#24 || How to turn a monster into an apologist

For the last episode of Reckonings, none other than: Donald Trump.

This episode is part of Deep Reckonings — a series of explicitly-marked deepfake videos that imagine Mark Zuckerberg, Brett Kavanaugh, and other public figures having a reckoning. Here, an imaginary Donald Trump concedes the 2020 election. Watch the video and access the transcript: www.deepreckonings.com/trump

Want to see Trump give a real concession speech? Tweet: .@realDonaldTrump here's some actual fake news. Only you can make it real with @stephlepp: www.deepreckonings.com/trump

Continue the journey beyond Reckonings: bit.ly/influnch

If Brett Kavanaugh, Alex Jones, and Mark Zuckerberg had a crisis of conscience, what would they say? Reckonings presents Deep Reckonings — a project that uses deepfakes to take Reckonings in a *fictional* direction, and imagine public figures having a reckoning. Watch the full series and learn more about the project: deepreckonings.com

This is the last Reckonings episode for a while, and maybe...the last episode.

How do we cover the communications of a president who lies, especially when those lies can be fatal? The traditional rituals of journalism don't really work with a president who doesn't tell the truth, and so, what can we do instead? Reckonings presents Infinite Lunchbox on the topic of how to tackle Trump's lies — aka *post-truth jujitsu*.

NOTE: Infinite Lunchbox is better viewed than heard — watch this episode on YouTube: bit.ly/posttruthjujitsu

Show Notes:
• Jay Rosen on switching to an emergency setting: https://pressthink.org/2020/03/today-we-switch-our-coverage-of-donald-trump-to-an-emergency-setting
• Dan Froomkin on live fact-checking: https://presswatchers.org/2020/03/how-to-turn-trumps-daily-virus-misinformation-show-into-a-vector-for-the-truth
• Matt Yglesias on Trump being a master showman: https://www.vox.com/2020/3/23/21190362/trump-daily-coronavirus-briefing-fox-cnn-msnbc
• Jay Rosen on sending the interns: https://pressthink.org/2018/06/its-time-for-the-press-to-suspend-normal-relations-with-the-trump-presidency
• Neighbors podcast: https://bit.ly/neighpod

Connect:
• Infinite Lunchbox: https://www.youtube.com/c/infinitelunchbox
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephlepp
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephlepp

How do we change our hearts and minds? What moves us to shift our political worldviews, transcend extremism, and make other kinds of transformative change? That's the $64 million dollar question that gave birth to Reckonings. And that's the question I explore with lessons learned *from* Reckonings -- in this bonus episode with Inflection Point's Lauren Schiller.

Check out additional interviews featuring yours truly: reckonings.show/press.html

Connect:
• Inflection Point — a show about how women rise up: https://www.inflectionpointradio.org
• Neighbors — a podcast showcasing our common humanity: https://bit.ly/neighpod
• Infinite Lunchbox — Reckonings’ sister show: https://www.youtube.com/c/infinitelunchbox
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephlepp
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephlepp

Joe Biden stands accused of sexual assault. And the Democratic Party leadership, which had been loud in its support for #MeToo, is suddenly……..silent. But, is it possible to support Biden's candidacy without abandoning #MeToo? Can we take Tara Reade's allegation seriously while deeming Biden a worthy candidate for president??

In this bonus episode of Reckonings -- alas, no -- we're not doing a restorative justice dialogue between Joe Biden and Tara Reade. What we're doing is being introduced to Reckonings' new sister show: Infinite Lunchbox! And we're going to hear an Infinite Lunchbox episode on Biden, #MeToo, and the prospect of growing in public.

NOTE: Infinite Lunchbox is better *viewed* than heard — watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUoBYHx_cMs

Show Notes:
• Rebel Wisdom -- let them know you want Reckonings to LIVE on their platform: https://twitter.com/WisdomRebel
• Reckonings episode #23 -- featuring restorative justice for clergy sex abuse: http://www.reckonings.show/episodes/23
• Biden's 2019 not-quite-apology video: https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1113515882960052224
• Michelle Goldberg's 2020 NYT opinion on Tara Reade's allegation: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/13/opinion/tara-reade-joe-biden.html
• Strong Feelings podcast: https://www.strongfeelings.co

Connect:
• Infinite Lunchbox: https://www.youtube.com/c/infinitelunchbox
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephlepp
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephlepp

He built Facebook’s business model. Then he went on to become the President of Pinterest. And then he realized: he was addicted to his phone. And later: he was complicit in his own — and all of our — addictive relationships with technology.

How does an architect of Facebook’s business model grapple with the impact of what he built? What is he doing to help us renegotiate our relationship with technology? This is the odyssey of Moment CEO Tim Kendall.

SF BAY AREANS: Tim Kendall and Stephanie Lepp will be speaking at the Institute for the Future on September 26th from 6:30-8pm. Check here for details.

'In writing this apology, I moved him from monster to apologist…and in doing that, he lost power over me.'

That's Eve Ensler, talking about her recent *masterpiece* of a book, The Apology. In it, she imagines the apology her father never gave her for the abuse he inflicted on her as a child. It echoes the imaginary Pope in Reckonings episode #22 — except that Ensler did it for her own father.

Ensler was recently interviewed about the book by Lauren Schiller on Inflection Point, and their conversation had SO MUCH resonance to Reckonings, that I'm bringing it to you right here, in the feed.

Enjoy!

And when you're done, please tell Eve that she'd enjoy Reckonings — on Instagram @TheApology :)

Let's take a quick peek behind the curtain on a few things, including the question: where is Reckonings going?

She was sexually abused by her Catholic school teacher, a former nun.

As a young priest, he sexually abused boys in his parish.

Buckle your seat belts for an *uncommon conversation* about clergy sex abuse.

Enormous gratitude to the National Association of Community and Restorative Justice (https://nacrj.org), and to The Gilead Project (https://gileadproject.org) -- a 501(c)3 devoted to healing and preventing sexual abuse.

If the Pope had a reckoning, what would it sound like?

And then after you listen.....if you're curious *why* this was made, go to episode #23.5 and scroll to 01:18 for an explanation.