On the Media

The Peabody Award-winning On the Media podcast is your guide to examining how the media sausage is made. Hosts Brooke Gladstone and Micah Loewinger examine threats to free speech and government transparency, cast a skeptical eye on media coverage of the week’s big stories and unravel hidden political narratives in everything we read, watch and hear.

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Episodes

The Coding Language Caught in DOGE's Crosshairs

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has been edged out of the headlines this past week, or so, by the administration’s current flirtation with a constitutional crisis. But the DOGE team is still busy. One project on the office's agenda, originally reported by WIRED late last month, is to rewrite the Social Security Administration's code base—in other words, the agency's computer programs, which handle millions of Americans’ personal and financial data. Brooke sits down with...

Apr 16, 2025•28 min

The Tariff Week From Hell. Plus, the Bluesky CEO Reimagines Social Media.

The president’s on-again, off-again tariffs are wreaking havoc on the economy. On this week’s On the Media, how the press is struggling to keep up with covering the chaos. Plus, the CEO of Bluesky, an alternative to Twitter, shares her vision for a better internet. [00:00] Host Micah Loewinger breaks down a wild week in the economy–why the press can’t keep up, and what we can learn from the rollercoaster of tariffs the Trump administration has implemented. [00:00] Host Micah Loewinger speaks wit...

Apr 12, 2025•50 min

Sen. Chris Murphy on the Crisis Facing Our Democracy

This week we’re bringing you an interview from our friends at the New Yorker Radio Hour. It's a conversation between host David Remnick and Democratic congressman Chris Murphy. Murphy is the junior senator from Connecticut and a vehement critic of leaders in his party who’ve taken a “business as usual” approach in dealing with the Trump administration. He opposed Chuck Schumer’s negotiation to pass the Republican budget and keep the government running and Murphy advocated for the democrats to sk...

Apr 09, 2025•23 min

Harvard and the Battle Over Higher Ed

The Trump administration has pulled funding for universities like Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania, and is threatening to withhold federal dollars from public schools with diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Harvard is also fighting to retain its funding. On this week’s On the Media, hear how the distinctly American idea of “diversity” has fallen out of favor—from higher education to the Supreme Court. Reporter Ilya Marritz explains how the Trump administration is cracking down ...

Apr 04, 2025•51 min