanced Media Diet. Go to BalancedMediaDiet.com any time, a site that provides free, nonpartisan media diet advice for everyone. I’ve been putting more work into this site and pulling in the work of other media critics in order to enhancing it for new 2024 and 2025 diets.
    • “BMD Daily.” These will be short posts that highlight a source and story (or two) from the day’s recommended diet at BalancedMediaDiet.com that to me seem useful, important, or interesting given the day’s news.
    • Book Excerpts. In recording the audiobook for Red White & Blind and reading and rereading many passages while attempting to get the audio recording right, I noticed how many of the passages remain highly useful (in my humble opinion) when making sense of the news and current events. I recommend of course that you read the whole book or listen to the forthcoming audiobook, as I packed RW&B with every tidbit of research and insight I could about our media’s distortion of political and cultural issues. But I know that not everyone will do so for various reasons and simply publishing excerpts will be helpful in making this approach accessible.
    • Features and Episodes. Finally, I will create new features and video episodes that share what my balanced media diet has led me to believe about current events. The other post types listed above will generally be nonpartisan and un-opinionated. New features and video episodes will include my analysis and opinion on current affairs.

    If you find one of these features of value, please consider becoming a premium member here and supporting the independent media movement.

    One Other Big New Launch

    Finally, it would be impossible for me to send out an update to this list without mentioning the biggest news in my personal life. We welcomed a new human into our family and world in May—our new daughter Maven! She’s a beauty and a true gem in our eyes, and we’re very fortunate to have her with us here on earth.

    That’s it. The audiobook is coming. This newsletter will be growing. A baby Brasunas has arrived.

    ,
    , , ,

  • Episode 5: Assange, Tucker, the Great Reset, and the American Mood

    Will Assange know justice? Will Super Tuesday end the primary season?

    A full, new episode of the Red White & Blind show is out. Sit back and enjoy the full episode, or choose the individual segment that interests you most.

    To me, they’re all important, but the most pressing is the case of Julian Assange. A verdict in England will be handed down any day now on his extradition. For the sake of international law and press freedom, he must be set free today or he will languish and die very soon in an American prison—and this thing we call investigative journalism will become all but illegal.

    FULL EPISODE

    Click to watch the full episode (65 min)

    Watch on Rumble >

    Watch on YouTube >

    INDIVIDUAL SEGMENTS

    (more…)
    ,
    , , , , , , , ,

  • Episode 4: The Twitter Files, War in Israel, RFK Jr., and the GOP Speaker Switch

    1. What should every American know about the Twitter Files? Why were they such bombshells in the modern debate over Free Speech?
    2. Beyond the media bias, what is an ethical understanding of the war in Israel? What is the likely outcome of the horrible conflict?
    3. What does RFK Jr.’s burgeoning presidential campaign portend for the 2024 race?
    4. What really caused the ouster of GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy?

    These are the questions explored in this new RW&B episode. This episode also unveils a new studio and a new format for the show.

    The goals of Red White & Blind remain unchanged: To break the deceptive spells of the corporate media and discern the story behind the story.

    Sit back and enjoy the full episode, or choose an individual segment…

    FULL EPISODE

    Click to watch the full episode (45 min)

    YouTube >

    Rumble >

    (more…)
    ,

  • Red White & Blind Meets Spiral Dynamics

    I’ll be presenting tomorrow to a global group studying a new evolutionary model.

    I don’t usually post my podcast or conference appearances here on my blog, but this one tomorrow will be special and participatory, and I thought it might be of interest.

    Also, for those of you not in the US, or not in the Pacific timezone, this is an opportunity to join an RW&B event at an earlier time than I’m usually available—7 a.m.! That translates to 10 a.m. on the east coast and a reasonable 3 p.m. in London.

    What is Spiral Dynamics Theory? The Only Guide You Need

    Spiral Dynamics is a fascinating model depicting the evolutionary development of individuals, organizations, and societies. Rather than the antiquated notion of a straight line of progress, Spiral Dynamics portrays evolution as a cyclical phenomenon in which humans and organizations grow and incorporate higher skills and attributes while continuously reintegrating many lower skills and attributes.

    I’m certainly no expert on Spiral Dynamics. I have only a superficial knowledge of the concepts and model at this point, and I look forward to learning and to a lively conversation. I see ways in which the New Enlightenment—which I observe unfolding today through the broadening distribution of knowledge and truth—is inspiring humanity to new levels of potential and possibility.

    What could be in store for us next?

    Spiral Dynamics Integral Live
    Date:     Join us on Saturday, October 14th, 2023
    Topic: Presentation by author Tony Brasunas — Exploring Media Bias on the Spiral

    Come join us! All are welcome. Zoom link is posted below.

    Why were the sordid deeds of Jeffrey Epstein concealed for two decades? Why was the origin of COVID-19 suppressed in the corporate news? Why are social media sites silencing scientists, scholars, journalists, and doctors?

    Red White & Blind is a censored journalist’s story and a deep dive into the mechanisms of the American media. Through riveting exposés, Tony Brasunas reveals the insidious use of disinformation and social media censorship in America. Tony will share historical insights gathered while writing his book as well as an optimistic path through these polarized times that new modes of information exchange enable. We are already in the early phases of a New Enlightenment, Brasunas posits, which is drawing humanity into the higher levels of the SDi. 

    After the presentation, we will open the discussion to the group.

    The link to join is below. See you there!

    JOIN ZOOM

    Meeting ID: 835 5870 2973
    Passcode: 554076
    Starting Times:
      7:00 AM                             Pacific – USA
      8:00 AM                             Mountain – USA
      9:00 AM                             Central – USA
    10:00 AM                             Eastern – USA
      3:00 PM                             London
      4:00 PM                             Madrid, Berlin, Cairo 
      5:00 PM                             Tel Aviv & Moscow
      7:30 PM                             New Delhi, India
    10:00 PM                             Shanghai, China
    12:00 AM (Sunday)            Sydney, Australia

    ,
    , ,

  • Audiobook Coming Soon!

    You haven’t heard from me in nearly two months, but it’s not on account of censorship or deplatforming. The truth is, I’ve been hard at work narrating the audiobook of Red White & Blind.

    To give it that personal touch, I’m narrating the RW&B audiobook myself.

    I’m delighted with how well it’s coming together, but wow, it’s been quite an undertaking. Rather than hire a professional narrator, I opted to read the book myself, as I did with Double Happiness. I clearly forgot the enormous effort required to narrate an audiobook. The undertaking for an author is not simply reading his or her book; it’s sitting for hours at a time, reading sentence after sentence with meticulous precision and crystalline pronunciation. No stumbling, pausing, rushing, or throat-clearing allowed. It’s an athletic endeavor more than an intellectual or logical one.

    All for you, dear readers. I’m thinking particularly of those of you who specifically requested the audiobook. This will be the narrated experience you’re looking for.

    While it has been laborious, it’s also been a profound joy to revisit the work I did to pull Red White & Blind together.

    In the end, I know this audiobook will be better, more interesting, and more compelling in my own voice. Sit back and let me tell you a story—or twenty—that illustrate deliberate media deception and that describe the brave new path we humans are on to a world with the freest sharing of knowledge in history, a veritable new Enlightenment.

    That’s the news. I just wanted to let you know what I’ve been up to.

    Preorder links for the audiobook will be posted here once I have them.

    For now, the paperback and ebook, as always, are available.

    You can even get a free, 20-page excerpt here.

    ,

  • Episode 3: Media Lying Again About the Origin of the Virus

    Yes, the corporate media is lying to you again about the origin of the virus

    I laid out the facts in an earlier episode of the Red White & Blind show: The mainstream corporate media—and the New York Times in particular—hasn’t yet in three years published a neutral piece on the question of the virus’s origin.

    Just after I released that video, more evidence emerged favoring the likelihood of a lab origin. But once again, rather than present that evidence fairly, a new round of corporate media narrative management has besieged us.

    So this episode explores the newest revelations and the latest narrative control on perhaps the most important questions of our time: Where Did that Virus Come From?

    I Suppose I Told You So

    Long before I made either episode, I penned a long treatise on this topic of the origin of sars-cov-2. At the time, way back in the summer of 2021, I was only about 85% certain about my conclusions, and so I approached the topic with attention, care, and curiosity. The media was presenting the story at the time as if it were still an 85% certainty the other way—that the virus had originated through “natural zoonosis.” I knew that was wrong. I undertook many weeks of research, and I published a piece in June 2021 entitled Where Did the Virus Come From? You can still read it there on my blog.

    (more…)

  • My Interview on Project Censored

    I spoke about RW&B on KPFA in Berkeley and then with the Young Republicans in San Francisco

    I was delighted that the venerable KPFA radio interviewed me this past week here in the Bay Area.

    I appeared on the station’s Project Censored show and discussed propaganda, censorship, and media consciousness — all great topics — and of course the new book Red White & Blind.

    I was excited for the interview. KPFA is a formidable news institution here in the Bay Area, and it was one of my biggest media appearances to date. I thought it went well, but listen when you can and let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

    Listen to the Interview

    KPFA has anchored Left media in the Bay Area for decades. It is a flagship of the Pacifica Network of radio stations, which includes WBAI in New York and KPFK in Los Angeles.

    (more…)
    , ,
    , ,

  • The Kirkus review of Red White & Blind, and Yours

    Old-school book reviewer Kirkus has published a review of Red White & Blind. Over the years, this venerable publication has grown famous for savaging otherwise well-received books, so it was with some trepidation that I opened my browser to read its review. I was anxious moreover because RW&B is an independent critique of the mainstream media establishment.

    Drum roll…

    To my pleasant surprise, the review begins with an accurate account of my path to writing the book. From there, the reviewer quite fairly describes the book’s thrust and thesis. The Kirkus appraiser even highlights the book’s political and thematic balance as well as the depth of the research it presents.

    The reviewer describes the book positively as

    a detailed history of media manipulation throughout US history, from World War I propaganda to deliberate CIA misinformation campaigns.

    The review goes on to praise the book as “convincing” and “impressive.” In particularly, the reviewer highlights its balance:

    (more…)
    , , ,

  • Episode 2: Why Covid’s Origin Was Concealed for Three Years

    I’m delighted to announce the release of a new investigative video on the new RW&B video channel. Just my second investigative piece, please let me know your thoughts.

    This new episode delves into evidence that the crisis of media deception we endure as Americans is deepening. For absolutely no legitimate reasons, the origin of the coronavirus were censored for three years, and I uncover why.

    Watch the new episode now:

    YouTube >

    Video Episode: Why Covid's Origin Was Concealed for Three Years
    Why Covid’s Origin Was Concealed for Three Years

    Rumble >

    Video Episode: Why Covid's Origin Was Concealed for Three Years
    Why Covid’s Origin Was Concealed for Three Years

    Tracking for a year and a half

    Longtime readers of this blog will know that I first wrote about the origin of the world’s least favorite virus way back in June 2021. I was reading a balanced media diet and noticed that the evidence was increasingly pointing to a lab origin. Nonetheless the very notion that the virus might have come from anywhere other than an open-air food market was still routinely called a conspiracy theory in mainstream corporate media.

    (more…)
    , ,
    , , , , , ,

  • Is The CIA Trying to Deceive All Americans?

    Did CIA Director William Casey really say, “We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false?”

    This is the provocative quote I use for the Introduction to my new book, Red White & Blind. It appears right at the outset of the book. Despite the quote appearing in countless memes and webpages, I should have provided a clear source for it in the text. I somehow overlooked it when I was compiling the book’s exhaustive sources and footnotes. Yes, despite compiling 50 pages of citations, I missed this one.

    So, let’s provide it here. There is a useful Quora page where this quote is discussed. The page has been edited a bit, but a man named Greg Smith produces an email with former White House campaign staffer Barabara Honegger, who was in the meeting at which Casey expressed this troubling intention. I’m posting this email here in the event it is removed from the Quora page:

    
Ex-DCI Bill Casey's quote was attributed online as reported only by Mae Brussell, and so I bounced it off Barbara Honegger because I knew she worked for Mae B back in the day. Here's what I got from her in [an email] response:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Barbara Honegger
Date: Sun, Sep 21, 2014 at 11:19 PM
Subject: Re: Conference on THE WARREN REPORT AND THE
JFK ASSASSINATION : FIVE DECADES OF SIGNIFICANT DISCLOSURES
To: Greg Smith
I told Mae about it when we worked together ...
On Sun, Sep 21, 2014 at 10:32 PM, Greg Smith wrote:

Thanks Barbara! That's priceless. The web attributes it to Mae B only, and therefore, it's discounted in chat and group conversations on social media. You might want to give it better street cred? Your call!

On Sep 21, 2014, at 8:59 PM, Barbara Honegger wrote:

>     Seriously -- I personally was the Source 
>     for that William Casey quote.  He said it 
>     at an early Feb. 1981 meeting in the
>     Roosevelt Room in the West Wing of 
>     the White House which I attended, and 
>     I immediately told my close friend and 
>     political godmother Senior White House 
>     Correspondent Sarah McClendon, who 
>     then went public with it without naming 
>     the source ...  
>     On Sat, Sep 20, 2014 at 2:49 PM, Greg Smith wrote:
>
>         Love to, but can't break away. I'll definitely get the DVD for future very intense scrutiny! On that note, in the words of the infamous William J. Casey, "We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." 

>
>         On Sep 17, 2014, at 1:25 AM, Barbara Honegger wrote:
>>         I'm going to try to go to the historic conference.  
>>         Please try to as well... 
>>         Barbara  
>>         On Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 8:34 PM, Jerry Policoff wrote:  
>>         Re: Conference on THE WARREN REPORT AND THE
>>            JFK ASSASSINATION : FIVE DECADES OF 
>>            SIGNIFICANT DISCLOSURES