Sorgatron Media Master Feed

Fishing Without Bait 489: Stochastic Rhetoric: The Scary Trick Politicians Use to Manipulate Minds

October 28th, 2025  |  20 mins 19 secs

anxiety reduction, behavioral health, choose kindness, cognitive bias, compassion, critical thinking, dog whistle politics, emotional intelligence, fear and awareness, fishing without bait, free thinking, information overload, jim ellermeyer, kindness, media literacy, media manipulation, mental health, mike sorg, mindful communication, mindfulness, mindfulness podcast, misinformation, obfuscation, plausible deniability, podcast, political language, politics and psychology, random acts of kindness, self awareness, social awareness, stochastic rhetoric

In this episode of Fishing Without Bait, Jim Ellermeyer and producer Mike Sorg wade into some deep—and dangerous—waters. Together, they explore how stochastic rhetoric and obfuscation have become the most powerful tools in modern political communication.

What do those words mean? In short, they describe how leaders and media use vague, coded, or confusing language to manipulate emotions, create division, and dodge accountability. From “dog whistles” to “plausible deniability,” Jim explains how these tactics quietly shape behavior and beliefs—without ever saying things outright.

Fishing Without Bait 239: Breaking News

April 21st, 2020  |  20 mins 38 secs

breaking news, cognitive bias, confirmation bias, mindfulness, proactive, toxicity

Jim Ellermeyer and Producer Mike are talking bout the influx of information and “breaking news” we deal with on the daily basis. How do we validate how we feel about the events going on, using news sources that we can trust, and being aware of your own cognitive biased and confirmation biased sources. We also look at productivity in their quarantine down time, and giving yourself a pass. How hard is it to be proactive in a situation?