"Big, If True" is a webinar series from the Technology and Social Change Research Project at the Shorenstein Center. Hosted by Dr. Joan Donovan, the series focuses on media manipulation, disinformation, and the future of democracy during a pandemic. In this special episode, Dr. Donovan talks with Jesse Bender, a manager for Steak-umms' Twitter account, about the brand's recent success with viral messaging combating misinformation around the COVID-19 pandemic. What roles are brand social media ac...
Apr 21, 2020•28 min
Magazines that cover American public affairs, culture, and life have long held an important place in American journalism. But the magazine industry, like the rest of journalism, has struggled in recent years. This special edition of our podcast is an audio version of Heidi Legg's new Shorenstein Center Paper "Preserving America's Thought Leader Magazines." https://shorensteincenter.org/preserving-americas-thought-leader-magazines The paper starts with a brief history of the thought leader magazi...
Mar 25, 2020•1 hr 32 min
How does news and truth survive, when trust in what is fact has suffered and people live in bubbles of isolated realities fed by polarized and fragmented media sources? What is the role of narrative storytelling in this new media landscape? Thomas Patterson is the Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press at Harvard Kennedy School, and the author of the recent book "How America Lost Its Mind: The Assault on Reason that is Crippling America." He talks with former Shorenstein Center Fellow and...
Mar 11, 2020•39 min
U.S./China relations have seen huge shifts over the past decade. Jane Perlez, former Beijing Bureau Chief for The New York Times, witnessed much of it during her seven years reporting from China. Her new podcast, On the Trail of Xi Jinping , follows the rise of China's current leader, and how the West got him so wrong. From clinking champagne glasses at the State Department to the lowest ebb in US China relations in 40 years, Perlez and a series of expert China watchers explain what's happened. ...
Dec 19, 2019•37 min
Local journalism is in crisis, off and online. Years of downsizing in the face of digital disruption have weakened regional and local news organizations. But there are a few glimpses of hope in models for local news across the country. In this special edition of our podcast, Heidi Legg, the Shorenstein Center's Director of Special Projects, reads her new landscape study on local news models across America. This landscape study includes over 40 mini case studies on outlets that are making the shi...
Jul 09, 2019•1 hr 29 min
Shorenstein Center Spring 2019 Fellow Edward F. O'Keefe served most recently as Senior Vice President of Content Development at CNN, previously worked as a reporter at ABC News and editor in chief of Now This, and is a media industry expert in mobile, short-form video, OTT and streaming content. His research as a Shorenstein Fellow has focused on why news may be the key to winning the streaming video wars, and who is doing news (even if they don't call it that) in the streaming universe to-date....
Apr 30, 2019•1 hr 15 min
Shorenstein Center director Nicco Mele speaks to Garrett M. Graff, journalist, historian, and director of the Aspen Institute's Cybersecurity and Technology Program, about the Mueller Investigation: what we know, what we still don't know, and what's next. This Shorenstein Center Speaker Series event was recorded April 2, 2019, at Harvard Kennedy School. Music ("Skip a Beat" by Intimidation) provided by ExtremeMusic.com.
Apr 03, 2019•1 hr
Reporting from the South Bend Tribune and ProPublica revealed deep flaws and abuses of power in the criminal justice system in Elkhart, Indiana – from new revelations in the wrongful convictions of two men, to the promotions of police supervisors with serious disciplinary records, to the mishandling of police misconduct cases. The investigation led to the resignation of the police chief, criminal charges against two officers and plans for an independent investigation of the department, demonstra...
Mar 12, 2019•18 min
ProPublica obtained and published a secret recording from inside a border patrol detention center that captured the sounds of children, recently separated from their families at the Mexican border, sobbing and begging for their parents. The audio clip was played on the floors of Congress, sparking widespread condemnation and having an almost immediate impact, with President Trump signing an executive order to end the family separation policy within 48 hours of its publication. ProPublica reporte...
Mar 11, 2019•13 min
In "Toxic City: Sick Schools" The Philadelphia Inquirer revealed unsafe conditions in Philadelphia’s rundown public schools, with children forced to learn in buildings rife with mold, asbestos and flaking and peeling lead paint. By scouring maintenance logs and conducting scientific testing inside 19 elementary schools, and engaging teachers and parents in their reporting, the Inquirer built a comprehensive database of the shocking conditions putting children at risk on a daily basis. Read the r...
Mar 08, 2019•19 min
FRONTLINE from PBS and the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism produced an investigative documentary on labor trafficking happening today on U.S. soil. Reporters told the story of unaccompanied minors from Central America who were forced to work against their will at an Ohio egg farm, the criminal network that exploited them, the companies that profited, and how U.S. government policies and practices helped to deliver some of the children directly to th...
Mar 07, 2019•17 min
The Dallas Morning News found that thousands of sick and disabled Texans were being denied life-sustaining drugs and treatments by the private health insurance companies hired by the state to manage their care. While these private contractors made billions of dollars from the corporate management of taxpayer-funded Medicaid, some of the most vulnerable Texans were denied critical services, equipment and treatments, often with profoundly life-altering results. As a result of the investigation the...
Mar 06, 2019•19 min
Amid threats to his family’s personal safety, reporter Connor Sheets revealed extensive wrongdoing by an Alabama sheriff, including improper use of millions of dollars’ worth of public funds and the mistreatment of inmates in the county jail he runs. Sheets uncovered a history of misconduct that resulted in the ‘Beach House Sheriff’ losing his reelection bid, the launch of investigations into his conduct at the federal, state and local level, and proposed legislation to prevent Alabama sheriffs ...
Mar 05, 2019•13 min
Starting in 2016, a team from the Wall Street Journal, lead by reporters Michael Rothfeld and Joe Palazzolo, uncovered evidence that Donald Trump personally orchestrated a criminal scheme to suppress damaging sexual allegations, despite denials by the president. The coverage sparked a federal criminal investigation into campaign-finance abuses that will soon land the president’s longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, in prison. In this episode of the Shorenstein Center podcast, Heidi Legg talks to Mich...
Feb 27, 2019•18 min
Sarah Smarsh, author of the new book "Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth," joined Shorenstein Center director Nicco Mele for a conversation on how the media covers rural America. This Shorenstein Center Speaker Series event was recorded October 1, 2018, at Harvard Kennedy School. Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com.
Nov 05, 2018•56 min
Eugene Scott of The Washington Post joined Shorenstein Center director Nicco Mele for a conversation around identity politics and how they impact various political debates happening now. This Shorenstein Center Speaker Series event was recorded Tuesday, September 25, 2018. Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com.
Nov 05, 2018•1 hr 2 min
Kristen Soltis Anderson , pollster and co-founder of Echelon Insights, author of The Selfie Vote: Where Millennials Are Leading America (And How Republicans Can Keep Up), and co-host of The Pollsters , a bipartisan weekly podcast, joined Nicco Mele to discuss how millennial voters might impact the midterm elections, cultural attitudes towards the Kavanaugh hearings, and how young people view the Republican Party. This Shorenstein Center Media & Politics Podcast was recorded September 24, 201...
Oct 05, 2018•47 min
Setti Warren , new Executive Director of the Shorenstein Center, and former mayor of Newton, MA, joined Nicco Mele to discuss local government, electoral campaigns, the importance of a robust local media, and more. This Shorenstein Center Speaker Series event was recorded September 18, 2018, at Harvard Kennedy School.
Oct 03, 2018•59 min
Siva Vaidhyanathan is the Robertson Professor of Media Studies and director of the Center for Media and Citizenship at the University of Virginia. He joined Shorenstein Center director Nicco Mele to discuss his new book, "Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy". This Shorenstein Center Speaker Series event was recorded September 11, 2018, at Harvard Kennedy School. Apologies for the poor sound quality of audience questions.
Sep 18, 2018•1 hr 2 min
Talia Buford, reporter for ProPublica, discussed environmental justice, the complexities of covering the environment, how environmental policy is changing in the Trump administration, and more in a conversation with Shorenstein Center Director Nicco Mele. This Shorenstein Center Speaker Series event was recorded April 3, 2018, at Harvard Kennedy School.
Apr 17, 2018•55 min
Adam Serwer, senior editor at The Atlantic , discussed the role of race and class in U.S. politics, and its media coverage, during a visit to the Shorenstein Center. This Shorenstein Center Speaker Series event was recorded March 27, 2018, at Harvard Kennedy School.
Apr 17, 2018•57 min
Heather Ann Thompson, a historian at the University of Michigan and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, discussed the Attica Prison uprising of 1971, its media coverage, and its legacy, in a conversation with Khalil G. Muhammad, Professor of History, Race, and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. This Shorenstein Center Speaker Series event was recorded March 20, 2018, at Harvard Kennedy School....
Apr 02, 2018•58 min
Tom Wheeler, Chairman of the FCC from 2013 to 2017 under President Obama, and Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellow, discussed technological change, President Trump’s FCC, regulation of social platforms, and more during a talk at the Shorenstein Center. This Shorenstein Center Speaker Series event was recorded February 27, 2018, at Harvard Kennedy School.
Mar 04, 2018•1 hr 1 min
This podcast features conversations with journalists from three of the six finalists for the 2018 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting : the Miami Herald, The Washington Post, and a collaboration between NPR and ProPublica. You can hear the other three finalists on the previous episode of this podcast, and you can find more information and links to each investigate story by visiting goldsmithawards.org . Conversations with: The Washington Post Ellen Nakashima and Tom Hamburger Russia The ...
Mar 04, 2018•1 hr 8 min
This podcast features conversations with journalists from three of the six finalists for the 2018 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting : the Asbury Park Press , BuzzFeed News, and a collaboration between STAT and the Boston Globe. We’ll hear from the other three finalists later this week, and you can find more information and links to each investigate story by visiting goldsmithawards.org . Conversations with: STAT and The Boston Globe David Armstrong and Evan Allen The Addiction Trade ST...
Feb 27, 2018•44 min
Elizabeth Bruenig, Washington Post columnist, discussed the role of Christianity in U.S. politics with Richard Parker, Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. This Shorenstein Center Speaker Series event was recorded February 20, 2018, at Harvard Kennedy School.
Feb 23, 2018•1 hr 1 min
Garrett Graff, journalist, author, and director of the Aspen Institute’s cybersecurity and technology program, discussed Robert Mueller’s investigations, election cybersecurity, and threats to U.S. democracy during a visit to the Shorenstein Center. Graff, who has written about Mueller extensively, also discussed Mueller’s background, career, and his leadership at the FBI. This Shorenstein Center Speaker Series event was recorded February 13, 2018, at Harvard Kennedy School....
Feb 16, 2018•1 hr 7 min
Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan discussed the challenge of covering President Trump, public trust in media, social media platforms and news, and more during a visit to the Shorenstein Center . This Shorenstein Center Speaker Series event was recorded February 6, 2018, at Harvard Kennedy School. Due to the nature of the event venue some of the audience questions are difficult to hear....
Feb 09, 2018•57 min
A conversation with Claes H. de Vreese , Joan Shorenstein Fellow (fall 2017) and Professor and Chair of Political Communication at the University of Amsterdam, about his new research paper on political journalism in a populist age. The paper, can be read in full at: https://shorensteincenter.org/political-journalism-populist-age/ In the paper, de Vreese provides an overview of the types and causes of populist movements. He offers 10 tips for how journalists can best cover them. Using scholarly r...
Dec 08, 2017•14 min
Edward Morris, Professor of Practice in the Department of Transmedia at Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, discussed how art can complement and further the goals of activism during a visit to the Shorenstein Center. Morris works with photography, video, writing, and installation, in collaboration with his wife Susannah Sayler as Sayler/Morris. In 2006 Sayler/Morris co-founded the Canary Project , a collaborative that produces visual media and artworks that deepen public...
Nov 22, 2017•58 min
