<p><span>Elected officials offer a flood of facts and spin in daily coronavirus briefings. On this week’s On the Media, hear how the press could do a better job separating vital information from messaging. Plus, a look at the unintended consequences of armchair epidemiology. And, how one watchdog journalist has won paid sick leave for thousands of workers during the pandemic. </span></p> <p><span>1. Bob [<a href="https://twitter.com/Bobosphere">@bobosphere</a>] on the challenges of covering the pandemic amidst a swirl of political messaging. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/how-can-we-convey-you-on-the-media" target="_blank">Listen</a>. </span></p> <p><span>2. Ivan Oransky [<a href="https://twitter.com/ivanoransky">@ivanoransky</a>], professor of medical journalism at New York University, on the rapidly-changing ways that medical scientists are communicating with each other. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/science-communications-time-coronavirus" target="_blank">Listen</a>. </span></p> <p><span>3. Ryan Broderick [<a href="https://twitter.com/broderick">@broderick</a>], senior reporter at Buzzfeed News, on "coronavirus influencers." <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/armchair-virology-goes-viral" target="_blank">Listen</a>. </span></p> <p><span>4. Judd Legum [<a href="https://twitter.com/JuddLegum">@JuddLegum</a>], author of the Popular Information newsletter, on pressing large corporations to offer paid sick leave. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/whos-protecting-americas-essential-workers" target="_blank">Listen</a>. </span></p> <p><span>5. Brooke [<a href="https://twitter.com/OTMBrooke">@OTMBrooke</a>] on the cost-benefit analysis being performed with human lives. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/how-value-life-on-the-media" target="_blank">Listen</a>. </span></p> <p> </p>

<p>Last week, roughly 400 Israelis got an alert on their cell phone: <span>“You must immediately go into isolation [for 14 days] to protect your relatives and the public.” Data-tracking suggested that they had recently spent time near someone who had tested positive for Covid-19. The next day, hundreds of Israelis set up a convoy of cars to demonstrate outside the Knesset, the Israeli parliament (since mass gatherings are prohibited, to slow the spread of the virus). </span><span>Protestors said that the surveillance measures were just one of a series of undemocratic actions taken by Benjamin Netanyahu's government in a power grab that uses the coronavirus as a cover. So what happens when a country faces a series of crises on top of a pandemic? Bob spoke with <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israel-is-using-cellphone-surveillance-to-warn-citizens-you-may-already-be-infected/2020/03/19/68267294-69e7-11ea-b199-3a9799c54512_story.html">Steve Hendrix, Jerusalem bureau chief for <em>The Washington Post</em>,</a> about what the virus has meant for Israelis in the midst of a politically polarized maelstrom.</span></p>

<p>As a global pandemic threatens to upend life as we know it, the future is becoming increasingly difficult to grapple with. On this week's On the Media, we turn to people who have been spent years readying themselves for societal collapse: doomsday preppers. Plus, how a different disaster — Hurricane Katrina — revealed inconsistencies in how we care for one another in times of crisis. </p> <p>1. <span>As the pandemic continues to disrupt our communities and daily routines, the very passage of time feels distorted. Brooke [<a href="https://twitter.com/OTMBrooke">@otmbrooke</a>] examines how covid-19 is warping a sense of chronology. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/were-pandemic">Listen here.</a></span></p> <p>2. OTM Producer Micah Loewinger [<a href="https://twitter.com/MicahLoewinger">@MicahLoewinger</a>] immerses himself in the survivalist media sphere, and talks to Richard Mitchell Jr., professor emeritus of sociology at Oregon State University, about how preppers are reacting to news that the moment they've been planning for may finally be here. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/why-preppers-werent-really-prepared-pandemic">Listen here.</a></p> <p>3. Rebecca Onion [<a href="https://twitter.com/rebeccaonion">@rebeccaonion</a><span>]</span>, staff writer at Slate, on survivalist novelist and blogger John Wesley Rawles and the rise of prepper fiction. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/prepper-fiction-preppers-always-win">Listen here.</a></p> <p>4. Vann Newkirk II, staff writer at The Atlantic and host of the new podcast "<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/floodlines/">Floodlines</a>," on the lessons of Hurricane Katrina. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/government-response-katrina-betrayal">Listen here.</a></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Music from this week's show:</strong></p> <p><em>Time is Late by Marcos Ciscar</em></p> <p><em>PRELUDE 8: The Invisibles by John Zorn</em></p> <p><em>Coffee Cold by Galt MacDermot</em></p> <p><em>Slow Pulse Conga by William Pasley </em></p> <p><em>Down to Earth by Peter Gabriel</em></p> <p><em>"Auf einer Burg" by Don Byron</em></p> <p><em>Melancolia by Marcos Ciscar</em></p> <p> </p>

<p>From Miami to Massachusetts, from San Francisco to Pittsburgh to New York, housing courts are closing up and marshals are standing down as various <a href="https://www.citylab.com/equity/2020/03/coronavirus-income-loss-paying-rent-eviction-housing-covid19/607426/">eviction moratoriums</a> provide at least one answer to the mounting economic uncertainties caused by the coronavirus. In this podcast extra, Brooke and <a href="https://twitter.com/just_shelter">Matthew Desmond</a> (<em>Evicted</em> author and producing partner of our series, <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/articles/scarlet-e-unmasking-americas-eviction-crisis">The Scarlet E: Unmasking America's Eviction Crisis</a>) discuss whether the policy changes we've seen can avert a total housing catastrophe — and whether the present crisis might cause us to ask deeper questions about housing affordability in America.</p>

<p>The World Health Organization has officially declared the spread of COVID-19 a global pandemic. On this week's On the Media, how coverage of the virus in the United States, overseas and onscreen is informing how we cope with the threat of infection.</p> <p>1.  McKay Coppins [<a href="https://twitter.com/mckaycoppins">@mckaycoppins</a>], staff writer at <em>The Atlantic</em>, on right-wing media's coronavirus misinformation campaign. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/pandemic-propaganda">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. Rachel Donadio [<a href="https://twitter.com/RachelDonadio">@RachelDonadio</a>], European politics and culture reporter for <em>The Atlantic,</em> on how the Italian media have been keeping a nation under lockdown informed. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/italy-under-lockdown-on-the-media">Listen.</a></p> <p>3. Christopher Miller [<a href="https://twitter.com/ChristopherJM">@ChristopherJM</a>], Buzzfeed News correspondent, on how coronavirus rumors decimated a small Ukrainian village. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/how-coronavirus-rumors-ravaged-small-ukraine-town-on-the-media">Listen.</a></p> <p>4. Gideon Lasco [<a href="https://twitter.com/gideonlasco">@gideonlasco</a><span>]</span>, medical anthropologist at the University of the Philippines Diliman, on the symbolism of surgical masks. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/masks-symbols-on-the-media">Listen.</a></p> <p>5. Wesley Morris [<a href="https://twitter.com/Wesley_Morris">@Wesley_Morris</a>] of the <em>New York Times</em>, on rewatching the movie <em>Contagion. </em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/rewatching-contagion-during-pandemic">Listen.</a></p>

<p><span>The COVID-19 pandemic has expanded our vocabulary with terms like “social distancing” and “self-isolation.” In an <a href="https://slate.com/technology/2020/03/coronavirus-mortality-rate-lower-than-we-think.html">article</a> in Slate, physician and Harvard Medical School instructor <a href="https://twitter.com/jeremyfaust?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Jeremy Samuel Faust</a> gave us one more: “case fatality rate,” or CFR. Initial reports have the CFR for this disease at 2 to 3 percent — but Faust writes that the actual numbers could in fact be much lower. Faust analyzes the "unique petri dish" that is the Diamond Princess cruise ship, and explains that, of the 3,711 people on board, at least 705 tested positive for the virus and 6 people have died...indicating a CFR of 0.85 percent. </span></p>

<p><span>In advance of yesterday’s primaries, we saw some electoral anxieties of a slightly new variety: would voters turn out in the face of COVID-19? In the end, over </span><span>3.5 million people voted </span><span>— not an appreciable decline, but then, the virus </span><span>is still relatively limited here in the US. And even under the best of circumstances, over 40 percent of American citizens don’t vote. In fact, in November 2016, around 100 million eligible voters passed on the opportunity. That’s more people who voted for either Hillary Clinton </span><em><span>or</span></em><span> Donald Trump. And it might be even more than that, since nonvoter statistics seem often to be underreported. <a href="https://twitter.com/eitanhersh?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Eitan Hersh</a>, associate professor of political science at <a href="https://as.tufts.edu/politicalscience/people/faculty/hersh">Tufts</a>, was an academic adviser on a new Knight Foundation study,<em> <a href="https://knightfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/The-100-Million-Project_KF_Report_2020.pdf">The 100 Million Project: The Untold Story of American Non-voters</a></em></span><em><span>. </span></em><span>It was t</span><span>he largest survey of chronic nonvoters in history — and it overturned some age-old conventional wisdom.</span></p>

<p><span>The press called out President Trump after he dismissed an alarming coronavirus statistic on – quote – a “hunch.” On this week’s On The Media, what both Trump and his critics miss in their pursuit of certainty. Plus, why the political scientist who predicted the 2018 midterms thinks Democrats will beat Trump in 2020. And, how the White House is seeking to re-write international<span> </span><span>norms about “</span>women’s health,” “women’s rights,” and “gender equality” by avoiding those very words.</span></p> <p><span>1. Jon Cohen [<a href="https://twitter.com/sciencecohen">@sciencecohen</a>], staff writer for <em>Science</em>, on the various difficulties of reporting on COVID-19. <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/This%20is%20a%20segment%20from%20our%20March%206,%202020%20program,%20Our%20Bodies,%20Ourselves.">Listen.</a> </span></p> <p><span>2. <a href="https://history.yale.edu/people/frank-snowden">Frank Snowden</a>, professor emeritus of medical history at Yale University, on the lessons from historical epidemics. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/infectious-disease-hold-societies-really-are-on-the-media">Listen.</a> </span></p> <p><span>3. Rachel Bitecofer [<a href="https://twitter.com/RachelBitecofer">@RachelBitecofer</a>], political scientist at Christopher Newport University, on what she sees as Super Tuesday's clear lessons. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/how-democrats-win-2020">Listen.</a> </span></p> <p><span>4. Jessica Glenza [<a href="https://twitter.com/JessicaGlenza">@JessicaGlenza</a>], health reporter for The Guardian, on the embattled language of women's health. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/on-the-media-from-ally-to-obstructionist" target="_blank">Listen</a>. </span></p> <p><em><strong>Music from this week's show:</strong><br></em><em>Accentuate the Positive by Syd Dale Double Dozen and Alec Gould<br></em><em>Carmen Fantasy by Anderson and Roe<br></em><em>Cellar Door by Michael Andrews<br></em><em>Chicago Sunset by Charlie Musselwhite<br></em><em>First Drive by Clive Carroll and John Renbourn<br></em><em>Fallen Leaves by Marcus Ciscar<br></em><em>Starlings by Vijay Iyer Trio</em></p>

<p><span>As the global death toll from novel coronavirus continues to increase, the American media are looking to national public health institutions to make sense of the scope and severity of the damage. Much reporting has come from semi-regular phone pressers with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.</span><span> But over the past week, the CDC telebriefings have shifted — in tone, substance and frequency. </span></p> <p><span>Gothamist senior editor <a href="https://twitter.com/lizkimtweets?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Elizabeth Kim</a></span> has listened in on the CDC coronavirus press briefings since the outbreak began in January. For this podcast extra, Kim joins Brooke to discuss what she and other reporters need from the CDC right now to keep the public informed in the face of a possible pandemic.</p>

<p><span>As coronavirus spreads, the Center for Disease Control is warning Americans to take urgent precautions. Meanwhile, the White House says tune out and calm down. On this week’s On the Media, what to expect as COVID-19 threatens to make its way through a ruptured body politic. Plus, amid so much focus on electability, a look at the millions of voters who swing from voting “blue” to simply not voting at all.</span></p> <p>1. Journalist [<a href="https://twitter.com/Laurie_Garrett?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@Laurie_Garrett</a>] on the nature of contagions and how a nation of so-called “epidemic voyeurs” is reacting to a possible pandemic on American soil. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/epidemic-voyeurs-no-more">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. Farhad Manjoo [<a href="https://twitter.com/fmanjoo?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@fmanjoo]</a>, <em>New York Times</em> opinion columnist, on making prediction in an unpredictable world. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/chaos-and-certainty-on-the-media">Listen.</a></p> <p>3. Ibram X. Kendi [<a href="https://twitter.com/DrIbram">@DrIbram</a>], executive director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University and author of <em>How to be an Antiracist</em>, on the "other swing voter." <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/new-theory-swing-voters">Listen.</a></p> <p><em>Further reading: <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/01/25/wuhan-coronavirus-safety-china/" target="_blank">"The Wuhan Virus: How To Stay Safe,"</a> by Laurie Garrett, published by Foreign Policy on January 25, 2020. Garrett also recommends reading coronavirus coverage and commentary from STAT's <a href="https://www.statnews.com/staff/helen-branswell/" target="_blank">Helen Branswell</a>, Science Mag's <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/author/jon-cohen" target="_blank">Jon Cohen</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/author/kai-kupferschmidt" target="_blank">Kai Kupferschmidt</a>, and John Hopkins's <a href="http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/our-people/inglesby/all-pubs.html" target="_blank">Tom Inglesby</a>. </em></p> <p><em>Music:</em></p> <p><em>John Zorn - Berotim</em></p> <p><em>Cling Mansell &amp; Kronos Quartet - Full Tense</em></p> <p><em>Nino Rota/Enrico Peranunzi &amp; Charlie Haden - Fellini’s Waltz</em></p> <p><em>Martyn Axe - German Lullaby</em></p> <p><em>Nino Rota - Il Casanova de Frederico Fellini</em></p> <p><em>David Bowie/Meridian String Quartet - Heroes</em></p> <p> </p>

<p><span>On Saturday, what most pollsters, politicos, and Bernie Sanders campaign organizers had been saying for days, if not weeks, proved true: namely, that the Democratic Socialist candidate for president had been well-poised for victory in Nevada, the most diverse state in the race thus far. </span>Since the AP was able to call the race early in the day, the punditry had all the time they needed to speak to the moment. But, Columbia Journalism Review's <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/Jon_Allsop">Jon Allsop</a> observed, despite the fact that Sanders's win had been predicted by analysts across the board, <a href="https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/bernie_sanders_nevada_pundits.php">the day-of analysis had an unmistakable vibe of alarm</a>. In this podcast extra, Bob and Allsop discuss the latest friction between the Sanders campaign and MSNBC, and what the network is doing — and can do moving forward — to avoid any repeat of Saturday's blunders.</p> <p><em>CORRECTION: Iowa, not Nevada, is the most populous state to have already cast votes in the 2020 election. </em></p>

<p><span>The showdown for the Democratic nomination continues, and the gloves have come off. This week, On the Media examines the conflicting narratives around how each candidate raises money. Plus, how changes at the National Archives could distort the historical record of the Trump administration. </span></p> <p>1. <span>Michael Grynbaum [<a href="https://twitter.com/grynbaum">@grynbaum</a>], media correspondent for The New York Times, and <span>Kathy Kiely [<a href="https://twitter.com/kathykiely">@kathykiely</a>], former news director at Bloomberg Politics and journalism professor at University of Missouri School of Journalism, </span>on how Bloomberg News is — and isn't — covering the candidacy of its owner.</span><span> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/bloomberg-bloomberg">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>2. Taylor Lorenz [<a href="https://twitter.com/TaylorLorenz">@TaylorLorenz</a>], reporter for The New York Times, on Bloomberg's meme-ification. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/mike-bloombergs-dank-meme-stash">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>3. Sarah Bryner [<a href="https://twitter.com/AKSarahB">@AKSarahB</a>], Director of Research &amp; Strategy at Open Secrets, on the state of campaign financing, ten years after <em>Citizens United</em>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/super-pacalooza-and-legacy-citizens-united">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>4. Matthew Connelly [<a href="https://twitter.com/mattspast">@mattspast</a>], history professor at Columbia University, explains how policy changes at the National Archives could distort the historical record about the Trump Administration. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/vanishing-national-archives">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><em>Music from this week's show: </em></p> <p><em>David Holmes — <span>$160 Million Chinese Man</span><br>Adrian Younge <em>—</em> Turn Down the Sound<br>Billy Bragg and Wilco <em>—</em> Union Prayer<br>Antibalas <em>—</em> Dirty Money<br>Bill Frisell <em>—</em> Lost, Night<br>Califone <em>—</em> Burned by the Christians<br><br></em></p>

<p><span>No discussion of money and politics is complete without a tip of the hat to <em>Citizens United</em>, the landmark Supreme Court ruling of 10 years ago that recognized corporations as people and their money as speech. </span></p> <p><span>That ruling was followed a few years ago by the Hobby Lobby decision, giving business owners the right to flout federal law based on their religious beliefs. To many Americans, particularly on the left, both rulings were bizarre and ominous expansions of corporate rights. But, if you think this is the novel handiwork of a uniquely conservative Supreme Court, you haven't been paying attention to the past three or four hundred years of court cases and American history.</span></p> <p><span>Adam Winkler, professor of law at UCLA, is the author of <em><a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9780871407122">We the Corporations: How American Business Won Their Civil Rights</a></em>. He told us in 2018 that the principle of corporate rights has been litigated forever and predates our very founding. </span></p> <p> </p>

<p><span>Attorney General Bill Barr appeared to spar with Donald Trump in the latest chapter of the Roger Stone case. On this week’s On the Media, why the apparent interference in the Justice Department’s work should cause concern. Plus, Customs and Border Patrol builds a new bulwark against disclosure and transparency. And, a family migration story three decades in the making. </span></p> <p><span>1. <a href="https://slate.com/author/dahlia-lithwick">Dahlia Lithwick</a>, writer for Slate, on what the latest Dept. of Justice news tells us about the fragility of American justice. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/role-stone-on-the-media">Listen.</a> </span></p> <p><span>2. Susan Hennessey [<a href="https://twitter.com/Susan_Hennessey">@Susan_Hennessey</a>], executive editor at Lawfare, on the latest threats to "prosecutorial independence." <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/goodbye-sweet-norms">Listen.</a> </span></p> <p><span>3. Ken Klippenstein [<a href="https://twitter.com/kenklippenstein">@kenklippenstein</a>], DC correspondent at <em>The Nation</em>, on Customs and Border Patrol (CBP)'s re-designation as a "security agency." <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/cbps-new-secrecy-protections">Listen.</a> </span></p> <p><span>4. Jason DeParle [<a href="https://twitter.com/JasonDeParle">@JasonDeParle</a>], author of <em>A Good Provider Is One Who Leaves</em>, on the 32-year process of reporting one family's migration story. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/family-migration-on-the-media">Listen.</a> </span></p> <p><em>Music from this week's show:</em></p> <p><em>In The Bath — Randy Newman</em><br><em>The Artifact &amp; Living — Michael Andrews</em><br><em>String Quartet No. 5 — Philip Glass, performed by Kronos Quartet</em><br><em>The Glass House - Marjanes's Inspiration — David Bergeaud</em><br><em>Frail as a Breeze, Pt. 2 — Erik Friedlander</em><br><em>The Thompson Fields — Maria Schneider </em></p> <p> </p>

<p>Elbert Lester has lived his full 94 years in Quitman County, Mississippi, on land he and his family own. That’s exceptional for black people in this area, and some family members even say the land came to them through <span>“40 acres and a mule.” But that's pretty unlikely, so our WNYC colleague <a class="guestlink" href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/people/kai-wright/">Kai Wright</a>, host of <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/anxiety">The United States of Anxiety</a>, went on a search for the truth and uncovered a</span> story about an old and fundamental question in American politics, one at the center of the current election: Who are the rightful owners of this country’s staggering wealth?</p> <p>- John Willis is author of<span> </span><span><a title="buy this book at Amazon" target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0813919827/wnycorg-20/">Forgotten Time</a></span></p> <p>- Eric Foner is author of <span><a title="buy this book at Amazon" target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN//0393652572/">The Second Founding</a></span></p> <p>-<span> </span><a href="https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/memorial" target="_blank">The National Memorial for Peace and Justice</a> is located in Montgomery, Alabama. For more information about documented lynchings in Mississippi, and elsewhere, visit the Equal Justice Initiative's interactive report,<span> </span><a href="https://lynchinginamerica.eji.org/" target="_blank">Lynching in America</a>. You can navigate to each county to learn about documented lynchings there.</p>

<p><span>The sloppy roll-out of Iowa results prompted disinformation and confusion over the mechanics of the caucus system. This week, On the Media looks at the origins of the nomination process to explain how we got here. </span><span>Plus, local reporters in New Hampshire examine the power struggle at the heart of the upcoming contest. </span></p> <p>1. Galen Druke [<a href="https://twitter.com/galendruke">@galendruke</a>] on the history of America's unique primary system. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/primer-primaries-on-the-media">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. <a href="https://www.strangleholdpodcast.com/episodes" target="_blank">Stranglehold</a> reporters Jack Rodolico [<a href="https://twitter.com/JackRodolico" target="_blank">@JackRodolico</a><span>]</span>, <span>Lauren Chooljian [</span><a href="https://twitter.com/laurenchooljian">@laurenchooljian</a><span>],</span> and Casey McDermott [<a href="https://twitter.com/caseymcdermott">@caseymcdermott</a>] on Dixville Notch's mythical status. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/dixville-notch">Listen.</a>  </p> <p>3. <span>Lauren Chooljian [<a href="https://twitter.com/laurenchooljian">@laurenchooljian</a>] examines how New Hampshire's local press benefits from being a first-in-the-nation primary. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/privilege-being-first-on-the-media">Listen.</a> </span></p> <p><span><em>Music from this week's show: </em></span></p> <p><span><em>Sacred Oracle by John Zorn<br></em></span><span><em>Young at Heart by Brad Mehldau<br></em></span><span><em>The Camping Store by Clive Carroll and John Renbourn<br></em></span><span><em>Milestones by Bill Evan Trio</em></span></p>

<p>A lot was reported about Tuesday night's State of the Union address. President Trump's characteristic self-congratulation, the fact-checking of his error-filled speech, and Nancy Pelosi's sensational paper rip stunt. Tuesday night also solidified Rush Limbaugh's ascent to Republican royalty. By awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Trump inducted Limbaugh into a gilded class of American history, featuring Norman Rockwell, Maya Angelou, Thurgood Marshall, and Martin Luther King Jr. According to <a href="https://twitter.com/MattGertz?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Matt Gertz</a>, a senior fellow at Media Matters for America, the award could be seen as the culmination of the GOP's transformation, precipitated by Limbaugh and solidified by Trump. </p>

<p>As the coronavirus continues to spread, the World Health Organization has declared a state of emergency. This week, On the Media looks at how panic and misinformation are going viral, too. Plus, a controversial endorsement for Bernie Sanders puts the spotlight on Joe Rogan, and has renewed the debate over "cancel culture." And, the impeachment proceedings continue to move toward a conclusion. </p> <p>1. Brooke [<a href="https://twitter.com/otmbrooke">@OTMBrooke</a>] reflects on the impeachment proceedings as they come to an anti-climactic ending. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/no-removal-no-witnesses-no-surprise">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. Alexis Madrigal [<a href="https://twitter.com/alexismadrigal">@alexismadrigal</a><span>] </span>of <em>The Atlantic</em> explains how panic online is spreading faster than the coronavirus itself. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/virality-virality">Listen</a>.</p> <p>3. Devin Gordon [<a href="https://twitter.com/devingordonx?lang=en">@DevinGordonX</a><span>] talks about why Joe Rogan is so popular, and reflects on the controversy surrounding his tentative endorsement of Bernie Sanders. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/joe-rogan-bernie-sanders-and-politics-controversial-endorsement">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>4. Natalie Wynn, creator of the Youtube channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNvsIonJdJ5E4EXMa65VYpA">ContraPoints,</a> lays out her criticism of "cancel culture" and takes an honest look at her own "cancellations." <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/trouble-cancel-culture">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><em>Music: </em></p> <p><em>Roary's Waltz by John Zorn</em></p> <p><em>Psychotic Girl by Black Keys</em></p> <p><em>Baba O'Reilly by The Who</em></p> <p><em>Life on Mars by David Bowie (covered by Meridian String Quartet)</em></p> <p><em>River Man by Brad Mehldau</em></p>

<p><span>Our colleagues at "Here's the Thing" produced a great episode this week that we think you'll enjoy:</span></p> <p><span>Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey are the New York Times reporters who broke the Harvey Weinstein story.  For five months -- perpetually in danger of losing the scoop -- they cultivated and cajoled sources ranging from the Weinsteins’ accountant to Ashley Judd.  The article that emerged on October 5th, 2017, was a level-headed and impeccably sourced exposé, whose effects continue to be felt around the world.  Their conversation with Alec Baldwin covers their reporting process, and moves on to a joint wrestling with Alec’s own early knowledge of one of the Weinstein allegations, and his ongoing friendship with accused harasser James Toback.  The guests ask Alec questions about the movie industry’s ethics about sex and “the casting couch.”  Over a respectful and surprising half-hour, host and guests together talk through the many dilemmas posed by the #MeToo movement that Kantor and Twohey did so much to unleash.</span></p>

<p><span>A gathering of thousands of armed protesters in Virginia last weekend prompted fears of mass violence. On this episode of On the Media, how some militia groups are spinning the lack of bloodshed as victory. Plus, fresh demands for accountability in Puerto Rico, and why the senate impeachment trial feels so predictable. </span></p> <p><span>1. Bob Garfield [<a href="https://twitter.com/bobosphere" target="_blank">@Bobosphere</a>] on the present moment in the impeachment trial. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/boring-design" target="_blank">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>2. Lois Beckett [<a href="https://twitter.com/loisbeckett" target="_blank">@loisbeckett</a></span><span>], reporter at the Guardian,</span><span> and OTM producer Micah Loewinger [<a href="https://twitter.com/MicahLoewinger" target="_blank">@MicahLoewinger</a>] on the efforts to shape the media narrative among gun rights activists at Virginia's Lobby Day. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/behind-scenes-look-richmonds-lobby-day-gun-rally">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>3. OTM producer Alana Casanova-Burgess [<a href="https://twitter.com/AlanaLlama" target="_blank">@AlanaLlama</a>] on the "double-bind" Puerto Rico faces as earthquakes shake the state. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/puerto-rico-demands-answers">Listen here. </a></span></p> <p><span>Music:</span></p> <p><em>All the President's Men Theme by Nini Rosso<br>Joeira by Kurup<br>General Scott's March by Liberty Tree Wind Players<br>Original music by Mark Henry Phillips<br>Cantus for Bob Hardison by Michael Linnen<br>Kerala by Bonobo<br></em></p>

<p>The Brazilian federal government on Tuesday revealed charges of cybercrimes against Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Glenn Greenwald, for his alleged role in the leaking of explosive messages written by high-ranking law enforcement officials. Press freedom advocates immediately decried the charges as a dangerous blow to basic press freedoms; <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-cybersecurity-202/2020/01/22/the-cybersecurity-202-glenn-greenwald-says-brazil-charges-are-part-of-a-global-trend-to-criminalize-journalism/5e272989602ff14e66056868/">Greenwald himself told <em>Washington Post</em> cybersecurity reporter Joseph Marks</a>, "Governments [are] figuring out how they can criminalize journalism based on large-scale leaks." In this podcast extra, Marks breaks down the charges and draws comparisons (and contrasts) with the American government's prosecution of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. </p>

<p><span>A pre-debate news drop from CNN threatened the relative peace between Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. On this week’s On the Media, why the feud is more distracting than illuminating. Plus, why paying close attention to political news is no substitute for civic participation. And, the origins of two oligarchic dynasties: the Trumps and the Kushners.</span></p> <p><span>1. Rebecca Traister [<a href="https://twitter.com/rtraister">@rtraister</a>], writer for <em>New York Magazine</em>, on the inevitability of the questions facing women in politics. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/warren-sanders-and-question-sexism?_=66c4dc74&amp;content_type_id=24&amp;object_id=987930&amp;token=bb3fb4756d95179258e2198350c8f00e">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>2. Eitan Hersh [<a href="https://twitter.com/eitanhersh">@eitanhersh</a>], political scientist at Tufts University, on the political hobbyism and news consumption. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/politics-power-on-the-media">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>3. Andrea Bernstein [<a href="https://twitter.com/AndreaWNYC">@AndreaWNYC</a>], co-host of WNYC's Trump, Inc. podcast, on the corruption, improbabilities, and ironies of the Trump and Kushner family histories. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/origins-oligarchy">Listen</a>.</span></p>

<p>For years, climate change experts have said that hotter and drier summers would exacerbate the threat of bushfires in Australia. Fires have been raging since September and a prolonged drought and record-breaking temperatures mean the blazes won't stop for weeks — if not months. </p> <p>But to read or watch or listen to the conservative press in Australia is to get an altogether different story: that it's arson, not climate change, that's mainly responsible for the deaths of nearly 30 humans and an estimated one billion animals. Damien Cave is the <em>New York Times</em> bureau chief in Sydney, and he recently wrote about "<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/08/world/australia/fires-murdoch-disinformation.html">How Rupert Murdoch Is Influencing Australia's Bushfire Debate</a>." He spoke to Bob about the media landscape of denial and deflection, and why critics say it's making it harder to hold the government accountable. </p>

<p>After the US military assassinated an Iranian military general, war propaganda kicked into overdrive. On this week’s On the Media, how news consumers can cut through the misleading claims and dangerous frames. Plus, how Generation Z is interpreting the geopolitical crisis through memes. And, how apocalyptic thinking is a near-constant through history. </p> <p>1. Nathan Robinson [<a href="https://twitter.com/NathanJRobinson">@NathanJRobinson</a>], editor of <em>Current Affairs</em>, on the most suspect tropes in war coverage. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/deconstructing-war-propaganda">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. Lee Fang [<a href="https://twitter.com/lhfang">@lhfang</a>], investigative journalist at The Intercept, on the pundits with unacknowledged conflicts of interest. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/boys-are-back-town-on-the-media">Listen.</a></p> <p>3. Ian Bogost [<a href="https://twitter.com/ibogost">@ibogost</a>], contributing writer at <em>The Atlantic</em>, on #WorldWar3 memes. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/hashtag-warriors">Listen.</a></p> <p>4. Dan Carlin [<a href="https://twitter.com/HardcoreHistory">@HardcoreHistory</a>], host of "Hardcore History," on apocalyptic moments throughout human history. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/end-always-near">Listen.<br><br></a></p> <p>Music from this week's show:</p> <p>Nirvana/The Bad Plus — Smells Like Teen Spirit<br>Michael Andrews — The Artifact &amp; Living<br>Unknown — March for the 3 Regt. of Foot<br>Thin Lizzy — The Boys Are Back In Town<br>John Zorn — Prelude 3: Prelude of Light<br>Hank Jones — Wade in the Water<br>John Zorn — Gormenghast</p>

<p>In New York this week, jury selection began in the trial of former Hollywood titan Harvey Weinstein. News of his alleged sexual predations launched the #MeToo movement in October 2017, through investigative reporting from both <em>The New York Times</em> and <em>The New Yorker. </em>Even as he prepares to stand trial in New York, sexual assault charges were filed against him in Los Angeles. To date, over eighty women in the film industry have accused him of rape and sexual assault and abuse. Weinstein claims they were all consensual acts. </p> <p>The reporting has been groundbreaking in its detail, <span>laying out the allegations for the public. <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/annehelenpetersen/women-believe-other-women">But in Hollywood,</a> Weinstein’s abuses already were an open secret. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/how-gossip-works">In 2017</a>, Brooke spoke with <a href="https://twitter.com/annehelen?lang=en">Buzzfeed senior culture writer Anne Helen Petersen</a> about the essential role of gossip and whisper networks in protecting the vulnerable and spreading news that threatens the powerful. </span></p> <p> </p>

<p><span>As prison populations soar, advocates on both side of the spectrum agree that the law-and-order approach to criminal justice is not making us safer. On this week's On the Media, we look at restorative justice, an alternative to prison that can provide meaningful resolution and rehabilitation. Meanwhile, harassment and bullying are plaguing our online lives, but social media companies seem fresh out of solutions. OTM brings you the story of a reporter and a researcher who teamed up to test whether restorative justice can be used to help detoxify the web.</span></p> <p><span>1. Danielle Sered [<a href="https://twitter.com/daniellesered">@daniellesered</a>], author of <em>Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road to Repair</em>, on her promising foray into restorative justice. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/alternative-to-prison">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>2. Lindsay Blackwell [<a href="https://twitter.com/linguangst">@linguangst</a>], UX researcher at Facebook, and OTM reporter Micah Loewinger [<a href="https://twitter.com/MicahLoewinger?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@micahloewinger</a>] share the story of their online restorative justice experiment. Plus, Jack Dorsey [<a href="https://twitter.com/jack">@jack</a><span>], CEO of Twitter, and Ashley Feinberg [</span><a href="https://twitter.com/ashleyfeinberg">@ashleyfeinberg</a><span>], a senior writer at Slate, on the toxic state of Twitter.</span> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/restoring-justice-online-1">Listen.</a></span></p>

<p>Happy New Year! In this pod extra, we're celebrating what might be your first hangover of 2020 — whether it's fueled by alcohol or just the thought of the year ahead. So, we thought we'd bring you the story of an odd holiday known as Bicycle Day, April 19: the day in 1943, when Swiss scientist Albert Hofmann rode his bike home from work after dosing himself with his lab concoction, lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD. The first acid<span> </span><em>trip</em>.</p> <p><span>Hofmann’s wobbly ride is what launches us into an exploration of a moment, when Ken Kesey, an evangelist of acid would emerge from a Menlo Park hospital lab, and plow through the nation’s gray flannel culture in a candy colored bus. Some know Kesey as the enigmatic author behind<span> </span><em>One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest</em> — others, as the driving force in<em> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Electric-Kool-Aid-Acid-Test/dp/031242759X" target="_blank">The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test</a></em>,<span> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/15/obituaries/tom-wolfe-pyrotechnic-nonfiction-writer-and-novelist-dies-at-88.html" target="_blank">Tom Wolfe</a></span>’s<a href="http://www.tomwolfe.com/bio.html"></a> seminal work in New Journalism. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the release of<span> </span><em>Acid Test</em>, Brooke spoke in 2018 with Wolfe (since deceased) and writer <a href="https://www.riverdonaghey.com">River Donaghey</a><span> </span>about how acid shaped Kesey, spawned the book and de-normalized American conformity.</span></p> <p><em>This segment is from our April 20, 2018 show, <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/on-the-media-2018-04-20/">Moving Beyond the Norm</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Songs:</em></p> <p><em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGPCxUdfH_g">Holidays B by Ib Glindemann</a><br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLthiqkvO4w">Im Glück by Neu!</a><br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-28X06cLRw">Apache '65 by Davie Allan and the Arrows</a><br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHqCAY6AElE&amp;t=2170s">Selections from "The Acid Tests Reels" by The Merry Pranksters &amp; The Grateful Dead</a><br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBvdwRLucf0">Alicia by Los Monstruos</a><br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5-KFneP7E0">The Days Between by The Grateful Dead (Live 6/24/95)</a><br></em></p>

<p>2019 started on a note of fakery, as we made sense of the conspiracies and simulacra that distort our information field. It's ending with a similar air of surreality, with impeachment proceedings bringing the dynamics of the Trump presidency into stark relief. Along the way, we've examined forces, deconstructed narratives, and found the racist core at the heart of so much of the American project. And as we've come to look differently at the world, we've come to look differently at ourselves.</p> <p>With excerpts from:</p> <ol> <li><em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/when-internet-mostly-fake">When The Internet is Mostly Fake, January 11th, 2019</a></em></li> <li><em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/united-states-conspiracy-on-the-media">United States of Conspiracy, May 17th, 2019</a></em></li> <li><em><em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/trump-sees-conspiracies-everywhere">Trump Sees Conspiracies Everywhere, October 4th, 2019</a></em></em></li> <li><em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/understanding-white-power-movement">Understanding the White Power Movement, March 22nd, 2019</a></em></li> <li><em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/send-her-back-on-the-media">Why "Send Her Back" Reverberated So Loudly, July 19th, 2019</a></em></li> <li><em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/scarlet-e-eviction-40-acres">The Scarlet E, Part II: 40 Acres, June 14th, 2019</a></em></li> <li><em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/part-1-myth-frontier">Part 1: The Myth Of The Frontier, March 29th, 2019</a></em></li> <li><em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/on-the-media-empire-state-mind">Empire State of Mind, April 5th, 2019</a></em></li> <li><em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/hot-takes-history">The Perils of Laundering Hot Takes Through History, March 1st, 2019</a></em></li> </ol> <p><em>Music:</em></p> <p><em>Sentimental Journey by Hal McIntyre and his Orchestra<br></em><em>Newsreel by Randy Newman<br></em><em>String Quartet No. 5 (II) by Kronos Quartet &amp; Philip Glass<br></em><em>8½ by Rino Nota<br></em><em>Songs of War by United States Old Guard fife and Drum Corps<br></em><em>The Water Rises / Our Street Is a Black River by Laurie Anderson &amp; Kronos Quartet <br></em><em>Marc Phillips <br></em><em>Tribute To America (Medley) by The O’Neill Brothers<br></em><em>Tomorrow Never Knows by  Quartetto d’Archi Dell’Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi<br></em><em>Merkabah by John Zorn</em></p> <p><em> </em></p>

<p><span>Today is Christmas, but it's <em>also</em> Hanukkah — the Jewish festival of lights. With its emphasis on present-giving, dreidel games and sweet treats, the holiday seems to be oriented towards kids. Even the story of Hanukkah has had its edges shaved down over time. Ostensibly, the holiday is a celebration of a victory against an oppressive Greek regime in Palestine over two thousand years ago, the miracle of oil that lit Jerusalem's holy temple for 8 days and nights, and the perseverance of the Jewish faith against all odds.</span></p> <p><span>According to<span> </span><a href="https://divinity.yale.edu/faculty-and-research/yds-faculty/james-ponet">Rabbi James Ponet</a>, Emeritus Howard M. Holtzmann Jewish Chaplain at Yale University, the kid-friendly </span>Hanukkah mythology has obscured the thorny historical details that offer deeper truths about what it means to be a Jew. In his 2005 Slate piece,<span> </span><a href="https://slate.com/human-interest/2005/12/hanukkah-as-jewish-civil-war.html">"Hanukkah as Jewish Civil War,"</a><span> </span>Ponet looked at the often-overlooked Jew-on-Jew violence that under-girds the Hanukkah story. In 2018, he and Brooke discussed how this civil war lives on in Jewish views on Israel, and how the tension between assimilation and tradition came to define the Jewish people. We're re-releasing it today in time for the holidays.</p>

<p><span>For only the third time in U.S. history, the American press is covering a presidential impeachment. On this week’s On the Media, a look at a few of the coverage missteps made along the way. And, the reporting process behind the <em>Washington Post</em> "Afghanistan Papers" scoop. Plus, the story of an unprecedented trove of TV news history, and the media activist who made it possible.</span></p> <p>1. Jon Allsop [<a href="https://twitter.com/Jon_Allsop?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@Jon_Allsop</a>], writer for Columbia Journalism Review, on the impeachment coverage that's been less-than-perfect. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/latest-missteps-impeachment-coverage">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. Craig Whitlock [<a href="https://twitter.com/CraigMWhitlock">@CraigMWhitlock</a>], investigative reporter for the <em>Washington Post</em>, on a once-secret internal government history of the Afghanistan War. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/pentagon-papers-our-time-show">Listen.</a></p> <p>3. Matt Wolf, documentarian, on the life and work of the activist-archivist Marion Stokes. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/most-radical-tv-news-archive">Listen.</a></p>

<p><span>Last week, India’s ruling party (the BJP) passed the Citizenship Amendment Act. The legislation grants a clear path to Indian citizenship to non-</span><span>Muslim refugees from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Opponents pointed out flaws in the law almost as soon as it was introduced. The law fails to mention Muslim minorities who face persecution in their own countries, such as the Rohingyas in Myanmar. </span><span>Critics see it as the latest step in the Hindu nationalist government’s steady march toward a Hindu nation-state. The move follows the revocation of Kashmir’s autonomy this summer, and two million people losing statehood in Northeast India after being left off of a national register of citizens. The list requires citizens to provide documents to prove Indian ancestry. Many Muslims fear that the National Register of Citizens will be enacted across India, leaving religious minorities in the world’s largest democracy in danger of losing their home.</span></p> <p><span>Union Home Minister </span><span>Amit Shah twisted history to provide justification for the Citizenship Amendment Act, shouting to his colleagues in Parliament that decades ago it was the now opposition, Congress Party, that divided India and Pakistan along religious lines. As Indian historian Romila Thapar <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/17/opinion/india-elections-modi-history.html" target="_blank">wrote</a> in <em>The New York Times</em> earlier this year, “extreme nationalists require their own particular version of the past to legitimize their actions in the present.” This week, we go back to a piece reported by OTM Producer <a href="https://twitter.com/Pasthaaa" target="_blank">Asthaa Chaturvedi</a>. She<span><span> </span>examines how Hindu nationalists are rewriting Indian history in the world’s largest democracy, with journalist<span> </span></span><a href="https://twitter.com/ShoaibDaniyal" target="_blank">Shoaib Daniyal</a><span>, political scientist<span> </span></span><a href="https://twitter.com/jaffrelotc" target="_blank">Christophe Jaffrelot</a><span>, and sociology professor<span> </span></span><a href="https://du-in.academia.edu/NandiniSundar/CurriculumVitae" target="_blank">Nandini Sundar</a><span>.  </span></span></p>

<p><span>A majority of Americans polled by CSPAN last year couldn't name a Supreme Court case. Of those who could, </span><em><span>Roe v. Wade</span></em><span> was by far the most familiar, with 40 percent able to name it. (Only five percent could name </span><em><span>Brown v. Board of Education.</span></em><span>) And since it was decided in 1973, a majority — roughly 70 percent — have consistently said they want <em>Roe</em> upheld, albeit with some restrictions on legal abortion. </span></p> <p><span>But what do we really know about <em>Roe</em>? Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has often said she wishes it had been another case that the Supreme Court heard as the first reproductive freedom case instead. It was </span><em><span>Susan Struck v. Secretary of Defense</span></em><span>, and it came to the high court during the same term as </span><em><span>Roe</span></em><span>. </span></p> <p><span>The year was 1970, and the Air Force (like the other branches of the military) had a regulation banning female service members from having a family. If a servicewoman got pregnant, she would get discharged. Captain Susan Struck was a nurse serving in Vietnam, and she challenged the decision in court with Ginsburg as her lawyer. However, the court never heard the case because the Air Force changed their policy first. For this week's show, we partnered with The Guardian (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/13/us-air-force-pregnancy-susan-struck-abortion-motherhood-america">read their story here</a>) to learn more about Susan Struck’s fight and its bigger lessons for reproductive freedom and for women in the workplace. </span></p> <p><span>Our producer Alana Casanova-Burgess and<span> </span></span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jessica-glenza"><span>The Guardian's health reporter Jessica Glenza</span></a><span><span> </span>spoke to Struck about the difficult decision she made to give her baby up for adoption in order to fight the regulation. Plus, we hear why legal scholars think this case "deserves to be honored by collective memory," and how Ginsburg's arguments to the Supreme Court differed from what the justices decided in<span> </span></span><em><span>Roe</span></em><span>. </span></p> <p><span>Then:</span></p> <p>- Slate's Dahlia Lithwick explains the threats to reproductive rights in the court right now;</p> <p><span>- <a href="https://law.duke.edu/fac/siegel/">Neil Siegel of Duke Law School</a></span><span><span> </span>puts the Struck case in context and discusses what better questions we could be asking about women's equality;</span></p> <p><span>- activist and scholar<span> </span></span><a href="https://www.lorettaross.com/"><span>Loretta Ross</span></a><span><span> </span>explains the tenets of reproductive justice and how they expand the frame beyond <em>Roe</em> and abortion;</span></p> <p><span>- and<span> </span></span><a href="https://law.yale.edu/reva-siegel"><span>Reva Siegel of Yale Law School</span></a><span><span> </span>tells the story of how abortion was discussed before 1973, including during the Women's Strike of 1970. And she describes the framework of<span> </span></span><a href="https://law.yale.edu/sites/default/files/documents/faculty/papers/prochoicelife.pdf"><span>ProChoiceLife</span></a><span>, which expands the idea of what pro-life policy is. She is also the co-editor of<span> </span></span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Reproductive-Rights-Justice-Stories-Law/dp/1683289927"><em><span>Reproductive Rights and Justice Stories</span></em></a><span>. </span></p> <p><span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/13/us-air-force-pregnancy-susan-struck-abortion-motherhood-america">Read<span> </span><em>The Guardian</em>’s print version here</a>, and<span> </span></span><a href="https://guardiannewsampampmedia.formstack.com/forms/tell_us_if_you_had_to_decide_between_pregnancy_and_your_military_career"><span>share your story with Jessica Glenza if you were a woman serving in the military before 1976</span></a><span>.</span></p> <p><em>Music by Nicola Cruz, Kronos Quartet, and Mark Henry Phillips</em></p>

<p>On Monday, the <em>Washington Post</em> released the fruits of a three-year investigative effort: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/afghanistan-papers/afghanistan-war-confidential-documents/">the "Afghanistan Papers,"</a> a once-secret internal government history of a deadly, costly, and ultimately futile entanglement. The hundreds of frank, explosive interviews — along with a new tranche of memos written by the former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld — revealed the extent to which American leaders misled the public on their efforts to hunt down Osama Bin Laden, rout the Taliban, expel Al Qaeda, install democracy, and undo corruption. In this podcast extra, investigative reporter <a href="https://twitter.com/CraigMWhitlock">Craig Whitlock</a> tells Bob about the monumental story that the <em>Post</em> uncovered — and the extraordinary effort it took to report it out. </p>

<p><span>As House leaders begin drafting articles of impeachment, examples from the Nixon and Clinton eras abound. This week, On the Media rewinds to the 19th century — and the turbulent impeachment of Andrew Johnson. Plus, what a debate between two right-wing intellectuals means for the future of conservatism.</span></p> <p>1. Brenda Wineapple, author of <em><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/251429/the-impeachers-by-brenda-wineapple/">The Impeachers</a></em>, on the acrimonious trial of Andrew Johnson. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/lessons-other-impeachment">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. Matthew Sitman [<a href="https://twitter.com/MatthewSitman?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@MatthewSitman</a>], co-host of the <a href="https://know-your-enemy-1682b684.simplecast.com/">Know Your Enemy podcast</a>, on the rise of illiberalism among the conservative intelligentsia. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/making-sense-illiberal-right">Listen</a>. </p> <p><em>Music:</em></p> <p><em>It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas by Black Dyke Band<br>Gormenghast by John Zorn<br>Passing Time by John Renbourn<br>Prelude of Light by John Zorn<br>Psalom by Kronos Quartet<br>Purple Haze by Kronos Quartet</em></p>

<p><span>If solidarity and the recognition of mutual self-interest are the keys to moving past our fractious moment, it can be hard to see how we'll get there. Anger and tribalism appear to be at an all-time high, creating political and societal rifts that seem unbridgeable. Indeed, it is hard to believe that only 70 years ago, the country was deemed by political scientists to be not polarized enough. I</span>n 1950, the American Political Science Association put out a report that suggested that the parties were not distinct enough and that it was making people's political decision making too difficult.</p> <p>Over the next few decades, they became distinct alright. Lilliana Mason is a political psychologist at the University of Maryland. When we spoke to her last fall, she told us that most people <em>think</em> they know exactly what each party stands for — leaving us with two camps that both seek to destroy the other. </p>

<p><span>With the US deep in questions of impeachment, what lessons can we learn from divided societies abroad? This week, On the Media travels to Poland, where conspiracy, xenophobia and the rise of illiberalism have the country in an existential fight for its future. On the Media producer <a href="https://twitter.com/LeahFeder">Leah Feder</a> reports.</span></p> <p><span>1. Anne Applebaum [<a href="https://twitter.com/anneapplebaum">@anneapplebaum</a>] on the conspiracy theories around a 2010 plane crash that redrew lines in Polish politics. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/plane-crash-unites-countryand-then-divides-it-two">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>2. Pawel Machcewicz on the Law &amp; Justice party's takeover of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdansk. Also featuring Anne Applebaum [<a href="https://twitter.com/anneapplebaum">@anneapplebaum</a><span>]</span>, Janine Holc and Angieszka Syroka. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/fight-over-history-fight-future">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>3. An exploration of left and right strategies in contemporary Poland, with <span>Igor Stokfiszewski of [<a href="https://twitter.com/krytyka?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@krytyka</a>], Anne Applebaum [<a href="https://twitter.com/anneapplebaum">@anneapplebaum</a><span>]</span> and Jaroslaw Kuisz of [<a href="https://twitter.com/kultliberalna">@kultliberalna</a>]. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/kind-permanent-battle">Listen.</a></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><em>Music:</em></p> <p><em>OldNova - Taniec Kikimory</em><br><em>Chopin - Nocturne en mi Bémol Majeur op 9 no° 2</em><br><em>Wojciech Kilar, Tadeusz Strugala, The Warsaw Philharmonic National Orchestra of Poland - Moving to the Ghetto Oct 31, 1940</em><br><em>Chopin - Nocturne no° 1 in B Flat Major</em><br><em>Chopin, Ivan Moravec - Berceuse in D Flat Minor, Op. 57 </em><br><em>Przepis Po Polsku (Polish Recipe)</em><br><em>BOKKA - Town of Strangers</em></p>

<p><em><span>As part of a month-long campaign called the <a href="https://www.wethepurple.org/" target="_blank">Purple Project for Democracy</a>, (a strictly non-partisan, apolitical effort that a number of other large news organizations have also contributed to) we are featuring a series of conversations about an alarming loss of trust, faith and devotion by Americans for American democracy <span>—</span> and what to do about it. Bob is one of the Purple Project organizers. In episode four,</span></em><em><span> Bob examines the media’s responsibility for instilling devotion, or at least perspective, for our democracy.</span></em></p> <p><span>A</span><span> 2014</span><span> </span><span>National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, showed only 23 percent of eighth graders in the United States attained “proficient” status in civics. A </span><span>2011 </span><span>Newsweek </span><a href="http://www.newsweek.com/take-quiz-what-we-dont-know-66047"><span>survey</span></a><span> found that 70 percent of Americans didn’t even know that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. And only 26% of those surveyed in </span><span>2017</span><span> by the University of Pennsylvania could name all three branches of government. And no wonder: with STEM curriculum and standardized testing squeezing the school day, civics has become the snow leopard of the social studies curriculum. </span></p> <p>So if the knowledge vacuum is otherwise filled by misinformation and disinformation, and the result is a loss of faith and trust in democracy itself, who is left to intervene? <a href="https://www.cpb.org/ombudsman/bio" target="_blank">Jan Schaffer</a> —<span> <span>ombudsman for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting,</span> Pulitzer Prize–winning former journalist and founder of The Institute for Interactive Journalism — talks to Bob about w</span>hat responsibility the media have to become educators, and maybe even re-assurers, of last resort.</p> <p><em>Music:</em></p> <p><em>Ashokan Farewell by Jay Ungar</em></p> <p> </p>

<p><em><span>As part of a month-long campaign called the Purple Project for Democracy, OTM is using its podcast feed for a series of conversations about an alarming loss of trust, faith and devotion by Americans for American democracy <span>—</span> and what to do about it. Bob himself is one of the <a href="https://www.wethepurple.org/" target="_blank">Purple Project</a> organizers. We recommend that you listen to this four-part mini-series in order. In this third episode</span></em><em><span> he explores some of the causes for disaffection.</span></em></p> <p><span>One of the reasons so many Americans have lost trust and faith is democratic institutions is simple misunderstanding about how the system is designed to work.  Another, however, is familiarity with how the system <em>does</em> work<span>—</span> which isn’t exactly of, by and for the People. <a href="https://twitter.com/AnandWrites" target="_blank">Anand </a></span><a href="https://twitter.com/AnandWrites" target="_blank"><span>Giridharadas</span></a><span> is author of <em><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/539747/winners-take-all-by-anand-giridharadas/9780451493248" target="_blank">Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World</a></em></span><span>. He says t</span><span>he founders also didn’t plan on politicians constantly trash-talking government itself and that a decline in trust in government is the result of a concerted, private sector propaganda war waged over the last four decades.</span></p> <p><em>Music:</em></p> <p><em>Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix</em></p>

<p><em><span>As part of a month-long campaign called the <a href="https://www.wethepurple.org/">Purple Project for Democracy</a>, (a strictly non-partisan, apolitical effort that a number of other large news organizations have also contributed to) we are featuring a series of conversations about an alarming loss of trust, faith and devotion by Americans for American democracy –– and what to do about it. Bob is one of the Purple Project organizers.</span></em></p> <p>The Pizzagate pedophile conspiracy, crisis actors at Sandy Hook, the flat Earthers...and on and on. Absolute nonsense peddled by the cynical and the naive, and eagerly lapped up by the gullible. Misinformation is a problem that <a href="https://twitter.com/BrendanNyhan">Brendan Nyhan</a>, professor of government at Dartmouth College, has studied for years. In this interview, Brendan and Bob discuss new research on how Americans form their political beliefs and how civic institutions may begin to win back their trust.</p> <p>Song:</p> <p><em>Il Casanova di Federico Fellini by Nino Rota</em></p>

<p><em><span>As part of a month-long campaign called the <a href="https://www.wethepurple.org/">Purple Project for Democracy</a>, (a strictly non-partisan, apolitical effort that a number of other large news organizations have also contributed to) we are featuring a series of conversations about an alarming loss of trust, faith and devotion by Americans for American democracy -- and what to do about it. Bob is one of the Purple Project organizers.</span></em></p> <p><span>Democracy is in trouble. Not necessarily because of our current political mayhem, or even because of the accumulated sins and failures of American society, but because vast swaths of the public are giving up on the system that has governed us for 243 years.</span></p> <p>Here are some alarming data points: One, in 2018 only 33% of the general population expressed trust for government. Two, among 1400 adults asked about the importance of democracy, only 39% of younger participants said “absolutely important.” <span>Three, in a <a href="https://www.voterstudygroup.org/publication/follow-the-leader">2018 Democracy Fund surve</a>y of 5000 Americans, 24% of respondents expressed support for “a strong leader who doesn’t have to bother with Congress or elections,” and either a “strong leader” and 18% for “army rule.</span></p> <p><span>The more complicated question is what as a society we are to do about it? In this mini-series we’ll be talking that over, but we’ll begin with the actual state of public sentiment and public participation. <a href="https://twitter.com/ericpliu?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Eric Liu</a> is the co-founder and CEO of <a href="https://twitter.com/citizenuniv?lang=en">Citizen University</a> and Co-chair of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship. He and Bob discuss potential solutions for taking on widespread disaffection.</span></p> <p><em>Music:<br></em></p> <p><em>We Insist by Zoë Keating</em></p>

<p><span>In hearings this week, House Democrats sought to highlight an emerging set of facts concerning the President’s conduct. On this week’s On the Media, a look at why muddying the waters remains a viable strategy for Trump’s defenders. Plus, even the technology we trust for its clarity isn’t entirely objective, especially the algorithms that drive decisions in public and private institutions. And, how early radio engineers designed broadcast equipment to favor male voices and make women sound "shrill."</span></p> <p><span>1. David Roberts [<a href="https://twitter.com/drvox">@drvox</a>], writer covering energy for Vox, on the "epistemic crisis" at the heart of our bifurcated information ecosystem. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/gops-ultimate-defense-keeping-america-tuned-out" target="_blank">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>2. Cathy O'Neil [<a href="https://twitter.com/mathbabedotorg?lang=en">@mathbabedotorg</a>], mathematician and author of <em>Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy, </em>on the biases baked into our algorithms. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/biased-algorithms-biased-world" target="_blank">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>3. Tina Tallon [<a href="https://twitter.com/ttallon?lang=en">@ttallon</a>], musician and professor, on how biases built into radio technology have shaped how we hear women speak. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/how-radio-made-female-voices-sound-shrill" target="_blank">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><em>Music:</em></p> <p><em>Misterioso by Kronos Quartet</em></p> <p><em>Human Nature by Vijay Iyer Trio</em></p> <p><em>Il Casanova di Federico Fellini by Nino Rota</em></p> <p><em>Whispers of Heavenly Death by John Zorn</em></p> <p><em>These Boots Are Made For Walkin' by Nancy Sinatra</em></p>

<p><span>What counts as media? For us, its any medium through which we express ourselves — whether from one to one, from one to many, or just from one... to one’s own self. </span></p> <p><span>We can do it with our style. Our hair. Even our glasses. They're choices that express not just our aesthetics, but our politics, too. </span></p> <p><span>And so for this seasonal fundraising effort, we are offering something new. It was the idea of <a href="http://femmedepoppy.com/">Poppy King</a>, lipstick designer extraordinaire, whose Frog Prince lipstick was last year listed by </span><span><em>Elle Australia </em>as one of the most iconic lipstick shades of all time. King's a devoted listener, so,</span><span> in collaboration with the show, she designed a special lipstick. It's called Well Red and she offered a batch of them to us as a donation so that we can pass them on to you.</span></p> <p><span><span>We are offering these very special lipsticks to you for a donation of $12 a month or $144 for a year's worth of support for this show. </span></span></p> <p><span>If you donate by December 6th, we can <em>guarantee</em> delivery in time for the holidays. Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa? We have your lipstick gifting needs covered. </span></p> <p><span>When you get this lipstick as a thank-you gift, you’re checking two important year-end items off your list: you’re supporting OTM to help fund another year of reporting <em>and</em> you’re getting a unique gift for yourself or a loved one.</span></p> <p><span>Go to <a href="https://pledge3.wnyc.org/donate/otm/onestep/" target="_blank">onthemedia.org/donate</a> or text lipstick to 70101.</span></p> <p><span>Thank you so much!</span></p>

<p><span>Millions tuned into impeachment hearings this week — the first two of five already scheduled. On this week’s show, why shifts in public opinion may not necessarily sway the GOP. Plus, what we can learn from the predatory tactics that enriched Bill Gates.</span></p> <p><span>1. Nicole Hemmer [<a href="http://www.wnycstudios.org/@pastpunditry">@pastpunditry</a>], author of <em><a href="https://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/15571.html" target="_blank">Messengers of the Right: Conservative Media and the Transformation of American Politics</a>, </em>on the false premise underlying hope for President Trump's removal. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/what-public-opinion-will-really-mean-impeachment">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>2. John Dean [<a href="https://twitter.com/JohnWDean" target="_blank">@JohnWDean</a>] former White House counsel, on the lessons he's applying from Watergate to the impeachment hearings for President Trump. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/john-dean-impeachment-comparisons">Listen.</a> </span></p> <p><span>3. Former Labor Secretary Rob Reich [<a href="https://twitter.com/RBReich">@RBReich</a>] and <em><a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781501183089" target="_blank">Goliath</a> </em>author Matt Stoller [<a href="https://twitter.com/matthewstoller" target="_blank">@matthewstoller</a></span>] on how billionaires like Bill Gates use their power and wealth to force their vision on society. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/billionaires-bite-back">Listen.</a></p> <p><em>Music:</em></p> <p><em>Zoe Keating — We Insist</em><br><em>Donnie Darko — Cellar Door</em><br><em>Chicago Sunset — Charlie Musselwhite</em><br><em>Carmen Fantasy — Anderson and Row</em><br><em>Tongue in cheek — Gaurav Raina Tarana Marwah</em><br><em>Ototoa — Malphino</em></p>

<blockquote> <p><em><strong>You really have a feeling that here is a building that looks fantastically beautiful, and it’s got its whole façade simply blown off by this war.</strong></em></p> </blockquote> <p><em>                                                                                                     <strong> -Philipp Blom</strong></em></p> <p>World War I presented civilization with unprecedented violence and destruction. The shock of the first modern, “industrial” war extended far into the 20^th<span> </span>century and even into the 21^st, and changed how people saw the world and themselves. And that was reflected in the cultural responses to the war – which included a burgeoning obsession with beauty and body image, the birth of jazz, new thinking about the human psyche, the Harlem Renaissance, Surrealism...and more.</p> <p>WNYC's Sara Fishko and guests sift through the lingering effects of the Great War on modern art and life in <strong>Shell Shock 1919: How the Great War Changed Culture</strong><strong>.</strong></p> <p>Guests include Jon Batiste, Ann Temkin, David Lubin, Philipp Blom, Jay Winter, Ana Carden-Coyne, Sabine Rewald, David Levering Lewis, Emma Chambers, Marion von Osten, Emily Bernard, and Gail Stavitsky</p> <div class="embedded-image" style="max-width: 800px;"><img class="mcePuppyImage" src="https://media.wnyc.org/i/362/600/l/80/2019/10/LHOOQMonaLisaDuchamp1919.jpg" alt=""> <div class="image-metadata"> <div class="image-caption">‘L.H.O.O.Q.’ by Marcel Duchamp; readymade [postcard reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa] and pencil (1919)</div> <div class="image-credit">(Philadelphia Museum of Art)</div> </div> </div> <div class="embedded-image" style="max-width: 800px;"><img class="mcePuppyImage" src="https://media.wnyc.org/i/800/615/l/80/2019/10/JamesReeseEuropeand369thInfantry1918.jpeg" alt=""> <div class="image-metadata"> <div class="image-caption">James Reese Europe and the 369th Regiment band, also known as the Harlem Hellfighters (1918)</div> <div class="image-credit">(U.S. National Archives and Record Administration)</div> </div> </div> <div class="embedded-image" style="max-width: 800px;"><img class="mcePuppyImage" src="https://media.wnyc.org/i/800/994/l/80/2019/10/MargaretGormanMissAmerica1921.jpg" alt=""> <div class="image-metadata"> <div class="image-caption">Margaret Gorman, the first Miss America, on the Atlantic City boardwalk (1921)</div> <div class="image-credit">(Wikimedia Commons)</div> </div> </div> <div class="embedded-image" style="max-width: 800px;"><img class="mcePuppyImage" src="https://media.wnyc.org/i/800/544/l/80/2019/10/HunchbackLonChaney1923.jpg" alt=""> <div class="image-metadata"> <div class="image-caption">Still from Wallace Worsley’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923, Universal) starring Lon Chaney as Quasimodo and Patsy Ruth Miller as Esmeralda</div> <div class="image-credit">(Universal Pictures)</div> </div> </div> <div class="embedded-image" style="max-width: 800px;"><img class="mcePuppyImage" src="https://media.wnyc.org/i/800/800/l/80/2019/10/Cenotaph.jpg" alt=""> <div class="image-metadata"> <div class="image-caption">The Cenotaph in Whitehall, London on November 9, 2015, surrounded by poppy wreaths for Remembrance Day</div> <div class="image-credit">(Bailey-Cooper Photography / Alamy Stock Photo)</div> </div> </div> <p><strong>Producer/Host:</strong><span> </span>Sara Fishko<br><strong>Associate Producer:</strong><span> </span>Olivia Briley<br><strong>Technical Director:</strong><span> </span>Ed Haber<br><strong>Editor:</strong><span> </span>Karen Frillmann</p> <p>Production help from Terence Mickey, Meara Sharma, and Frederic Castel</p> <p>With the voices of Michael Wist and Alexis Cuadrado</p> <p>Thanks to Loren Schoenberg, Jennifer Keene, Jo Fox, Katy Wan, Marion von Osten, Marion Kiesow II, Patrick Helber, Shannon Connolly, and Natalia Ramirez</p> <p>Shell Shock 1919 is supported by the Revada Foundation of the Logan Family</p>

<p><span>President Trump’s concerns about corruption in Ukraine began, in part, with a series of articles in a publication called The Hill. On this week’s On the Media, a close-up on the columnist whose dubious tales may lead to an impeachment. Plus, the black nationalist origins of Justice Clarence Thomas’s legal thinking.</span></p> <p><span>1. Paul Farhi [<a href="https://twitter.com/farhip">@farhip</a>], <em>Washington Post</em> media reporter, and Mike Spies [<a href="https://twitter.com/mikespiesnyc">@mikespiesnyc</a>], ProPublica reporter, on John Solomon's role in the impeachment saga. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/solomon-corruption-conspiracy-theory">Listen</a>. </span></p> <p><span>2. Corey Robin [<a href="https://twitter.com/CoreyRobin">@CoreyRobin</a>], writer and political scientist at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center, on all that we've missed (or ignored) about Justice Clarence Thomas. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/supreme-court-justice-most-say?_=dd52c7b9&amp;content_type_id=24&amp;object_id=969280&amp;token=c72ca302219d9ae42048a2af068b6214">Listen</a>. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><em>Music from this week's show:</em></p> <p><em>How Strange by Nicola Cruz<br></em><em>I'm the Slime By Frank Zappa<br></em><em>Suite for Solo Cello No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: I. Prelude by Yo Yo Ma<br></em><em>Lachrymae Antiquae by Kronos Quartet<br></em><em>Two Thousand Seventeen by Four Tet</em></p>

<p>As Americans battle for control of the future of the United States, it seems that we're always going back to founding documents and core principles: relying on them and reinterpreting them, in what seems to be an increasingly arduous effort to govern ourselves. It all starts to beg an uncomfortable question: in the end, <em>can</em><span> </span>we govern ourselves? John Adams didn’t think so. He said that all political systems, whether monarchy, democracy, aristocracy, were equally prey to the brutish nature of mankind.</p> <p>Harvard historian Jill Lepore wrote a sweeping history of the American experiment called<span> </span><em><a href="http://books.wwnorton.com/books/These-Truths/">These Truths: A History of the United States</a></em>. Brooke spoke with Lepore about this country's history and the history of the contested — and supposedly self-evident — truths under-girding our shaky democracy. </p> <p><span><em>This segment is from our November 9th, 2018 episode,<span> </span></em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/on-the-media-2018-11-09"><em>We're Not Very Good At This</em></a><em>.</em></span></p>

<p><span>As wildfires tear through California, our decades-old infrastructure comes back to bite us. On this week’s On the Media, how we can understand this latest climate catastrophe through a metaphor from the computer world. Plus, the on-going struggle over the fate of the internet message board 8chan. And, Radiolab's Molly Webster digs into the right to be forgotten. </span></p> <p><span>1.  Writer Quinn Norton [<a href="https://twitter.com/quinnnorton" target="_blank">@quinnnorton</a>] on how California's wildfires are caused in large part by infrastructure decays, or the "technical debt" being accumulated by the state, and governments around the country. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/burning-california-decades-technical-debt-comes-due">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>2. Producer Micah Loewinger [<a href="https://twitter.com/MicahLoewinger" target="_blank">@MicahLoewinger</a>] reports on whether 8chan can remain dead after being de-platformed in August, featuring a conversation with the founder of the site Frederick Brennan [@<a href="https://twitter.com/HW_BEAT_THAT" target="_blank">HW_BEAT_THAT</a>], who now advocates for shutting it down. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/battle-keep-8chan-offline">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p>3. Radiolab [<a href="https://twitter.com/radiolab">@Radiolab</a>] producer Molly Webster on a group of journalists in Ohio trying an experiment: <span>unpublishing content they’ve already published. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/right-be-forgotten-on-the-media">Listen</a>. </span></p> <p><span>Music from this week's show:</span></p> <p><span>John Zorn — <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdlJQHch90k">Prelude 7: Sign and Sigil</a><br>John Zorn — <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOkMyJgNqho">Night Thoughts</a><br>Clint Mansell &amp; Kronos Quartet: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8sQOg67jjQ">Coney Island Dreaming</a> <br></span><span>Korla Pandit <span>—</span> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxVOwvTXEFU">Procession of the Grand Moghul</a><br>Michael Andrews: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTmFoSnvtqw">The Artifact and Living</a></span></p> <p> </p>

<p>This week on the OTM pod we feature another episode from Trump Inc. </p> <p><em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/trumpinc/articles/who-makes-money-when-conspiracy-theorists-throw-party-trumps-hotel">Read more</a><span> </span>about who makes money when a bunch of conspiracy theorists throw a party at Trump's hotel. <span>Stay up to date with <a href="https://nypublicradio.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=4109fdd323aaac7078eadaa8f&amp;id=d943f3fd91">email updates</a> about WNYC and ProPublica's investigations into the president's business practices.</span></em></p> <p>President Trump's Doral resort has been in the news a lot lately. His chief of staff announced from the White House that America would host the next G-7 summit there. Then, Trump backed off. We're looking at a conference that<span> </span><em>did<span> </span></em>happen at Doral. A conference that attracted conspiracy theorists, where a violent video featuring a fake Trump massacring members of the media was shown. (The conference organizers say they "condemn political violence.")</p> <p>Trump, Inc. was there.</p> <p>So was the President’s son, Donald Trump, Jr.</p> <p>This week: The business of conspiracies.</p>

<p><span>There’s a growing movement on the left and right for prison reform. On this week’s On the Media, a deep dive into the strange bedfellows coalition working to close prisons down. Also, in speeches, testimony, and leaked audio, Mark Zuckerberg has been trying to make a case for free expression — and for Facebook. Plus, what the TV show COPS reveals about our fascination with punishment. </span></p> <p>1. Kate Klonick [<a href="https://twitter.com/Klonick">@Klonick</a>], assistant professor at St. John's Law School, on Mark Zuckerberg's pronouncements this month on democracy, free expression, and the future of Facebook. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/mark-zuckerberg-road">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. David Dagan [<a href="https://twitter.com/DavidDagan">@DavidDagan</a>], post-doctoral political science scholar at George Washington University; Mark Holden, senior vice president of Koch Industries; and Brittany Williams, activist with No New Jails in New York City, on the closing down of prisons and jails.</p> <p>3. Dan Taberski [<a href="https://twitter.com/dtaberski">@dtaberski</a>], host of the podcast "Running From Cops," on what he and his team learned from watching hundreds of episodes of "COPS." <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/what-running-cops-learned-cops">Listen.</a></p> <p> </p> <p><em>Music:</em></p> <p><em>Okami - Nicola Cruz <br>Dirty Money - Antibalas <br>Chez Le Photographe Du Motel - Miles Davis<br>I Feel Fine - Bela Fleck and Tony Trishka  </em></p> <p> </p>

<p><strong>This week's OTM pod extra is another episode from the new podcast hosted by WNYC's Brian Lehrer: </strong></p> <p><strong>Where are we on impeachment today?<br></strong>Yesterday evening, the public got the chance to read the<span> </span><a href="https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2019/10/Taylor-openingstatement.pdf" target="_blank">opening statement</a><span> </span>of U.S. emissary to Ukraine William Taylor's testimony. In it, he described "<span>two channels of U.S. policy-making" in Ukraine, official State Department and security channels, and the "highly irregular" efforts by others in the President's circle to undermine the longstanding policy in Ukraine. Taylor laid out the most complete timeline of those efforts available thus far, and cited contacts he'd had with others that indicate President Trump's direct involvement. </span></p> <p><strong>On today’s episode:<br><a class="guestlink" href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/people/michael-isikoff/">Michael Isikoff</a></strong>,<strong> </strong>chief investigative correspondent for Yahoo! News, host of the podcast "Conspiracyland," co-host of the "Skullduggery" podcast and co-author of <em><span><a title="buy this book at Amazon" target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1538728753/https://www.amazon.com/Russian-Roulette-Inside-America-Election/dp/1538728753/">Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump<span> </span></a></span> </em></p>

<p><span>In covering President Trump’s decision to stop protecting Kurdish fighters in Syria, press reports have focused on the Kurds as US allies and tools in fighting ISIS. This week, On the Media looks at a different aspect of Kurdish life: the experiment in direct democracy that has flourished in northern Syria for the past five years. Plus: how debate moderators fail audiences when they focus on taxes. And, how reporters have negotiated dangerous conditions while reporting on the Turkish operation in Syria. </span></p> <p><span>1. Daniel Estrin [<a href="https://twitter.com/DanielEstrin" target="_blank">@DanielEstrin]</a>, NPR international correspondent, on the difficulties in reporting from Syria, from outside Syria. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/assad-assumed-control-over-kurdish-syria-journalists-fled" target="_blank">Listen</a>. </span></p> <p><span>2.  Jenna Krajeski [<a href="https://twitter.com/jenna_krajeski" target="_blank">@Jenna_Krajeski]</a><span>, a journalist with the Fuller Project for International Reporting, on the Kurdish political project, and </span>Rapareen abd Elhameed Hasn, a 27-year-old activist and co-president of her local health authority in Rojava, on what it's been like on the ground. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/rojava-revolution-on-the-media" target="_blank">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>3. Arthur Delaney [<a href="https://twitter.com/ArthurDelaneyHP" target="_blank">@ArthurDelaneyHP</a>], on the worst debate question moderators keep asking. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/worst-debate-question-on-the-media" target="_blank">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>Music from this week's show:</span></p> <p><span>Marcus Ciscar — </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7YJ-GMpmc8"><span>“Fallen Leaves”<br></span></a><span>Michael Linnen — “Cantus for Bob Hardison”<br></span><span>Zoe Keating — </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x98xVl6c6k"><span>“We Insist”<br></span></a><span>Mark Henry Phillips — [untitled track]<br></span><span>Mark Henry Phillips — [untitled track]<br></span><span>Gaurav Raina and Tarana Marwah — </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/4vJCbj2iFCMD0yqhqYEuVG"><span>“Tongue in Cheek”<br></span></a><span><span>Howard Shore — </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5za6GAfiMBlIu5y2jTCG9a"><span>“Cops or Criminals”</span></a></span></p>

<p>The pace of impeachment-related revelations is breathtaking, and it isn't slowing yet. With each day comes yet another executive branch staffer defying the White House by testifying behind closed doors on Capitol Hill — new names, fresh allegations, and ever more twists and turns. To help us follow the developments, <a href="https://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl">Brian Lehrer</a> — whose office here at WNYC is mere steps away from OTM HQ — has started a daily podcast: <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/impeachment-daily-podcast">Impeachment</a>. In this second episode of the podcast, <em>New York Times</em> reporter <a href="https://twitter.com/ktbenner">Katie Benner</a> explains why George Kent, a senior State Department official for Ukraine policy, told Congressional investigators that he was instructed by a supervisor to "lie low" after raising concerns about the Trump administration's conduct. </p>

<p><span>“The right to throw a punch ends at the tip of someone’s nose.” It’s the idea that underlies American liberties — but does it still fit in 2019? This week, On the Media looks back at our country’s radical — and radically inconsistent — tradition of free speech. Plus, a prophetic philosopher predicts America 75 years after Trump.</span></p> <p><span>1. Andrew Marantz [<a href="https://twitter.com/andrewmarantz">@andrewmarantz</a>], author of <em>Anti-Social: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation</em> — and our guest host for this hour — explains what he sees as the problem with free speech absolutism. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/against-free-speech-absolutism">Listen</a>. </span></p> <p><span>2. <a href="https://www.law.berkeley.edu/our-faculty/faculty-profiles/john-powell/">John Powell</a> [<a href="https://twitter.com/profjohnapowell?lang=en">@profjohnapowell</a>], law professor at UC Berkeley, P.E. Moskowitz [<a href="https://twitter.com/_pem_pem">@_pem_pem</a>], author of <em>The Case Against Free Speech: The First Amendment, Fascism, and the Future of Dissent</em>, and Susan Benesch [<a href="https://twitter.com/SusanBenesch">@SusanBenesch</a>], Director of the Dangerous Speech Project, on our complicated legal right to speak. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/free-speech-radical-inconsistent">Listen</a>. </span></p> <p><span>3. Andrew and Brooke discuss the philosopher Richard Rorty, whose work can teach us much about where the present approach to speech might take us, as a nation. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/70-years-after-trump">Listen</a>. </span></p>

<p>This coming Monday, some states and cities will celebrate Indigenous People’s Day, renamed from Columbus Day to honor the lives and history lost due to centuries of colonialism. Meanwhile, the few American Indian stories most Americans learn in school, like those found in Dee Brown's best-selling <em>Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee,</em> only reinforce simplistic narratives of genocide, disease, and suffering.</p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/davidtreuer?lang=en">David Treuer</a>, an Ojibwe professor of literature at the University of Southern California, offers a counter-narrative to this tragic account of Indian life in his book,<span> </span><em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Heartbeat-Wounded-Knee-America-Present/dp/1594633150">The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America From 1890 to the Present</a>.<span> </span></em>In this interview from fall of 2018, he and Brooke discuss the overlooked American Indian Movement that informed the viral 2016 protest at Standing Rock, and the means by which Indians have been fighting for social and political change for centuries.</p> <p><em>This is a segment from our October 5, 2018 program, </em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/on-the-media-2018-10-05">The Victimhood</a><em>.</em></p>

<p><span>The talk from the Trump team is becoming increasingly hard to follow. This week, On the Media takes a look at the conspiracy thinking that’s taken over the executive branch. Plus, leaders at Fox News search for a path forward amidst infighting and impeachment drama. And, a deep dive into Ukrainian politics and the Trump connection.</span></p> <p><span>1. Alex Ward [<a href="https://twitter.com/alexwardvox?lang=en">@AlexWardVox</a>], staff writer at Vox, and Jeet Heer [<a href="https://twitter.com/HeerJeet">@HeerJeet</a>], national affairs correspondent at <em>The Nation</em>, on the conspiracies fueling Trump's policies and behaviors. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/trump-sees-conspiracies-everywhere">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>2. Gabriel Sherman [<a href="https://twitter.com/gabrielsherman">@GabrielSherman</a>], special correspondent at <em>Vanity Fair</em>, on the chaos at Fox News. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/impeachment-tests-foxtrump-relationship">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>3. Trump, Inc.'s Andrea Bernstein [<a href="https://twitter.com/AndreaWNYC">@AndreaWNYC</a>] and Ilya Marritz [<a href="https://twitter.com/ilyamarritz">@ilyamarritz</a>] take a deep dive into Ukrainian politics and the origins of Giuliani's "investigations." <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/meanwhile-ukraine">Listen.</a></span></p> <p> </p>

<p><span>Ever present in the Snowden and Manning era, the word "whistleblower" is again dominating the airwaves. But where exactly did the word come from? Who gets to decide who qualifies as a whistleblower? Back in 2015, Brooke spoke to language columnist Ben Zimmer, legal director for the Government Accountability Project Tom Devine, and progressive icon Ralph Nader--who "rehabilitated" the word in the 1970's--about the history of the popular epithet.</span></p>

<p>The impeachment inquiry into President Trump is tangled up in Ukrainian politics, but few Washington reporters understand the dynamics at play. This week, On the Media looks at what we all need to know to make sense of the news. Plus, why there are no whistle-blower protections for those in the intelligence community. And, how the Nixon impeachment makes a case for a more deliberate Trump inquiry. Don't miss...</p> <p>1. Tim Naftali [<a href="https://twitter.com/TimNaftali?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@TimNaftali</a>], historian at New York University, on what the Nixon impeachment teaches us about the need for a deliberate process. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/impeachment-unlike-any-other">Listen</a>. </p> <p>2. Tom Devine, legal director at the Government Accountability Project, on the poor protections for intelligence community whistle-blowers. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/how-whistleblower-protections-can-be-trap-on-the-media">Listen</a>.</p> <p>3. Adam Entous<span><span> [<a href="https://twitter.com/adamentous?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@adamentous</a>],</span> staff writer at<span> </span></span><em>The New Yorker, </em>on the patchy validity of Trump's Hunter Biden accusations. <a href="https://internal.wnyc.org/admin/r/24/964423/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>4. Kyrylo Loukerenko [<a href="https://twitter.com/K_Loukerenko">@K_Loukerenko</a>], executive director at Hromadske Radio, helps us make sense of the misinformation about Ukraine. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/ukrainian-connection">Listen</a>.</p> <p>Music:</p> <p><em>Nuages (Clouds) by James Carter</em></p> <p><em>Life On Mars? by Meridian String Quarter</em></p> <p><em>A Ride With Polly Jean by Jenny Scheinman</em></p> <p><em>Nocturne for piano in B flat minor </em></p> <p> </p>

<p class="css-exrw3m evys1bk0">It's been two years since the brutal and bloody 22-year reign of Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh ended and the country is now embroiled in a uniquely transparent truth and reconciliation process. Officials are interviewing killers and victims about the deaths and disappearances of hundreds of people and it's all being live streamed on YouTube, Facebook and traditional media. <span>Bob spoke to <em>New York Times</em> correspondent Julie Turkewitz, who <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/31/world/africa/gambia-truth-commission-yahya-jammeh.html">wrote </a>about </span><span>how t</span><span>he process has become must-see-tv in The Gambia.</span></p>

<p>Roosevelt’s New Deal remade American society, and now climate activists are pushing for a Green New Deal to do it again. This week, On the Media looks at the attacks from conservatives against both projects, and why congress underestimates support for climate action. Plus, how a wave of labor strikes might be a crucial component in building momentum towards Green New Deal adoption. And, the teenage girls spreading climate awareness on Tik-Tok.</p> <p>1. <span>Jane McAlevey [<a href="https://twitter.com/rsgexp" target="_blank">@rsgexp</a></span><span>]</span>, writer and organizer,<span><span> </span>on why striking is essential to effect meaningful social change.</span><span> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/withdraw-labor-walk-off-job-otm">Listen.</a></span> </p> <p><span>2. Kim Phillips-Fein, historian at<span> </span><a href="https://gallatin.nyu.edu/people/faculty/kpf2.html" target="_blank">New York University</a>,<span> </span>on lessons from the origins of and fights against the original New Deal. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/fight-against-original-new-deal">Listen.</a> </span></p> <p><span>3. Kate Aronoff [<a href="https://twitter.com/KateAronoff?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank">@KateAronoff</a><span>]</span>, writer at The Intercept, on what a popular meme tells us about climate activism permeating youth culture. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/gen-z-turtles-planet-on-the-media">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>4. Leah Stokes [<a href="https://twitter.com/leahstokes?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@leahstokes</a>], professor at the<span> </span><a href="https://www.leahstokes.com/" target="_blank">University of California at Santa Barbara</a>, on the misunderstandings about public opinion and climate action. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/many-gulfs-climate-coverage-otm">Listen.</a></span></p> <p> </p>

<p><span>This week we are featuring a brand new episode from our friends at Trump Inc, a podcast produced here at WNYC. Here's a message from Trump Inc's producers: </span></p> <p><span>When we started all the way back in early 2018, we laid out how we'd be digging into the<span> </span></span><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-inc-podcast-many-mysteries-president-businesses"><span>mysteries around President Donald Trump's business</span></a><span>. After all, by keeping ownership of that business, Trump has had dueling interests: the country and his pocketbook. </span></p> <p><span>We've done dozens of episodes over the past 18 months, detailing how predatory lenders are<span> </span></span><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-inc-podcast-payday-lenders-spent-1-million-at-a-trump-resort-and-cashed-in"><span>paying the president</span></a><span>, how Trump has profited from<span> </span></span><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-inc-new-evidence-emerges-of-possible-wrongdoing-by-trump-inaugural-committee"><span>his own inauguration</span></a><span><span> </span>and how Trump's friends have sought to use their<span> </span></span><a href="https://features.propublica.org/trump-inc-podcast/sheldon-adelson-casino-magnate-trump-macau-and-japan/"><span>access</span></a><span> </span><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-inc-podcast-elliott-broidy-all-access-pass"><span>in</span></a><span><span> </span>pursuit of<span> </span></span><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-inc-podcast-elliott-broidy-all-access-pass"><span>profit</span></a><span>. </span></p> <p><span>We've noticed something along the way. It's not just that the president has mixed his business and governing. It's that the<span> </span></span><em><span>way</span></em><span><span> </span>Trump does business is spreading across the government. </span></p> <p><span>Trump's company isn't like most big businesses. It is accountable to only one man, it has<span> </span></span><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-inc-podcast-money-laundering-and-the-trump-taj-mahal"><span>broken the rules</span></a><span>, and those promoting it have long engaged in what Trump has dubbed"</span><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/ivanka-donald-trump-jr-close-to-being-charged-felony-fraud"><span>truthful</span></a><span> </span><a href="https://features.propublica.org/trump-inc-podcast/trump-family-business-panama-city-khafif/"><span>hyperbole</span></a><span>."</span></p> <p><span>Those traits are now popping up in the government. It may seem like the news from Washington is a cacophony of scandals. But they fit clear patterns — patterns that Trump has brought with him from his business. </span><span> </span></p>

<p><span>Good riddance, John Bolton! By dismissing his third National Security Advisor, President Trump prompted renewed concern over White House instability. This week, On the Media makes the case that John Bolton’s outster is good news for the republic. Plus, after four decades of progress, domestic abuse is on the rise and Senate Republicans are stymieing the Violence Against Women Act. And, Brooke visits Lady Liberty to learn about the 130-year political war over the meaning of the statue. </span></p> <p>1. Fred Kaplan [<a href="https://twitter.com/fmkaplan?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@fmkaplan</a>], writer at Slate, on the press coverage surrounding John Bolton's ouster. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/good-riddance-john-bolton-otm" target="_blank">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. Rachel Louise Snyder [<a href="https://twitter.com/rlswrites?lang=en">@RLSWrites</a>], author of <em><a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781635570977">No Visible Bruises</a></em>, on the legacy and future of the Violence Against Women Act. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/understanding-terror-domestic-violence" target="_blank">Listen</a>.</p> <p>3. Paul Kramer, history professor at Vanderbilt University, on the conflicting depictions and interpretations of the Statue of Liberty. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/lady-liberty-on-the-media" target="_blank">Listen</a>.</p> <p> </p> <p><em>Music:</em></p> <p><em><span>Frail as a Breeze by Erik Friedlander</span></em></p> <p><em><span>The New Colossus by Saunder Choi</span></em></p> <p><em><span>Toccata and fugue in D minor by J. S. Bach played on glass harp by Robert Tiso</span></em></p> <p><em><span> River Man by <span>Brad Mehldau Trio</span></span></em></p>

<p><span>This weekend in a series of tweets, President Trump both disclosed and scrapped secret talks with the Taliban in Camp David. </span><span>Of course, the Taliban did not perpetrate 9/11. But they did offer safe haven in Afghanistan to Al Qaeda, whose hijackers turned passenger airplanes into bombs in the most deadly act of terrorism on US soil. </span></p> <p><span>A few weeks later, America invaded the central Asian crossroads whose history has been one of occupation. "Today we focus on Afghanistan, but the battle is broader," President George Bush said at the time. "</span>Every nation has a choice to make. In this conflict, there is no neutral ground. If any government sponsors the outlaws and killers of innocence, they have become outlaws and murderers themselves. And they will take that lonely path at their own peril." <span>The whole world understood. </span></p> <p><span>Or, almost the whole world. One country that was unclear about the US mission and its motives was Afghanistan itself. </span><span><span>According to a November 2010 study by the </span><span>International Council on Security and Development,</span><span> during the height of fighting in Helmand and Kandahar, 92 percent of southern </span><span>Afghan males there had never heard of 9/11. The staggering statistic caught the eye of Stars &amp; Stripes reporter <a href="https://twitter.com/jplawrence3?lang=en" target="_blank">J.P. Lawrence</a> — himself a Iraq-war veteran; to mark the anniversary of 9/11 he decided to <a href="https://www.stripes.com/news/among-many-afghans-9-11-remains-unfamiliar-or-poorly-understood-1.546978" target="_blank">conduct his own survey last year</a>. In this podcast extra, he and Bob talk about why misconceptions persist about the 18-year war in Afghanistan. </span></span></p>

<p><span>As Hurricane Dorian devastated the Bahamas, Democratic presidential candidates promised climate action in an unprecedented televised event. On this week’s On the Media, how CNN’s town hall advances the climate conversation. Plus,</span><span> how the bulk of gun violence coverage fails to address the root causes of the crisis.</span> </p> <p><span>1. David Roberts [<a href="https://twitter.com/drvox">@drvox</a>], writer at Vox, on how the CNN climate town hall advances the conversation on climate change.</span></p> <p><span>2. John Morales [<a href="https://twitter.com/JohnMoralesNBC6">@JohnMoralesNBC6</a>], chief meteorologist at WTVJ NBC-6 Miami, on how a meteorologist reports the weather as the climate changes.</span></p> <p><span>3. Lois Beckett [<a href="https://twitter.com/loisbeckett">@loisbeckett</a>], senior reporter at The Guardian, on how covering of gun violence obscures the path to optimal solutions.</span></p>

<p><span>On Saturday, Leslie Gelb died at the age of 82. Gelb was a Senate aide in his 20s, a <em>New York Times</em> correspondent in his 30s, an assistant Secretary of State as he neared 40, then back to the <em>Times</em> as national security correspondent, editor, columnist, part of a Pulitzer Prize–winning team and finally, rounding out his career, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. He also made several memorable appearances on On the Media. Brooke remembers him this week and we revisit a conversation they had back in 2018 about the Pentagon Papers.</span></p>

<p><span>The message from Silicon Valley seems to be that self-driving cars are the way of the future. This week, On the Media considers the history behind the present-day salesmanship. </span>Plus, why transit rights mean much more than point-A-to-point-B mobility. Also, a new opera about Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs. </p> <p>1. Angie Schmitt [<a href="https://twitter.com/schmangee">@schmangee</a>], national reporter at Streetsblog, on<span> </span><a href="https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/07/18/stories-about-marathon-walking-commuters-receiving-benevolent-donations-of-cars-are-actually-terrible/">the "heartwarming" stories of Americans who walk miles and miles to work</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/walking-work-stories-repeat">Listen.</a></p> <p>2.<span> </span><a href="https://engineering.virginia.edu/faculty/peter-d-norton">Peter Norton</a>, professor of history at University of Virginia's Department of Engineering and Society, and<span> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/emilymbadger">Emily Badger</a>, urban policy reporter for the New York Times, on the past, present and dazzling future of self-driving car salesmanship.<span> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/self-driving-car-repeat">Listen.</a></span></p> <p>3. Judd Greenstein [<a href="https://twitter.com/juddgreenstein">@juddgreenstein</a>], composer, on the in-progress opera, A Marvelous Order.<span> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/moses-jacobs-opera-repeat">Listen.</a></span></p> <p>4.<span> </span><a href="https://www.gc.cuny.edu/Page-Elements/Academics-Research-Centers-Initiatives/Doctoral-Programs/Earth-and-Environmental-Sciences/Faculty-Bios/Kafui-Attoh">Kafui Attoh</a>, professor of urban studies at the CUNY Graduate Center, on the deeper political meanings of "transit rights."<span> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/understanding-rights-transit-repeat">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>This episode originally aired on November 23, 2018.</span></p> <hr> <p>Music from this week's show:</p> <p>Dan Deacon — USA III: Rail<br>Iggy Pop — The Passenger<br>Gary Numan — Cars<br>Judd Greenstein — Change<br>Judd Greenstein — A Marvelous Order<br>Brian Eno — Music For Airports</p>

<p><span>Silicon Valley’s so-called “millionaire maker” is a behavioral scientist who foresaw the power of putting persuasion at the heart of the tech world’s business model. But pull back the curtain that surrounds the industry’s behemoths, and you'll find a cadre of engineers and executives that's small enough to rein in. This is the final installment of a three-part series from <em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/the-stakes">The Stakes</a></em>. If you haven't heard parts <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/on-the-media-history-persuasion-part-1" target="_blank">one</a> and <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/on-the-media-history-persuasion-part-2" target="_blank">two</a>, start there first.</span></p> <p><span>In this episode, we hear from:</span></p> <p>-<span> </span><a href="https://alexandrarutherford.org/" target="_blank">Alexandra Rutherford</a>, Professor in the Department of Psychology at York University in Toronto and author of<span> </span><span class="book"><a title="buy this book at Amazon" target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0802096182/wnycorg-20/">Beyond the Box: B.F. Skinner's Technology of Behaviour from Laboratory to Life, 1950s-1970s</a></span></p> <p>-<span> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/mrianleslie" target="_blank">Ian Leslie</a>, author of “<a href="https://www.1843magazine.com/features/the-scientists-who-make-apps-addictive" target="_blank">The Scientists Who Make Apps Addictive</a>”<strong><span><br></span></strong></p> <p>-<span> </span><a href="https://www.bjfogg.com/" target="_blank">B.J. Fogg</a>,<strong><span> </span></strong>Director of the Stanford University "Behavior Design Lab”<strong><br></strong></p> <p>-<span> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/tristanharris" target="_blank">Tristan Harris</a>, Co-Founder &amp; Executive Director of the<span> </span><a href="https://humanetech.com/" target="_blank">Center for Humane Technology</a></p> <p>-<span> </span><a href="https://law.scu.edu/faculty/profile/glancy-dorothy/" target="_blank">Dorothy Glancy</a>,<strong><span> </span></strong><span>Professor of Law at Santa Clara University</span></p> <p><span>-<span> </span><a href="http://www.twitter.com/MarkWarnerVA" target="_blank">Senator Mark Warner</a><span> </span>of Virginia</span></p> <p>Hosted by <a href="https://twitter.com/kai_wright?lang=en" target="_blank">Kai Wright</a>. Reported by <a href="https://twitter.com/aronczyk" target="_blank">Amanda Aronczyk</a>.</p>

<p><span>In a special hour this week, On the Media examines the history of US imperialism — and why the familiar US map hides the true story of our country. Brooke spends the hour with Northwestern University historian <a href="https://twitter.com/dimmerwahr?lang=en">Daniel Immerwahr</a>, author of <em><a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374172145">How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States</a></em>.</span></p> <p><span><em>This is Part 2 of our series<span> </span><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/projects/american-expansion">"On American Expansion."</a> This episode originally aired April 5th, 2019.</em></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span><em>Music:</em></span></p> <p><em>Bill Frisell - Lost Night</em></p> <p><em>The O’Neil Brothers - Tribute to America</em></p> <p><em>Eileen Alannah - Original recording from 1908</em></p> <p><em>Ali Primera - Yankee Go Home</em></p> <p><em>Michael Andrews - The Artifact and Living</em></p> <p><em>Michael Andrews - Liquid Spear Waltz </em></p> <p><em>Matt Farley - Bird Poop Song </em></p>

<p><span>Ted Kaczynski had been a boy genius. Then he became the Unabomber. After years of searching for him, the FBI finally caught him in his remote Montana cabin, along with thousands of pages of his writing. Those pages revealed Kaczynski's hatred towards a field of psychology called "behaviorism," the key to the link between him and James McConnell.</span></p> <p>This is part two of a three-part series from our colleagues at <em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/the-stakes">The Stakes</a></em>. If you haven't heard part one,<span> </span><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/on-the-media-history-persuasion-part-1" target="_blank">listen here first</a>.</p> <p>In this episode, we hear from:</p> <p><span>- Philip Bradley, Harvard contemporary of Ted Kaczynski</span></p> <p><span>- Alston Chase, author of </span><span class="book"><a title="buy this book at Amazon" target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393325563/wnycorg-20/">A Mind for Murder: The Education of the Unabomber and the Origins of Modern Terrorism</a></span></p> <p><span>- Donald Max Noel, former FBI agent and author of </span><span><span class="book"><a title="buy this book at Amazon" target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1940773067/wnycorg-20/">UNABOMBER: How the FBI Broke Its Own Rules to Capture the Terrorist Ted Kaczynski</a></span></span></p> <p><span>- Dr. Charles Seigerman, former student of James<span> </span><span>McConnell and Certified Neuropsychologist</span></span></p> <p><span>- Greg Stejskal, former FBI agent</span></p> <p><span>-<span> </span><a href="http://faculty.collin.edu/lstern/" target="_blank">Larry Stern</a>, Professor of Sociology at Collin College</span></p> <p><span>Hosted by <a href="https://twitter.com/kai_wright?lang=en" target="_blank">Kai Wright</a>. Reported by <a href="https://twitter.com/aronczyk" target="_blank">Amanda Aronczyk</a>.</span></p>

<p>The Indian government has revoked autonomy for the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir. This week, a close look at how Hindu nationalists are rewriting Indian history in the world's largest democracy. Plus: what are the stories that America has told about itself? </p> <p>1. Producer Asthaa Chaturvedi [<a href="https://twitter.com/Pasthaaa">@Pasthaaa</a><span>] examines the ways Hindu nationalists have sought to rewrite history in and outside the classroom in an effort to glorify India's Hindu past, and what this movement means for a country founded on principles of multiculturalism. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/sons-the-soil" target="_blank">Listen</a>. </span></p> <p><span>2. What are the stories that America has told about itself? Historian Greg Grandin [<a href="https://twitter.com/greggrandin">@GregGrandin</a>] talks about his book, The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America, and the old idea about limitless growth that influenced American policy and psychology. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/part-1-myth-frontier-onthemedia-01" target="_blank">Listen</a>. </span></p>

<p><span>Infinite scrolling. Push notifications. Autoplay. Our devices and apps were designed to keep us engaged and looking for as long as possible. Now, we’ve woken up from years on social media and our phones to discover we've been manipulated by unaccountable powers using persuasive psychological tricks. But this isn’t the first time.</span></p> <p><span>In this three-part series from our colleagues at <em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/the-stakes">The Stakes</a></em>, a look at the winding story of the science of persuasion — and our collective reaction to it. In part one, a once-famous psychologist who became embroiled in controversy, and how the Unabomber tried to kill him. </span></p> <p><span>We hear from:</span></p> <p><span>-<span> </span><a href="http://faculty.collin.edu/lstern/">Larry Stern</a>, Professor of Sociology at Collin College</span></p> <p><span>-<span> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/nicklaus_suino" target="_blank">Nicklaus Suino</a>, writer, martial arts expert, attorney and business consultant</span></p> <p><span>Hosted by<span> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/kai_wright?lang=en" target="_blank">Kai Wright</a>. Reported by<span> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/aronczyk" target="_blank">Amanda Aronczyk</a>.</span></p>

<p><span>The pathways and origins of white nationalist thought were a matter of deadly importance in coverage of last weekend’s shootings. On this week’s On the Media, how mainstream punditry launders a tolerance for xenophobia. Also, the history of American presidents and media figures dismissing black and brown claims to power in a democracy. Plus, what calls for additional federal oversight in Puerto Rico mean for Puerto Ricans.</span></p> <p>1. Tom Scocca [<a href="https://twitter.com/tomscocca">@tomscocca</a>], politics editor at Slate, on <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/08/el-paso-mass-shooting-white-nationalism.html">the journalists, writers and political figures who cater to America's racist id.</a> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/hate-machine">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. Adam Serwer [<a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSerwer">@AdamSerwer</a>], staff writer at <em>The Atlantic</em>, on <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/08/reagan-nixon-trump-white-nationalism/595465/">the catastrophic, deadly idea that "only white people are fit for self-government."</a> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/democracy-me-not-thee-on-the-media">Listen.</a></p> <p>3. OTM producer Alana Casanova-Burgess [<a href="https://twitter.com/AlanaLlama">@AlanaLlama</a>] reports on the conversations some Puerto Ricans are having in Puerto Rico in a historic moment for the island, including demands more democracy -- and what that means in a colonial context. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/puerto-rico-what-comes-next">Listen.</a></p> <p><em>Music</em></p> <p><em>Exurgency by Zoe Keating</em></p>

<p><span>When events like the shooting in El Paso happen, the elements may indeed be obvious: Guns. Sociopathy.</span><span> Alienation. But the obvious is also reductive, and risks obscuring larger forces at play. </span><span>The same goes with the vocabulary of race violence: White nationalist. White identity. Alt-right. White supremacy. White power. They’re used interchangeably, which further clouds the picture. Following the events in </span>Christchurch, New Zealand earlier this year, we spoke to University of Chicago professor<span> </span><a href="https://www.kathleenbelew.com/">Kathleen Belew</a>. She told us that the shooting was not just born of resentment and paranoia, or even radical racism, but of a clearly defined revolutionary movement: the white power movement. Belew is author of<em> <a class="fl" href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674286078" data-ved="2ahUKEwjq9Kjkv5bhAhVoc98KHVXJBb8QmxMoATAaegQIDBAE">Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America</a></em><a class="fl" href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674286078" data-ved="2ahUKEwjq9Kjkv5bhAhVoc98KHVXJBb8QmxMoATAaegQIDBAE"></a>, which describes the history of the white power movement that consolidated after the Vietnam War. She argues that if society is to wage an effective response to the white power threat, we need to work to understand it.</p> <p><em><span>This segment is from our March 22nd, 2019 program,<span> </span></span></em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/on-the-media-hating-in-plain"><em><span>Hating In Plain Sight</span></em></a><em><span>.</span></em></p>

<p>Harassment and bullying are plaguing our online lives, but social media companies seem fresh out of solutions. This week, On the Media experiments with a radical approach for detoxifying the web. Can theories of criminal justice reform rehabilitate trolls and fix the internet? </p> <p>1. Lindsay Blackwell [<a href="https://twitter.com/linguangst">@linguangst</a>], Facebook user experience researcher and PhD student at the University of Michigan School of Information, on the source of online harassment. Plus, Jack Dorsey [<a href="https://twitter.com/jack">@jack</a>], CEO of Twitter, and Ashley Feinberg [<a href="https://twitter.com/ashleyfeinberg">@ashleyfeinberg</a>], a senior writer at Slate, on how Twitter can improve. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/oh-cruel-internet">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. Danielle Sered [<a href="https://twitter.com/daniellesered">@daniellesered</a>], executive director of Common Justice, on the power of replacing punishment with restoration. Producer Micah Loewinger [<a href="https://twitter.com/MicahLoewinger">@MicahLoewinger</a>] and Lindsay Blackwell [<a href="https://twitter.com/linguangst">@linguangst</a>] team up to implement a "restorative justice" approach in r/ Christianity, one of the largest forums for discussing the religion. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/restoring-justice-online2">Listen</a>.</p> <p><em>This is the 3rd and final part in <em>our “<a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/projects/repairing-justice">Repairing Justice</a>” series.</em></em></p>

<p><span>Last week on the show, we examined the power of the prosecutor in our justice system, and how voters are electing a new wave of so-called “progressive prosecutors” to try to turn the tide on mass incarceration. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/repairing-justice-prosecutor">If you haven’t heard it yet, be sure to check it out.</a> It was part one of a three-part series we’re calling “Repairing Justice”; this is part two. We’ve talked about how the law-and-order approach doesn’t work, and that we don’t want to keep locking people in jail for every infraction. But that raises the question: what, then, do we do to address injustice when it appears?</span></p> <p><span>Rather than the isolation and violence that prison breeds, some advocates are pushing for a new approach… one based not on punishment, but on truth and reconciliation. It’s called "restorative justice," and in this podcast extra, Bob speaks with <a href="https://twitter.com/daniellesered">Danielle Sered</a>, executive director of Common Justice and <a href="https://thenewpress.com/books/until-we-reckon">a pioneer of the practice</a>. <br></span></p> <p><span><em>This is Part 2 of our “<a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/projects/repairing-justice">Repairing Justice</a>” series. </em></span></p>

<p><span>It was the week of the prosecutor, with Special Counsel Robert Mueller grabbing most of the attention. But on this week’s On the Media, a closer look at the <em>progressive</em> prosecutor movement — from neighborhood politics to local media to the presidential debate stage. </span></p> <p><span>1. </span><span>Lara Bazelon [<a href="https://twitter.com/larabazelon">@larabazelon</a></span><span>], law professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law and former director of the Loyola Law School Project for the Innocent in Los Angeles, on Sen. Kamala Harris's record as a prosecutor. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/kamala-harris-progressive-prosecutor">Listen.</a></span><span><br></span></p> <p><span>2. Emily Bazelon [<a href="https://twitter.com/emilybazelon">@emilybazelon</a></span><span>], staff writer at <em>The New York Times Magazine</em> and author of <em><a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780399590016?aff=penguinrandom" target="_blank">Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration</a>, </em>on how the power of the prosecutor has grown to be so big. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/prosecutor-powerful-justice-system">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>3. Emily Bazelon </span><span>[<a href="https://twitter.com/emilybazelon">@emilybazelon</a>] on the national movement to elect progressive prosecutors. Plus, progressive prosecutors Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner [<a href="https://twitter.com/DA_LarryKrasner">@DA_LarryKrasner</a>] and Suffolk County, MA DA Rachael Rollins [<a href="https://twitter.com/DARollins">@DARollins</a>] on their time in office and the pushback they've received. Plus, Staten Island DA Michael McMahon [<a href="https://twitter.com/StatenIslandDA">@StatenIslandDA</a>] on his skepticism about the movement. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/progressive-prosecutor-wave-rising">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span><em>This is Part 1 of our “<a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/projects/repairing-justice">Repairing Justice</a>” series.  </em></span></p> <p> </p> <p><em>Music</em></p> <p><em>Fellini’s Waltz - Enrico Pieranunzi and Charlie Haden</em></p> <p><em>Misterioso - Kronos Quartet and Ron Carter</em></p> <p><em>Young At Heart - Brad Mehldau</em></p> <p><em>White Man Sleeps I - Kronos Quartet</em></p> <p><em>Smells Like Teen Spirit  - The Bad Plus </em></p>

<p><span>Earlier this month, DC Comics announced that <em>MAD Magazine</em> will mostly stop doing what it’s done for some six decades, which is to pointedly mock American politics and culture. Barring the occasional end-of-year special, future copies of <em>MAD</em> will consist solely of old material. </span><span>The publication, which first appeared in 1957 and hit a peak circulation of 2.8 million in 1973, has been in decline since. </span></p> <p><em>MAD Magazine</em> defined an entire generation’s distrust in the media, politicians, advertisers, and all forms of authority. For this podcast extra, Brooke spoke to Jeet Heer, national affairs correspondent for <em>The Nation</em>, about his <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/mad-magazine-media-politics/">recent article</a> on the history of <em>MAD</em>.</p>

<p>Puerto Ricans packed the streets night after night this week to call for Governor Ricardo Rosselló’s resignation. On this week’s On the Media, what happens when a leader’s mockery becomes too much for citizens to bear — in San Juan, and in Washington. Plus, coming-of-age on the far-right and far-left, on YouTube.</p> <p>1. Ibram X. Kendi [<a href="https://twitter.com/DrIbram">@DrIbram</a>], <span>founding director of American University’s Antiracist Research and Policy Center, on who gets to be American. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/send-her-back-on-the-media">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>2. </span>Pedro Reina-Pérez [<a href="https://twitter.com/pedroreinaperez">@pedroreinaperez</a>], <span>journalist and </span>historian<span> with both the University of Puerto Rico and Harvard University, and <span>Jay Fonseca [<a href="https://twitter.com/jayfonsecapr">@jayfonsecapr</a><span>], television and radio host, on the profane, homophobic and sexist chat messages that pushed Puerto Rico to the breaking point. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/boricua-spring">Listen</a>.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>3. OTM Producer Micah Loewinger [<a href="https://twitter.com/MicahLoewinger">@MicahLoewinger</a>] considers how YouTube creators on the left, like Natalie Wynn [<a href="https://twitter.com/ContraPoints">@ContraPoints</a>], are challenging the platform’s surge of far right extremism. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/how-youtubes-left-changing-minds">Listen.</a></span></span></span></p>

<p><span>On this show, we’ve often observed that what happens online rarely </span><em><span>stays</span></em><span> online. In the age of Pizzagate, Trump tweets and Wiki Leaks data dumps, it is obvious that conversations online increasingly dominate, even define, our politics — a fact demonstrated yet again last Thursday when the president invited his favorite online trolls, memers and political operatives to clink champagne glasses in the White House and discuss an alleged anti-conservative bias on social media. <a href="https://twitter.com/willsommer?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Will Sommer</a></span><span>, tech reporter for The Daily Beast, wrote about the odd cast of characters and what this social media summit tells us about the president’s 2020 re-election strategy.</span></p>

<p><span>Migrants in detention centers, another assault allegation against the President, and the start to a potentially devastating hurricane season… On this week’s On the Media, how painful news might be making America numb. And, why sometimes it’s okay to tune out. Plus, what Jeffrey Epstein's arrest teaches us about the Q-Anon conspiracy theory. <br></span></p> <p><span>1. Max Read [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/max_read">@max_read</a>],writer and editor at <em>New York Magazine</em>, on <a href="http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/07/does-the-jeffrey-epstein-indictment-qanon.html">the partial fulfillment of a "message-board prophecy."</a> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/epstein-qanon-and-discomfort-reality">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>2. David Corn [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/DavidCornDC">@DavidCornDC</a>], Washington bureau chief for <em>Mother Jones</em>, and Priya Shukla [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/priyology">@priyology</a>], PhD candidate at the University of California-Davis, on <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/07/weight-of-the-world-climate-change-scientist-grief/">the psychological effects of climate change on those who study it.</a> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/psychological-toll-working-climate-scientist">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>3. Dan Degerman [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/ddegerman">@ddegerman</a>], philosophy researcher at Lancaster University, on <a href="https://qz.com/1588206/the-best-way-to-cope-with-brexit-anxiety-more-politics/">the political implications of "Brexit anxiety."</a> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/problem-medicalizing-politically-charged-emotions">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>4. Jenny Odell [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/the_jennitaur">@the_jennitaur</a>], author of <em>How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy</em>, on <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/600671/how-to-do-nothing-by-jenny-odell/9781612197494/">how to protect our attention in the face of information overload</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/when-youd-prefer-not">Listen.</a></span></p>

<p><span>Julie Brown of the Miami Herald conceived, reported, and wrote one of the most explosive criminal justice stories in recent memory. She revealed the shutting down of an FBI investigation that may have been on the verge of discovering the full extent of a child-sex-trafficking operation run by politically-connected billionaire Jeffrey Epstein. The prosecutor allegedly behind that decision, Alex Acosta, is now President Trump's Secretary of Labor.  Acosta offered Epstein a plea deal in which Epstein pleaded guilty to recruiting underage girls for sex and spent about a year in the local lockup, with work release.  The deal also proactively protected from prosecution any potential co-conspirators.  Brown pored over internal emails to see exactly how Acosta and other powerful law-enforcement officials made these decisions.  While in New York to receive a Polk Award for her work, Brown stopped by WNYC's Greene Space to talk to the host of "Here's the Thing" Alec Baldwin about her reporting.</span></p>

<p><span>Ten autumns ago came two watershed moments in the history of money. In September 2008, the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers triggered a financial meltdown from which the world has yet to fully recover. The following month, someone using the name Satoshi Nakamoto introduced BitCoin, the first cryptocurrency. Before our eyes, the very architecture of money was evolving — potentially changing the world in the process. In this hour, On the Media looks at the story of money, from its uncertain origins to its digital reinvention in the form of cryptocurrency.</span></p> <p>1. The life and work of JSG Boggs, the artist who created hand-drawn replicas of currency that he used to buy goods and services. With <a href="http://lawrenceweschler.com/">Lawrence Weschler</a><span> </span>and MIT's Neha Narula [<a href="https://twitter.com/neha">@neha</a>]. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/ceci-nest-pas-un-dollar-1">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. A brief history of money with<span> </span><a href="https://faculty.sites.uci.edu/wmmaurer/">UC Irvine</a>'s Bill Maurer and Mark Blyth [<a href="https://twitter.com/MkBlyth?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@MkBlyth</a><span>]</span><span> </span>from Brown University<span>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/money-then-and-now-1">Listen.</a> </span></p> <p>3. How cryptocurrency could shape the future of money, with MIT's Neha Narula [<a href="https://twitter.com/neha">@neha</a>], <em>New York Times</em>' Nathaniel Popper [<a href="https://twitter.com/nathanielpopper?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@nathanielpopper</a><span>]</span>, Vinay Gupta [<a href="https://twitter.com/leashless?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@leashless</a>] of Mattereum, Brown University's Mark Blyth [<a href="https://twitter.com/MkBlyth?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@MkBlyth</a>] and artist Kevin Abosch [<a href="https://twitter.com/kevinabosch?lang=en">@kevinabosch</a><span>]</span>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/very-crypto-future-1">Listen.</a></p>

<p>There are many Americas. Nowadays they barely speak to each other. But during the most perilous years of the last century, one young composer went in search of a sound that melded many of the nation's strains into something singular and new. He was a man of the left, though of no political party: gay, but neither closeted nor out; Jewish, but agnostic, unless you count music as a religion. His name was<span> </span><a href="http://www.coplandhouse.org/aaron-copland/timeline/">Aaron Copland.</a> On this July 4th weekend,<span> </span><a href="http://www.wnyc.org/shows/fishko">WNYC’s Sara Fishko</a> tells his story.</p>

<p><span>We have an eviction crisis, which is really just one part of a broader housing affordability crisis. Incomes are too low for rents. Rents are too high for incomes. The barriers to home-buying are growing, especially for younger Americans. The wealth gap between black and white Americans is spreading, driven largely by inequalities in housing. The shockwaves from the foreclosure crisis continue. And in some cities, gentrification drives up costs and drives away low-income families.  </span></p> <p><span>Luckily enough, there are solutions — quite a few of them, in fact. In this fourth and final episode of </span><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/scarlet-e-unmasking-americas-eviction-crisis"><span>The Scarlet E: Unmasking America’s Eviction Crisis</span></a><span>, we evaluate the proposals, which range from subtle to significant.</span></p> <p><span>First, a look back on a solution that worked in some places and was allowed to fail in many others. We visit Atlanta, home to the nation’s first public housing projects. We learn how the city has since destroyed or converted all of its public housing. And with the help of Lawrence Vale, author of </span><a href="https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo14941776.html"><em><span>Purging the Poorest: Public Housing and the Design Politics of Twice-Cleared Communities</span></em></a><span>, we look at one public housing project, in Boston, that continues to thrive. </span></p> <p><span>And then we look at solutions, both proposed and in-play. Again in Atlanta, we meet landlord Marjy Stagmeier, whose unique model improves nearby schools’ performance — and still turns a profit. We speak with sociologist </span><a href="https://twitter.com/just_shelter"><span>Matt Desmond</span></a><span> about the need to fully fund our Section 8 housing voucher program, and to encourage, or compel, landlords to accept voucher-holders. And we touch on the housing proposals from </span><a href="https://www.citylab.com/equity/2019/06/democratic-candidates-housing-election-2020-trump-campaign/591604/"><span>several Democratic candidates for president</span></a><span>. Matt wonders whether our federal housing policies — for instance, </span><a href="https://www.stlouisfed.org/open-vault/2018/may/why-economists-dont-like-mortgage-interest-deduction"><span>the mortgage interest deduction</span></a><span> — are subsidizing those most in need. We also ask New York City Councilmember </span><a href="https://twitter.com/MarkLevineNYC"><span>Mark Levine</span></a><span> and South Carolina legislator </span><a href="https://twitter.com/Rep_Pendarvis"><span>Marvin Pendarvis</span></a><span> about possible reforms in our housing courts. We hear from </span><a href="http://cvlas.org/staff/"><span>Marty Wegbreit</span></a><span>, director of litigation for the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, about how Richmond turned its shame over its high eviction rates into policy. And we consider ways that some cities might increase their affordable housing supply by doing away with </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/18/upshot/cities-across-america-question-single-family-zoning.html"><span>restrictive, exclusionary zoning policies</span></a><span>.</span></p> <hr> <p><em><span>Music by Mark Henry Phillips.</span></em></p> <p><em><span>To hear other episodes of The Scarlet E and to learn about the eviction stats in your own state, visit </span></em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/scarlet-e-unmasking-americas-eviction-crisis"><em><span>onthemedia.org/eviction</span></em></a><em><span>. </span></em></p> <p><em><span>Support for “The Scarlet E” is provided by the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Melville Charitable Trust. Additional support is provided by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, and “Chasing the Dream,” a WNET initiative reporting on poverty and opportunity in America.</span></em></p> <p><em><span>Support for On the Media is provided by the Ford Foundation and the listeners of WNYC Radio.</span></em></p> <p> </p>

<p>June marks LGBTQ Pride month, and fifty years since the Stonewall riots. In the past five decades, the conversation around gay rights has moved so quickly that it can be hard to remember where it was in the very recent past. </p> <p>After the 2012 death of Sally Ride, the first American woman to go to space, the world learned something new about the pioneering astronaut: she was gay, and was survived by her partner Tam O'Shaughnessy. This previously unknown detail of Ride's life was mentioned in one line at the end of a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/24/science/space/sally-ride-trailblazing-astronaut-dies-at-61.html">lengthy obituary in </a><em><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/24/science/space/sally-ride-trailblazing-astronaut-dies-at-61.html">The New York Times</a>, </em>and the reaction from readers ranged from criticism for posthumously outing Ride to criticism for not honoring the detail enough. Bob spoke with <a href="https://twitter.com/wmcdonaldnyt?lang=en">Bill McDonald</a>, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/william-mcdonald">obituary editor at <em>The New York Times</em></a>, about the ethics and obligations of obituary writers in creating a bigger picture of the lives of the dead. </p>

<p><span>This is episode three in our series, “The Scarlet E: Unmasking America’s Eviction Crisis.” It’s the dollars-and-cents episode, in which we account for what we know </span><em><span>and don’t know </span></em><span>about those who own and those who rent.</span></p> <p><span>We digest some new data — compiled and analyzed, in part, by our collaborator, Matthew Desmond — that demonstrate the extent to which landlords often profit in impoverished communities. We speak with the founder of a massive online eviction platform, who defends his company’s “standardized process.” In Camden, New Jersey we hear the story of Destiny, a social worker whose corporate landlord showed no reluctance to bring her to housing court, month after month. In Indianapolis we meet a mom-and-pop landlord who doesn’t deny her profits in the low-income market — she’s a businesswoman, after all — but who also has often given delinquent tenants the chance to get caught up. And in Richmond, Virginia we learn the hard truth about landlords’ comfortable place in the American legal system — even in spite of unmistakable neglect.</span></p> <hr> <p><em><span>Music by Mark Henry Phillips, except for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-FwwNDCUKE">"Indiana," sung by Straight No Chaser</a>.</span></em></p> <p><em><span>To hear other episodes of The Scarlet E and to learn about the eviction stats in your own state, visit </span></em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/scarlet-e-unmasking-americas-eviction-crisis"><em><span>onthemedia.org/eviction</span></em></a><em><span>. </span></em></p> <p><em><span>Support for “The Scarlet E” is provided by the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Melville Charitable Trust. Additional support is provided by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, and “Chasing the Dream,” a WNET initiative reporting on poverty and opportunity in America.</span></em></p> <p><em><span>Support for On the Media is provided by the Ford Foundation and the listeners of WNYC Radio. </span></em></p>

<p><span><a href="https://irancommentary.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Heshmat Alavi</a>, an Iranian commentator, has been portrayed as a courageous dissident with a broad constituency and rare insight into the inner workings of the Iranian theocracy. His columns have been printed in Forbes, The Diplomat, The Federalist, Voice of America, The Daily Caller and The Hill. And his analysis, such as his assertion that Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran pumped money into the mullah's military budget, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2018/05/09/fact-checking-president-trumps-reasons-for-leaving-the-iran-nuclear-deal/" target="_blank">has been cited by the White House</a> to justify leaving the agreement. But what if...he doesn't actually exist?</span></p> <p><span>The Intercept's <a href="https://twitter.com/MazMHussain" target="_blank">Murtaza Hussain</a></span><span> reported on Heshmat Alavi, and <a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/06/09/heshmat-alavi-fake-iran-mek/" target="_blank">found</a> that the columnist is not who he purports to be.</span></p>

<p><span>President Trump claims to have struck a deal with Mexico to settle a dispute of his own making. On this week’s On the Media, a look at the lives of the people who stand to suffer most. Plus, how the path to America’s eviction crisis begins, in part, with the Great Migration. </span></p> <p><span>1. Bob Moore [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/BobMooreNews" target="_blank">@BobMooreNews</a>], freelance reporter based in El Paso, on <span>the human reality at the border amidst the latest Trumpian mendacity. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/waiting-mexico-on-the-media" target="_blank">Listen</a>.</span></span></p> <p><span>2. </span><span>We continue our <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/scarlet-e-unmasking-americas-eviction-crisis" target="_blank">four-part series on eviction</a> by charting the persistent line between racist housing policies, localized profiteering and the devastating plunder of generations of wealth. Guests include Matt Desmond [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/just_shelter">@just_shelter</a>], founder of the <a href="https://evictionlab.org/" target="_blank">Eviction Lab</a>; Natalie Moore [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/natalieymoore" target="_blank">@natalieymoore</a>], reporter for WBEZ; and <a href="http://cvlas.org/staff/" target="_blank">Marty Wegbreit</a>, director of litigation for the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/scarlet-e-eviction-40-acres" target="_blank">Listen</a>.</span></p>

<p>The first episode of the TV show "Cops<em>"</em> aired thirty years ago, and in the ensuing decades it's become influential enough to mold the attitudes of new aspiring police officers. But if the show holds up a mirror to law enforcement in this country, it shows a warped reflection.</p> <p>In <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/running-from-cops-headlong-season-3/id1459118695">the podcast series "Running from Cops"</a>, host <a href="https://twitter.com/dtaberski?lang=en">Dan Taberski </a>and his team watched nearly 850 episodes of the show and tallied what they saw: roughly four times the amount of violent crime than there is in real life, three times as many drug crimes, and ten times the amount of prostitution. "Cops", <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/running-from-cops-headlong-season-3/id1459118695">as the podcast</a> points out, makes the world seem more crime-ridden than in reality. It has also inspired copy-cat shows, like the popular "Live PD," that also warp depictions of what's appropriate (and legal) in policing. In this OTM podcast extra, Bob talks to Dan Taberski about <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/running-from-cops-headlong-season-3/id1459118695">the podcast</a>'s findings and what the popularity of these shows says about viewers.  </p>

<p><span>Millions of rent-burdened Americans face eviction filings and proceedings every year. On this week’s On the Media, what we </span><em><span>think </span></em><span>we know, and what we definitely </span><em><span>don’t </span></em><span>know, about America’s eviction crisis. Plus, how local journalists failed the Central Park Five. </span></p> <p><span>1. Jim Dwyer [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/jimdwyernyt">@jimdwyernyt</a>], columnist for The New York Times, on his experience reporting on the Central Park Five trial. </span></p> <p><span>2. We hear the story of Jeffrey, a security guard in Richmond, Virginia whose severe rent burden caused his family to be evicted. </span></p> <p><span>3. Matthew Desmond [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/just_shelter">@just_shelter</a>], founder of the <a href="https://evictionlab.org">Eviction Lab</a>, explains what he and his fellow researchers have learned from their massive collection of eviction data. </span></p>

<p><span>This week, the US House Antitrust subcommittee announced a probe into the mainly-unchecked power of tech giants like Google, Facebook, Apple and </span>Amazon<em><span>.</span></em><span> The investigation could include public hearings and subpoenas toward antitrust intervention into the businesses of Silicon Valley leviathans. </span><span>The news came on the same day that <em>The Wall Street Journal</em> <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/ftc-to-examine-how-facebook-s-practices-affect-digital-competition-11559576731?emailToken=fad31f51bcd858e4991fcef3f3cd56a0Xry/iU/uoaBCWk4DJ/5WBwEpC9IO+x3pHROFIto1eWxHzMXq6KG3s/lsWEVOXwTsDI40bJRG8WLmqekvsIff8itosnwb2HFhSbg/QRONKxJVV85q7WmqZQgx2iKLtx6l&amp;amp;reflink=article_copyURL_share" target="_blank">reported</a> that the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department are expanding their oversight into Facebook and Google's anti-competitive practices.</span></p> <p><span>Last November, Brooke spoke with <a href="https://twitter.com/stacyfmitchell" target="_blank">Stacy Mitchell</a>, </span><span>co-</span><span>director of the <a href="https://ilsr.org/">Institute for Local Self-Reliance</a>, about Amazon’s domination over industry after industry and where we stand in the arc of antitrust regulation. In 2018, Mitchell wrote an article for <em>The Nation</em> called “<a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/amazon-doesnt-just-want-to-dominate-the-market-it-wants-to-become-the-market/" target="_blank">Amazon Doesn't Just Want to Dominate the Market </a></span><a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/amazon-doesnt-just-want-to-dominate-the-market-it-wants-to-become-the-market/" target="_blank">— It Wants to Become the Market</a>.” </p>

<p>The Trump administration has ordered federal agencies to stop publishing worst-case scenario projections of climate change. This week, On the Media examines the administration’s pattern of attacks on climate science. Plus, a look at the dark money behind environmental deregulation.</p> <p>1. Kate Aronoff [<a href="https://twitter.com/KateAronoff">@KateAronoff</a><span>]</span>, fellow at the Type Media Center, on the White House's suppression of climate warnings. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/trump-stifles-circulation-science-on-the-media" target="_blank">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. Jane Mayer [<a href="https://twitter.com/JaneMayerNYer">@JaneMayerNYer</a><span>], staff writer at <em><span>The New Yorker</span></em><span> and author of </span><em><span>Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right, </span></em>on the billionaires supporting the modern conservative intellectual framework. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/dark-money-and-rise-conservative-orthodoxy">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>3. Jan Zalasiewicz, <a href="http://quaternary.stratigraphy.org/workinggroups/anthropocene/" target="_blank">Anthropocene Working Group</a><span> Chair,</span><span> on</span><span> the traces that today's humans might leave behind for future civilizations, and Benjamin Kunkel [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/kunktation">@<strong class="u-linkComplex-target">kunktation</strong></a>] on whether<span> the Age of Capitalism might be a more appropriate term to describe our epoch. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/we-are-meteor-2">Listen</a>.</span></span></span></p>

<p>Tornadoes ripped across multiple states on Tuesday, killing at least one person. It was the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/28/us/tornadoes-usa.html">twelfth straight day of tornado activity in the U.S.</a> — a new record, according to the National Weather Service. But as the New York Times reported yesterday, limited data make it difficult to draw explicit connections between a warming climate and trends in tornadic activity. Even in our hyper-quantified time, there's still an element of mystery to where, why, and how twisters strike. </p> <p>And then there are hurricanes.</p> <p>For media professionals, hurricanes offer the very best kind of bad news, because the story arc is predictable, and invariably compelling. In our Breaking News Consumer’s Handbooks, we examine the myths, misleading language, and tired media narratives that clog up news coverage at a time when clarity can be a matter of life and death.</p> <p>Since the Atlantic hurricane season begins this week, we're republishing our guide to consuming the coverage to come. In this segment, which originally aired in Sept. 2017, Brooke speaks with <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/robert-holmes?qt-staff_profile_science_products=3#qt-staff_profile_science_products">Dr. Robert Holmes</a>, National Flood Hazard Coordinator for the U.S. Geological Survey; <a href="https://twitter.com/WxComm?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Gina Eosco</a>, a risk communication consultant; and <a href="http://drexel.edu/coas/faculty-research/faculty-directory/ScottGKnowles/">Scott Gabriel Knowles of Drexel University,</a> author of <a href="http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/14925.html">The Disaster Experts: Mastering Risk in Modern America</a>.</p> <div class="embedded-image" style="max-width: 800px;"><img class="mcePuppyImage" src="https://media.wnyc.org/i/800/800/l/80/1/OTM_Consumer_Handbook_StormEdition_800.png" alt=""> <div class="image-metadata"> <div class="image-caption">Add Caption Here</div> <div class="image-credit">(On the Media/WNYC)</div> </div> </div> <p> </p>

<p><span>Controversy erupted over news that President Trump may grant more pardons for alleged war criminal Edward Gallagher and others. This week, On the Media looks at Fox News’s influence on the president’s decision. And, how the Navy may be spying on a reporter who's tracked Gallagher's case. Plus, how the latest Julian Assange indictment could spell disaster for the future of investigative journalism. </span></p> <p><span>1. James Goodale, former General Counsel for <em>The New York Times</em> and author of<em> <a href="http://www.jamesgoodale.net/">Fighting For The Press</a></em>, on the disastrous new Julian Assange indictments. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/charges-julian-assange-investigative-journalism-on-the-media" target="_blank">Listen</a>. </span></p> <p><span>2. Adam Weinstein [<a href="https://twitter.com/AdamWeinstein?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@AdamWeinstein</a>], an editor with <em>The New Republic</em>, on the unofficial Fox News campaign to push the president to pardon alleged war criminals. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/whos-behind-trumps-push-pardon-war-criminals" target="_blank">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>3. Andrew Tilghman [<a href="https://twitter.com/andrewtilghman?lang=en" title="https://twitter.com/andrewtilghman?lang=en">@andrewtilghman</a>], Executive Editor of the Military Times, on the Navy's troubling assault on press freedom. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/when-navy-spies-reporters-on-the-media" target="_blank">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>4. Scott J. Shapiro [<a href="https://twitter.com/scottjshapiro?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@scottjshapiro</a>], professor of philosophy and law at Yale, on how militaries across the globe navigate the horrors of war. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/how-wage-civilized-war" target="_blank">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>Songs:</span></p> <p><em>All the Presidents Men Theme by David Shire<br></em><em>Okami by Nicola Cruz <br></em><em>Capharnaüm by Khaled Mouzanar<br></em><em>R+B = ? by Aeroc <br></em><em>Farewell My Good One Forever by Phantasm<br></em><em>Agnus Dei by Martín Palmeri</em></p> <p><em> </em></p>

<p><span>When former Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes penned a<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/09/opinion/sunday/chris-hughes-facebook-zuckerberg.html"> <em>New York Times </em>op-ed</a> calling for the breakup of the platform, he was lauded by anti-corporate politicians and the press. Then came a series of hard questions: how exactly would breaking up Facebook, which owns WhatsApp and Instagram, address free speech concerns? Or help stifle the spread of propaganda on the platform? And how would American regulations affect the majority of Facebook users, who live in the global south? According to <a href="https://www.echoinggreen.org/fellows/michael-lwin">Michael Lwin</a>, an American-born antitrust lawyer living in Yangon, Myanmar, US regulators should tread lightly. He and Bob speak about how calls to break up Facebook could have wide ranging unintended consequences, especially outside of the US.</span></p>

<p><span>A controversial bill in Alabama is the latest in a wave of different abortion bans sweeping the country. This week, On the Media looks at the influence of Janet Porter, a little-known lobbyist who has been pushing what are misleadingly referred to as “heartbeat” laws. And, a deep dive into the rise of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and what his autocratic regime tells us about the future of Europe. Plus, a new book reveals how conspiracy theories became a fact of American life.</span></p> <p><span>1. Jessica Glenza [<a href="https://twitter.com/JessicaGlenza?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@JessicaGlenza</a>], health reporter at the Guardian US, on the influence of Janet Porter, the lobbyist behind the so-called "heartbeat" abortion laws. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/one-woman-lobby-machine-behind-heartbeat-bills-on-the-media">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>2. Paul Lendvai, author of <em><a href="https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/orban/">Orbán: Hungary's Strongman</a></em>, on the rise of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/who-hungarian-prime-minister-viktor-orban-on-the-media">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>3. Anna Merlan [<a href="https://twitter.com/annamerlan">@annamerlan</a>], author of<span> </span><em>Republic of Lies</em>, on the long arc of conspiratorial thinking in the United States. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/united-states-conspiracy-on-the-media">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><em><span>Support On the Media today at<span> </span><a href="http://pledge.wnyc.org/otm-it">o</a><a href="http://pledge.wnyc.org/otm-it">nthemedia.org/donate</a>. </span></em></p> <p><em><span>Songs: </span></em></p> <p><em><span>Dame tu Mano by Combo Chimbita</span></em></p> <p><em><span>Passing Time by John Renbourn</span></em></p> <p><em><span>The Glass House by Marjane's Inspiration</span></em></p> <p><em><span>Califone by Burned by Christians</span></em></p> <p><em><span>We Insist by Zoe Keating</span></em></p> <p><em><span>Green Onions by Booker T. and The MG's</span></em></p> <p><em><span>X-File Theme</span></em></p> <p><em><span>High Water Everywhere Part 1 by Charlie Patton</span></em></p> <p><em><span>Bullwinkle, Part II by The Centurians</span></em></p>

<p>This week, we want to bring you a terrific new episode of <em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/deathsexmoney">Death, Sex and Money</a>, </em>another WNYC show that we think our listeners will appreciate<em>. </em>The show's host, Anna Sale, is on maternity leave, and an exciting cohort of former guests and friends of the show are hosting in her absence, talking with the people they're most curious about.</p> <p>The episode this week is hosted by <a href="https://twitter.com/Al_Letson?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Al Letson</a>. Normally he hosts the podcast <em><a href="https://www.revealnews.org/">Reveal</a></em>, but here he’s talking with <a href="https://nikolehannahjones.com/">Nikole Hannah-Jones</a>, an award-winning investigative reporter covering racial injustice for the <em><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/nikole-hannah-jones">New York Times Magazine</a></em>. If you’re familiar with Nikole’s reporting (and even if you're not), we think you’ll enjoy this conversation about how her life brought her to the work she does today. </p>

<p><span>The political press has long used the vague notion of “electability” to drive horserace coverage of presidential candidates. This week, On the Media considers how the emphasis on electability takes the focus away from the issues and turns voters into pundits. Plus, the shady dealings of the tax preparation industry, and how FOIA has been weaponized. And, how Trump duped financial journalists about his net worth in the 1980s. </span></p> <p><span>1. Investigative journalist Jonathan Greenberg [<a href="https://twitter.com/JournalistJG">@JournalistJG</a>] on how Trump obscured his finances to wind up on the Forbes list of richest Americans — and why it mattered so much to him.</span></p> <p><span>2. Dennis Ventry, professor at UC Davis School of Law, on how the tax preparation industry united to shield themselves from a publicly-funded alternative.</span></p> <p><span>3. OTM producer Alana Casanova-Burgess [<a href="https://twitter.com/AlanaLlama">@AlanaLlama</a>] speaks with Dennis Ventry, Michael Halpern [<a href="https://twitter.com/halpsci"><strong>@</strong>halpsci</a>], Eric Lipton [<a href="https://twitter.com/EricLiptonNYT"><strong>@</strong>EricLiptonNYT</a>] and Claudia Polsky about a bill in California that seeks to curb the weaponization of FOIA.</span></p> <p><span>4. Alex Pareene [<a href="https://twitter.com/pareene">@pareene</a>], staff writer at <em>The New Republic</em>, on how the idea of "electability" has metastasized among democratic voters.</span></p>

<div class="kno-ecr-pt kno-fb-ctx gsmt" data-local-attribute="d3bn" data-ved="2ahUKEwjQkdDrgoriAhUMwlkKHVWbAv8Q3B0oATAlegQICRAf"><span>Renowned director and documentarian Werner Herzog's latest filmmaking endeavor examines the legacy of the eighth and final leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev. For the film, Herzog sat down with the 88 year-old former General Secretary for a candid conversation about his complicated legacy. In the latest installment of Bob's Docs, Herzog joins Bob to discuss his filmmaking process and the history of the man he profiled.</span></div>

<p><span>After accusations that he mischaracterized the Mueller investigation’s findings, Attorney General William Barr blames the media for muddling the story. This week, On the Media dissects Barr’s deflections. And, how a Jewish satirist uses grotesque caricatures to cut to the heart of the discourse on antisemitism and why effectively combating hate requires building coalitions. Plus, how ABC's <em>The View</em> became one of the biggest political stages on television.</span></p> <p><span>1. Dahlia Lithwick [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/Dahlialithwick">@Dahlialithwick</a>], host of the Amicus podcast and writer at Slate, on Barr's mischaracterization of the Mueller report.</span></p> <p>2. Leo Ferguson [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/LeoFergusonnyc">@LeoFergusonnyc</a>], organizer with <a href="https://jfrej.org/" target="_blank">Jews for Racial and Economic Justice</a>, on the ways to understand and combat antisemitism.</p> <p>3. Eli Valley [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/elivalley">@elivalley</a>], comic artist and satirist, on feeling gaslit by the antisemitism debate.</p> <p><span>4. Ramin Setoodah [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/RaminSetoodeh">@RaminSetoodeh</a>], <span> author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ladies-Who-Punch-Explosive-Inside/dp/1250112095" target="_blank">L<em>adies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View</em></a></span><span> and the New York bureau chief for </span><em><span>Variety</span></em><span>, on <em>The View's</em> surprising role in American politics.</span></span></p> <p> </p>

<p><span>Whether Robert Durst confessed on camera <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/arts/television/robert-durst-the-jinx.html">will become a relevant legal matter</a> in the real estate figure's upcoming trial. The supposed confession — "What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course." — at the end of HBO's <em><a href="https://www.hbo.com/the-jinx-the-life-and-deaths-of-robert-durst">The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst</a></em> has recently been revealed to have been seriously, deceptively edited. In 2015 Bob spoke with documentary filmmaker <a href="https://twitter.com/joeberlinger">Joe Berlinger</a>, co-creater of the <em>Paradise Lost</em> trilogy, about modern filmmaker, the responsibility of the artist and different interpretations of "truth." It's a relevant conversation to revisit, this week in particular.</span></p> <p> </p>

<p><span>A week after the redacted Mueller report’s release, Democrats weigh the risks — and imperatives — of impeachment. On this week’s On the Media, </span><span>why our founders gave congress the power to oust the president in the first place. </span><span>Plus, the forgotten roots of May Day, the international workers’ holiday.</span></p> <p><span>1. Paul Waldman [<a href="https://twitter.com/paulwaldman1" target="_blank">@paulwaldman1</a>], columnist and senior writer for the <a href="https://prospect.org/">American Prospect</a><span> and the<span> </span></span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/paul-waldman/">Washington Post</a>, on the politics and virtues of impeachment. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/politics-impeachment-against-virtues-on-the-media" target="_blank">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>2. <span>Jeffrey Engel</span> [<a href="https://twitter.com/jeffreyaengel" target="_blank">@jeffreyaengel</a>], the </span><span>founding director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University, and coauthor of </span><em><span>Impeachment: An American History </span></em><span>on the the history of impeachment</span><span>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/origins-impeachment-process-on-the-media" target="_blank">Listen</a></span><span>.</span></p> <p><span>3. Zephyr Teachout [<a href="https://twitter.com/ZephyrTeachout" target="_blank">@ZephyrTeachout</a>], author of <em>Corruption in America</em><span><em>,</em> on h<span>ow our nation lost its original anti-corruption zeal</span></span>.<span><span> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/americas-lost-anti-corruption-history-2-on-the-media" target="_blank">Listen</a></span></span>.</span></p> <p><span>4. Donna Haverty-Stacke, [<a href="https://twitter.com/DHavertyStacke" target="_blank">@DHavertyStacke</a>], professor of History at Hunter College, CUNY, on <span><span>the U.S. origin of May Day and how it has come to be forgotten.<span> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/mayday-may-day-2019" target="_blank">Listen</a></span></span></span>.</span></p> <p><span>Music:</span></p> <div class="kno-ecr-pt kno-fb-ctx gsmt" data-local-attribute="d3bn" data-ved="2ahUKEwiPruqYsO7hAhXQmuAKHXomBpgQ3B0oATAAegQIChAL"><em>Time Is Late by Marcos Ciscar</em></div> <p> </p> <p><em>Jeopardy: Think Music (in style of Handel) by Donald Fraser, Merv Griffin, Donald Fraser</em></p> <p><em>Here It Comes by Modest Mouse</em></p> <p><span><em>Liquid Spear Waltz by Michael Andrews</em></span></p> <p><span><em><span>Tymperturbably Blue (Live 1959) by Duke Ellington</span></em></span></p> <p><span><em><span><span>Into the Streets May First: written by Aaron Copland; performed by Jon Hanrahan (direction, piano); vocals by Alana Casanova-Burgess, Leah Feder, Micah Loewinger, Brooke Gladstone, Karen Frillman, Jim O’Grady, Philip Yiannopoulos, engineered by Irene Trudel</span></span></em></span></p> <p> </p> <div class="kno-ecr-pt kno-fb-ctx gsmt" data-local-attribute="d3bn" data-ved="2ahUKEwiPruqYsO7hAhXQmuAKHXomBpgQ3B0oATAAegQIChAL" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588); line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: -3px; overflow: hidden; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; display: inline; font-size: 30px; position: relative; transform-origin: left top 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"></div>

<p><span>Once in a while, in this space, we offer you an episode of another podcast that we think is pretty aligned with our goals here at On the Media. </span><span>This week, we’re offering you the first episode of a new podcast from WNYC Studios, called <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/the-stakes-people-vs-dutch-boy-lead?tab=summary">The Stakes</a>. The angle is: we built the society we've got. And maybe it's time to build a new one.</span></p> <p><span>You can and should subscribe to <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/the-stakes-people-vs-dutch-boy-lead?tab=summary">The Stakes</a> wherever you get your podcasts (we are). But in the meantime, here's their first episode all about the pervasive problem of lead paint <em>still</em> poisoning children. The ancient Greeks knew lead is poisonous. Ben Franklin wrote about its dangers. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/the-stakes-people-vs-dutch-boy-lead?tab=summary">So how did it end up being all around us? And how is it still a problem?</a></span></p>

<p><span>After years of waiting, journalists finally began digging into the redacted version of the Mueller report. On this week’s On the Media, how the special counsel’s findings confirm years of reporting about turmoil within the White House. Plus, what the Notre Dame fire and the Sacklers show us about the dark side of philanthropy, and how the Justice Department stopped prosecuting executives. And, an undercover investigation shines a light on the NRA’s PR machinery. </span></p> <p><span>1. Eric Umansky [<a href="https://twitter.com/ericuman?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@ericuman</a>], deputy editor at ProPublica and co-host of the Trump Inc. podcast, on the Mueller revelations. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/post-mueller-report-revisiting-our-breaking-news-consumers-handbook-on-the-media">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>2. Anand Giridharadas [<a href="https://twitter.com/AnandWrites?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauth">@AnandWrites</a>], author of <span><em>Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World</em></span>, on the dark side of philanthropy.<span> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/how-philanthropy-lets-rich-people-hook-on-the-media">Listen</a></span>.</span></p> <p><span>3. Jesse Eisinger [<a href="https://twitter.com/eisingerj?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@eisingerj</a>], author of <span><em>The Chickenshit Club</em>, on <span>how the Justice Department stopped prosecuting executives</span></span>.<span> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/inside-chickenshit-club-on-the-media">Listen</a></span>.</span></p> <p><span>4. Peter Charley<em><span>, </span></em>executive producer of Al Jazeera's "How To Sell a Massacre," on the NRA's PR machinery.<span> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/what-gun-lobby-says-behind-closed-doors-on-the-media">Listen</a></span>.</span></p> <p><span>Songs:</span></p> <div><em>Okami by Nicola Cruz</em></div> <div><em>Capicua by Animal Chuki</em></div> <div><em>Colibria by Nicola Cruz</em></div> <div><em>Let's Face the Music and Dance by Harry Roy</em></div> <div><em>Lost, Night by Bill Frissell</em></div> <div><em>This is NRA Country by Justin Moore</em></div>

<p>Tax Day is behind us, but the Taxpayer First Act is not. The bipartisan proposal passed the House last week and is now under consideration in the Senate — and one of the provisions is exactly what the for-profit tax preparation industry has been pushing for. </p> <p>Through an agreement with the IRS, companies like H&amp;R Block and Intuit currently offer free tax filing services to taxpayers making less than $66,000 dollars a year. But only 1.6 percent of taxpayers actually use Free File, and critics say that the companies engage in aggressive up-selling through the portal. A provision in the Taxpayer First Act would bar the IRS from developing their own free system. </p> <p>Dennis Ventry is a tax scholar at the University of California, Davis. He has <a href="https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2018/07/18/tax-filing-congress-irs-000683">written about </a>the shortcomings of the Free File program, and explains to Bob why he thinks the IRS isn't doing enough to protect taxpayers who try to use it. He wrote an opinion piece last year titled "<a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/395762-free-file-providers-scam-taxpayers-congress-cant-be-fooled">Free File providers scam taxpayers; Congress shouldn't be fooled</a>" — which <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/05/us/politics/freedom-of-information-requests.html">made him the target of a public records request</a> from an industry group. </p> <p> </p>

<p><span>WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested in London, and now faces prosecution. On this week’s On the Media, a look at what Assange’s arrest may mean for press freedom. Plus, what the new image of a black hole tell us about the power of science in the face of a conspiracy theory minefield. And, a look at a new documentary about former Trump strategist Steve Bannon.</span></p> <p><span>1. Bob [<a href="https://twitter.com/Bobosphere">@bobosphere</a>] opines about what Julian Assange's arrest means — and doesn't mean — for the future of press freedom. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/assange-under-arrest">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>2. Yale astronomy and physics professor Priyamvada Natarajan [<a href="https://twitter.com/SheerPriya">@SheerPriya</a>] finally gets a glimpse at what she's spent years theorizing about: a black hole. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/cosmic-icons-through-ages">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>3. New York Magazine's Madison Malone Kircher [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/4evrmalone">@4evrmalone</a>] on how YouTuber Logan Paul stokes the conspiracy flames. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/logan-paul-and-youtubes-conspiracy-theory-problem">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>4. New York Magazine's Max Read [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/max_read">@max_read</a>] on how the Matrix's "red pill" idea has been so foundational for modern-day skeptics. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/how-matrixs-story-fed-our-conspiracy-laden-world-on-the-media">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>5. Alison Klayman [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/aliklay">@aliklay</a>], director of "The Brink," a new documentary about Steve Bannon, on what we can learn by looking at Bannon's role in our political and media world. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/how-steve-bannon-operates-on-the-media">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p> </p>

<p><em>New York Times</em> reporter <a href="https://twitter.com/mschwirtz?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Michael Schwirtz</a> set out to investigate a series of assassinations in Ukraine with low expectations. Reporting on a homicide as a member of the foreign press is daunting enough to begin with. His assignment <span>was </span>formidable beacuse many of the murders were linked to Russia — a government hostile to the media at best and notorious for murdering foreign journalists at worst.</p> <p>But when Schwirtz approached alleged Russian assassin Oleg Smorodinov to question him about a murder, the accused provided an unexpected bit of testimony: a confession. And on top of that, <span>Smorodinov disclosed</span> the specific role the Kremlin played in ordering and directing his crime.</p> <p><span>Schwirtz published his findings in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/31/world/europe/russian-assassinations-putin-ukraine.html"><em>New York Times</em></a> feature last week. </span>Bob spoke with<span> Schwirtz about spies, state-facilitated assassination and the experience of following a true story that reads like a Russian mystery novel.</span></p>

<p><span>Recently, a member of the Trump administration called Puerto Rico “that country,” obscuring once more the relationship between the island colony and the American mainland. In a special hour this week, On the Media examines the history of US imperialism — and why the familiar US map hides the true story of our country. Brooke spends the hour with Northwestern University historian <a href="https://twitter.com/dimmerwahr?lang=en">Daniel Immerwahr</a>, author of <em><a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374172145">How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States</a></em>.</span></p> <p><span><em>This is Part 2 of our series, <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/projects/american-expansion">"On American Expansion."</a></em></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span><em>Music:</em></span></p> <p><em>Bill Frisell - Lost Night</em></p> <p><em>The O’Neil Brothers - Tribute to America</em></p> <p><em>Eileen Alannah - Original recording from 1908</em></p> <p><em>Ali Primera - Yankee Go Home</em></p> <p><em>Michael Andrews - The Artifact and Living</em></p> <p><em>Michael Andrews - Liquid Spear Waltz </em></p> <p><em>Matt Farley - Bird Poop Song </em></p>

<p>California recently passed a law that eliminates some of the barriers to accessing records on egregious police misconduct and deadly use of force. W<span>ith the floodgates open, journalists, like KPCC investigative reporter <a href="https://www.scpr.org/about/people/staff/annie-gilbertson" target="_blank">Annie Gilbertson</a>, are elated and terrified. </span><span>Just one police violation can come with hundreds of associated documents for journalists to comb through.</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>So, instead of fighting tooth and nail for the scoop, over 30 media organizations across the state are teaming up to share resources, bodies and insight as they begin the arduous task of combing through the newly-available records. The coalition is called the <a href="https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/03/with-vast-records-of-police-misconduct-now-public-california-news-outlets-are-collaborating-instead-of-competing/" target="_blank">California Reporting Project</a>. Bob Garfield talked with Gilbertson about what the project is uncovering.</span><span></span></p> <p> </p>

<p><span>With the Mueller investigation complete, talking heads have given the short public summary their usual spin. <span>This week, On the Media looks at why the framing of the report produced so much misunderstanding. Plus,</span><span> how historical amnesia and old ideas about limitless growth have influenced American psychology and foreign policy.</span> </span></p> <p><span><span>1. Dahlia Lithwick [<a href="https://twitter.com/Dahlialithwick">@Dahlialithwick</a>], writer for Slate and host of the Amicus podcast, on how the summary of Mueller's findings is being spun. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/why-mueller-cant-save-us">Listen</a>.</span></span></p> <p><span>2. Corey Robin [</span><a href="https://twitter.com/CoreyRobin">@CoreyRobin</a><span>], political science professor at Brooklyn College, on<span> </span></span><a href="https://harpers.org/archive/2018/04/forget-about-it/">Americans' flawed historical memories</a><span>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/united-states-amnesia-2">Listen</a></span>.</p> <p>3. Greg Grandin [<a href="https://twitter.com/GregGrandin?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@GregGrandin</a>], history professor at New York University, on his latest book, <em>The End of The Myth: From Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America</em>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/part-1-myth-frontier">Listen</a>.</p> <p> </p> <p><em>MUSIC: </em></p> <p><em>Prelude 8: The Invisibles - John Zorn </em></p> <p><em>Trance Dance - John Zorn </em></p> <p><em>Kronos - Purple Haze </em></p> <p><em>Sacred Oracle - John Zorn </em></p> <p><em>Rebel Soldier - The Nashville Sessions</em></p>

<p>Purdue Pharma has settled a lawsuit with the state of Oklahoma for $270 million, a larger figure than two other cases the company has settled with other states. In doing so, the company also avoided a televised trial in May at a time when there's been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/arts/design/sackler-museums-donations-oxycontin.html">growing public pressure</a> on Purdue and its owners, the Sackler family, amid allegations that they misled the public about the dangers of OxyContin. </p> <p>Back in 2017, Bob spoke with <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/Pain%20Killer:%20A%20%22Wonder%22%20Drug's%20Trail%20of%20Addiction%20and%20Death.">Barry Meier</a> about how public discourse about chronic pain and treatment have been shaped by companies like Purdue with help from physicians, consultants, and the media. Meier is a former reporter for The New York Times and author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Pain-Killer-Wonder-Drugs-Addiction/dp/1579546382" target="_blank"><em>Pain Killer: A "Wonder" Drug's Trail of Addiction and Death</em></a>. </p> <p>Bob also interviewed journalist <a href="https://www.cjr.org/author/anna-clark">Anna Clark</a> about <a href="https://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/opioid-obituary-addiction.php">her reporting for the Columbia Journalism Review on opioid-related death notices</a>. Sites like <a href="https://www.legacy.com/" target="_blank">Legacy.com</a>, she explained, have often chronicled the crisis' individual human toll. </p> <p> </p>

<p>In the aftermath of white supremacist attacks in New Zealand, there's a tension between reporting on the shooter's motivations and not amplifying his message. This week, On the Media examines how the press can navigate that persistent dilemma. Plus, the debate over whether online archives of jihadi terrorist propaganda should be open to the public. </p> <p>1. Joan Donovan [<a href="https://twitter.com/BostonJoan"><strong>@</strong><span>BostonJoan</span></a>] describes the way the press has evolved in its responses to far-right terrorism, and argues for continued caution in coverage of white supremacists. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/press-finally-learning-how-cover-white-supremacy">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. Kathleen Belew [<a href="https://twitter.com/kathleen_belew"><strong>@</strong><span>kathleen_belew</span></a>] describes the White Power roots of the Christchurch attack, and argues that to effectively fight this hate, we must understand the movement in which it grows. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/understanding-white-power-movement">Listen</a>.</p> <p>3. Dan Feidt [<a href="https://twitter.com/HongPong"><strong>@</strong><span>HongPong</span></a>] of Unicorn Riot [<a href="https://twitter.com/UR_Ninja"><strong>@</strong><span>UR_Ninja</span></a>] on what alt-right groups are discussing in their secret online chatrooms, and what we learn by reading them. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/secret-chats-alt-right-unicorn-riot">Listen.</a></p> <p>4. Charlie Winter [<a href="https://twitter.com/charliewinter"><strong>@</strong><span>charliewinter</span></a>], Rukmini Callimachi [<a href="https://twitter.com/rcallimachi"><strong>@</strong><span>rcallimachi</span></a>], Ali Fisher [<a href="https://twitter.com/WandrenPD"><strong>@</strong><span>WandrenPD</span></a>], <span>Amarnath Amarasingam [</span><a href="https://twitter.com/AmarAmarasingam"><strong>@</strong><span>AmarAmarasingam</span></a>], Pieter Van Ostaeyen [<a href="https://twitter.com/p_vanostaeyen"><strong>@</strong><span>p_vanostaeyen</span></a>], and Seamus Hughes [<a href="https://twitter.com/SeamusHughes"><strong>@</strong><span>SeamusHughes</span></a>] on the debate over whether online archives of jihadi terrorist propaganda should be open to the public. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/archiving-terrorist-propaganda-jihadology">Listen.</a></p> <p><em>Songs:</em><br><em>Capicua by Animal Chuki</em><br><em>Untitled by Aphex Twin (Four Tet remix)</em><br><em>Chrysanthemum Complex (Contagion OST) by Cliff Martinez </em><br><em>Capernaum OST by Khaled Mouzanar</em><br><em>Meg Erase Meta by Qasim Naqvi</em><br><em>Its Motion Keeps by Caroline Shaw</em><br><em>Lo by Dawn of Midi</em></p> <p><em>Transcripts for this episode are available on individual segment pages.<br></em></p>

<p><span>The details are different but the story is the same. A mass shooting, scores of people dead, another nation traumatized. Although in the aftermath of the events in New Zealand last week there is a wrinkle. In her first speech to parliament since the attacks, Prime Minister </span>Jacinda Ardern declared that she will never speak the killer's name and she asked the press and others to follow suit.</p> <p><span>Ardern said the shooter would not get notoriety, perhaps a nod to the group “No Notoriety” started by Tom Teves and his wife Caren. The Teves lost their son in the 2012 shooting rampage in an Aurora, Colorado movie theater and later formed the group to beseech news outlets not to turn mass killers into media icons. Bob spoke to Tom back in 2015 as jury selection was beginning for the trial of his son’s killer.</span></p>

<p>A college admissions scandal has highlighted what people refer to as "the myth of meritocracy." But actually, meritocracy itself is a myth. This week, On the Media looks at the satirical origins of the word and what they tell us about why the US embraces it. Plus, the messaging for and against Medicare for All, as well as a historical look at why we don't have universal healthcare. And economic historian and Tucker Carlson antagonist Rutger Bregman.</p> <p>1. John Patrick Leary [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/JohnPatLeary">@JohnPatLeary</a>], professor at Wayne State University, on the history of the satirical origins of the word "meritocracy". <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/on-the-media-meritocracy-word-college-bribery-scandal" target="_blank">Listen.</a></p> <p>2.  Paul Waldman [<a href="https://twitter.com/paulwaldman1">@paulwaldman1</a>] of The Washington Post on the messaging war over Medicare for All and what the media is getting wrong about the proposal. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/bias-against-change-medicare-for-all" target="_blank">Listen.</a></p> <p>3. Jill Quadagno of [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/floridastate">@floridastate</a>] on the history of why the U.S. has shunned universal healthcare. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/on-the-media-messaging-war-universal-healthcare-1" target="_blank">Listen.</a></p> <p>4. Rutger Bregman [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/rcbregman">@rcbregman</a>] on the myths about wealth and who creates it. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/on-the-media-rutger-bregman-taxes" target="_blank">Listen.</a></p>

<p>To suggest that Tucker Carlson has a tendency to hint at deeply discriminatory tropes would be clich<span>é</span> — but also dead-on. Just this week, thanks to newly unearthed <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/research/2019/03/11/unearthed-audio-shows-tucker-carlson-using-white-nationalist-rhetoric-and-making-racist-remarks/223105">audio</a> released by Media Matters, the Fox News darling ditches his signature dog whistle in exchange for unmistakable and unapologetic hate speech.</p> <p>Who is Tucker Carlson, really? In this week's pod extra, Bob delves into the origins of the now-notorious commentator with <a href="https://twitter.com/lyzl?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Lyz Lenz</a>, a writer for Columbia Journalism Review who <a href="https://www.cjr.org/the_profile/tucker-carlson.php">profiled Carlson</a> in September.</p>

<p><span>Mexican officials and U.S. Customs and Border Protection are using a secret database to target journalists and advocates at the southern border. This week, On the Media speaks with a reporter on the list who was detained for questioning by Mexican authorities. Plus, what the Obama Library’s unique arrangement with the National Archives means for the future of presidential history. And, the grotesque origins of segregation. </span></p> <p>1. Mari Payton [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/MariNBCSD">@MariNBCSD</a>], reporter at NBC 7 in San Diego, and <a href="https://kitracahana.com/biography/">Kitra Cahana</a>, freelance photojournalist, on the secret government database of immigration reporters and advocates. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/secret-surveillance-journalists-and-activists-border">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. Tim Naftali [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/TimNaftali">@TimNaftali</a>], historian at New York University and former director of the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, and <a href="https://www.obama.org/updates/obama-foundation-announces-dr-louise-bernard-director-museum-obama-presidential-center/">Louise Bernard</a>, director of the museum at the Obama Presidential Center, on the Obama Foundation's decision to curate its own presidential museum. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/obama-presidential-center-will-tell-its-own-story">Listen.</a></p> <p>3. Steve Luxenberg [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/SLuxenberg">@SLuxenberg</a>], author of <em>Separate</em>, on the history of <em>Plessy v. Ferguson</em>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/seperate-and-unequal">Listen.</a></p> <p> </p> <p><em>Music in this week's show:</em></p> <p><em>Fallen Leaves by Marcos Ciscar </em></p> <p><em>Gormenghast by John Zorn</em></p> <p><em><span>With Plenty of Money and You by Hal Kemp And His Orchestra</span></em></p> <div id="dmusicProductTitle_feature_div" data-feature-name="dmusicProductTitle" data-cel-widget="dmusicProductTitle_feature_div"> <h1> </h1> </div> <div id="artistLink_feature_div" data-feature-name="artistLink" data-cel-widget="artistLink_feature_div"></div> <p><em>Let's Face This Music And Dance by Roy Fox And His Orchestra</em></p> <p><em>Wade in the Water by Charlie Haden and Hank Jones</em></p> <p><em><span>Get Back - Black, Brown And White by Big Bill Broonzy</span></em></p> <p><em>Moulin Rouge by Toots Thielemans</em></p>

<p><span>This Tuesday, lawmakers in Washington heard from an 18-year-old who, against all odds, got his shots. Ethan Lindenberger, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ethan-lindenberger-teen-who-defied-mother-by-getting-vaccinated-to-testify-before-congress-today-2019-03-05/">who fought with his own mother to get vaccinated</a>, told senators, "for my mother, her love, affection, and care as a parent was used to push an agenda to create a false distress."</span></p> <p><span>That "anti-vaxx" agenda, the dangerous legacy of a thoroughly debunked 1998 study in the British medical journal <em>Lancet</em>, was dealt yet another devastating — though not mortal — blow this week, courtesy of epidemiologists from Denmark’s Staten Serum Institute. Their new study, which included more than 650,000 children, found that <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/03/04/699997613/a-large-study-provides-more-evidence-that-mmr-vaccines-dont-cause-autism">the MMR vaccine did not raise the risk of developing autism</a>. </span></p> <p><span>And yet, even in the face of study after study, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/02/22/697152943/how-pinterest-jumped-into-the-fight-against-health-misinformation">and even as websites like Pinterest have moved to stamp out the spread of anti-vaxx materials on their websites</a>, the debunked vaccine-autism link and its impact on public health live on. In this 2012 interview, Brooke spoke with <a href="https://twitter.com/sethmnookin">Seth Mnookin</a>, author of <a href="http://sethmnookin.com/">The Panic Virus: A True Story of Medicine, Science and Fear</a><em>,</em><span> about why these myths persist.</span></span></p> <p> </p>

<p><span>When President Trump’s former personal lawyer testified in front of Congress this week, it was both captivating and oddly familiar. This week, On the Media looks at the tropes that ran through the hearings, and offers a guide to news consumers trying to understand the tangled threads of the Mueller investigation. Plus, a sideways glance at historical hot takes and a second look at an infamous Nazi rally in the heart of New York City. </span></p> <p>1. Bob and Brooke on Michael Cohen's enthralling testimony this week. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/mobster-movies">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. Eric Umansky [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/ericuman">@ericuman</a>], co-host of Trump, Inc. from WNYC Studios and ProPublica, on how news consumers can best understand Mueller-related news. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/breaking-news-consumers-handbook-mueller-edition">Listen</a>.</p> <p>3. Corey Robin [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/CoreyRobin">@CoreyRobin</a>], political theorist, on the tendency for journalists to launder their hot takes through history. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/hot-takes-history">Listen</a>.</p> <p>4. Marshall Curry [<span><a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/marshallcurry">@marshallcurry</a>], documentary filmmaker, on his Oscar-nominated short, <em>A Night At The Garden</em>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/when-20000-nazis-gathered-new-york">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span><em>CORRECTION: In the opening segment, we describe U.S. Representative Jim Cooper, of Tennessee, as belonging to the wrong political party. Rep. Cooper is a Democrat.</em></span></p> <p> </p> <p><em>Music in this week's show:</em></p> <p><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sDIOf1saSQ">Enrico Pieranunzi: Fellini's Waltz<br></a></span><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b64KyEFVhg">Angelo Badalamenti: Audrey's Dance</a><br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv9wUxvCbwo">John Zorn: The Hammer of Los</a><br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5CzoRfTOlA&amp;bpctr=1551488572">Stonemason’s March</a><br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT2ZNhbtkCg">The Kiboomers: German Lullaby</a><br></span></p>

<p><span>On Sunday night, Marvel’s Black Panther<span> film won the Oscar for three of its six Academy Award nominations: Ludwig Göransson for Best Original Score, Ruth E. Carter for Best Costume Design and Hannah Beachler and Jay R. Hart for Best Production design <span>— </span>just a few of the artists who helped bring Wakanda, the Black Panther’s mythical homeland, to life. </span></span></p> <p><span> A persistent site for utopian longing, Wakanda has once more captured the public imagination: endowed with unlimited access to the most precious natural resource in the world, unsullied by the ravages of colonialism</span><span>, Wakanda has reignited conversations about what black liberation can and should look like. According to Johns Hopkins University history professor Nathan Connolly, this latest chapter is <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/black-panther-taps-500-years-history-1085334">part of a much longer tradition of imagining and reimagining black utopia</a><a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/black-panther-taps-500-years-history-1085334">s</a><a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/black-panther-taps-500-years-history-1085334"></a>. Connolly speaks with Brooke about how Wakanda arises from a 500-year history — from Maroon communities to Haiti to the actual Black Panther movement — a journey that takes us from "dreams to art to life, and back again."</span></p> <p><em>This segment originally aired on February 23rd, 2018.</em></p>

<p><a href="https://www.twitch.tv/">Twitch</a><a href="https://www.twitch.tv/">.tv</a><a href="https://www.twitch.tv/"></a> is a video streaming platform where millions of people broadcast their lives and video game action in real-time. It's like unedited,<span> </span><em>real</em>, reality TV. This week, On the Media digs into why so many people want to share so much on Twitch, and what it tells us about the future of entertainment. First, a look at a couple of the biggest streamers of the platform, Ninja and Dr. Disrespect, who command devoted audiences and giant paychecks. Then, Bob dives into the inaugural season of the Overwatch League, the most expensive and highly produced pro gaming venture to date. Finally, Brooke speaks with Radiolab's Jad Abumrad about the life of a homeless streamer who's life was saved by Twitch.</p> <p>1. Julia Alexander [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/loudmouthjulia"><span>@loudmouthjulia</span></a>] and Allegra Frank [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/LegsFrank"><span>@LegsFrank</span></a>], two writers with <a href="https://www.polygon.com/">Polygon</a>, on the pitfalls and para-social allure of Twitch. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/what-twitch-1">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. Cecilia D'Anastasio [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/cecianasta"><span>@cecianasta</span></a>] a reporter with Kotaku, Saebyeolbe [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/saebyeolbe"><span>@saebyeolbe</span></a>] and Pine [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/tf2pine"><span>@tf2pine</span></a>], two pro gamers, and Farzam Kamel, a venture capitalist with Sterling VC, on the inaugural season of the Overwatch League. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/video-game-champions-and-their-funders-1">Listen</a>.</p> <p>3. Jad Abumrad [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/JadAbumrad"><span>@JadAbumrad</span></a>] of Radiolab and VP Gloves, a homeless Twitch streamer, on the murky ethics of Twitch's IRL (in real life) section. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/streaming-while-homeless-1">Listen</a>.</p> <p><em>This hour was originally broadcast on August 18th, 2018. </em></p>

<p><span>Founded in 1936, the German-American Bund had </span><span>approximately</span><span> 25,000 members and 70 chapters around the country. While the Nazis were building concentration camps, the Bund held pro-Hitler retreats and summer camps. </span><span>February 20th marks the 80th anniversary of the Bund’s most notorious event when 20,000 of its members gathered at Madison Square Garden for a "Pro</span><span>-</span><span>American Rally" featuring speeches and performances, staged in front of a 30-foot-high portrait of George Washington. </span></p> <p>The rally is the subject of the Oscar-nominated documentary short "<a href="https://anightatthegarden.com/" target="_blank">A Night at The Garden</a>" by filmmaker <a href="https://twitter.com/marshallcurry" target="_blank">Marshall Curry</a>. In this On the Media podcast extra, Brooke talks with Curry about how the film's themes resonate today and how <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ93_DE5IGY" target="_blank">a 30-second broadcast spot</a> has had a <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2019/02/fox-news-rejects-ad-for-a-night-at-the-garden-oscar-nominated-documentary-about-american-nazis.html" target="_blank">media moment</a> of its own.</p> <p> </p>