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Carlo Rotella

Why academics turn into robots on TV

Academics have a lot to say, but mostly turn into robots on TV, radio

By Carlo Rotella

 |   

  January 20, 2012

As we embark on an election year, the population of academic talking heads on TV and radio has begun to increase. Like deer in the suburbs, academic talking heads are always threatening to overpopulate the mediasphere, and in an election year it’s as if a boom in sprawl has been coupled with the extinction of natural predators. Suddenly, political scientists and other professors are everywhere, nibbling hedges and saying, ”Well, Bob, it’s complicated.”

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