Dr. Mara Einstein “Hoodwinked”

Dr. Mara Einstein, Author of Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics As Cults, helps us recognize the cult tactics being used to hoodwink us into submission and get us to act against our own self-interest. This conversation was recorded February 4, 2025.

About Dr. Mara Einstein

Dr. Mara Einstein is a powerhouse marketing critic who pulls no punches. After working for a decade in corporate marketing for some of the biggest names in the business, she left for academia. That transition was motivated by a desire to pull back the curtain on consumerism’s dark side with the goal to 1) persuade companies to do better and 2) give people tools to increase their power in the marketplace.

She has written books on branding religion (Brands of Faith), cause marketing (Compassion, Inc.), and deceptive marketing practices. This last book was Black Ops Advertising, which The New York Times called “well-researched and accomplished” and The Guardian agreed, saying “Einstein’s explanations of all this – from internet news organisations to TV product placement and even dating sites – are thoroughly researched, elegantly explained and often alarming, even for readers familiar with most of the above facts in the abstract.”

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Credits

Hosted by Douglas Rushkoff
Produced by Josh Chapdelaine
Audio Edited & Mixed by Luke Robert Mason

Music by:
Fugazi (On this Episode you heard “Foreman’s Dog” in the intro – thanks to the kindness of the band and Dischord Records.)
The Team Human Band - Growth Trap

Special thanks to Stephen Bartolomei.
Team Human is a Production of the Laboratory for Digital Humanism at Queens College.