From incendiary phone calls with world leaders to a sloppy military operation in Yemen, a look at what we've learned so far from "the leakiest White House in a very long time." Also, in a week when one journalist was fired for declaring that "objectivity is dead," we examine whether traditional standards of journalistic neutrality need to be re-imagined for a new era. And how the utopian promise of the Internet was overtaken by algorithms and monopolies that threaten to erode our democracy. Supp...
Feb 03, 2017•50 min
WH chief strategist Steve Bannon is credited with influencing the president's every move, from speeches to executive orders. This week it was announced that he will take the place of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the National Security Council principals committee so we thought it was a good time to revisit an interview Brooke did with Joshua Green who profiled Bannon for Bloomberg News. On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today ( https://pledge...
Jan 31, 2017•13 min
The first week of the Trump administration was a frenzy of executive actions, falsehoods, and attacks on the media. Bob goes to the White House to talk with the press corps about how they're handling a moving target. Plus, how Trump's first executive action on abortion is a symbolic continuation of the decades-long war over reproductive rights. And, the swift rise and fall of the term "fake news." Support On the Media by becoming a member today at OntheMedia.org/donate . On the Media is supporte...
Jan 27, 2017•50 min
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and his boss have had a rough first few days in their new jobs. Historian Martha Joynt Kumar explains that the relationship between the press secretary and the press has always been a tricky one. On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today ( https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm ). Follow our show on Instagram , Bluesky , TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org. Hoste...
Jan 24, 2017•16 min
President Trump may be the most vocal with his disdain, but he's hardly the first president to have a rocky relationship with the press. Plus, why the White House press corps is so frustrating for everyone involved, and whether Trump's open animosity could actually be a blessing in disguise for the media. And, how the Obama administration’s last-minute expansion of surveillance powers might function in new hands. Support On the Media by becoming a member today at OntheMedia.org/donate . On the M...
Jan 20, 2017•50 min
When reporting on poverty, the media fall into familiar traps and pundits make prescriptions that disregard the facts. So, in the fifth and final installment of our series, " Busted: America's Poverty Myths ," we present a Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: Poverty in America Edition . It'll equip you with the tools to spot shoddy reporting and the knowledge to identify coverage with insight. With help from Jack Frech , former Athens County welfare director; Kathryn Edin , co-author of $2.00 A D...
Jan 17, 2017•23 min
UPDATE: OTM has received numerous inquiries from listeners who want to help Margaret Smith. If you’d like to donate, she has set up a PayPal account here . Please note that neither OTM nor WNYC is affiliated with this account. We do not control the money nor do we monitor how it is spent. Donations are considered a gift to Smith, and are not tax-deductible. *** In the fourth installment of our series " Busted: America's Poverty Myths ," we examine the strengths and shortcomings of our nation's s...
Jan 17, 2017•27 min
In the third installment of our series, "Busted: America's Poverty Myths," we take on one of our country's most fundamental notions: that America is a land of equal opportunity and upward mobility for all. And we ask why, in spite of a wealth of evidence to the contrary, does this idea persist? With the help of historian Jill Lepore , Brooke traces the history of the "rags to riches" narrative, beginning with Benjamin Franklin, whose 18th century paper manufacturing business literally turned rag...
Jan 17, 2017•32 min
UPDATE: Since this series began, OTM has received numerous inquiries from listeners who want to help Carla Scott. If you’d like to donate, she has set up a PayPal account here . Please note that neither OTM nor WNYC is affiliated with this account. We do not control the money nor do we monitor how it is spent. Donations are considered a gift to Scott, and are not tax-deductible. *** In the second installment of our series on poverty myths , we trace the history of welfare in America, from aid to...
Jan 17, 2017•41 min
Today, more than 45 million Americans live in poverty. The problem has been addressed countless times since the nation’s founding, but it persists, and for the poorest among us, it gets worse. America has not been able to find its way to a sustainable solution, because most of its citizens see the problem of poverty from a distance, through a distorted lens. So we present "Busted: America's Poverty Myths," a series exploring how our understanding of poverty is shaped not by facts, but by private...
Jan 17, 2017•24 min
As tensions between the press and the president-elect continue to mount, a look at why some news outlets chose to publish a salacious but unverified set of allegations about Donald Trump. Plus, how the rules of journalism may change in the Era of Trump and what journalists need to do to adjust; and writer Rebecca Solnit on finding hope in dark and uncertain places. Support On the Media by becoming a member today at OntheMedia.org/donate . On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support ...
Jan 13, 2017•50 min
For weeks now, journalists have been aware of a dossier circulating among top officials and the media; it alleges among other things, that Russia has compromising (Kompromat) information on President Elect Donald Trump. But it wasn't until a chain of events set off by a presidential briefing about the contents of the dossier that the media felt free to talk about what they knew. Brooke speaks with Slate's Will Oremus about Buzzfeed's (and Slate's) decision to publish the anonymous (and unverifie...
Jan 11, 2017•21 min
British journalist John Cantlie has been a prisoner of ISIS for more than four years. Throughout his captivity, he's been forced to act as a sort of warped foreign correspondent, extolling the virtues of the group in propaganda videos. With every appearance, he looks weaker and gaunter. In this special hour, we consider how Cantlie's plight is a window into the challenges of reporting on Syria, and why the world's tangled policy on hostages means that some live to tell the tale, and others don't...
Jan 06, 2017•50 min
It's been four hundred years since the death of William Shakespeare, and the Bard is as popular as ever... and just as mysterious. For centuries, a war has raged over the question: who is Shakespeare? We explore how the answer has evolved through the ages, and what that tells us about our changing perceptions of class, art, genius, and religion. Plus, a look at Shakespeare's enduring global relevance, with an inspiring and perilous performance of Love's Labor's Lost in Afghanistan. On the Media ...
Dec 30, 2016•52 min
The Man in the High Castle, the Emmy Award winning TV series, imagines a world in which the Nazi’s won WWII. Set in the 1960s, the show blends actual pop cultural imagery and artifacts with fictional interpretations of an alternative ending to the war. When its first season debuted, the show’s ad campaign in New York City subways hit a little too close to home. And the show’s second season, which dropped last week, is resonating in a similar way, although this time not so intentionally, just as ...
Dec 28, 2016•19 min
None of us know what Donald Trump will do once he becomes President Trump. What we do know is what he has said he wants to do and what powers he will have, should he choose to act. That's why activists are urging President Obama to do all that he can in the weeks he has left to leave the presidency nicer than he found it and to place some limits on the abilities of a potentially reckless new ruler. Brooke and Bob talk to advocates and experts who have compiled a "must-do" list for Obama's final ...
Dec 23, 2016•51 min
This week four more officials were charged in the Flint, Michigan water crisis, bringing the total to charged to 13. But the story initially unfolded largely without national attention. State officials denied and dismissed claims that city water was poisoned with lead, even as evidence mounted from independent water researchers, a pediatrician, and a muckraker from a non-profit advocacy group. Curt Guyette is an investigative reporter for the ACLU of Michigan, he told Brooke how his reporting he...
Dec 20, 2016•12 min
The saga over Russian interference in the election has been marked by secrecy, rumor, and contradictory evidence. We try to bring some clarity to a cloudy narrative. Also, the CIA says Russian hackers deliberately helped Donald Trump win the election but the FBI wasn't initially convinced. We consider the long and tumultuous rivalry between the two agencies, and how spies and G-men have been depicted in popular culture. Plus, how the US propaganda agency “Voice of America” might function under P...
Dec 16, 2016•51 min
Recently CNN's Jake Tapper asked VPEOTUS Mike Pence the same question over and over again, hoping for an answer. Bob spoke to Tapper back in June about the art of the follow-up . On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today ( https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm ). Follow our show on Instagram , Bluesky , TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com ...
Dec 13, 2016•18 min
The Justice Department just vastly expanded the government’s power to hack into your devices... but you probably haven't heard about it. We examine how this change flew under the radar, and why it could be dangerous. Also, a growing threat to free speech: billionaires using libel suits to damage and destroy media outlets. And, how a fringe conspiracy theory involving pizza is a parable for our time. On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today ( https://pledge.w...
Dec 09, 2016•51 min
After a mistrial this week in the case of Michael Slager, the police officer caught on camera shooting Walter Scott in the back as he ran away, we revisit two interviews we did this summer. Patrice Cullors is the co-founder of Black Lives Matter and Eugene O'Donnell is a former police officer, we spoke to them after two deadly shooting incidents involving young black men targeting police officers. On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today ( https://pledge.wny...
Dec 07, 2016•19 min
We devote this hour to a question put to us pretty much daily since election day: How to cover President Trump? First, we ask the AP, Univision, NPR, USA Today, and other news outlets about how they are defining a relationship with a president-elect who flouts traditional rules, spreads misinformation, and criticizes the press. Then we turn to language. Listeners help us highlight moments in media coverage that obscure the truth, and journalist Masha Gessen warns of the "impulse to normalize." P...
Dec 02, 2016•50 min
In 1957, Fidel Castro was believed to be dead -- until New York Times writer Herbert L. Matthews conducted an interview with Castro in the Cuban jungle. Matthews' portrayal of a romantic figure and a promising leader was trusted, until Castro revealed himself and his planned revolution as communist. Brooke speaks with Anthony DePalma , author of The Man Who Invented Fidel: Castro, Cuba, and Herbert L. Matthews of The New York Times , about the infamous coverage of Cuba's infamous leader. Also, t...
Nov 29, 2016•13 min
This election season, the media frequently looked to history in an attempt to explain the rise of Donald Trump. We consider how historical parallels don't always serve us well. Plus, revisiting a notorious murder that the press got wrong; the long reach of a WWII slogan; and attempts in Ukraine to whitewash the nation's history. A special hour on memory, both historical and personal, and how what we remember shapes our world. On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donati...
Nov 25, 2016•50 min
A few years ago, Brooke spoke with the writer Paul Ford about the remarkable connection between Bing Crosby, magnetic tape, Nazi technology, and the computer hard drive. We're putting it down the podcast feed again this week, just before the Thanksgiving holiday, to get you in the mood. You can read Ford's post about Crosby on the New Yorker Elements blog . On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today ( https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm ). Follow our show on I...
Nov 23, 2016•10 min
In the months leading up to the election, some fake news stories generated more engagement on Facebook than real news stories. We consider the landscape of misinformation and how to separate truth from fiction. Plus: Steve Bannon, Trump's chief strategist, hasn't just influenced political discourse through the incendiary Breitbart News -- he's also sabotaged his chosen politicians through investigative journalism. And we interview a man who the Southern Poverty Law Center calls the “cultivated, ...
Nov 18, 2016•50 min
According to The Washington Post , more than 800 people have been shot and killed by police officers in the United States this year. As videos of many of these shootings-- especially ones depicting confrontations between police officers and black men-- go viral, Alyssa Rosenberg , opinion writer at The Washington Post , examines how different they look from the portrayals of police shootings that we're used to seeing in films and on TV. Her series, Dragnets, Dirty Harrys and Dying Hard examines ...
Nov 16, 2016•14 min
The press didn’t see it coming. Or did they? This week, we examine the role of data – and delusion – in this election. Nate Silver reflects on the promise and pitfalls of polling, and Zachary Karabell discusses how financial indicators gloss over the gritty realities of American life. Plus: how a plan to dismantle the electoral college could make elections more democratic, and election coverage more interesting. On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today ( htt...
Nov 11, 2016•50 min
It's the morning after in the offices of On the Media. Usually editorial meetings take place in Brooke's office with Bob dialed in on the conference phone. This week we did it in the studio so you can hear the hosts talk about how they are feeling and how they envision the direction of the show in the Trump presidency. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST on iTunes or your platform of choice. You'll receive these behind-the-curtain extras and more right in your feed. (And -- as always -- support your local ...
Nov 09, 2016•17 min
The months-long protest against the North Dakota Access Pipeline finally received mainstream attention this week after a misdirection campaign on Facebook, but to what end? Plus, making sense of what you've been told about Russia's role in the election; Bob talks to Glenn Beck about his recent transformation; and the all-too-predictable fallout from hiring partisans as cable news pundits. On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today ( https://pledge.wnyc.org/sup...
Nov 04, 2016•50 min
