Episode Twenty-Eight: Engineering Consent: Edward Bernays, Propaganda and Public Relations

Episode 28 of the House of Dissent podcast examines Edward Bernays and the emergence of public relations as a force in 20th-century politics and commerce. It explores how mass communications, advertising and PR shaped consumer culture, reinforced capitalism, and became tools of Cold War propaganda. The episode discusses Bernays' major campaigns (including promoting women smoking and his role in the 1954 Guatemala coup), the broader context of the Marshall Plan and US cultural influence, and the ways media and propaganda engineered public opinion to protect and expand capitalist systems.