Disclaimer: I'm good friends with Mike, both of us having worked together on the Web Ecology Project. Idea Channel is just what it is: no-consequences idea generation that certainly provoke interesting conversations but don't necessarily contribute to the 'social theory' part of your prompt. But I've always thought that academics should totally go the route of making well-produced, easily-understandable videos. Eg., while not academic in the least, I still think this -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxKtZmQgxrI -- is one of the best pieces of film criticism out there. Alex --- Alexander Leavitt PhD Student USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism http://alexleavitt.com Twitter: @alexleavitt On Mon, Feb 25, 2013 at 3:47 PM, Tilton, Shane <tiltons@ohio.edu> wrote:

(For those that haven't seen the videos… http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsideachannel?feature=watch)

I've been a huge fan of Mike Rugnetta's work in this space and I was planning writing a piece on how this series opens up theory in a way that is accessible to a larger audience. However, my worry is that the information being presented is too close to the "Freakonomics"/"Tipping Point" field. My question to the AoIR hive mind is does this presentation of information represent a new method of scholarship combining social theory with popular culture?

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