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Shane Smith Has Questions

Shane Smith Has Questions

Written by: VICE News & Studio71
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Shane Smith Has Questions is a dynamic, apolitical podcast hosted by Shane Smith dedicated to getting to the bottom of prominent instances of misinformation and disinformation while revealing the fascinating fundamental truths (if there are any?) of the most interesting and convoluted social and political issues of our time. For advertising opportunities please email PodcastPartnerships@Studio71us.com We want to make the podcast even better, help us learn how we can: https://bit.ly/2EcYbu4 Privacy Policy: https://www.studio71.com/terms-and-conditions-use/#Privacy%20PolicyVICE News & Studio71 Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Ken Burns: "There is No Them. There's Only Us." | Shane Smith Has Questions

    Ken Burns: "There is No Them. There's Only Us." | Shane Smith Has Questions
    Jun 25 2026
    Ken Burns has spent more than five decades telling America's story. From The Civil War and The Vietnam War to Baseball, Jazz, and The U.S. and the Holocaust, his films have shaped how generations of Americans understand their country. In this conversation, Shane Smith sits down with the legendary filmmaker to talk about much more than documentaries. Together they explore why America feels so divided, whether we're living through another turning point in history, the collapse of shared facts, the changing media landscape, and why Burns believes understanding our past is essential to navigating our future. Burns also reflects on his early films Brooklyn Bridge and The Statue of Liberty, the making of The Civil War and The Vietnam War, the importance of PBS, and why documentary filmmaking still matters in an age of algorithms, clips, and social media. After a lifetime studying America's greatest triumphs and deepest failures, Ken Burns keeps coming back to one simple idea: "There's only us.” Get 20% off your entire purchase for first-time buyers with code SHANE at https://www.mood.com In this episode: • The story behind Brooklyn Bridge and Burns' first documentary • Why The Civil War became a cultural phenomenon • The making of The Vietnam War • Why PBS has been essential to documentary filmmaking • Journalism vs. history • The collapse of shared reality • Social media, AI, and the future of truth • Political polarization and America's recurring cycles • What history says about our future • Why Ken Burns still believes there's reason for hope Subscribe to Shane Smith Has Questions for new conversations with the people shaping politics, culture, technology, and the world around us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • The Age of Disclosure: Who Actually Controls the UAP Secrets? | w/ Dan Farah | Shane Smith Has Questions

    The Age of Disclosure: Who Actually Controls the UAP Secrets? | w/ Dan Farah | Shane Smith Has Questions
    Jun 18 2026
    Who actually controls the biggest secret in modern history? For decades, UFOs were treated as conspiracy theories, fringe science, or tabloid fodder. Today, senators, intelligence officials, military officers, and even presidents are publicly discussing unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs). What changed? This week, Shane sits down with filmmaker Dan Farah, director of The Age of Disclosure to discuss the growing push for government transparency around UAPs, the role of defense contractors, congressional investigations, declassified documents, and the battle currently unfolding inside Washington over what the public should know. The conversation goes far beyond aliens. Shane and Dan explore the idea of a decades-long "legacy program," whether critical information has migrated from government agencies into private contractors, why recent disclosures may be happening now, the role of China and a potential technological arms race, and whether the real story is less about extraterrestrials and more about power, secrecy, and accountability. They also discuss Steven Spielberg's influence on Farah's work, the making of The Age of Disclosure, media stigma, FOIA requests, whistleblowers, and what full disclosure could mean for science, technology, and society.Topics include: • The making of The Age of Disclosure • Steven Spielberg and Ready Player One • Government transparency and secrecy • Congress vs. the intelligence community • The "legacy program" • Defense contractors and oversight • China and the UAP technology race • FOIA and declassified records • Media stigma around UFOs • What disclosure could actually look like Save 20% on your first online Lucy order at https://www.lucy.co/ QUESTIONS with promo code QUESTIONS! Before the interview, Shane reviewed hundreds of pages of UAP documents in our custom PDF Space. Explore the files yourself here: https://adobe.ly/ViceUAPFilesYT Subscribe to VICE News here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE-News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out VICE News for more: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://vicenews.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 21 mins
  • "Our Weapon Is AI" | Shane Smith & Andrew Callaghan Interview Iran's Viral Meme Warriors

    "Our Weapon Is AI" | Shane Smith & Andrew Callaghan Interview Iran's Viral Meme Warriors
    Jun 11 2026
    Shane Smith and Andrew Callaghan sit down with the anonymous creator behind Explosive Media, the Iranian team whose AI-generated LEGO videos became one of the most viewed and controversial media phenomena of the recent Iran-Israel conflict. With a team of fewer than ten people, their videos reached hundreds of millions of viewers and sparked debate about propaganda, AI, meme culture, and the future of information warfareIn this rare interview, the creators explain why they chose LEGO animation to depict war, how a team of fewer than ten people reached hundreds of millions of viewers, and why they believe modern conflicts are increasingly fought through algorithms, social media, and information warfare rather than traditional media alone.The conversation explores propaganda, AI-generated content, meme culture, Jean Baudrillard's theory of hyperreality, President Trump's social media strategy, and the future of political storytelling in an age where billions of people experience world events through their phones.The group also responds to questions about their relationship with the Iranian government, whether their work should be considered propaganda, and why they describe themselves as "guerrilla soldiers in the propaganda war.”As AI tools become more powerful and media becomes increasingly decentralized, this conversation offers a glimpse into what the future of information warfare may look like.Subscribe to VICE News for more reporting from around the world. Subscribe to VICE News here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE-News⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out VICE News for more: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://vicenews.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    14 mins
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