On the Media

A new feature on X, formerly known as Twitter, has revealed that some prominent MAGA accounts are based in South Asia and Eastern Europe. On this week's On the Media, how foreign actors funnel political rage-bait into social media feeds. Plus, a school librarian in Louisiana shares how she's been targeted by book-banning activists.[01:00] Host Micah Loewinger sits down with Charlie Warzel, staff writer at The Atlantic and author of its newsletter Galaxy Brain, to discuss the recent X update that revealed many high profile, pro-MAGA accounts might be based in foreign countries.[16:37] Host Brooke Gladstone talks with Amanda Jones, school librarian in Livingston Parish, Louisiana and former School Librarian of the Year, to discuss her experience as a target of book-banning activists. Plus, why protecting libraries is as crucial as ever. [32:44] Brooke Gladstone talks to Elyse Graham, professor of sociology at Stony Brook University and author of Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II. They discuss the role that academics, archivists, and librarians played in WWII intelligence gathering activities, and why the CIA invested in storytelling as a result. Further reading / watching:Elon Musk's Worthless, Poisoned Hall of Mirrors, by Charlie WarzelThe Librarians filmThat Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America, by Amanda JonesBook and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II, by Elyse Graham 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

This month marks 25 years of Bullseye, a public radio show and podcast founded, hosted, and produced by Jesse Thorn. The show began as an offbeat college radio show at UC Santa Cruz, as a way for Thorn and his friends to hone their comedian sensibilities over the airwaves during their daily 7:30am slot. Today, it's a show where artists open up about how and why they pursue their art. And it goes out on NPR. Earlier this month, host Brooke Gladstone called Jesse up to ask him how his show survived every new iteration of podcasting, and how it all began. 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Progressive and centrist Democratic candidates had big wins in the 2025 elections. On this week's On the Media, a data scientist fact-checks the claim that Democrats need moderate voters to win. Plus, an Arizona state senator shares how she's reaching her constituents on TikTok and on the ground.[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with G. Elliot Morris, a journalist, statistician, and author of the data-driven news website Strength in Numbers, to hash out what the data says about whether becoming more moderate is really the key to Democratic candidates winning more elections.[20:09] Brooke chats with Matt Bennett, co-founder of Third Way, a center-left think tank, about his view that Zohran Mamdani's win in New York City poses a “serious political problem” for the Democrats.[36:06] Finally, Brooke calls up Analise Ortiz, state senator for Arizona's 24th district, to discuss how TikTok, old-fashioned door-knocking, and making tangible differences in peoples' lives is the way for the Democrats to start winning again. Further reading:Moderation is not a silver bullet, by G. Elliott MorrisSeven data-driven lessons from the 2025 elections, by G. Elliott MorrisWas It Something I Said? by Third WayDebunking Myths About the Democratic Party, by Third Way 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

If you've ever donated to a Democratic candidate, you've probably been rewarded with a never-ending stream of pleas for more money in your inbox. And we're not talking about polite reminders. Demands are often in ALL CAPS. Attached to names of celebrities like GEORGE CLOONEY or TAYLOR SWIFT. And warnings that something awful is about to happen.Adam Bonica is a political scientist at Stanford University who writes a Substack newsletter called On Data and Democracy. He reached his breaking point with Democratic Party spam last year, and decided to investigate why they landed on this strategy, and how effective it really is. 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

The Trump administration is asking universities to sign an agreement in exchange for preferential access to federal funding. On this week's On the Media, how the arrangement would radically alter the relationship between the government and higher education. Plus, how university leaders are navigating the fight over academic freedom.[00:00] Universities were not always so vulnerable to the whims of politics. The whole system of taxpayer-funded, university-led scientific research came about at the end of World War II, and was the brainchild of a man named Vannevar Bush. He felt the partnership of government and academics had to be equal in order to yield breakthroughs. Today, the Trump administration is proposing a new “compact” that would make the President the dominant partner. We speak with one of the authors of the Trump compact, May Mailman.  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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Back in October, Nick Fuentes, the Gen Z white nationalist influencer, was trending in the news after a leaked Young Republicans chat revealed how his ideas were taking hold in some conservative circles. Then, just a week or so later, Fuentes sat down for an interview with Tucker Carlson. That 2-hour interview triggered a crisis amongst the GOP's top brass that pitted major conservative influencers against each other, and garnered headlines declaring the start of a Republican “civil war.” For this midweek podcast extra, host Micah Loewinger called up Zack Beauchamp, senior correspondent for Vox, to wade through the fallout around Fuentes and Carlson, and break down what this tells us about antisemitism in American politics.  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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Millions of dollars in federal grants have been terminated, throwing cutting-edge research at American universities into crisis. On this week's On the Media, meet the two men at the center of the fight over the future of academia.[0:00] Harvard president Alan Garber and National Institutes of Health director Jay Bhattacharya are at the heart of the national fight over the future of academia. Alan Garber has been cast as the defender of academic freedom and democracy; Jay Bhattacharya is Donald Trump's pick to lead the NIH, the agency withholding billions of dollars in research grants from Harvard. Oddly enough, the two men go way back: Garber was Bhattacharya's undergraduate thesis adviser and mentor in the late 1980s. This episode tells the story of how the two men found themselves adversaries — and what it means for the future of science.  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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Zohran Mamdani has won the 2025 New York City mayoral race, with a higher turnout of voters than New York has seen in decades. This despite the fact that New York's senators — Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand — did not back Mamdani, and House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries waited until the day before early voting began to endorse the Democratic nominee.Mamdani's divided party support reflects an intensifying argument over whether Democratic candidates must move closer to the political center  - or further away - in order to win. Brooke speaks with Elliott Morris, a journalist, statistician, and author of the data-driven news website Strength in Numbers, about what the numbers say around moderation and why it might not be the silver bullet Democratic strategists seemed to crave.Further reading:Moderation is not a silver bullet, by Elliott MorrisThe Strategist's Fallacy in American politics, by Elliott Morris  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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

President Trump is compelling universities across the country to adopt a more conservative agenda in exchange for access to federal funds. On this week's On the Media, how this pressure campaign is playing out at the oldest and richest university in America: Harvard.[0:00] Our latest collaboration with the Boston Globe is Season Two of The Harvard Plan, in which reporter Ilya Marritz explores what has unfolded at Harvard University since Donald Trump's inauguration. Three members of the university community tell the story: Ryan Enos, a political scientist, Kamila Naxerova, a genetics professor and cancer researcher, and Kit Parker, a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Reserve and professor of bioengineering and applied physics.     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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

The Harvard Plan - our collaboration with the Boston Globe, is back! In episode one, we hear what unfolded at Harvard from Donald Trump's inauguration to convocation 2025. Three main characters, inside Harvard, tell the story from their perspective: politics professor Ryan Enos, genetics professor and cancer researcher Kamila Naxerova and campus conservative Kit Parker, lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Reserve and Professor of Bioengineering and Applied Physics at Harvard. The personal perspectives of our three guides are interwoven with the dramatic timeline and unfolding news.  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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

The federal government shutdown has entered its fourth week. On this week's On the Media, hear about the man who is laying off four thousand federal workers this month, whom some call a “shadow president.” Plus, a white nationalist influencer reveals how fast the Republican party is shifting right. [02:21]  Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Andy Kroll, a reporter covering justice and the rule of law at ProPublica, to discuss Russell Vought, the director of a little-known, but powerful office inside the White House. [20:23] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Ben Lorber, a senior research analyst at Political Research Associates, about his work tracking Nick Fuentes, the Gen Z white nationalist influencer, since 2019 – and why he's not convinced that Fuentes is as powerful as he claims to be.[38:13] Host Micah Loewinger called up Gregorio Olivares Gutierrez, a junior and student journalist at the University of Texas, Dallas, to talk about the turmoil between campus newsrooms and their administrations over covering student protests.Further reading / listening:“The Shadow President,” by Andy KrollSafety through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism, by Shane Burley and Ben Lorber  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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

This summer, Republicans clawed back over a billion dollars that had been pledged to public media. But it wasn't until this month that the corporation for public broadcasting – longtime distributor of that money – started to wind down operations, and those federal funds finally ran out. Now, many stations are weighing whether to spend their shrinking budgets on national programming from the likes of NPR, or to fund journalism on their local communities. We're affected, too. So begins a new reckoning to save not just individual stations, but the interconnected system that makes public radio so special.LaFontaine E. Oliver is  the president, CEO and executive chair of New York Public Radio. This week -- which is also WNYC pledge week -- he tells Brooke about how federal cuts are changing public media, and how our station is facing this critical moment. 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Tech giants Apple and Google have been quietly removing ways for citizens to document The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement's activities. On this week's On the Media, one group's efforts to make sure citizens can see what ICE is doing. Plus, the online right-wing campaign that led a historian to flee the country.  [01:00]  Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Joseph Cox, co-founder of 404 Media, about the Trump administration's pressure campaign to get rid of apps that document ICE activities, including one that archives videos of ICE abuses, and why these apps could matter for future ICE accountability.[15:34] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Mark Bray, historian and author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, who left the country after being accused of being “antifa,” resulting in death threats and doxxing. Bray, a professor at Rutgers University, shares how his research is helping him to understand the harassment campaign led by conservative media against him.[31:51] Host Brooke Gladstone called up John J. Lennon, contributing editor for Esquire, at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, where he's serving the 24th year of his 28-year-to-life sentence for murder, drug sales, and gun possession. He recently wrote the book, The Tragedy of True Crime: Four Guilty Men and the Stories That Define Us, and discusses the impact of the genre on people serving time and why he wants to rewrite typical true crime narratives.   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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

For decades, the United States backed efforts to achieve a two-state solution—in which Israel would exist side by side with the Palestinian state, with both states recognizing each other's claim to contested territory. The veteran negotiators Hussein Agha, representing Palestine, and Robert Malley, an American diplomat, played instrumental roles in that long effort, including the critical Camp David summit of 2000. But, in their new book, “Tomorrow Is Yesterday,” they conclude that they were part of a charade. There was never any way that a two-state solution could satisfy either of the parties, Agha and Malley tell The New Yorker Radio Hour's David Remnick in an interview. “A waste of time is almost a charitable way to look at it,” Malley notes bitterly. “At the end of that thirty-year-or-so period, the Israelis and Palestinians are in a worse situation than before the U.S. got so heavily invested.” The process, appealing to Western leaders and liberals in Israel, was geared to “find the kind of solutions that have a technical outcome, that are measurable, and that can be portrayed by lines on maps,” Agha says. “It completely discarded the issue of emotions and history. You can't be emotional. You have to be rational. You have to be cool. But rational and cool has nothing to do with the conflict.” 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

The Supreme Court has returned to the bench and is poised to hear major cases on tariffs and federal firings. On this week's On the Media, how a century-old legal theory may help us understand how the highest court handles Trump's second administration. Plus, meet the Ellisons, who are buying up American media like the Vanderbilts collected railroads.[02:26]  Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Greg Sargent, a staff writer at The New Republic and the host of the podcast “The Daily Blast,” on Stephen Miller's plan to normalize President Trump's authoritarian moves.[13:37]  Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Pema Levy, a reporter at Mother Jones, to discuss a theory on the two-track justice system in Nazi Germany, and why one justice is warning that the U.S. Supreme Court could recreate it.[34:54] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Jake Lahut, a reporter for Wired covering the White House, about the Ellison family–America's newest media magnates–and what their reign might mean for all of us.Further reading / listening:“Inside Stephen Miller's Secret Plan to Normalize Trump's Dictator Rule,” by Greg Sargent“The ‘Dual State' Theory Was Invented to Describe Nazis. The Supreme Court Could Take Us There,” by Pema Levy“Larry Ellison Is a ‘Shadow President' in Donald Trump's America,” by Jake Lahut 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

This week, “Monster: The Ed Gein Story” is the most watched show on Netflix. It's a dramatized retelling of the life of the serial killer who inspired “Psycho” and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” The “Monster” franchise, which includes two earlier seasons about Jeffrey Dahmer and Lyle and Erik Menendez, is one of Netflix's splashiest hits – the Dahmer season is still the fourth-most viewed English language show in the history of the platform. And the true crime obsession only grows each year. On Netflix last year, 15 of the top 20 documentaries were true crime docs, compared to just six in 2020. But what does it mean for the subjects of these documentaries, that Americans endlessly crave stories about murder and bloodshed and terror? John J. Lennon is a contributing editor for Esquire and writes frequently for New York Review of Books and the New York Times. This week, he spoke to host Brooke Gladstone from Sing Sing Correctional Facility, where he's serving his 24th year of his 28-year-to-life sentence for murder, drug sales, and gun possession. They spoke about his new book, The Tragedy of True Crime, what it was like to watch himself get featured in a true crime documentary, and why he wants to upend the typical 'true crime' narratives of good vs. evil.  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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

This week, President Trump said he plans to use the military against America's "enemy within." On this week's On the Media, how Trump's rhetoric can obscure the real limits to his powers. Plus, how Humphrey Bogart betrayed the ideals of his most celebrated film.[01:00]  Host Micah Loewinger sits down for an extended conversation with Jamelle Bouie, columnist at The New York Times. They unpack the unprecedented Quantico meeting, the importance of keeping an eye on history, and why Trump's mental decline seems to go uncovered by the political press. Plus, a defense of name-calling.[38:26] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Corey Robin, distinguished professor of political science at Brooklyn College and author of Fear: The History of a Political Idea, on how free speech crackdowns can change our political culture and tear at the fabric of the soul. Plus, how Humphrey Bogart betrayed the ideals of his most celebrated film.Further reading / listening:“‘The Most Epic Political Victory Our Country Has Ever Seen' Is Nothing of the Kind” , by Jamelle BouieFear: The History of a Political Idea, by Corey Robin 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

This week in Uganda, the pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine released his election manifesto to win the presidency in 2026. The current leader, Yoweri Museveni, has held power in Uganda since 1986 and is seeking his seventh term.Last year, Brooke spoke with Bobi Wine and Moses Bwayo, a co-director of the Oscar-nominated documentary Bobi Wine: The People's President. They discussed Bobi's first bid for the presidency, the brutal backlash he has faced alongside his supporters, and why it's important for the world to pay attention to what's happening in Uganda. 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

President Trump has declared that Tylenol should not be used during pregnancy. On this week's On the Media, how funding cuts and disputed claims linking the drug to autism have sent scientists reeling. Plus, how the religious right are processing the death of Charlie Kirk.[01:00]  Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with John Tuthill, neurobiology and biophysics professor at the University of Washington, describes the state of scientific research under Donald Trump, and how it feels to review grant proposals “while the system is burning.”[15:52] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Josh Keating, senior correspondent at Vox, on how the Trump administration is combining the “war on terror” with the “war on drugs.” [33:48] Host Brooke Gladstone talks with Matthew D. Taylor, senior Christian scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies in Baltimore, about how Charlie Kirk has been memorialized as a saint and a martyr by the religious right, and what it means.Further reading / listening:“Fear and loathing on study section: Reviewing grant proposals while the system is burning,” by John Tuthill“What happens when Trump combines the war on drugs with the war on terror,” by Josh Keating“Inside Charlie Kirk's Memorial: A Deep Dive into Christian Nationalism and Political Polarization,” by Bradley Onishi, Straight White American Jesus Podcast 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Joseph and Shirley Wershba, worked at CBS news back in the good ol' days. In 1948, along with Edward R. Murrow, Joe Wershba helped produce the CBS's first salvo against McCarthyism. Brooke spoke to Joe and his wife Shirley in 2005 about the film "Good Night, and Good Luck," which was partly based on their life. 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show has been pulled off the air following his comments about Charlie Kirk's killer. On this week's On the Media, how threats to free speech have escalated in the wake of the assassination. Plus, a school librarian in Louisiana shares how she's been targeted by book-banning activists.[02:25]  Host Micah Loewinger sits down with Lily Mason, professor of political science at Johns Hopkins and the co-author of the book Radical American Partisanship: Mapping Violent Hostility, to discuss what data we have on how Americans think about political violence. [21:07] Micah speaks with Ryan Broderick, author of the Garbage Day newsletter, to examine the evidence around Charlie Kirk's alleged killer, and what radicalization looks like in a digital age.  [35:45] Host Brooke Gladstone talks with Amanda Jones, school librarian in Livingston Parish, Louisiana and former School Librarian of the Year, to discuss being a target of book-banning activists. Plus, why protecting libraries is as crucial as ever. Further reading / listening:Radical American Partisanship: Mapping Violent Hostility, Its Causes, and the Consequences for Democracy, by Lily Mason“Charlie Kirk was killed by a meme,” by Ryan BroderickThat Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America, by Amanda Jones 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Brooke Gladstone speaks with Paul Offit, the director of the Vaccine Education Center and a physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, about how the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., purged the CDC's vaccine advisory committee members, the controversial figures Kennedy replaced them with, and what impact this will have on the future of vaccines and immunology in the US.  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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed in front of a crowd of students at Utah Valley University. On this week's On the Media, how the murder of a MAGA media powerhouse is driving both calls for unity, and more violence. Plus, CBS cracks under pressure from the Trump administration. [01:00]  Hosts Brooke Gladstone and Micah Loewinger analyze the media coverage of the assassination of conservative youth leader and media personality Charlie Kirk at a university event on Wednesday. [13:34] Brooke speaks with Oliver Darcy, media reporter and author of the newsletter Status, about CBS News' recent concessions to the Trump administration and how the network is signaling a move to the right under new leadership. [30:43] Micah talks to Peter Shamshiri, co-host of the podcast If Books Could Kill, about what the writings of Bari Weiss reveal about the ideological underpinnings of her media empire, The Free Press.Further reading / listening:“The Weiss Price,” by Oliver Darcy“CBS' Conservative Cop,” by Oliver DarcyPundit Portrait: Bari Weiss, If Books Could Kill podcast 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Brooke chats with Dorian Lynskey, cultural journalist and author of the recent book, Everything Must Go: The Stories We Tell About the End of the World, to examine our centuries-long obsession with telling end-of-the-world stories and what they reveal about our shifting fears through history. Plus, the evolution of the apocalyptic story, from the Book of Revelation to On the Beach to Station Eleven.  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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

President Trump is preparing to send the National Guard to cities across the country. On this week's On the Media, what the press is missing about the president's so-called “crackdown” on crime. Plus, in the aftermath of a Russian attack, a Ukrainian town asks journalists to record the atrocities.[01:00]  Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Jamison Foser, media critic and author of the newsletter Finding Gravity, about President Trump's plans to send troops into American cities, and how mainstream outlets are missing the mark in their coverage. [14:08] Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Zack Beauchamp, senior correspondent at Vox, about a telling conversation between four leading MAGA tastemakers, and what it reveals about how the right is thinking about authoritarianism in relation to US democracy.[31:41] Veteran NPR reporter Deb Amos visited Ukraine to report on how Ukrainians are telling the story of the atrocities committed by Russian troops in Bucha – to themselves and the world. Support for this reporting was provided by the International Women's Media Foundation's Women on the Ground: Reporting from Ukraine's Unseen Frontlines Initiative in partnership with the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. Further reading / watching:“Trump's military occupation of American cities is unpopular. The media is trying to manufacture consent for it.” by Jamison Foser“The right debates just how weird their authoritarianism should be,” by Zack BeauchampBucha 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

A beloved squirrel named Peanut was seized in a raid by New York environmental officers last year. A maelstrom of online outrage ensued, upending New York wildlife enforcement in the process. In conversation with NYC Now's Janae Pierre, our colleague, reporter Jon Campbell, unravels the saga -- revealing a story about mistaken identities and the power of online fury. You can listen to more episodes from NYC Now here: https://www.wnyc.org/shows/nyc-now 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

President Donald Trump's countless executive orders and mounting deportations are testing America's democratic institutions. On this week's On the Media, what we can learn from Hungary's recent backslide into autocracy. Plus, why resistance movements throughout history have succeeded with 3.5 percent of the population, or less, behind them.[01:00] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Andrew Marantz, a staff writer at The New Yorker, about his recent piece, “Is the U.S. Becoming an Autocracy?” and what we can learn from Hungary's recent backsliding into authoritarianism. [15:44] Micah speaks with Márton Gulyás, founder of Partizán, Hungary's leading independent news show, about what lessons journalists in the US might take away from his experience.[37:20] Micah sits down with Maria J. Stephan, political scientist and co-author of Why Civil Resistance Works, to dissect the 3.5% rule, a statistic that's been making its rounds on social media, which is a measurement of the power of collective action. Stephan and her co-researcher Erica Chenoweth first coined the term in 2010. Further reading:“Is the U.S. Becoming an Autocracy?” by Andrew Marantz“Big Tents and Collective Action Can Defeat Authoritarianism,” by Maria J. StephanWhy Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict by Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

For these last couple of weeks of August we've been airing a miniseries from our friends at Radio Diaries.The third and final part is about a woman named Dorothy Thompson. In 1939, Time Magazine called her a woman who “thinks, talks and sleeps world problems and scares strange men half to death.” They weren't wrong. Thompson was a foreign correspondent in Germany in the years leading up to World War 2…and she broadcast to millions of listeners around the world. She became known for her bold commentaries on the rise of Hitler — the Nazis even created a “Dorothy Thompson Emergency Squad” to monitor her work. She was an eloquent and opinionated advocate for the principles of democracy. But by the end of the war, those strong opinions put her career in jeopardy.  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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

This month, the director of Voice of America is being forced out in the latest of many moves to dismantle the state broadcasting service. On this week's On the Media, a history of the Voice of America, and how it's been politicized. Plus, hear why propagandists in Russia, China, and Iran are celebrating cuts to U.S.-funded foreign reporting.[01:00]  Episode 1 of The Divided Dial, Season 2: Fishing in the Night. You know AM and FM radio. But did you know that there is a whole other world of radio surrounding us at all times? It's called shortwave — and, thanks to a quirk of science that lets broadcasters bounce radio waves off of the ionosphere, it can reach thousands of miles, penetrating rough terrain and geopolitical boundaries. Reporter Katie Thornton on how this instantaneous, global, mass communication tool — a sort of internet-before-the-internet — transformed from a utopian experiment in international connection to a hardened tool of information warfare and propaganda.[34:14] Host Micah Loewinger sits down with Alsu Kurmasheva, press freedom advocate and veteran journalist of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Tatar-Bashkir service, on what the network provides in countries lacking a free press and her own nine month detention in Russia. Plus, Bay Fang, president of Radio Free Asia, or RFA, on why authoritarians are celebrating Trump's shutdown and how RFA's closure will further diminish press freedom in Asia.  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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

This week, we're airing part two of a documentary series, courtesy of Radio Diaries, about three radio personalities who had huge audiences in their time, but today, are largely forgotten. These days, we're used to media that thrives on conflict, that amplifies the most outrageous voices in the room. It's something we often trace back to shock jocks like Howard Stern, and in-your-face talk show hosts like Tucker Carlson and Rush Limbaugh. But long before all those guys, there was Joe Pyne. At the height of his career in the 1950s, the New York Times called him the “ranking nuisance of broadcasting.” 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

When Donald Trump returned to office, tech companies donated millions of dollars to his inaugural committee. On this week's On the Media, the rightwing roots of Silicon Valley. Plus, the CEO of the burgeoning social media platform, Bluesky, on how to billionaire-proof the internet.[01:00]  Micah Loewinger speaks with Becca Lewis, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University, about how Silicon Valley has always had rightwing roots — an influential group of conservative thinkers in the tech world have long seen new technologies as tools for restoring older social orders.[14:47] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Jay Graber, the CEO of Bluesky, a competitor to Twitter/X that's seen massive growth recently, about how Bluesky is structured in a fundamentally different way than other social media platforms, and why that might make it “billionaire-proof.” [32:27] OTM producer and new parent Molly Rosen speaks with Amanda Hess, author of the new book Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age, on how new technologies have transformed the experience of parenthood and what this signals about the future.Further reading:“‘Headed for technofascism': the rightwing roots of Silicon Valley,” by Becca LewisSecond Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age, by Amanda Hess“My Son Has a Rare Syndrome. So I Turned to the Internet,” by Amanda Hess 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

For these final weeks of summer we wanted to transport you away from the doom and gloom of the daily news with a trio of stories produced by our friends at the public radio documentary-maker, Radio Diaries. The series is called “Making Waves” and it profiles three people who pushed the boundaries of radio: one to warn, one to rile, one to preach. This week's focus is the preacher. In 1934, the Washington Post called Elder Lightfoot Solomon Michaux the “best known colored man in America.” His Sunday services were broadcast to over 25 million listeners on CBS radio. Black America saw Michaux as a leader for racial harmony and progress. But during the civil rights movement, his reputation took an unlikely turn. 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

President Trump fired the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics following a weak jobs report. On this week's On the Media, how the Trump administration is threatening government data. Plus, a viral YouTube channel raises questions about the meaning of political debate. [01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone situates President Trump's recent firing of the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics within a larger effort to discount facts that aren't politically convenient. Plus, Amy O'Hara,  a professor at Georgetown's Massive Data Institute, on the importance of government data, and  Andreas Georgiou, a scholar in statistics at Amherst College, on his years-long battle to defend accurate economics data in Greece.[12:34] Brooke speaks with Angelo Carusone, the president of Media Matters, a liberal watchdog group that follows and fact-checks right-wing outlets like Fox News, NewsMax, and the Tucker Carlson Network, about the group's fight for survival as it faces a deluge of lawsuits brought by Elon Musk's X. [28:22] Host Micah Loewinger delves into the meteoric rise of the YouTube channel Jubilee with technology and online culture journalist Taylor Lorenz, and the channel's mission of fostering “radical empathy” by hosting political debates between wildly opposing groups. He speaks with Mehdi Hasan, editor-in-chief of Zeteo, about his recent Jubilee debate with far right conservatives and how the channel is transforming the meaning of political debate. Plus, Stassia Underwood, a participant of one Jubilee debate, opens up about her experience on set. Further reading:“Under Siege From Trump and Musk, a Top Liberal Group Falls Into Crisis,” by By Kenneth P. Vogel, Kate Conger, and Ryan Mac“1 Conservative vs 25 LGBTQ+ Activists (feat. Michael Knowles)” (Jubilee)“1 Progressive vs 20 Far-Right Conservatives (ft. Mehdi Hasan)” (Jubilee) 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Here in New York we're not due to select our next mayor till November but somehow it feels like we're already embroiled in pre-election chaos. Eric Adams is now running as an independent, and to do so he was required to present the signatures of 7,500 New Yorkers who support him. He actually handed in around 50,000 signatures so he more than made the cut off. But when our colleagues in the WNYC newsroom (and for the podcast NYC Now) began to look into those signatures, they stumbled onto a scandal.  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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

As reports of starving children in Gaza mount, France, Britain, and Canada are preparing to recognize Palestinian statehood. On this week's On the Media, Palestinian journalists documenting food scarcity in Gaza are themselves going without food. Plus, how Israeli tv stations are deflecting blame for the blockade on aid.[01:00] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Adel Al Salman, a Cyprus-based photo editor for the Agence France-Press. They discuss how shocking images of starving children may have contributed to a shift in the conversation around Gaza, and how the Palestinian journalists taking those photos are starving, too. Plus, Micah asks Diana Buttu, a lawyer and former peace negotiator for the Palestine Liberation Organization, if the change in discourse will make a difference on the ground in Gaza.[17:04] Micah sits down with Oren Persico, media critic and staff writer for the Israeli outlet The Seventh Eye, about how (and if) images of the horrors in Gaza are being discussed on Israeli television.[29:44] Host Brooke Gladstone talks with Emily Nussbaum, television critic for The New Yorker, about the forgotten story of Gertrude Berg, the woman behind the television sitcom, and the anti-communism campaign that clouded her legacy.  Further reading:“Israeli Human Rights Group Says Israel Is Committing Genocide. Why Did It Take 22 Months?” by Diana Buttu“The Forgotten Inventor of the Sitcom,” by Emily Nussbaum 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Brooke spoke in May with McKay Coppins, a staff writer at The Atlantic, about the remarkable, extensive interviews he conducted with members of the Murdoch family — particularly James Murdoch and his wife Kathryn. (Rupert and his eldest son, Lachlan, declined to participate). Hear about the infighting and sibling rivalry, and how the HBO show “Succession” influenced the family's fight over the future of their own media empire. 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

The FCC just approved a lucrative merger between Paramount and Skydance. Weeks earlier, Paramount settled a lawsuit with the president by paying him 16 million dollars. On this week's On the Media, hear how that money is being funneled to Donald Trump's future presidential library. Plus, how conservative outlets are coordinating attacks on universities.[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Tim Naftali, a Senior Research Scholar at the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs, about how President Trump has raised millions of dollars from lawsuit settlements with media companies for his future presidential library, and why this matters. [19:23] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Katherine Mangan, a senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education, about the recent investigations launched into George Mason University by the Trump administration, and the media campaign that followed suit.[32:43] Micah sits down with Elizabeth Lopatto, senior writer at The Verge, to dissect the ‘violently racist' background of the hacker who allegedly stole admissions data from five universities, leading to the leak of Zohran Mamdani's Columbia application to the New York Times. Plus, the consequences of the Times omitting any mention of the hacker from their coverage of the leak.Comment from Patrick Healy, Assistant Managing Editor for Standards and Trust at the New York Times: "Our reporters obtained information about Mr. Mamdani's Columbia college application and went to the Mamdani campaign with it. When we hear anything of news value, we try to confirm it through direct sources. Mr. Mamdani confirmed this information in an interview with The Times. Mr. Mamdani shared his thinking about the limitations of identity boxes on forms like Columbia's, and explained how he wrote in “Uganda,” the country of his birth – the kind of decision many people with overlapping identities have wrestled with when confronted with such boxes. We believe Mr. Mamdani's thinking and decision-making, laid out in his words, was newsworthy and in line with our mission to help readers better know and understand top candidates for major offices. We sometimes receive information that has been hacked or from controversial sources. The Times does not solely rely on nor make a decision to publish information from such a source; we seek to confirm through direct sources, which we did with Mr. Mamdani. Sometimes sources have their own motives or obtain information using means we wouldn't, like Trump's taxes, Wikileaks or Edward Snowden. It's important to share what we can about sourcing, but we always independently assess newsworthiness and factual accuracy before publishing. On sourcing, we work to give readers context, including in this case the initial source's online alias, as a way to learn more about the person, who was effectively an intermediary. The ultimate source was Columbia admissions data and Mr. Mamdani, who confirmed our reporting. We heard from readers who wanted more detail about this initial source. That's fair feedback. We printed his online alias so readers could learn more about the person. The purpose of this story was to help illuminate the thinking and background of a major mayoral candidate." Full version here.Further reading:“The Death of Nonpartisan Presidential History,” by Tim Naftali“George Mason Is the Latest University Under Fire From Trump. Its President Fears an “Orchestrated” Campaign,” by Katie Mangan“This ‘violently racist' hacker claims to be the source of The New York Times' Mamdani scoop,” by Elizabeth Lopatto“The Columbia hack is a much bigger deal than Mamdani's college application,” by Elizabeth Lopatto“Mamdani Identified as Asian and African American on College Application,” by Benjamin Ryan, Nicholas Fandos, and Dana Rubinstein“Columbia Cyberattack Appears Politically Motivated, University Says,” by Sharon Otterman“Columbia University Applicants' Personal Data Stolen by Hacker,” by Cameron Fozi 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

EXTENDED VERSION: Brooke sits down with Jessa Crispin, critic and editor-in-chief of The Culture We Deserve, to talk about her new book What Is Wrong with Men: Patriarchy, the Crisis of Masculinity, and How (Of Course) Michael Douglas Films Explain Everything, which tracks the “masculinity crisis” through Michael Douglas films.  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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

The Trump administration is trying to subdue fury from all angles over the Epstein Files. On this week's On the Media, how the controversy is fracturing Republicans and firing up Democrats. Plus, tracing today's so-called “masculinity crisis” through the films of Michael Douglas.[00:00] Host Brooke Gladstone dissects the bitter division between President Trump and several MAGA politicians and influencers over his administration's handling of the Epstein files, and how the president is suddenly at odds with the initial source of his political momentum – conspiracies.[00:00] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Dan Friedman, a senior reporter for Mother Jones, about what we actually know regarding Trump's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and the line between skepticism and conspiracism. [00:00] Brooke sits down with Jessa Crispin, critic and editor-in-chief of The Culture We Deserve, to chat about her new book What Is Wrong with Men: Patriarchy, the Crisis of Masculinity, and How (Of Course) Michael Douglas Films Explain Everything, which tracks the “masculinity crisis” through Michael Douglas films.  Further reading:“Stop Taking the Epstein Bait, Dems,” by Dan FriedmanWhat Is Wrong with Men: Patriarchy, the Crisis of Masculinity, and How (Of Course) Michael Douglas Films Explain Everything by Jessa Crispin 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

The Atlantic hurricane season is currently underway – and in fact, it was the tail end of tropical storm Barry that contributed to the deadly flash floods in Texas  two weeks ago that  has claimed at least 132 lives so far. As I write this, over 100 people are still missing.According to writer Nathaniel Rich, when it comes to planning for a fraught climate future, New Orleans sets an example the rest of the country would be wise to follow. This week, we're revisiting this conversation about how the city confronts the inevitable. 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Like it or not, more people are using artificial intelligence than ever. On this week's On the Media, hear about the AI arms race between the U.S. and China, and how the tech gets overhyped. Plus, a composer wrestles with a new AI music generator – which threatens his own job.[01:00] Brooke speaks with Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast and author of the newsletter Where's Your Ed At, about how tech moguls have gotten away with overhyping A.I. for years. Plus, the apparent race for AI supremacy between the U.S. and China.[18:09] Brooke continues the conversation with Ed Zitron, peeling back the facade to explore what generative A.I. can actually do.[29:51]  Former OTM producer, and current composer and sound designer, Mark Henry Phillips, on how AI music generators could fundamentally upend his industry for good.Further reading:“Deep Impact,” by Ed Zitron“Godot Isn't Making it,” by Ed Zitron“Bubble Trouble,” by Ed Zitron 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

 In Amanda Hess' new book, Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age, she explores the many apps, megamaternity brands, high-tech baby gear, and social media subcultures that have infiltrated in the process of having a baby in modern-day America. OTM producer and new parent Molly Rosen speaks with Hess about how new technologies have transformed the experience of parenthood and what this signals about the future. Further reading:Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age, by Amanda HessMy Son Has a Rare Syndrome. So I Turned to the Internet., by Amanda Hess 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.