6 ms·

The last PBS produced video I watched (it was on yt) was on the current super El Nino, totally cool. But somehow they managed to segue into more than a few minu

The last PBS produced video I watched (it was on yt) was on the current super El Nino, totally cool. But somehow they managed to segue into more than a few minutes of "Remind white people of what happened 300 years ago" right in the middle of it. No thanks. I'm here for science, and if your writers are mostly people primarily concerned with making sure they bow at the alter in every single video, I'm 100% out. It's like watching a cooking video produced by a Christian group that works Jesus into chopping carrots.

weberer 6d ago
Its the exact same with NPR as well. There's actually a nice podcast that breaks down their ideological capture and downfall over the years. Its called All Things Reconsidered. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPvNucxB7TI&list=PLYNjnJFU-62s5cNuqeB-D-7QPymF6myk_ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPvNucxB7TI&list=PLYNjnJFU-6...
- WarmWash 6d ago
  It's funny because I had the exact experience with NPR/member station. I listened to it daily every morning about 15 years ago because my job at the time was perfect for it. Then I changed careers and couldn't listen for a long time. Five or so years ago I was excited to have a new job that would allow me to listen again and I didn't last a week...
clukic 6d ago
I think you're talking about "Weathered." About 150 years ago about 8m people died in India, because during an El Nino drought and famine British companies continued exporting food from India. I guess you could call that "white people guilt" but you could also say that it's valuable context that the impacts of climate change can be exasperated by economic and national policies.
- triceratops 6d ago
  > can be exasperated You mean "exacerbated".
avidruntime 6d ago
The "Remind white people of what happened 300 years ago" in question is an explainer on how a 19th century Super El Nino wiped out over 3% of the world's population, mostly in Asia, despite the fact that these regions had experienced famines and droughts at numerous points in their prior history. The video then asks the question, "Why was this so much more deadly?" The explanation posits that this was only possible due to the multiplier of the rapidly expanding British empire. It is not posited as British/white people are bad, it is posited as society, politics and trade creating a multiplier effect. The whole point of this section in the video is to setup the final chapter of the video, asking the question, "Could this happen again?", which feels like a valid question given that society, politics, and trade have exponentially evolved since the 19th century. This section of the video is portrayed so agnostically that I felt compelled to reply to your vague criticism. Here is the video linked to the timestamp of the aforementioned section, which is only around 2 minutes long, so others can pass their own judgement: https://youtu.be/69o-8Mtd3Kc&t=330 https://youtu.be/69o-8Mtd3Kc&t=330 Not sure how you can be here for the science if you're not willing to be here for the history.
- qmmmur 6d ago
  Stop…stop…he’s already dead
- WarmWash 6d ago
  [flagged]
- VoodooJuJu 6d ago
  [dead]
psim1 6d ago
Jesus was a carpenter! More appropriate for New Yankee Workshop or This Old House.
triceratops 6d ago
> "Remind white people of what happened 300 years ago" 1. 1877 was less than 150 years ago, not 300. 2. That year had the strongest El Nino in recorded history. 3. Talking about why so many people died - political and economic mismanagement, essentially - is valid. Do you feel personally guilty about colonialism? If yes, you shouldn't. It's not your fault. If no, then why do you care about someone reciting relevant facts?

weberer 6d ago

Its the exact same with NPR as well. There's actually a nice podcast that breaks down their ideological capture and downfall over the years. Its called All Things Reconsidered. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPvNucxB7TI&list=PLYNjnJFU-62s5cNuqeB-D-7QPymF6myk_ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPvNucxB7TI&list=PLYNjnJFU-6...

WarmWash 6d ago
It's funny because I had the exact experience with NPR/member station. I listened to it daily every morning about 15 years ago because my job at the time was perfect for it. Then I changed careers and couldn't listen for a long time. Five or so years ago I was excited to have a new job that would allow me to listen again and I didn't last a week...

clukic 6d ago

I think you're talking about "Weathered." About 150 years ago about 8m people died in India, because during an El Nino drought and famine British companies continued exporting food from India. I guess you could call that "white people guilt" but you could also say that it's valuable context that the impacts of climate change can be exasperated by economic and national policies.

triceratops 6d ago
> can be exasperated You mean "exacerbated".

avidruntime 6d ago

The "Remind white people of what happened 300 years ago" in question is an explainer on how a 19th century Super El Nino wiped out over 3% of the world's population, mostly in Asia, despite the fact that these regions had experienced famines and droughts at numerous points in their prior history. The video then asks the question, "Why was this so much more deadly?" The explanation posits that this was only possible due to the multiplier of the rapidly expanding British empire. It is not posited as British/white people are bad, it is posited as society, politics and trade creating a multiplier effect. The whole point of this section in the video is to setup the final chapter of the video, asking the question, "Could this happen again?", which feels like a valid question given that society, politics, and trade have exponentially evolved since the 19th century. This section of the video is portrayed so agnostically that I felt compelled to reply to your vague criticism. Here is the video linked to the timestamp of the aforementioned section, which is only around 2 minutes long, so others can pass their own judgement: https://youtu.be/69o-8Mtd3Kc&t=330 https://youtu.be/69o-8Mtd3Kc&t=330 Not sure how you can be here for the science if you're not willing to be here for the history.

qmmmur 6d ago
Stop…stop…he’s already dead
WarmWash 6d ago
[flagged]
VoodooJuJu 6d ago
[dead]

psim1 6d ago

Jesus was a carpenter! More appropriate for New Yankee Workshop or This Old House.

triceratops 6d ago

> "Remind white people of what happened 300 years ago" 1. 1877 was less than 150 years ago, not 300. 2. That year had the strongest El Nino in recorded history. 3. Talking about why so many people died - political and economic mismanagement, essentially - is valid. Do you feel personally guilty about colonialism? If yes, you shouldn't. It's not your fault. If no, then why do you care about someone reciting relevant facts?