<p><span>The 2020 Democratic field is the most diverse ever, and five women are running to be the party’s presidential nominee. This week, we look at the sexist coverage of female candidates with a new Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: Gender and Politics Edition. Then, a re-examination of a 90's </span><span>tabloid spectacle, Lorena Gallo (Lorena Bobbitt), arrested for cutting her husband's penis off after he raped her. Plus, how Black History Month undermines black history. </span></p> <p><span>1. Lili Loofbourow [<a href="https://twitter.com/Millicentsomer?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@Millicentsomer</a>], staff writer at Slate, on the sexist coverage of women in politics. Listen.</span></p> <p><span>2. <span>Joshua Rofé [<a href="https://twitter.com/joshua_rofe?lang=en">@joshua_rofe</a>], filmmaker, and Lorena Gallo (FKA Lorena Bobbitt) on the new documentary "Lorena." <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/lorena-revisited">Listen.</a></span></span></p> <p><span>3. Doreen St. Félix [</span><a href="https://twitter.com/dstfelix">@dstfelix</a><span>], staff writer at<em> T</em></span><em>he New Yorker</em><span>, on<span> </span></span><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-farce-and-the-grandeur-of-black-history-month-under-trump">the commercialization of Black History Month</a><span>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/commercialization-black-history-month1">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><em>Songs:</em></p> <p><em>The Crave by Jelly Roll Morton</em></p> <p><em>Juliet of Spirits by Nino Rota and Eugene Walter</em></p> <p><em>Okami by Nicola Cruz</em></p> <p><em>River Man by Brad Mehldaw Trio</em></p> <p><em>Mai Nozipo by Kronos Quartet</em></p> <p><em> </em></p>

<p><span>For this week's pod extra, we feature a conversation from WNYC'S <a href="https://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl" target="_blank">Brian Lehrer Show</a>. Brian talked with Columbia University President <a href="https://president.columbia.edu/content/about-president" target="_blank">Lee Bollinger</a> and University of Chicago Law Professor <a href="https://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/stone-g" target="_blank">Geoffrey Stone</a>, editors of <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Free-Speech-Century-Geoffrey-Stone/dp/0190841389" target="_blank">The Free Speech Century</a></em></span><em><span>, </span></em><span>a collection of essays by leading scholars, marking 100 years since the Supreme Court issued the three decisions that established the modern notion of free speech. </span></p> <p><span>Whether it’s fake news or money in politics, we’re</span><em><span> still</span></em><span> arguing over the First Amendment, and their book lays out the origins of the argument just after the first World War.  </span></p>

<p><span>At Tuesday's State of the Union, President Trump continued to call for a wall at the southern border. Meanwhile, some Democrats point to the real crisis: climate change. A look at the messaging of urgency and hope around the Green New Deal. And, a former mentor to Mark Zuckerberg lays out his deep criticisms of Facebook. Then, a Facebook employee makes the case for one potential solution. Plus, a new documentary about Pete Hamill and Jimmy Breslin, two New York City reporters, who helped turn column writing into an art form.</span></p> <p>1. Kate Aronoff [<a href="https://twitter.com/KateAronoff?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@KateAronoff</a>], contributing writer with The Intercept, on how Democrats are selling the urgent need to address climate change. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/how-green-new-deal-re-frames-climate">Listen</a><span>.</span></p> <p>2. Roger McNamee [<a href="https://twitter.com/Moonalice">@Moonalice</a>], author of <em>Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe</em>, on the damage that Facebook has done. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/former-zuckerberg-mentor-pushes-back">Listen</a>.</p> <p>3. Andy O'Connell [<a href="https://twitter.com/facebook?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@facebook</a>], m<span>anager of content distribution and algorithm policy at Facebook</span>, on the network's new "Supreme Court" for content moderation. <span> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/will-facebooks-new-supreme-court-work">Listen.</a></span></p> <p>4. Jonathan Alter [<a href="https://twitter.com/jonathanalter?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@jonathanalter</a>], filmmaker and journalist, on the legacy of two masterful newspaper columnists.<span> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/remembering-godfathers-column-reporting">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><em>Songs:</em></p> <p><span><em>Mermelada by Como Las Movies</em><br><em>I Am Not A Farmer by Bill Frisell</em> <br><em>Coconut Wireless by Moonalice<br>Fallen Leaves by Marcos Ciscar<br>Superstition by Sungha Jung<br>Chez Le Photographe Du Motel by Miles Davis<br>Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry by Raymond Scott<br><br></em></span></p>

<p><span>Despite steadily declining rates of cancer deaths over the past two decades, cancer remains responsible for 1 in every 6 deaths worldwide. It’s a scourge. So when, this week, an Israeli company called Accelerated Evolution Biotechnologies captured the news cycle with promises of a complete cure for cancer within the year, the story caught fire.</span></p> <p><span>The company’s technology is called “MuTaTo” — that's multi-target toxin. And, to judge from the news media this week, it seems vetted, verified and veering us all toward a cancer-free future. Reports began in the <em><a href="https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/A-cure-for-cancer-Israeli-scientists-say-they-think-they-found-one-578939">Jerusalem Post</a></em>, but quickly took off, making their way into various Murdoch-owned publications like <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/health/cure-for-cancer-israeli-scientists-claim-to-be-on-brink-of-development">FOX</a> and the <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/01/28/well-have-a-cure-for-cancer-within-a-year-scientists/"><em>New York Post</em></a> and landing in local news outlets around the country and the globe.</span></p> <p><span>A couple days into the fanfare, the skeptics started coming out: for one thing, as oncologist David Gorski points out in his blog “<a href="https://respectfulinsolence.com/2019/01/31/mutato/">Respectful Insolence</a>,” the claims are based on experiments with </span><em><span>mice</span></em><span>: no human trials have yet started. For another, they haven’t been sufficiently peer reviewed. In fact, the company won’t share its research, <a href="http://www.wnycstudios.org/.%20In%20fact,%20the%20company%20won%E2%80%99t%20share%20its%20research,%20claiming%20it%20can%E2%80%99t%20afford%20the%20expense.">claiming it can’t afford the expense</a>. The too-good-to-be-true story appears to be just that, built on PR puffery. But who can resist a good cancer cure? </span></p> <p><span>With Mutato in mind, for this week’s podcast extra, we revisit our Breaking News Consumer’s Handbook: Health News edition, with Gary Schwitzer, publisher &amp; founder of <a href="http://www.wnycstudios.org/HealthNewsReview.org">HealthNewsReview.org</a>.</span></p>

<p><span>The Venezuelan press has been facing repression for years. This week, On the Media explores how journalists in the country are struggling to cover the standoff between two men who claim to be president. Also, how both the history of American interventionism and the legacy of Simón Bolívar color coverage of Venezuela. Plus, a critical look at the images coming out of Chinese internment camps.</span></p> <p>1. Mariana Zuñiga [<a href="https://twitter.com/marazuniga"><strong>@</strong><span>marazuniga</span></a>], freelance reporter based in Caracas, on her experience covering Venezuela's presidential standoff. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/double-workloads-venezuelan-journalists">Listen</a>. </p> <p>2. Miguel Tinker Salas [<a href="https://twitter.com/mtinkersalas"><strong>@</strong><span>mtinkersalas</span></a>], professor of history at Pomona College, on the legacy of Simón Bolívar. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/sworn-bolivars-face">Listen.</a></p> <p>3. Stephen Kinzer [<a href="https://twitter.com/stephenkinzer"><strong>@</strong><span>stephenkinzer</span></a>], professor of international relations at Brown University, on the history of American intervention in Latin America. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/shameful-history-us-intervention-latin-america">Listen</a>. </p> <p>4. Rian Thum [<a href="https://twitter.com/RianThum"><strong>@</strong><span>RianThum</span></a>], senior research fellow at the University of Nottingham, on the internment of Uighurs by the Chinese government. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/whats-happening-uighurs">Listen</a>. </p> <p><em>Songs:</em></p> <p><em>Sueno en Paraguay by Chancha Via Circuito<br>Mermelada by Como Las Movies<br>Contradanza Del Espíritu by Roberto Fonseca<br>La Canción Bolivariana by Alí Primera<br>Slow Pulse Conga by William Pasley<br>Mi Guitarrita by Manuel Silva<br>Chrysanthemum Complex (Contagion OST) by Cliff Martinez<br>Bizning Naxshimiz by Ayshemgul Memet, <span>Shohrat Tursun &amp; Ilyar Ayup</span><br></em></p>

<p><span>This week, the latest tell-all memoir from a former White House staffer hit bookstores. </span><em><span><a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250223906">Team of Vipers: My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House</a> </span></em><span>is by <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-new-yorker-interview/cliff-sims-is-proud-to-have-served-trump">Cliff Sims</a> — who was, depending on who you ask, either key player as Director of Message Strategy or, as Trump tweeted this week, “nothing more than a gofer.”</span></p> <p><span>The book, of course, is a landfill of trash and dirt on his former colleagues. And e</span><span>ven as Sims toured the morning shows, the late shows and the everything-else shows to hawk his book, Trump Campaign COO Michael Glassner was threatening to</span><span> sue him for violating the campaign's n</span><span>on disclosure agreement. Sims says he remembers signing some paperwork, but doesn’t remember if there was an NDA in there and, as other lawyers have since chimed in, there is established precedent that would make it very hard for the campaign to silence a former federal employee.</span></p> <p><span>The subject of NDAs comes up </span><em><span>a lot </span></em><span>for people in Trump’s orbit — which is why the team at <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/trumpinc"><em>Trump, Inc.</em></a> (produced here at our station, WNYC) did a whole episode on the topic. We present that episode for you as our podcast extra this week. Enjoy!</span></p>

<p><span>The Lincoln Memorial debacle showed how vulnerable the press are to a myriad of social and political forces. This week, we examine how the outrage unfolded and what role MAGA hat symbolism might have played. And, a graphic photo in the New York Times spurs criticism. Plus, a reality show that attempts to bridge the gap between indigenous people and white Canadians. </span></p> <p>1. Bob's thoughts on where the Lincoln Memorial episode has left us. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/outrage-lincoln-memorial">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. Charlie Warzel [<a href="https://twitter.com/cwarzel"><strong>@</strong><span>cwarzel</span></a>], tech writer, on the zig-zagging meta-narratives emerging from the Lincoln Memorial episode, and the role played by right-wing operatives. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/dangers-press-over-correction">Listen.</a></p> <p>3. Jeannine Bell [<a href="https://twitter.com/jeanninelbell"><strong>@</strong><span>jeanninelbell</span></a>], professor at Indiana University's Maurer School of Law, on MAGA hat symbology. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/what-maga-hat-symbol">Listen.</a></p> <p>4. Kainaz Amaria [<a href="https://twitter.com/kainazamaria"><strong>@</strong><span>kainazamaria</span></a>], visuals editor at Vox, on the Times' controversial decision to publish a bloody photo following the January 15 attack in Nairobi, Kenya. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/bloody-image-double-standard">Listen.</a></p> <p>5. Vanessa Loewen, executive producer of the Canadian documentary series <em><a href="http://www.firstcontactcanada.ca/">First Contact</a> </em>and Jean La Rose, CEO of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, on their televised effort to bridge the gap between indigenous and settler Canadians. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/canadian-tv-show-tackles-indigenous-divide">Listen</a></p>

<p>When he was still in his twenties, Martin Luther King Jr. was, among other things, an advice columnist for<span> </span><em>Ebony<span> </span></em>magazine. Writer <a href="https://twitter.com/mychalsmith?lang=en">Mychal Denzel Smith</a><span> </span>studied those columns<span> </span><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/04/mlk-revered-man/556832/">for an article this week in<span> </span></a><em><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/04/mlk-revered-man/556832/">The Atlantic</a>,<span> </span></em>and he found that readers asked the civil rights leader about everything from race relations to marriage problems.</p> <p>In some instances Dr. King was surprisingly unorthodox — <a href="https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/advice-living">the preacher's thoughts on birth control</a><span> </span>are particularly eloquent — and in others, his advice was less than sage. When one reader complained about her philandering husband, he told her to self-reflect: "Are you careful with your grooming? Do you nag? Do you make him feel important?" When another described her husband as a "complete tyrant," self-reflection on the part of the woman was, again, the answer. </p> <p>Denzel Smith joins Brooke to discuss Dr. King's mid-century masculinity, how it is still wielded as a cudgel against young black Americans, and why he thinks Americans — black and white — are due for a vacation from MLK-mania. </p> <p><em>This segment is from our April 6, 2018 program,<span> </span><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/on-the-media-2018-04-06/">Paved With Good Intentions</a>.</em></p>

<p><span>For the past month, journalists have been reporting on the anxieties of furloughed federal workers. This week, On the Media learns that many reporters face a new threat to their own job security. Plus, an on-screen dramatization of Brexit, and a likely sea-change in Youtube's rankings. </span></p> <p><span>1. Dave Krieger [<a href="https://twitter.com/DaveKrieger">@DaveKrieger</a>], former editorial page director of the Boulder Daily Camera, on the latest newspaper target of vulture capitalism. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/newspaper-vultures-circle-again">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>2. James Graham [@mrJamesGraham], screenwriter of "Brexit," on his star-studded depiction of an urgent, present-day dispute. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/everyone-knows-who-won-not-everyone-knows-how">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>3. Matthew Goodwin [<a href="https://twitter.com/GoodwinMJ">@GoodwinMJ</a>], professor of politics and international relations at the University of Kent, on why so many people got the Brexit narrative wrong. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/why-brexit-shouldnt-have-been-surprise" target="_blank">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>4. Clay Shirky [<a href="https://twitter.com/cshirky">@cshirky</a>], Ajey Nagar [<a href="https://twitter.com/CarryMinati">@CarryMinati</a>], Sarah Moore [<a href="https://twitter.com/sarahlynn_1995">@sarahlynn_1995</a>] and others on the global culture war over PewDiePie and T-Series. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/global-culture-war-youtube-supremacy">Listen.</a></span></p>

<p class="p1">Rosanne's Cash's new album features 10 new songs, all written and co-written by Cash, that find her "speaking out and looking inward" (<em>The Boston Globe</em>) from a uniquely female perspective. It features contributions from Elvis Costello, Kris Kristofferson, Colin Meloy and Sam Phillips, plus three extra tracks that appear on the deluxe edition of the record. The album's title track was just named one of the Top 5 songs of 2018 by<span> </span><em>The New York Times</em>.  She sat down with Brooke for an evening of talk and music at WNYC's very own theater, The Greene Space. </p>

<p><span>On Thursday, President Trump flew down to McAllen, Texas to push his pro-wall, anti-immigrant narrative. This week, On the Media examines how the community tells a more welcoming story about the border — and a dogged presidential fact-checker joins us to pick apart the Oval Office address. Plus, how some progressives used Russian election interference tactics against a right-wing senate campaign. Also, is everything online fake? </span></p> <p><span></span><span></span>1. Lorenzo Zazueta [<a href="https://twitter.com/lorenzozazueta">@lorenzozazueta</a>], immigration reporter for <em>The Monitor</em> in McAllen, Texas, on the theatrics of a political border visit. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/border-stage-mcallen-texas">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. Daniel Dale [<a href="https://twitter.com/ddale8">@ddale8</a>], Washington bureau chief for the <em>Toronto Star</em>, fact-checks President Trump's Oval Office address. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/fact-checking-president">L</a><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/fact-checking-president">isten</a>.</p> <p>3. Scott Shane [<a href="https://twitter.com/ScottShaneNYT">@ScottShaneNYT</a>], national security reporter for the <em>New York Times</em>, on the Russian interference social media tactics used by some progressives in the run-up to the 2017 Alabama special senate election. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/democrats-dirty-tricks-alabama-senate-race">Listen</a>.</p> <p>4. Matt Osborne [<a href="https://twitter.com/OsborneInk">@OsborneInk</a>], progressive Alabama activist, on his own deceptive role in the political battle between Roy Moore and now–Senator Doug Jones. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/progressive-activist-defends-his-deceptive-tactics">Listen</a>.</p> <p>5. Max Read [<a href="https://twitter.com/max_read">@max_read</a>], writer and editor at <em>New York Magazine</em>, on the overwhelming fakeness of the internet. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/when-internet-mostly-fake">Listen</a>.</p>

<p><span>Is it too ordinary to be afraid of your cat dying?</span></p> <p><span>Jeff VanderMeer is an author based in <span>Tallahassee, Florida.</span> </span><span>This week he is the featured guest on the podcast "10 things that scare me: a tiny podcast about our biggest fears," produced by WNYC Studios.</span></p> <p><span><em> We</em> spoke to Jeff a year ago about the impending climate change disaster for a show we called <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/otm-when-science-fiction-isnt-fiction">Apocalypse, Now</a>. His award-winning <em>Southern Reach </em>trilogy has been published in over 35 languages. </span></p> <p>Join the <a href="http://www.10thingspodcast.org/">10 Things That Scare Me</a> conversation, and tell them your fears <a href="https://apps.nypr.org/crowdsourcing/21">here</a>. And follow 10 Things That Scare Me on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/10thingspod/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/10thingspod" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/10ThingsPod/" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</p>

<p>Just outside of Mobile, Alabama, sits the small community of Africatown, a town established by the last known slaves brought to America, illegally, in 1860. Decades after that last slave ship,<span> </span><em>The</em><span> </span><em>Clotilde</em>, burned in the waters outside Mobile, Africatown residents are pushing back against the forces of industrial destruction and national amnesia. Local struggles over environmental justice, land ownership, and development could determine whether Africatown becomes an historical destination, a living monument to a lingering past — or whether shadows cast by highway overpasses and gasoline tanks will erase our country's hard-learned lessons. </p> <p>Brooke spoke with<span> </span><a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/05/08/608205763/barracoon-brings-a-lost-slave-story-to-light">Deborah G. Plant</a>, editor of a new book by Zora Neale Hurston's about a founder of Africatown,<span> </span><a href="http://bridgethegulfproject.org/users/joe-womack">Joe Womack</a>, environmental activist and Africatown resident,<span> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/vickiihowell?lang=en">Vickii Howell</a>, president and CEO of the<span> </span><a href="https://www.movegulfcoastcdc.org/">MOVE Gulf Coast Community Development Corporation</a>, Charles Torrey, research historian for the<span> </span><a href="http://www.museumofmobile.com/">History Museum of Mobile</a>, and others about the past, present, and future of Africatown, Alabama. </p> <p><em>**This episode was originally aired in May of 2018.**</em></p> <p>Songs:</p> <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O7_-_iA1cc">Traditional African Nigerian Music of the Yoruba Tribe</a><br>Death Have Mercy by Regina Carter<br>Sacred Oracle by John Zorn and Bill Frisell<br>Passing Time by John Renbourn<br>The Thompson Fields by Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra</p>

<p>Joe Frank -- the radio producer’s radio producer, the ultimate acquired taste -- died last January. He was 79. For over four decades Frank hosted<a href="https://www.joefrank.com/"><span> </span>late-night shows</a><span> </span>that could float between hilarious dreams and suspenseful nightmares, between fact and fiction. And though his shows were rarely mainstream hits, cultural figures like<a href="https://twitter.com/iraglass?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor"><span> </span>Ira Glass<span> </span></a>of<span> </span><a href="https://www.thisamericanlife.org/">This American Life a</a>nd film director <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668247/">Alexander Payne</a><span> </span>consider Frank a major influence on their own work.</p> <p>Brooke discussed Joe Frank's life, style and legacy with<span> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/jadabumrad?lang=en">Jad Abumrad</a>, co-host of WNYC's<span> </span><a href="http://www.radiolab.org/">Radiolab, </a>and Mark Oppenheimer, host of<span> </span><a href="http://www.tabletmag.com/">Tablet<span> </span></a>magazine's<span> </span><a href="http://www.tabletmag.com/author/unorthodox">Unorthodox<span> </span></a>podcast, who wrote an article in Slate titled <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2018/01/joe-franks-last-interview-before-his-death.html">"Joe Frank Signs Off."</a></p>

<div class="story__details"> <div id="ember991" class="ember-view"> <div class="story__body"> <div id="ember1008" class="ember-view"> <div class="django-content"> <div> <p><span>After World War II, Germany and the Allied powers took pains to make sure that its citizens would never forget the country’s dark history. But in America, much of our past remains hidden or rewritten. This week, Brooke visits Montgomery, Alabama, home to<span> </span><a href="https://eji.org/legacy-museum">The Legacy Museum</a> and the<span> </span><a href="https://eji.org/national-lynching-memorial">National Memorial for Peace and Justice</a>, a new museum and memorial created by the <a href="https://eji.org/">Equal Justice Initiative</a><span> </span>that aim to bring America’s history of segregation and racial terror to the forefront.</span></p> <p><span>1. Brooke talks to the Equal Justice Initiative's [<a href="https://twitter.com/eji_org?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@eji_org</a>] Bryan Stevenson about what inspired him to create The Legacy Museum and memorial and to historian Sir Richard Evans [<a href="https://twitter.com/RichardEvans36?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@RichardEvans36</a>] about the denazification process in Germany after World War II. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/how-germany-can-help-america-remember-1">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>2. Brooke visits The Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/looking-and-and1">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>3. Brooke speaks again with Bryan Stevenson about his own history and America's ongoing struggle to confront our racist past and present. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/always-going-be-what-happened1">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span><em>This episode originally aired on June 1st, 2018. It was re-broadcast on December 28, 2018.</em></span></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="ember1016" class="story-credits ember-view"> <div class="story-credits__appearance-credits"></div> <div class="story-credits__producing-org-credits producing-org-credits"></div> </div>

<p>Merry Christmas, to those who celebrate! To those who don't (and, aw heck, to those who do too) we offer a <em>very</em> special end-of-year gift: fear. More specifically, Brooke's greatest fears, courtesy of our WNYC colleagues, <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/10-things-scare-me">10 Things That Scare Me</a>. Fear is a subject — and experience — near and dear to our beloved Brooke, so we can assure you that this is not a conversation to skip. </p>

<p><span>Two weeks ago, a seven-year-old girl died in Customs and Border Patrol custody. This week, On the Media considers how coverage of her death has resembled previous immigration story cycles. Plus, we make an year-end review of cabinet officials shown the door as the result of investigative reporting — and we honor</span> the 80 journalists killed around the globe this year. Also, we explore the subversive, revolutionary art of Hilma af Klint.</p> <ol> <li>Aura Bogado [<a href="https://twitter.com/aurabogado/" target="_blank">@aurabogado</a>], immigration reporter at <a href="http://revealnews.org" target="_blank">Reveal</a>, on the conditions migrants experience when they cross the border and the importance of hearing them in their own words. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/jakelin-caal-maquins-death-more-another-outrage">Listen.</a></li> <li>Columbia Journalism Review's Jon Allsop [<a href="https://twitter.com/jon_allsop" target="_blank">@Jon_Allsop</a>] on how reporters have cut through the noise of the Trump administration to uncover stories with impact. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/presidential-cabinet-departure-beat">Listen.</a></li> <li>Brooke on this year's slain journalists and the risks they took in pursuit of their reporting. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/slain-journalists-2018">Listen.</a></li> <li>Tracey Bashkoff, curator at the Guggenheim Museum, walks Brooke through an exhibition of Hilma af Klint's work. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/paintings-future">Listen.</a></li> <li>Harvard University historian Ann Braude on the relationship between 19th century spiritualism and the women's rights movement. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/how-dead-spirits-helped-women-find-their-voices">Listen.</a></li> </ol>

<p><span>In 1971, federal investigators convened two grand juries to investigate, among other things, the publishing, by major newspapers, of thousands of pages of secret government documents reviewing the history from 1945 on, of the still ongoing war in Vietnam. </span></p> <p><span>The Pentagon Papers' consequences were vast — including that historic effort by the federal government to investigate — under the Espionage Act — staffers at the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Boston Globe. As tends to be the case with sprawling grand jury cases, the investigators’ questions and methods remain a secret.</span></p> <p><span>But Jill Lepore hopes to change that. On Monday of this week, Lepore — Harvard historian, New Yorker staff writer, and author of <em>These Truths: A History of the United States</em> — <a href="https://apnews.com/39262a0df6424df3ab8023b6201aee87">asked a federal court to order the release of documents related to those grand juries.</a> “Why and when was the investigation opened?” Lepore demands in court documents. “Why was it closed? To what lengths did the government go in conducting the investigation?” A half-century after Pentagon analyst Daniel Ellsberg’s mammoth revelations, questions </span><em><span>still </span></em><span>linger. </span></p> <p><span>Earlier this year, Brooke spoke with Les Gelb, one of the drafters of the original papers, about what journalists and historians previously failed to understand about the Pentagon Papers.</span></p>

<p><span>It’s been 100 years since one of the deadliest diseases... well, ever. The 1918-1919 flu pandemic (usually and mistakenly called the “Spanish Flu”) infected roughly a third of the world’s population and killed somewhere on the order of 50-100 million people, leaving no corner of the world untouched. It came just as the world was beginning its recovery from the </span><em><span>other</span></em><span> global catastrophe of the time — the First World War. The pandemic is sometimes referred to as the “Forgotten Plague” because the extent of the devastation wasn’t realized at the time, and it’s been missing from most history books since.  </span></p> <p><span>This week on On the Media, we look back at what happened and ask: could it, would it happen again? </span></p> <p><em><span>This hour of On the Media is part of “</span></em><a href="https://www.wnyc.org/story/germ-city/"><em><span>Germ City</span></em></a><em><span>” a series produced by the WNYC newsroom in collaboration with the </span></em><a href="https://www.mcny.org/exhibition/germ-city"><em><span>Museum of the City of New York</span></em></a><em><span> and the </span></em><a href="https://nyam.org/library/germ-city/"><em><span>New York Academy of Medicine</span></em></a><em><span>. </span></em></p> <ol> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span>Laurie Garrett [</span><a href="https://twitter.com/Laurie_Garrett"><span>@Laurie_Garrett</span></a><span>], author and infectious disease expert, and Nancy Tomes, historian at Stony Brook University, on the 1918 flu pandemic. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/flu-felt-around-world">Listen.</a></span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span>Dr Harvey V. Fineberg, president of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, on the 1976 swine flu fiasco. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/pandemic-wasnt"><span>L</span><span>isten.</span></a></span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span>Matthew Gertz [</span><a href="https://twitter.com/MattGertz"><span>@MattGertz</span></a><span>], senior fellow at Media Matters, on the media’s coverage of the 2014 Ebola outbreak. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/ebola-caravan-2014"><span>L</span><span>isten.</span></a></span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span>Dr Amesh Adalja [</span><a href="https://twitter.com/AmeshAA"><span>@AmeshAA</span></a><span>], Senior Scholar at the John Hopkins Center for Health Security and Dr Hoe Nam Leong, an infectious disease specialist at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital in Singapore, on airplanes and infectious disease. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/germs-plane">L</a><span><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/germs-plane">isten</a>.</span><span> </span></span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Professor Dominique Brossard [<a href="https://twitter.com/brossardd"><span>@brossardd</span></a><span>], Chair of the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, on how media covers pandemics. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/when-next-pandemic-strikes-who-will-we-trust"><span>L</span></a><span><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/when-next-pandemic-strikes-who-will-we-trust">isten</a>.</span></span></li> </ol>

<p><span>Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former lawyer, was sentenced Wednesday to </span>three years<span> in prison for financial crimes and for lying to Congress. </span><span>In rendering the sentence,  Judge William H. Pauley said Cohen’s crimes — among them, tax evasion and campaign finance violations — were “motivated by personal greed and ambition.”</span></p> <p>The case has implications for Trump himself; Judge Pauley noted at the sentencing that Cohen's campaign finance crimes were designed to affect the outcome of the election. But court filings from this case and from the separate case against Paul Manafort offer many, many threads to follow. In this podcast extra, we turn to our colleagues at the <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/trumpinc">Trump Inc. podcast</a>, an open investigation from a team of ProPublica and WNYC journalists. This week, <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/trump-inc-what-we-now-know-about-manafort-cohen-individual-1">they unpacked what can be learned from the sentencing memos and what remains a mystery.</a> Also, they just won a prestigious Dupont award! </p>

<p><span>The death of George H.W. Bush brought us a week’s worth of ceremony, eulogy and wall-to-wall coverage. This week, a look at the choices journalists made when they set out to memorialize the president. And, immigration stories in our media focus on the U.S.–Mexico border — but what about immigration elsewhere in Latin America? Is there a journalistic solution to the scale of global immigration? </span>Plus, a baseball metaphor and a bit of forgotten Hanukkah history.</p> <p>1. Anne Helen Petersen [<a href="https://twitter.com/annehelen">@annehelen</a>], senior culture writer at Buzzfeed, and David Greenberg [<a href="https://twitter.com/republicofspin">@republicofspin</a>], historian at Rutgers University, on the history — and pitfalls — of presidential eulogies. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/remembering-president-completely">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. Bob on the speculation surrounding Robert Mueller's investigation. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/hot-stove-league-special-counsel-edition">Listen.</a></p> <p>3. Diego Salazar [<a href="https://twitter.com/disalch">@disalch</a>], journalist, on <a href="http://radioambulante.org/en/audio-en/temporary-permanence">the immigration crisis within Latin America.</a>  <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/migrants-are-welcome-not-too-many">Listen.</a></p> <p>4. Masha Gessen [<a href="https://twitter.com/mashagessen">@mashagessen</a>], staff writer at <em>The New Yorker,</em> on <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/12/masha-gessen-wins-2018-hitchens-prize/577297/">her modest proposal for immigration coverage.</a> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/65-million-stories-we-need-tell">Listen.</a></p> <p>5. Rabbi James Ponet, Jewish chaplain emeritus at Yale University, on <a href="https://slate.com/human-interest/2005/12/hanukkah-as-jewish-civil-war.html">the historical origins of Hanukkah.</a> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/hidden-truths-hanukkah">Listen.</a></p> <p><em>Songs: </em></p> <p><em>Ototoa by Malphino<br>Fallen Leaves by Marcos Ciscar<br>Wallpaper by Woo<br>String Quartet, No. 2 by Kronos Quartet<br>Viderunt Omnes by Kronos Quartet</em></p>

<p><span>Satisfaction at the political enemy’s hypocrisy can be so rich that partisan critics strain — sometimes absurdly — to locate it. Such is the case with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, newly elected member of Congress from New York and avowed democratic socialist.  How to prove she is a phony? <a href="http://www.papermag.com/ocasio-cortez-scarry-jacket-2619960192.html?rebelltitem=10#rebelltitem10">Why, her clothes, of course.</a> </span><span>It’s an absurd attempt at gotcha, but not an uncommon one. Bob spoke with <a href="https://www.einavrabinovitchfox.com/">Einav Rabinovitch-Fox</a>, historian at Case Western Reserve University, about the long history of media obsession with the clothing of outspoken women — in particular, <a href="https://theconversation.com/criticism-of-alexandria-ocasio-cortezs-clothes-echoes-attacks-against-early-female-labor-activists-107874">the thousands of garment workers who went on strike in 1909.</a></span></p>

<p><span>The White House tried to bury a devastating climate assessment on Black Friday; this week, On the Media documents how TV talk shows gave climate change deniers a platform to spin the report for their own ends. We look back on Fox News' coming-of-age under Roger Ailes and we consider what comes next for the company amidst pressure, transition and unprecedented proximity to power. Plus, a pro-migration video goes viral in Honduras for all the wrong reasons.</span></p> <p>1. Lisa Hymas [<a href="https://twitter.com/lisahymas">@lisahymas</a>], director of the climate and energy program at Media Matters for America, on <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2018/11/27/CNN-keeps-letting-guests-and-paid-commentators-lie-about-climate-scientists/222166">climate denialism in environmental coverage.</a> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/how-tv-news-fumbles-climate-change" target="_blank">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. Alexis Bloom, director of <em><span>Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes</span></em><em> </em>[<a href="https://twitter.com/RogerAilesFilm">@rogerailesfilm</a>], on Ailes' role as newsman and political kingmaker. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/how-roger-ailes-built-fox" target="_blank">Listen</a>.</p> <p>3. Sarah Ellison [<a href="https://twitter.com/Sarahlellison">@Sarahlellison</a>], staff writer at the Washington Post, on <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/will-fox-news-survive-as-a-house-united-a-look-at-the-cable-networks-ongoing-drama-in-the-trump-era/2018/11/09/1a9017d8-e3e7-11e8-b759-3d88a5ce9e19_story.html">what comes next for "New Fox."</a> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/what-ails-fox-now" target="_blank">Listen</a>.</p> <p>4. Alana Casanova-Burgess [<a href="https://twitter.com/AlanaLlama">@AlanaLlama</a>], producer for On the Media, on how a pro-migration satire got out of its creators' hands. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/internet-nobody-knows-youre-joke" target="_blank">Listen</a>.</p> <p><em>Songs:</em></p> <p><em>Ototoa by Malphino</em><br><em>Fallen Leaves by Marcos Ciscar</em><br><em>String Quartet No. 2 (Company) by Kronos Quartet</em><br><em>Viderunt Omnes by Kronos Quartet</em></p>

<p><span>A government climate change report was released last week and summarily dismissed...by the government. It was a worrying development, to be sure — but it was also only the latest chapter in the long history of scientists' unheeded warnings. </span>Back in 1988, Andrew Revkin started covering global warming, beginning with <a href="https://twitter.com/Revkin/status/994752818287439872">a cover piece for<span> </span><em>Discover Magazine</em></a> (and<span> </span><a href="https://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/">later for<span> </span><em>The New York Times</em></a>). Last summer, he spoke with Brooke about the lessons he's learned in thirty years of coverage — and what they mean for how humankind might be able to navigate a much warmer future. </p> <p>Revkin's <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/07/embark-essay-climate-change-pollution-revkin/">piece on thirty years of climate change reporting</a><span> wa</span>s in the July issue of<span> </span><em>National Geographic</em>. He is also the co-author of<span> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Weather-Illustrated-History-Sterling-Histories/dp/1454921404"><em>Weather: An Illustrated History: From Cloud Atlases to Climate Change</em></a>. He is <span>now Strategic Adviser for Environmental and Science Journalism at the National Geographic Society.</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 <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-heartwarming-or-harmful">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. <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 <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-sales-pitch">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/robert-moses-and-jane-jacobs-operatic-myth">Listen.</a> </span></p> <p>4. <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/rights-transit">Listen.</a> </span></p> <p> </p> <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>On the 155th anniversary of The Gettysburg Address, we bring you a conversation with <span>Professor <a href="https://www.washcoll.edu/live/profiles/3662-adam-goodheart" target="_blank">Adam Goodheart</a>. He ran <em>The New York Times</em> blog, </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/opinion/disunion.html" target="_blank"><em>Disunion</em></a><span>, which covers the American Civil War as if it were a real-time event unfolding today. Goodheart's used Civil War Era journalism as one of his primary sources and says that sharing updates about the war gives his readers a sense of immediacy that a traditional history book can't provide. He spoke to Brooke in 2010, also on November 19th, the anniversary of The Gettysburg Address. </span></p>

<p>Over a week after the midterms, there's uncertainty in key races in Florida and Georgia. We examine the pervasive conspiracy theories around vote counting. Plus, Amazon has concluded their infamous HQ2 search. At the time, it seemed like a reality show contest. What did it cost the participants? Also, how Amazon fits into a history of anti-trust attitudes in the U.S. And, a look back at a time when capitalism squared off against Jim Crow — and won. </p> <p>1. Will Sommer [<span><a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/willsommer">@<strong class="u-linkComplex-target">willsommer</strong></a>] </span>digs into the conspiratorial buzz around the Florida recounts and how right-wing media is fueling doubt. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/why-gop-lied-about-florida-recounts">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. David Dayen [<span><a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/ddayen">@<strong class="u-linkComplex-target">ddayen</strong></a>]</span> talks about Amazon's HQ2 sweepstakes and what the contest may have cost participants and the public. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/amazons-mega-billions-jackpot">Listen.</a></p> <p>3. Stacy Mitchell [<span><a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/stacyfmitchell">@<strong class="u-linkComplex-target">stacyfmitchell</strong></a>]</span> goes through the history of anti-trust regulation and where Amazon fits in as a monopoly. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/making-america-antitrust-again">Listen.</a></p> <p>4. Sears once disrupted the power structure of Jim Crow with a mail-order catalog. Louis Hyman [<span><a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/louishyman">@<strong class="u-linkComplex-target">louishyman</strong></a>]</span> tells the story of how American consumerism squared off against racism. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/sears-radical-catalog">Listen.</a></p> <p><em>Songs:</em></p> <p><em>The Pink Panther Theme by Henry Mancini &amp; His Orchestra</em><br><em>Through the Street by David Bergeaud</em><br><em>With Plenty Of Money And You by Hal Kemp</em><br><em>Don't Dream It's Over by The Bad Plus</em><br><em>Avalon by Randy Newman</em></p>

<p>The Camp Fire in California is the deadliest in the state's history, leaving the entire city of Paradise in ashes. Parts of Malibu were destroyed by the Woolsey Fire, which firefighters are still trying to bring under control as of this writing. Every year, the press rushes to the scene to capture the fury and the heroic images of efforts to manage fires, but we may be missing a deeper, more dangerous story. In August, when the Mendocino Complex Fire was raging, Bob spoke to historian <a href="http://www.stephenpyne.com/">Stephen J. Pyne</a> about what the typical media narratives overlook and how we can rethink them. </p>

<p><span>America’s divisions are all the more clear after another frenzied news cycle. This week, we ask a historian and a data scientist whether we humans are capable of governing ourselves. Plus, the post-midterm prognosis on climate change, and how our media have often complicated our country’s founding spirit of self-reflection.</span></p> <p><span>1. Brooke [<a href="https://twitter.com/OTMBrooke">@OTMBrooke</a>] looks at the Shepard tone of anti-democratic news developments over the past week. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/shepard-tone-rising">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><span>2. Kate Aronoff [<a href="https://twitter.com/KateAronoff?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@KateAronoff</a>], contributing writer at the Intercept, on how climate change fared in this week's midterms. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/did-planet-earth-lose-midterms">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>3. Mary Christina Wood, University of Oregon law professor, on the public trust doctrine. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/has-government-betrayed-public-trust">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p>4. Jill Lepore, Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer, on the enduring argument over the role of government in American life. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/about-those-self-evident-truths">Listen.</a></p> <p>5. Joshua M. Epstein, director of NYU's Agent-Based Modeling Lab, on the computerized models that can teach us about how we behave in groups. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/what-computer-models-teach-us-about-democracy">Listen.</a></p> <p> </p>

<p><span> Last week on our show, Bob spoke with <a href="https://gvpt.umd.edu/facultyprofile/mason/lilliana">Lilliana Mason</a>, a University of Maryland political psychologist and author of <em><a href="https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/U/bo27527354.html">Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity</a></em>,<em> </em>about the reasons behind the tribalism and enmity that characterize our politics. The conversation covered a <em>lot</em> of ground, and much of it — including the political decisions that have shaped the two major parties over the past 50 years, as well as the distinct ways that Republicans and Democrats deploy partisan rage — didn’t make it into our tightly packed show. But, it’s too interesting and important to leave on the cutting room floor, so we’re sharing it as this week’s midterm edition podcast extra. Enjoy!</span></p>

<p>After a week of hate-fueled attacks, we examine the "dotted line" from incitement to violence. We dig deep into tribalism and how it widens the gulf between Republicans and Democrats. Plus, the history of antisemitic propaganda and how it inspires modern-day violence. Also, why is the GOP running against California in midterm races around the country? </p> <p>1. A look at the possible connections between hateful rhetoric and violent acts, with law professor Garrett Epps [<span><a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/Profepps">@Profepps</a>]</span>, historian <a href="https://twitter.com/BeschlossDC">Michael Beschloss</a>, and writer Amanda Robb. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/following-dotted-line">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. Leo Ferguson [<span><a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/LeoFergusonnyc">@LeoFergusonnyc</a>] of Jews for Racial &amp; Economic Justice on the history of antisemitic propaganda. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/why-origins-antisemitism-really-matter">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>3. Lilliana Mason [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/LilyMasonPhD">@LilyMasonPhD</a>], author of Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity, on tribalism and partisanship. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/anger-identity-polarization">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>4. Why is California the bogeyman in the midterms? Lawrence Wright [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/lawrence_wright">@lawrence_wright</a>] on the California/Texas relationship, KQED's Marisa Lagos [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/mlagos">@mlagos</a>] with the view from California, and Seth Masket [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/smotus">@smotus</a>] of the University of Denver on the Californication of Colorado. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/california-nightmare">Listen.</a></span></p>

<p>The social media website Gab has faced <a href="https://www.lawfareblog.com/gab-vanishes-and-internet-shrugs">sanction</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/28/us/gab-robert-bowers-pittsburgh-synagogue-shootings.html">scorn</a> in the days since one of its active users killed 11 members of Pittsburgh's Jewish community. Gab had, for the past few years, made itself out as a "free speech" harbor, safe from the intellectual strictures of the mainstream web. That is to say, it attracted — and very rarely rejected — hordes of neo-nazis, anti-PC provocateurs and right-wing trolls. </p> <p>When Brooke interviewed Gab's then-COO Utsav Sanduja last fall, the company was in the midst of an anti-trust lawsuit against Google, claiming the the tech titan had wielded its monopoly power to silence a competitor. Brooke spoke with Sanduja about that lawsuit — and about his website's frequently deplorable content. </p>

<p>With the midterms approaching, Democrats and Republicans are fighting to control the national conversation. This week, On the Media looks at how to assess the predictions about a blue or red wave this November. Republican messaging — especially from the White House — has emphasized the dangers presented by the so-called caravan. How did that caravan begin? And, what is the history behind the documents that regulate international travel? Plus, how transgender rights activists in Massachusetts are deploying a counter-intuitive door-to-door tactic.</p> <p>1. Clare Malone [<a href="https://twitter.com/ClareMalone?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@ClareMalone</a>], senior political writer for FiveThirtyEight, on the electoral reporting tropes that dominate midterm coverage. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/making-sense-midterm-mania">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. Sarah Kinosian [<a href="https://twitter.com/skinosian">@skinosian</a>], freelance reporter, on the origins of the current Central American caravan. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/caravan-spin-context">Listen</a>.</p> <p>3. John Torpey [<a href="https://twitter.com/JohnCTorpey">@JohnCTorpey</a>], historian at the CUNY Graduate Center, on the history of passports. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/your-papers-please">Listen</a>.</p> <p>4. David Broockman [<a href="https://twitter.com/dbroockman">@dbroockman</a>], political scientist at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and Matt Collette [<a href="https://twitter.com/matt_pc">@matt_pc</a>], producer of WNYC's Nancy, on the activism surrounding a transgender rights referendum in Massachusetts. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/inoculating-against-attack-ads">Listen</a>.</p>

<p><span>Nearly two years since the 2016 Presidential Election, much of the press are still covering so-called "Trump country" using a series of simplistic narratives, blaming these states for Trump and portraying them as irrevocably scarred by the decline of the coal industry. That doesn't mean there aren't <em>real</em> problems surrounding the fossil fuel industry.</span></p> <p><span><a href="https://twitter.com/kenwardjr?lang=en">Ken Ward Jr.</a> is a reporter at West Virginia’s <em>Charleston Gazette-Mail</em>, where since 1991 he’s been covering the coal, chemical and natural gas industries, and their impact on communities that were promised a better future. Bob speaks with Ken about the reporting that earned him a 2018 “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation, and how West Virginia's coal country is moving forward.</span></p>

<p><span>In using a genetic test to try to prove her Native ancestry, Senator Elizabeth Warren inadvertently stepped into a quagmire. This week, we examine the tensions around DNA and identity. Plus, after Jamal Khashoggi’s death, revisiting the trope of the so-called reformist Saudi royal. And, a look at what we can learn — and how we've tried to learn it — from twins, triplets and other multiple births.</span></p> <p>1. Abdullah Al-Arian, [<a href="https://twitter.com/anhistorian?lang=en">@anhistorian</a>] professor of Middle East History at Georgetown University, on the decades-long trope in American op-ed pages about reformist Saudi royals. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/70-years-reforming-saudi-arabia">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. Kim TallBear, [<a href="https://twitter.com/KimTallBear?lang=en">@KimTallBear</a>] <span>professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta and author of <em><a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/native-american-dna">Native American DNA: Tribal Belonging and the False Promise of Genetic Science</a></em>, on the way "blood" has been used to undermine tribal sovereignty. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/blood-and-beyond-blood">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>3. Alondra Nelson, [<a href="https://twitter.com/alondra?lang=en">@alondra</a>] president of the Social Science Research Council, professor of sociology at Columbia University and author of <em><a href="http://www.alondranelson.com/books/the-social-life-of-dna-race-reparations-and-reconciliation-after-the-genome">The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation After the Genome</a></em><a href="http://www.alondranelson.com/books/the-social-life-of-dna-race-reparations-and-reconciliation-after-the-genome"></a>, on why DNA testing has been so valuable to African-American communities. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/roots-reconciliation-dna">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>4. Nancy Segal, [<a href="https://twitter.com/nlsegal?lang=en">@nlsegal</a>] director of the Twin Studies center at California State University at Fullerton and author of <a href="http://drnancysegaltwins.org/accidental-brothers"><em>Accidental Brothers: The Story of Twins Exchanged at Birth and the Power of Nature and Nurture</em></a>, on what we've learned about human nature from the study of twins. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/what-twins-can-tell-us-about-humanity">Listen</a><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/what-twins-can-tell-us-about-humanity">.</a><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/what-twins-can-tell-us-about-humanity"></a></span></p> <p><em>Songs:<br></em></p> <p><em>The Glass House (End Title) by David Bergeaud<br>Liquid Spear Waltz by Michael Andrews<br>Slow Pulse Conga by William Pasley<br>Turn Down the Sound by Adrian Younge<br>I Wish I Had An Evil Twin by The Magnetic Fields</em></p>

<p>Another chapter in the history of American consumerism came to a close this week when the retail giant Sears announced it was filing for bankruptcy and closing 142 of its unprofitable stores. As experts sifted through the details <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/16/investing/retail-sears-private-equity/index.html">about what doomed Sears</a>, we found ourselves <a href="https://twitter.com/louishyman/status/1051872178415828993">reading a Twitter thread</a> about a little-known bit of shopping history. <a href="https://twitter.com/louishyman">Louis Hyman</a> is an economic historian and professor at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He tweeted: "In my history of consumption class, I teach about Sears, but what most people don't know is just how radical the catalogue was in the era of Jim Crow." In this week's podcast extra, Hyman talks to Brooke about what we can learn from the way Sears upended Jim Crow power dynamics, and what lessons it offers about capitalism more broadly. His latest book is <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Temp-American-Business-Became-Temporary/dp/0735224072">Temp: How American Work, American Business, and the American Dream Became Temporary</a></em>.</p> <p> </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> and MIT's Neha Nerula [<a href="https://twitter.com/neha">@neha</a>]. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/ceci-nest-pas-un-dollar">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. A brief history of money with <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> from Brown University<span>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/money-then-and-now">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">Listen.</a></p>

<p>Last week, the MacArthur Foundation awarded genius grants to 25 creatives in art, literature, science and music. <a href="https://www.macfound.org/fellows/1016/" target="_blank">John Keene</a>, a writer of poetry, fiction and cultural criticism, was one of them. He was recognized for his innovative use of language and form, and the way his work “exposes the social structures that confine, enslave, or destroy” people of color and queer people. Keene spoke to Brooke back in 2015 about his story collection, <a href="https://www.ndbooks.com/book/counternarratives/" target="_blank"><em>Counternarratives</em></a>, which centers the voices of the marginalized in both imagined and reimagined historical moments.</p>

<p><span>On Thursday in the <em>Wall Street Journal</em>, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh acknowledged his sharp tone in recent hearings. This week, we examine the anger and resentment driving the #MeToo backlash. Plus, a deep dive into into our flawed narratives about Native American history, and a close look at the role problematic fantasies about indigenous people play in German culture.</span></p> <p>1. Lili Loofbourow [<a href="https://twitter.com/Millicentsomer">@Millicentsomer</a>], staff writer at Slate, on <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/brett-kavanaugh-hearing-angry-shouting.html">the purposeful role of male anger in the Kavanaugh nomination process</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/backlash-kavanaugh">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. David Treuer [<a href="https://twitter.com/DavidTreuer">@DavidTreuer</a>], writer and historian, on <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/316457/the-heartbeat-of-wounded-knee-by-david-treuer/">the simplistic, flawed narratives tied up in popular Native American history</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/native-american-loss-and-triumph">Listen</a>.</p> <p>3. <a href="https://americanstudies.uni-leipzig.de/faculty/usbeck">Frank Usbeck</a>, historian and researcher-curator at the State Ethnographic Collections of Saxony, and <a href="https://www.artsci.uc.edu/departments/german/people/fac_staff.html?eid=torneren">Evan Torner</a>, German Studies professor at the University of Cincinnati, on the fantasies about indigenous people involved in German politics and culture. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/germany-native-american-fantasy">Listen</a>.</p> <p><em>Songs:</em></p> <p><em>Rebel Soldier by Nashville Sessions</em><br><em>Prelude of Light by John Zorn</em><br><em>Puck by John Zorn</em><br><em>Tribute to America by The O'Neill Brothers Group<br>Her Avwerah by Norfolk and Western<br>Lost, Night by Bill Frisell<br><br></em></p>

<p>President Donald Trump has had many roles in his life: Real estate scion, reality show star, Oval Office holder. But through it all, one thing has remained consistent. He tries to control what information becomes public about himself and his business.</p> <p>In the latest episode of Trump, Inc., a WNYC collaboration with <a href="https://www.propublica.org/" target="_blank">ProPublica</a>, our colleagues look at the ways Trump has tried to buy and enforce silence — and how it matters more than ever now that he’s president. They talk to The New Yorker’s <a href="https://twitter.com/RonanFarrow?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank">Ronan Farrow</a> about just one of the tactics used by those helping the president: the “catch and kill.”  </p>

<p><span>The Kavanaugh-Ford hearings this week felt like a watershed moment — but it’s not yet clear what long-term impact they’ll have. This week, we examine some of the policies that could be affected by the Supreme Court if Kavanaugh is confirmed, including dark money disclosure and voting rights. Plus, a moment of zen during trying times. </span></p> <p>1. Brooke on this week's Kavanaugh-Ford hearings. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/having-it-both-ways-kavanaugh">Listen.</a> </p> <p>2. <span>Carol Anderson [<a href="https://twitter.com/ProfCAnderson">@ProfCAnderson</a>], professor of history at Emory University, on how <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/one-person-no-vote-9781635571387/">voter suppression is destroying democracy</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/voter-suppression-any-other-name">Listen.</a> </span></p> <p>3. Michelle Ye Hee Lee [<a href="https://twitter.com/myhlee">@myhlee</a>], national reporter for the Washington Post, on <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/political-nonprofits-seek-answers-after-court-decision-targeting-dark-money/2018/09/21/444692f6-bd3f-11e8-8792-78719177250f_story.html?noredirect=on&amp;utm_term=.54c2240de808">the recent Supreme Court action regarding the disclosure of dark money donations</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/campaign-finance-crossroads">Listen.</a></p> <p>4. Robert Wright [<a href="https://twitter.com/robertwrighter">@robertwrighter</a>], author and professor at Union Seminary, on how living a mindful life can make us savvier, saner news consumers. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/your-moment-zen">Listen.</a></p> <p> </p> <p><em>Songs:</em></p> <p><em>Black Coffee by Galt MacDermot<br>Melancholia by Marcos Ciscar<br><br></em></p>

<p>On Tuesday, nearly four years since <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/26/hannibal-buress-how-a-comedian-reignited-the-bill-cosby-allegations">a viral comedy routine</a> helped usher a long list of rape and sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby into the fore, the once-beloved artist was sentenced to three to 10 years in a state prison. Years before Cosby's predatory behavior became public knowledge, rumors circulated in Hollywood and privileged circles, well within earshot of journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates. But, <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/05/-this-is-how-we-lost-to-the-white-man/306774/">in a 2008 profile of Cosby</a> for <em>The Atlantic</em>, Coates merely <em>mentioned </em>some of the sexual assault accusations in passing, without digging into the damning details. Whether willful denial or reckless mistake, this oversight would come to haunt him — so much that he <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/11/the-cosby-show/382891/?single_page=true">fessed up</a> and agreed to mull it all over with Bob back in 2014.</p>

<p>Senators are weighing serious allegations of attempted rape as they consider Judge Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, McDonald's employees in ten cities went on strike to bring attention to sexual harassment at the fast food chain. This week, we look at the ripples from the #MeToo movement and how much further they have to go. </p> <p>1. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's expected testimony against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has echoes of Anita Hill's testimony against Clarence Thomas in 1991. Kai Wright [<span><a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/kai_wright">@kai_wright</a>]</span> of the podcast <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/anxiety">The United States of Anxiety</a> revisits how that moment led to a "Year of the Woman" in 1992. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/anita-hill-effect/">Listen.</a> </p> <p>2. Disgraced former radio hosts Jian Ghomeshi and John Hockenberry recently wrote essays reflecting on their lost status after #MeToo allegations. Slate's Laura Miller [<span><a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/magiciansbook">@magiciansbook</a>] </span>discusses the serious shortcomings of those essays. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/why-metoo-comeback-essays-come-short/">Listen.</a></p> <p>3. Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg [<span><a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/TheRaDR">@TheRaDR</a>]</span> explains what atonement and repentance actually mean, and why a clear definition matters in the context of the #MeToo movement. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/metoo-men-repent/">Listen.</a></p> <p>4. History professor Annelise Orleck [<span><a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/AnneliseOrleck1">@AnneliseOrleck1</a>] puts this week's McDonald's strike over sexual harassment allegations in its global and historical context. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/metoo-meets-mcdonalds/">Listen.</a></span></p> <p> </p> <p><em>Songs:</em></p> <p><em><span>Middlesex Times by Michael Andrews<br>Bubble Wrap by Thomas Newman<br>Liquid Spear Waltz by Michael Andrews<br>John’s Book of Alleged Dances by Kronos Quartet<br>Human Nature by Steve Porcaro, John Bettis, Vijay Iyer<br>Love Theme from Spartacus by Yusef Lateef<strong><br><br></strong></span></em></p>

<p>This past week’s coverage of Hurricane Florence has had all the trappings of a terrible storm: the satellite images, the sandbags and empty grocery stores, the newscasters dressed in flood gear.  One recurring side character we seem to have avoided this time around, though, is the doctored image of a shark swimming on a flooded highway.</p> <p><span>It’s a preposterous hoax that succeeds, occasionally, on the merits of some kernel of truth; for instance, whole swathes of interstate highway in North Carolina <em>are</em>, as of this moment, covered with water. That kernel of truth is what hoaxers and jokers build their handiwork upon — as did the veteran hoaxer Alan Abel, who <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/17/obituaries/alan-abel-dies.html">passed away late last week at the age of 94</a>.<br></span></p> <p><span>Abel made a name for himself inventing characters and causes and turning the joke on the media; in 1980 he staged his own death and got himself an obituary in the New York Times.</span></p> <p><span>Brooke spoke to Abel — and his daughter, Jenny Abel, the director of the documentary, "<a href="https://vimeo.com/262687089">Abel Raises Cain</a>" — in 2008.</span></p>

<p>The anniversary of a disaster gives us a moment to reflect on whether we have learned the right lessons — or any at all. This week, we examine the narratives that have solidified ten years after the financial crisis, and one year after Hurricane Maria. </p> <p>1. Political anthropologist Yarimar Bonilla [<a href="https://twitter.com/yarimarbonilla?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank">@yarimarbonilla</a>] on how we can focus our attention on Puerto Rico's structural challenges even as the president spouts falsities about the "unsung success" of the federal response to Hurricane Maria. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/puerto-rico-news-wrong-reasons/">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. Dean Starkman [<a href="https://twitter.com/deanstarkman" target="_blank">@deanstarkman</a><span>], author of <em>The Watchdog That Didn't Bark: The Financial Crisis and the Disappearance of Investigative Journalism</em>,</span> on how the signs of the financial crisis had been visible leading up to it but many journalists were looking elsewhere. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/why-business-press-didnt-warn-us">Listen.</a></p> <p>3. Brown University professor Mark Blyth [<a href="https://twitter.com/mkblyth?lang=en" target="_blank">@MkBlyth</a><span>]</span> takes on the most popular narratives of the financial crash. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/one-financial-crisis-many-explanations/">Listen.</a></p> <p>4. Copenhagen Business School business historian Per Hansen on Hollywood's depiction of the board room and Wall Street from 1928 to 2015. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/boom-bust-big-screen/">Listen.</a></p> <p><em>Songs:</em></p> <p><em>Marjane's Inspiration by David Bergeaud</em><br><em>Glass House by Bonobo</em><br><em>Dinner Music For A Pack of Hungry Cannibals by Raymond Scott</em><br><em>With Plenty Of Money And You by Hal Kemp<br>Coffee Cold by Galt MacDermot<br>Modern Times OST by Charlie Chaplin</em></p>

<p>On Wednesday, as Florence swirled ominously off the coast of the Carolinas, and states prepared for imminent disaster, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) thought it would be a good time to draw everyone’s attention to the shifting priorities of this administration. Specifically, he released a budget that showed the Department of Homeland Security had transferred nearly 10 million dollars from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to pay for detention and removal operations.</p> <p>FEMA officials maintain that the smaller budget won’t hinder their operations, but as wildfires rage and hurricanes make landfall, they have a lot on their plate. We don't think about FEMA much, until that's all we think about. Historian Garrett Graff says the agency’s, quote, “under-the-radar nature” was originally a feature, not a bug. Graff wrote about "<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/the-secret-history-of-fema/">The Secret History of FEMA</a>" for <em>Wired </em>last September and he spoke to Bob about the agency's Cold War origins as civil defense in the event of a nuclear attack and how it transitioned to "natural" disaster response. Plus, they discuss the limitations to FEMA's capabilities and why it has such a spotty record. Graff is also author of <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Raven-Rock-Government%E2%80%99s-Secret-Itself--While/dp/1476735409/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1473424644&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=raven+rock&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=garrettgraffc-20&amp;linkId=66578ce9bad0c75ff5c14e91ca6a0948">Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government's Secret Plan to Save Itself -- While The Rest of Us Die</a></em>.</p>

<p>Between the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill and an anonymous op-ed from within the Trump White House, a wave of rule-bending and -breaking has crashed on Washington. This week, we explore how political decorum and popular dissent have evolved since the early days of our republic — and how the legal protections for those core freedoms could transform our future.</p> <p>1. Brooke and Bob on how best to cover <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/opinion/trump-white-house-anonymous-resistance.html">the anonymous op/ed written by a "senior official in the Trump administration."</a> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/adults-room">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. Geoffrey Stone, professor of law at University of Chicago, on our evolving — and occasionally faulty — interpretations of the first amendment. And, Laura Weinrib, professor of law at University of Chicago, on how early-20th century labor struggles gave birth to our modern ideas about freedom of speech. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/one-hundred-years-free-speech/">Listen.</a></p> <p>3. Tim Wu [<a href="https://twitter.com/superwuster">@superwuster</a>], professor of law at Columbia University, on how the first amendment could inform new regulations for Silicon Valley. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/1st-amendment-obsolete/">Listen.</a></p> <p><em>Music:</em></p> <p><em>John Renbourn - Passing Time<br></em><em>Puck - John Zorn<br>Joeira - Kurup<br></em><em>Mulatu Astatke - Tezeta</em></p> <p> </p>

<p>Six weeks ago, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/26/politics/michael-cohen-donald-trump-june-2016-meeting-knowledge/index.html" href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/26/politics/michael-cohen-donald-trump-june-2016-meeting-knowledge/index.html" target="_blank">CNN broke a blockbuster story</a>: According to several anonymous sources, President Trump had advance knowledge of the infamous Trump Tower meeting. It was a potential smoking gun, until one of those sources — Lanny Davis, attorney for Michael Cohen — recanted.</p> <p>Beyond that headache for CNN, there was another. The original article had claimed, "Contacted by CNN, one of Cohen's attorneys, Lanny Davis, declined to comment." Depending on how you understand the word "comment," and depending your general disposition, that claim could be technically true or woefully, mendaciously disingenuous. Bob spoke with <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/cnn-said-a-source-declined-to-comment-except-he-actually-did-is-that-a-problem/2018/08/31/16de0d2c-ac77-11e8-8a0c-70b618c98d3c_story.html" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/cnn-said-a-source-declined-to-comment-except-he-actually-did-is-that-a-problem/2018/08/31/16de0d2c-ac77-11e8-8a0c-70b618c98d3c_story.html" target="_blank">Washington Post media reporter Paul Farhi</a> about the implications — and dangers — of this latest media mishap. </p>

<p><span>After an earthquake struck Nepal in April of 2015, the post-disaster media coverage followed a trajectory we'd seen repeated after other earth-shaking events. We put together a template to help a discerning news consumer look for the real story. It's our Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: Tectonic Edition. Brooke spoke to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Big-Truck-That-Went/dp/1137278978" target="_blank">Jonathan M. Katz</a>, who wrote "<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/28/magazine/how-not-to-report-on-an-earthquake.html" target="_blank">How Not to Report on an Earthquake</a>" for the<em> New York Times Magazine</em>. </span></p> <div class="embedded-image"><img class="mcePuppyImage is-loaded" src="https://media2.wnyc.org/i/620/620/l/80/1/OTM_Consumer_Handbook_TectonicEdition.png" alt=""></div>

<p><span>End-of-times narratives themselves are nothing new; only the means have changed. While once a few horsemen and a river of blood were enough to signal the dusk of man, apocalypse now requires the imaginations of entire atomic laboratories — or roving squads of special effects crews. This week we look through a few recent highlights from the genre: from a 1980's made-for-TV spectacle, to a new piece of speculative fiction documenting a hypothetical nuclear conflict with North Korea.</span></p> <p>1. Jeffrey Lewis [<a href="https://twitter.com/ArmsControlWonk">@ArmsControlWonk</a>], author of "The 2020 Commission Report," on what we might say to ourselves after a devastating war with North Korea. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/how-nuclear-war-could-happen/">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. Marsha Gordon [<a href="https://twitter.com/MarshaGGordon">@MarshaGGordon</a>], film studies professor at North Carolina State University, on the 1983 film "The Day After," which imagines a massive nuclear strike in the Midwestern U.S. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/day-after-today-1/">Listen.</a></p> <p>3. Anne Washburn, playwright, on "Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play," in which she imagines American cultural life after a devastating nuclear event. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/what-simpsons-can-teach-us-about-nuclear-apocalypse-1/">Listen.</a></p> <p>4. Andrew Fitzgerald [<a href="https://twitter.com/magicandrew">@magicandrew</a>], chief digital content officer at Hearst TV, on what journalists, seven years ago, thought about the prospect of covering the end of the world. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/covering-apocalypse/">Listen</a>.</p>

<div class="story__details"> <div id="ember885" class="ember-view"> <div id="ember894" class="article-tabs ivy-tabs nypr-tabs ember-view"> <div aria-hidden="false" id="ember914" role="tabpanel" class="ivy-tabs-tabpanel active ember-view" aria-labelledby="ember908" tabindex="0"> <div class="story__body"> <div id="ember931" class="ember-view"> <div class="django-content"> <div> <p>When a commercial plane goes down, media speculation ensues. With the help of <em>The Atlantic</em>'s <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/james-fallows/">James Fallows</a>, we give you some tips that can help you comb through the coverage.</p> <div class="embedded-image"><img class="mcePuppyImage is-loaded" src="https://www.wnyc.org/i/620/620/l/80/1/OTM_Consumer_Handbook_AirplaneEdition_web.png" alt=""> <div class="image-caption"></div> </div> <p> </p> <p> </p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>

<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 tens of thousands people broadcast their lives and video game game-play in real-time. It's like unedited, <em>real</em>, reality TV. This week, On the Media digs into why so many people want to share so much on Twitch, and why the site draws more viewers than HBO and Netflix. 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/">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/">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/">Listen.</a></p>

<p>Back in the summer of 2016, Turkish putschists shut down highways, attacked government buildings and took broadcasters hostage, world media outlets struggled to provide sober reports of the coup. During the chaos, some listeners told us on Twitter that they’d appreciate an OTM Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: Coup Edition. Coups are especially tricky to report on because they're mainly about perception and narrative. Plotters and the government are both trying to establish dominance, and misreporting can determine whether the attempt succeeds or not. </p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/naunihalpublic?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Naunihal Singh</a>, author of <a href="https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/content/seizing-power">Seizing Power: The Strategic Logic of Military Coups</a>, says the first step for a successful military coup is to take control of radio and tv broadcasters. From there, they can literally and figuratively control the narrative. </p> <p>Brooke spoke to Singh about how to understand coups through the media, and how to understand whether an attempt will succeed or fail. </p> <p>Song:</p> <p><em>"Cops or Criminals" by Howard Shore</em></p> <div class="embedded-image"><img class="mcePuppyImage is-loaded" src="https://media2.wnyc.org/i/800/800/l/80/1/OTM_Consumer_Handbook_MilitaryCoupEdition_1400X1400.png" alt=""> <div class="image-metadata"> <div class="image-caption">Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: Military Coup Edition</div> <div class="image-credit">(On The Media/WNYC)</div> </div> </div>

<p><span>People like neo-nazi Andrew Anglin and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones have long tested the limits of permissible speech. On this week’s On the Media, hear from a lawyer who defends the First Amendment rights of society’s worst actors. Plus, a lawyer suing in defense of government transparency, a fire historian weighs in on the coverage of the California wildfires, and a Texas journalist who has reported on hundreds of executions. </span></p> <p>1. Marc Randazza [<a href="https://twitter.com/marcorandazza">@marcorandazza</a>], first amendment lawyer, on Alex Jones, the Unite the Right rally, and free speech. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/defending-indefensible/">Listen. </a></p> <p>2. Mark Pedroli [@MarkPedroli], attorney, on <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article188405944.html">the technology used by former Missouri governor Eric Greitens to skirt transparency laws</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/private-app-public-officials/">Listen. </a></p> <p>3. Stephen Pyne, fire historian and professor at Arizona State University, on <a href="http://mjr.jour.umt.edu/how-journalists-fan-the-flames-of-wildfire-in-the-west/">the tropes, faults, and failings of wildfire coverage</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/not-all-fires-are-equal/">Listen. </a></p> <p>4. Michael Graczyk, recently retired A.P. reporter, on <a href="https://www.apnews.com/358b0f8331e9487d8dd8c85c6137f217">his experience covering more than 400 executions in Texas</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/reporting-death-chamber/">Listen.</a></p> <p> </p> <p><em>Frail as a Breeze, Erik Friedlander</em></p> <p><em>Solace, The Sting Soundtrack</em></p> <p><em>Mulatu Astatke, Tezeta (Nostalgia)</em></p> <p><em>Kokoroke, Abusey Junction, We Out Here</em></p>

<p>For media professionals, hurricanes offer the very best kind of bad news because the story arc is predictable and invariably compelling. In this summer series revisiting some of 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>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"><img class="mcePuppyImage is-loaded" src="https://media2.wnyc.org/i/800/800/l/80/1/OTM_Consumer_Handbook_StormEdition_800.png" alt=""> <div class="image-metadata"></div> </div> <p> </p>

<p><span>At a rally in Tampa, Florida, Trump supporters attacked CNN reporter Jim Acosta, prompting the president to double down on his anti-press "Enemy of the People" rhetoric. A look at how and why the president incites his base — and where it all might lead. And, as the regulatory battle surrounding 3D gun blueprints rages on, we dive into the worldview of Cody Wilson, the man who started the controversy. Plus, why we’re still living in the aftermath of Trayvon Martin’s killing, six years later.</span></p> <p>1. Greg Sargent [<a href="https://twitter.com/ThePlumLineGS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@ThePlumLineGS</a>], columnist at <em>the</em> <em>Washington Post</em>, on the president's dangerous anti-press rhetoric. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/sake-people-room/">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. Andy Greenberg [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/a_greenberg?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor"><span>@a_greenberg</span></a>], reporter for <em>Wired</em>, on the regulatory battles surrounding 3D gun blueprints. And, Cody Wilson [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/Radomysisky"><span>@Radomysisky</span></a>], founder of Defense Distributed, speaking on his vision for an open source library for gun schematics. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/battle-over-3-d-guns/">Listen.</a></p> <p>3. Benjamin Crump [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/AttorneyCrump"><span>@AttorneyCrump</span></a>], civil rights attorney, and Jenner Furst, one of the filmmakers behind the docu-series "Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story," on Trayvon Martin's legacy. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/how-trayvon-shapes-us-still/">Listen.</a></p> <p><em>Songs:</em></p> <p><em>Sacred Oracle by John Zorn (feat. Bill Frisell)<br>String Quartet No. 5 (II) by Kronos Quartet &amp; Philip Glass<br>Fallen Leaves by Marcos Ciscar<br></em><em>Cellar Door by Michael Andrews<br></em><em>Walking By Flashlight by Maria Schneider<br></em><em>Melancolia by Marcos Ciscar</em></p>

<p>This summer, in a project designed by <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/about-the-immigrant-children-shelter-map" target="_blank">ProPublica</a>, 10 news organizations are sharing information to flesh out the hidden details of families separated by the Trump administration's zero tolerance immigration policy. Bob speaks with Selymar Colón, digital managing editor at <a href="https://www.univision.com/noticias/inmigracion/interactivo-donde-estan-los-ninos" target="_blank">Univision News</a>, one of the organizations involved in the collaboration, about how the consortium has investigated and reported on some of the 200 tips it has received —and about the four families that were reunited after their stories were published.</p>

<p>Socialism is having a moment in the sunlight — that is, on daytime television. Yet at the same time that the left earns a closer look from political pundits, Democrats and Republicans still fail to understand each other with nuance. Plus, after newspaper layoffs and a White House lockout this week, we assess the press’s appetite for solidarity. </p> <p>1. Nathan Robinson [<a href="https://twitter.com/NathanJRobinson">@NathanJRobinson</a>], editor-in-chief at Current Affairs, on <a href="https://www.currentaffairs.org/2018/07/just-stop-worrying-and-embrace-the-left">socialism's renewed place in mainstream political discourse</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/socialism-air/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. Perry Bacon Jr. [<a href="https://twitter.com/perrybaconjr">@perrybaconjr</a>], political writer at FiveThirtyEight, on <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/democrats-are-wrong-about-republicans-republicans-are-wrong-about-democrats/">the misconceptions Democrats and Republicans have about each other</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/who-do-we-think-we-are/">Listen.</a></p> <p>3. Pete Vernon [<a href="https://twitter.com/byPeteVernon">@byPeteVernon</a>], writer at the Columbia Journalism Review, on <a href="https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/white-house-bans-cnn-reporter.php">the White House's decision this week to bar a CNN reporter from a press event</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/white-house-press-corps-get-formation/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>4. <span>Chelsia Rose Marcius [<a href="https://twitter.com/chelsiamarcius">@chelsiamarchius</a>], former staff reporter at the New York Daily News, Tom Laforgia [<a href="https://twitter.com/thomaslaforgia">@thomaslaforgia</a>], former editor at the NYDN, and Molly Crane-Newman [<a href="https://twitter.com/molcranenewman">@molcranenewman</a>], reporter at the NYDN, on <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/business/media/tronc-daily-news-layoffs.html">the layoffs at the tabloid earlier this week</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/what-comes-next-daily-news/">Listen.</a></span></p> <p>5. Felix Salmon [<a href="https://twitter.com/felixsalmon">@felixsalmon</a>], financial journalist, on <a href="https://slate.com/business/2018/07/why-tronc-is-gutting-the-new-york-daily-news.html">the motivations — and, he says, incompetence — behind tronc's business decisions</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/youre-tronc-dying-day/">Listen.</a></p> <p>Songs:</p> <p><em>Carnival of Souls by Verne Langdon<br>Uluwati by John Zorn<br>Going Home for the First Time by Alex Wurman<br>Frail as a Breeze, Pt. 2 by Erik Friedlander<br>Fellini's Waltz by Enrico Pieranunzi &amp; the Charlie Haden<br>Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me by Ben Webster<br><br></em></p>

<p>This week On the Media recommends a new podcast from our colleagues at WNYC. Check it out.</p> <p>Prodigy and Havoc begin laying down rhymes together in high school. When their first album flops, they come up with a new sound that's directly influenced by P's sickle cell, and it helps define a generation of hip hop. Plus: Big Twins talks about the sickle cell attack he’ll never forget.</p> <p> LANGUAGE WARNING: <em>The Realness</em> contains strong language that some listeners may find offensive. </p> <p><em>WNYC’s health coverage and The Realness by Only Human is supported in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Jane and Gerald Katcher and the Katcher Family Foundation, Science Sandbox, an initiative of the Simons Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. </em></p> <p>Audio of Prodigy on <em>Questlove Supreme</em> is provided by Pandora, which also has a recording of Mobb Deep's classic hit "<a href="https://www.pandora.com/artist/nas/sounds-like-you-nyc-2017-explicit/shook-ones-pt-2-live-from-nyc/TRPXgfgPtf2XKl6">Shook Ones (Part II)</a>" performed by Nas.</p>

<p><span>In a matter of months, we've moved from bipartisan immigration talks to calls to abolish ICE. On this week’s On the Media, a look at how leftists are employing a right-wing communications strategy in order to change the national debate. Plus, thirty years into the conversation on global warming, what have we really learned? And in the days following the Trump-Putin summit, what did we miss? </span></p> <p>1. Brooke on this week's coverage of the Trump-Putin summit, and on a new metaphor for the Trump era: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVWTQcZbLgY">the Shepard tone</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/fever-pitch-again/">Listen.</a> </p> <p>2. <a href="https://www.mackinac.org/bio.aspx?ID=1">Joseph Lehman</a>, president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy; Laura Marsh [<a href="https://twitter.com/lmlauramarsh">@lmlauramarsh</a><span>], literary editor at The New Republic; and Sean McElwee [<a href="https://twitter.com/SeanMcElwee">@SeanMcElwee</a>], activist and contributor at The Nation, on <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/138003/flaws-overton-window-theory">the Overton Window</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/how-fringe-ideas-become-policy">Listen.</a> </span></p> <p>3. Andrew Revkin [<a href="https://twitter.com/Revkin?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@Revkin</a>] of the National Geographic Society on <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/earth/thirty-years-ago-today-global-warming-first-made-headline-news/">thirty years of global warming coverage</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/30-years-talking-and-talking-and-talking-about-climate-change/">Listen.</a> </p> <p><em>Music from this week's program:</em></p> <p><em>Whispers of Heavenly Death — John Zorn</em><br><em>String Quartet No. 5 — Philip Glass</em><br><em>The Mole — Hans Zimmer</em><br><em>Flugufrelsarinn — Kronos Quartet</em><br><em>Long Ge — Kronos Quartet</em><br><em>A Ride With Polly Jean — Jenny Scheinman</em></p> <p> </p>

<p>Four years ago this week, on July 17, 2014, Eric Garner died in Staten Island at the hands of a New York City police officer. We probably wouldn't have known if it hadn't been for a cellphone video that captured his arrest, the excessive force that killed him, and his final words. The national media couldn’t look away, until they did look away.</p> <p><span><a href="https://twitter.com/mtaibbi?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Matt Taibbi</a> is a journalist and author of the book, <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cant-Breathe-Killing-Bay-Street/dp/0735288135">I Can't Breathe: A Killing on Bay Street</a></em>, an exploration of Eric Garner’s life and death in the media — and of his real life, too. Brooke spoke to him last year.</span></p>

<p><span>Reporting on the Russia investigation is not for the faint of heart. This week, a look at how a journalist became entangled in the investigation when she turned her source over to the FBI. Plus, how another reporter avoided common journalistic mistakes during the Iraq War and a conversation with the director of the new documentary <em>The Other Side of Everything</em> about the end of Yugoslavia.</span></p> <p>1. Tom Nichols [<a href="https://twitter.com/RadioFreeTom">@RadioFreeTom</a>], professor of national security at the Naval War College, on <a href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/07/10/trump-russia-jonathan-chait-218966">separating the signal from the noise in stories about Trump's relations with Russia</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/navigating-trump-russia-connection/">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. Marcy Wheeler [<a href="https://twitter.com/emptywheel">@emptywheel</a>], national security blogger, on <a href="https://www.emptywheel.net/2018/07/03/putting-a-face-mine-to-the-risks-posed-by-gop-games-on-mueller-investigation/">her decision to out a source to the FBI</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/why-reporter-turned-in-source/">Listen.</a></p> <p>3. Jonathan Landay [<a href="https://twitter.com/JonathanLanday?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@JonathanLanday</a>], national security correspondent at Reuters, on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVdHJuVydb4">his reporting at the outset of the Iraq War</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/who-was-reporting-truth-why-we-went-war-iraq">Listen.</a></p> <p>4. <span>Mila Turajlić, director of "The Other Side of Everything," on <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/the-other-side-of-everything-reviewed-a-daughter-documents-yugoslavias-nationalistic-nightmare">her mother's dissent against the former Yugoslavian government</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/other-side-everything/">Listen.</a></span></p>

<p><span>With President Trump's nomination of federal judge Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court will likely be locked up by the political right for a generation. This is in large part thanks to a historic decision made in 2010 by the court’s then-shakier conservative majority: the <em>Citizens United</em> ruling, which fundamentally reshaped the political landscape of the United States by unleashing floods of political spending, particularly in the form of untraceable "dark money." </span></p> <p>For the state of Montana, the post-<em>Citizens United</em> world has brought back old memories: over a century ago, copper kings like William A. Clark used their vast wealth to control the state and buy up political power. In 1912, the state responded by passing one of the first campaign finance laws in the nation, banning corporate political spending entirely. That law was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2012, but Montanans have continued to push back against corporate political spending using other means.</p> <p>A new documentary, <a href="http://www.darkmoneyfilm.com/"><em>Dark Mone</em><em>y</em></a>, uses Montana as a microcosm to explain the reality of campaign finance in the United States today. Bob speaks with director <a href="https://twitter.com/_kimreed?lang=en">Kimberly Reed</a> about the documentary and why she's hopeful that, despite the unbalanced playing field, positive change is possible.</p>

<p>This week, we devote an entire hour to what one important scholar deemed “the cause of and solution to all of life’s problems.” From its earliest role as a source of nourishment to its depictions in ancient literature, we examine the roots of mankind’s everlasting drinking problems. Plus, how a bizarre 60 Minutes piece spread the idea that red wine has medicinal effects. Then, a look at how popular culture has incorrectly framed Alcoholics Anonymous as the best and only option for addiction recovery. And, a scientist cooks up a synthetic substitute for booze.</p> <p>1. Iain Gately, author of <em>Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol, </em>on the ancient origins of our core beliefs about booze. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/alcohol-ancient-times">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. Robert Taylor, assistant managing editor at <em>Wine Spectator</em>, on red wine's constantly changing reputation as a healthy substance. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/red-wine">Listen</a>.</p> <p>3. Gabrielle Glaser [<a href="https://twitter.com/GabrielleGlaser">@GabrielleGlaser</a>], author of <em>Her Best-Kept Secret: Why Women Drink - And How They Can Regain Control</em>, on the history and P.R. methods of Alcoholics Anonymous. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/alcoholics-anonymous-goes">Listen</a>.</p> <p>4. David Nutt [<a href="https://twitter.com/ProfDavidNutt">@ProfDavidNutt</a>], psychologist at Imperial College London, on his new alcohol substitute, "alcosynth." <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/can-we-replace-alcohol">Listen</a>.</p> <p><em>Songs:</em></p> <p><em>When I Get Low I Get High by Ella Fitzgerald</em></p> <p><em>Tomorrow Never Knows by Quartetto D/Archi Dell'Orchestra Sinfonica Di Milano</em></p> <p><em>Il Casanova Di Federico Fellini by Solisti E Orchestre Del Cinema Italiano</em></p> <p><em>Option with Variations by Kronos Quartet/composer Rhiannon Giddens</em></p>

<p>Following a string of landmark Supreme Court rulings and a surprise retirement, this week On the Media examines the conservative culture on the bench and wonders what we can expect from the court going forward. Plus, is civility really dead or only sleeping? And what is the view from small-town America?</p> <p>1. Adam Serwer [<a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSerwer">@AdamSerwer</a>], senior editor at <em>The Atlantic</em>, on <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/06/the-supreme-courts-green-light-to-discriminate/563756/">the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Trump administration's travel ban decision</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/what-discrimination/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. Teresa Bejan [<a href="https://twitter.com/tmbejan">@tmbejan</a>], professor of political theory at the University of Oxford, on the historical origins of our "crisis of civility." <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/virtue-mutual-contempt/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>3. Keith Bybee, professor of judiciary studies at Syracuse University, on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/How-Civility-Works-Keith-Bybee/dp/1503601544">the oft-repeated deaths of American civility</a> — and how notions of civility can be a tool of oppression. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/problem-with-civility/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>4. Deborah Fallows, author and linguist, and James Fallows [<a href="https://twitter.com/JamesFallows">@JamesFallows</a>], national correspondent at <em>The Atlantic</em>, on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Our-Towns-000-Mile-Journey-America/dp/1101871849">the societies thriving outside the media lens</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/what-does-does-civic-success-look/">Listen</a>.</p>

<p>There’s a reason why Supreme Court reporters know to <em>never</em> to take a vacation in June.</p> <p>The end of this season’s term brought us a head-spinning drumbeat of huge 5-4 decisions, from upholding the Muslim travel ban to dealing a huge blow to organized labor to siding with anti-abortion pregnancy centers. </p> <p>Understanding the Supreme Court is difficult for myriad reasons. So, with the expertise of seasoned SCOTUS reporters, in 2015 we put together a handy guide for the discerning news consumer to make sense of the court, its decisions, and its coverage. We're revisiting it this week. </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_SCOTUSEdition.png" alt=""> <div class="image-metadata"> <div class="image-caption">Add Caption Here</div> <div class="image-credit">(Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: SCOTUS Edition/WNYC)</div> </div> </div> <p> </p>

<p>Family separation, a re-framed immigration debate and Trump's misleading executive order: why news fatigue about the border isn’t an option. This week, we explore multiple sides of the asylum policy — including the view from Central America. Plus, a look back at US repatriation policy in the 1930's, and six decades of American culture wars. </p> <p>1. Dara Lind [<a href="https://twitter.com/DLind?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@DLind</a>] and Dahlia Lithwick [<a href="https://twitter.com/dahlialithwick?lang=en">@Dahlialithwick</a>] on how Trump's family separation policy attempts to re-frame the immigration debate, and why news fatigue isn't an option. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/borderline-madness/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. Carlos Dada [<a href="https://twitter.com/CarlosDada?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@CarlosDada</a>] on the way the family separation and zero-tolerance asylum policy are changing the way Central Americans see the United States. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/view-central-america/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>3. <span>Francisco Balderrama on the mass expulsion of Mexican immigrants and their American-born children from the United States during the Great Depression. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/revisiting-our-mass-deportation-past/">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p>4. Brian Lehrer [<a href="https://twitter.com/BrianLehrer?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@BrianLehrer</a>] on six decades of culture wars in the United States. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/history-american-resentment/">Listen</a>.</p> <p><em>Songs:</em></p> <p><em>Texas Polka by Bonnie Lou</em><br><em>Marjane’s Inspiration by David Bergeaud</em><br><em>The Invisibles by John Zorn</em><br><em>Maria Christina by Los Lobos</em><br><em>Blackbird by Brad Mehldau</em></p>

<p>In 2014, <em>Fortune</em> magazine ran a cover story featuring Elizabeth Holmes: a blonde woman wearing a black turtleneck, staring deadpan at the camera, with the headline, “<a href="http://fortune.com/2014/06/12/theranos-blood-holmes/">This CEO’s out for blood</a>.”</p> <p>A decade earlier, Holmes had founded Theranos, a company promising to “revolutionize” the blood testing industry, initially using a microfluidics approach — moving from deep vein draws to a single drop of blood. It promised easier, cheaper, more accessible lab tests — and a revolutionized healthcare experience.</p> <p>But it turns out that all those lofty promises were empty. There was no revolutionary new way to test blood. <span>This past spring, Holmes settled a lawsuit with the Securities and Exchange Commissio, though admitted no wrongdoing. La</span>st Friday, another nail in the coffin for Theranos came in the form of federal charges of wire fraud, filed against Holmes and the company's former president, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani. </p> <p>The alleged fraud was uncovered by the dogged reporting of <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnCarreyrou?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">John Carreyrou</a>, an investigative journalist at the <em>Wall Street Journal</em> and author of "<em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Blood-Secrets-Silicon-Startup/dp/152473165X">Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup</a></em>." </p> <p> </p>

<p><span>More than two thousand reporters went to Singapore to cover the summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un. This week, we examine how so much coverage can lead to so little understanding. Plus, at long last, Justin Trudeau is subjected to media scrutiny in the US. And, the latest threat to American newspapers, the trouble with a new bill meant to battle anti-Semitism, and Jeff Session's fraught theology. </span></p> <p>1. Noah Bierman [<a href="https://twitter.com/Noahbierman">@Noahbierman</a>], White House correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, on <a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-summit-witness-20180611-story.html">his experience reporting from Singapore</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/empty-handed-singapore/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. Margaret Sullivan [<a href="https://twitter.com/Sulliview">@Sulliview</a>], media columnist for the Washington Post, on <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-north-korea-summit-was-a-triumph-of-trumpian-stagecraft-and-the-media-fell-for-it/2018/06/12/0ebe2488-6e42-11e8-bd50-b80389a4e569_story.html">American media falling for Trumpian stagecraft at the summit</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/beyond-hype/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>3. Jesse Brown [<a href="https://twitter.com/JesseBrown">@JesseBrown</a>], host of the <a href="http://www.canadalandshow.com/">CANADALAND</a> podcast, on <a href="http://www.canadalandshow.com/">U.S. media's renewed interest in Justin Trudeau</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/honeymoon-ends/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>4. Erin Arvedlund [<a href="https://twitter.com/erinarvedlund">@erinarvedlund</a>], reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, on <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/business/trump-commerce-paper-mill-newsprint-tariffs-20180612.html">the dangers of a tariff on Canadian newsprint</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/price-paper-too-damn-high/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>5. Michael Lieberman [<a href="https://twitter.com/ADLWashCounsel">@ADLWashCounsel</a>], Washington counsel for the Anti-Defamation League, and Kenneth Stern, executive director of the Justus &amp; Karin Rosenberg Foundation, on <a href="https://www.adl.org/blog/what-is-the-anti-semitism-awareness-act-really-all-about">the proposed Anti-Semitism Awareness Act</a>; Brooke on <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/bible-verse-jeff-sessions-used-defend-immigration-crackdown-once-also-ncna883676">Jeff Sessions biblical defense of the Trump administration's immigration policies</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/anti-zionist-speech-anti-semitic/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>Songs:</p> <p><em>Puck by John Zorn (feat. Bill Frisell, Carol Emanuel &amp; Kenny Wollesen)</em><br><em>Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry by Raymond Scott</em><br><em>The Party's Over by Dick Hyman<br>Paperback Writer by Quartetto d'Archi Dell'Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Guiseppe Verdi</em><br><em>Tilliboyo by Kronos Quartet</em></p>

<p>For decades, Seymour Hersh has been an icon of muckraking, investigative reporting: his work exposed such atrocities as the massacre of Vietnamese civilians in <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1972/01/22/i-coverup">My Lai</a> and the torture of Iraqis in <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/05/10/torture-at-abu-ghraib">Abu Ghraib</a>. He also documented the US's development of <a href="http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/White%20%20Files/Dead%20Ends/Dead%20Ends%20130.pdf">chemical weapons</a> in the 60s, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1974/12/22/archives/huge-cia-operation-reported-in-u-s-against-antiwar-forces-other.html">CIA domestic spying</a> in the 70s, wrote a highly critical piece on <a href="https://www.lrb.co.uk/v37/n10/seymour-m-hersh/the-killing-of-osama-bin-laden">the raid that killed Osama bin Laden</a> in 2015 and did a whole lot more. Hersh speaks with Brooke about his latest book, <em><a href="http://knopfdoubleday.com/2018/05/14/reporter-by-seymour-hersh/">Reporter: A</a><a href="http://knopfdoubleday.com/2018/05/14/reporter-by-seymour-hersh/"> Memoir</a></em>, which chronicles his half century of reporting and the various obstacles he's encountered along the way.</p> <p><em>We spoke to Hersh in 2008 about his My Lai reporting. <a href="https://www.wnyc.org/story/131080-40-years-later-hersh-on-my-lai/">Listen here.</a></em></p> <p><em>We spoke to Hersh in 2015 about his bin Laden reporting. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/podcast-extra-seymour-hersh/">Listen here.</a></em></p> <p><em>This segment is from our June 8th, 2018 program, "<a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/on-the-media-2018-06-08/">Perps Walk</a>."</em></p>

<p><span>Justice for whom? President Trump’s controversial pardoning spree has benefited political allies and nonviolent drug offenders alike. This week, we look at whether the President’s unorthodox use of clemency might not be such a bad thing. Plus, why the Justice Department curbed prosecution of white collar crime, and Seymour Hersh revisits highlights from his storied investigative reporting career.</span></p> <p>1. Mark Osler [<a href="https://twitter.com/Oslerguy">@Oslerguy</a>], Professor of Law at the University of St. Thomas, on why President Trump's unorthodox approach to clemency might not be such a bad thing. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/rethinking-presidential-pardon/">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. Jesse Eisenger [<span><a href="https://twitter.com/eisingerj"><strong>@</strong>eisingerj</a></span>], senior reporter at <a href="https://www.propublica.org/">ProPublica</a>, on why federal prosecutors have adopted such a lenient approach to white collar crime. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/inside-chickenshit-club/">Listen.</a></p> <p>3. Seymour Hersh, investigative journalist, on some of the personal experiences and incredible stories that have defined his half-century-long reporting career. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/seymour-hersh-looks-back/">Listen.</a></p> <p><em> Music:</em></p> <p><em>"Going Home for the First Time" by Alex Wurman</em></p> <p><em>"Tymperturbably Blue" by Duke Ellington</em></p> <p><em>"Let's Face the Music and Dance" by Duke Ellington</em></p> <p><em>"Purple Haze" by Kronos Quartet</em></p> <p> </p> <p> </p>

<p>Puerto Rico was (briefly) back in the news this week when a Harvard study shed more light on many people died in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. The study has a wide range of estimated deaths, but the mid-point is stunning: 4,645 people died as a result of the storm, the researchers found. </p> <p>Meanwhile, a judge on the island ruled that the Puerto Rican government has seven days to release death certificates and data related to the death toll of Hurricane Maria. The ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by CNN and the Puerto Rican-based <a href="http://periodismoinvestigativo.com/">Center for Investigative Journalism</a>, or CPI. Both organizations have been investigating the death toll following the storm and question the government’s official tally of 64. CPI's estimate is that 1,065 more people than usual died in the weeks after the storm. We take this opportunity to revisit our reporting from the island in the aftermath of that devastating storm.</p> <p>Hurricane Maria's category-five winds and torrential rain stripped away much of the island's lush vegetation, leaving behind a strange and alien landscape. But more was exposed than barren tree branches. The storm also called attention to, and exacerbated, the island's high poverty rate. Further-flung regions, outside of metropolitan San Juan, found themselves in the spotlight. And longstanding questions of identity and relationship to the mainland U.S. were brought to the fore.</p> <p>In the three months since Hurricane Maria, those who have remained on the island have faced a choice. They could face Puerto Rico as Maria left it—stripped away of vegetation, infrastructure, and assumptions—and rebuild the island and its society anew. Or they could become <em>acostumbrados</em>: accustomed to a frustrating new normal. </p> <p>Alana Casanova-Burgess looks at what the storms have exposed and at a path forward through a thicket of fear, adaptation, and hope, featuring:</p> <ul> <li>Benjamin Torres Gotay [<a href="https://twitter.com/TorresGotay">@TorresGotay</a>], columnist for the newspaper <a href="https://www.elnuevodia.com/">El Nuevo Día</a></li> <li>Walter Ronald Gonzalez Gonzalez, director of Art, Culture and Tourism for the region of Utuado</li> <li>Yarimar Bonilla [<a href="https://twitter.com/yarimarbonilla">@yarimarbonilla</a>], anthropologist at Rutgers University</li> <li>Alfredo Corrasquillo [<a href="https://twitter.com/alcarrpr">@alcarrpr</a>], psychoanalyst and expert on leadership at the University of the Sacred Heart in San Juan</li> <li>Sandra Rodriguez Cotto [<a href="https://twitter.com/srcsandra">@srcsandra</a>], host at WAPA Radio</li> </ul>

<p>We talk a lot about right wing news outlets picking up out-of-context facts and amplifying them in their outrage machine, so as to infuriate and validate their angry audiences. But this phenomenon is not solely the province of the political right, as we saw last week when <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/05/immigrant-children-separated-from-families-are-not-the-ones-supposedly-lost.html">two separate stories about immigration policy in the Trump era morphed</a> into one outrage-inspiring tale.</p> <p><span><span><a href="https://www.nyclu.org/en/biographies/paige-austin">Paige Austin</a> is an immigration lawyer for the New York Civil Liberties Union. She explains to Bob how liberals came to believe that the Trump administration had torn nearly 1,500 children from their parents' arms, and then lost them — and how this conflation presents potential dangers for the very population that she hopes to defend. </span></span></p>

<p><span>Rudy Giuliani has been warning the press that the president may not testify in the Russia investigation, but Trump has signaled otherwise. This week, we untangle the White House’s mixed-up messaging on the Russia investigation. Plus, after reports that companies like Amazon and Google are seeking, or have received, massive contracts with the Pentagon, we take a look at the internet’s forgotten military origins. And, a new book re-imagines major moments in athletics history. </span></p> <p>1. Dahlia Lithwick [<a href="https://twitter.com/dahlialithwick">@Dahlialithwick</a>], legal correspondent at Slate, on <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-reversal-giuliani-now-says-trump-should-do-interview-with-mueller-team/2018/05/23/82f8fa24-5eb8-11e8-9ee3-49d6d4814c4c_story.html">Giuliani's claim of a Mueller "perjury trap."</a> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/truth-relative/">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. Kate Conger [<a href="https://twitter.com/kateconger">@kateconger</a>], senior reporter at Gizmodo, on <a href="https://gizmodo.com/google-employees-resign-in-protest-against-pentagon-con-1825729300">partnerships between tech titans and the US military</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/google-enlists/">Listen.</a></p> <p>3. Yasha Levine [<a href="https://twitter.com/yashalevine">@yashalevine</a>], investigative journalist, on <a href="https://thebaffler.com/latest/oakland-surveillance-levine">the internet's forgotten military origins</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/surveillance-valley/">Listen.</a></p> <p>4. Mike Pesca [<a href="https://twitter.com/pescami">@pescami</a>], host of Slate's <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/gist.html">The Gist</a>, on his new book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Upon-Further-Review-Greatest-What-Ifs/dp/1455540366">Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs in Sports History</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/greatest-what-ifs-sports-history/">Listen.</a></p>

<p>In November 2016, Bob spoke to Blaze bloviator Glenn Beck to hear about how he was a changed man. More compassionate, a better listener and very opposed to Donald Trump. This weekend, Beck proudly donned a MAGA hat. Why the turnaround? According to Beck, it was in reaction to the <em>media's</em> reaction to something Trump said about immigrants.</p> <p>So the old Beck is back. But to Bob, he'd been there all along. Enjoy.</p>

<p>Just outside of Mobile, Alabama, sits the small community of Africatown, a town established by the last known slaves brought to America, illegally, in 1860. Decades after that last slave ship, <em>The</em> <em>Clotilde</em>, burned in the waters outside Mobile, Africatown residents are pushing back against the forces of industrial destruction and national amnesia. Local struggles over environmental justice, land ownership, and development could determine whether Africatown becomes an historical destination, a living monument to a lingering past — or whether shadows cast by highway overpasses and gasoline tanks will erase our country's hard-learned lessons. </p> <p>Brooke spoke with <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/05/08/608205763/barracoon-brings-a-lost-slave-story-to-light">Deborah G. Plant</a>, editor of a new book by Zora Neale Hurston's about a founder of Africatown, <a href="http://bridgethegulfproject.org/users/joe-womack">Joe Womack</a>, environmental activist and Africatown resident, <a href="https://twitter.com/vickiihowell?lang=en">Vickii Howell</a>, president and CEO of the <a href="https://www.movegulfcoastcdc.org/">MOVE Gulf Coast Community Development Corporation</a>, Charles Torrey, research historian for the <a href="http://www.museumofmobile.com/">History Museum of Mobile</a>, and others about the past, present, and future of Africatown, Alabama. </p> <p>Songs:</p> <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O7_-_iA1cc">Traditional African Nigerian Music of the Yoruba Tribe</a><br>Death Have Mercy by Regina Carter<br>Sacred Oracle by John Zorn and Bill Frisell<br>Passing Time by John Renbourn<br>The Thompson Fields by Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra</p>

<p><a href="http://www.studsterkel.org/" target="_blank">Studs Terkel</a><span>, born 106 years ago on this date, May 16</span><span>, spent the majority of his life documenting the lives of others – very often everyday, working-class people he believed were “uncelebrated and unsung.” From coal miners and sharecroppers to gangsters and prostitutes, every American had a story to tell and Terkel wanted to hear it. After Terkel died in 2008, publisher </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Political-Education-Coming-Paris-York/dp/1933633158/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1226078953&amp;sr=1-3" target="_blank">Andre Schiffrin</a>, who edited Terkel's writing for more than four decades,<span> spoke with Bob about Terkel's singular gift for oral history.</span></p>

<p><span>Today, more than 45 million Americans live in poverty. The problem has been addressed countless times since the nation’s founding, but it persists, and for the poorest among us, it gets worse. America has not been able to find its way to a sustainable solution, because most of its citizens see the problem of poverty from a distance, through a distorted lens. So in 2016, we presented <a href="https://www.wnyc.org/series/busted-americas-poverty-myths" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.wnyc.org/series/busted-americas-poverty-myths&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1526063139701000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFfM8lSf6ZD4Z8qED90F4JVicNS-A">"Busted: America's Poverty Myths,"</a> a series exploring how our understanding of poverty is shaped not by facts, but by private presumptions, media narratives, and the tales of the American Dream. This week we're revisiting part of that series. </span></p> <p><span>1. Matthew Desmond [<a href="https://twitter.com/just_shelter">@just_shelter</a>], author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Evicted-Poverty-Profit-American-City/dp/0553447459">"<em>Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City</em>,"</a><em> </em>on the myriad factors that perpetuate wealth inequality and Jack Frech [<a href="https://twitter.com/FrechJack">@FrechJack</a>], former Athens County Ohio Welfare Director, on how the media's short attention span for covering inequality stymies our discourse around poverty. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/poverty-tour-2/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=tw&amp;utm_content=otm">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>2. Jill Lepore, historian and staff writer for the <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/jill-lepore"><em>New Yorker</em></a>, on the long history of America's beloved "rags to riches" narrative and Natasha Boyer, a Ohio woman whose eviction was initially prevented thanks to a generous surprise from strangers, on the reality of living in poverty and the limitations of "random acts of kindness." <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/rags-riches-revisited/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=tw&amp;utm_content=otm">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span>3. Brooke considers the myth of meritocracy and how it obscures the reality: that one's economic success is more due to luck than motivation. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/myth-meritocracy/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=tw&amp;utm_content=otm">Listen.</a></span></p> <p><span><em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/series/busted-americas-poverty-myths">“Busted: America’s Poverty Myths”</a> is produced by Meara Sharma and Eve Claxton, with special thanks to Nina Chaudry. This series is produced in collaboration with WNET in New York as part of <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/chasing-the-dream/">“Chasing the Dream: Poverty and Opportunity in America.”</a> Major funding for “Chasing the Dream” is provided by the JPB Foundation, with additional funding from the Ford Foundation.</em></span></p>

<p><span>Back in the early 1980s, thousands of followers of the Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh descended upon a 64,000 acre piece of land in central Oregon to found their utopia. The Rajneeshees had millions of dollars at their disposal and an ideology based on meditation, raising consciousness and free love — one that Bhagwan’s young American and European followers found seemingly irresistible. And one that the local people in the adjacent town of Antelope, Oregon, population 40, saw as an evil threat.</span></p> <p>Cult or utopian project? Menace or marvel? Brothers MacLain and Chapman Way, directors of the new Netflix documentary series <em><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80145240">Wild Wild Country</a></em>, leave it to their viewers to decide, presenting the story in a way that illuminates how the conventions of documentary shape our perceptions. In this expanded version of the interview, Bob speaks with the Way brothers about the challenges they faced and choices they made in presenting wildly conflicting narratives about this truly bizarre chapter in Oregonian history.</p>

<p>After last month’s terrorist attack in Toronto, the media attempted to make sense of the term “incel,” or involuntary celibate. We situate the subculture within the complex ecosystem of aggrieved men online. Plus, a conversation with the directors of the new Netflix documentary series "<em>Wild Wild Country</em>," about their experience revisiting a forgotten utopian project. And, a look at how the press has responded to repeated attacks from President Trump. </p> <p>1. Jay Rosen [<a href="https://twitter.com/jayrosen_nyu">@jayrosen_nyu</a>], professor of journalism at New York University, on <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/04/25/why-trump-is-winning-and-the-press-is-losing/">the media losing the battle for the freedom of the press</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/how-journalists-hurt-journalism-age-trump/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. Will Sommer [<a href="https://twitter.com/willsommer">@willsommer</a>], editor at The Hill and author of Right Richter, on the complex ecosystem of aggrieved men online. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/making-sense-manosphere/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>3. Michael Kimmel [<a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelS_Kimmel">@MichaelS_Kimmel</a>], professor of sociology and gender studies at Stony Brook University, on <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/24/books/review/angry-white-men-by-michael-kimmel.html">the roots of masculine frustration</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/what-men-with-pain/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>4. MacLain Way and Chapman Way, directors of the new Netflix documentary series "Wild Wild Country," on <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/16/arts/television/wild-wild-country-netflix-review-guns-sex-and-a-guru.html">the brief and infamous story of the Rajneesh commune</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/trip-through-wild-wild-country/">Listen</a>.</p> <p><span> </span></p>

<p>International Workers' Day is celebrated with rallies and protests all over the world on May 1st, but it's not a big deal in the United States. In this podcast extra, Brooke speaks to <a href="http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/history/faculty/donna-haverty-stacke">Donna Haverty-Stacke of Hunter College, CUNY</a> about the U.S. origin of May Day and how it has come to be forgotten. The first national turnout for worker's rights in the U.S. was on May 1, 1886 -- and contrary to what you've heard elsewhere, it wasn't the same thing as the Haymarket Affair. Haverty-Stacke is also author of <a href="https://nyupress.org/books/9780814737057/">America’s Forgotten Holiday: May Day and Nationalism, 1867–1960</a>, and she explains that the fight over May 1st, or May Day, is also about the fight for American identity and what it means to be radical and patriotic at the same time. </p> <p><em>The OTM crew sings "Into The Streets May First," a never-before-professionally-recorded 1935 Aaron Copland anthem in honor of May Day:</em></p> <p><div class="user-embedded-video"><div id="videoplayer_idm140229084539408457cf4bb-c166-4d22-85e8-8b6c843a8f43"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/267689369?wmode=transparent&amp;autohide=1&amp;rel=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;app_id=122963&amp;enablejsapi=1" width="620" height="349" frameborder="0" title='"Into The Streets May First"' allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" id="a-7930612447340339129" class="youtube_video" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" data-original-url="https://vimeo.com/267689369"></iframe></div></div>  </p>

<p>This week, we explore the ways white Americans — in the voting booth, and on T.V. — deal with a changing society. A new study finds that many white voters supported Donald Trump out of a fear of losing their place in the world. "Roseanne" gets a reboot, and "The Simpsons" reacts poorly under pressure. Plus, a closer look at the company Trump kept and the deals he sought before his presidency, with the hosts of the WNYC podcast "Trump, Inc."</p> <p>1. Thomas Frank [<a href="https://twitter.com/thomasfrank_?lang=en">@thomasfrank_</a>], author of <em>Listen, Liberal</em>, on <a href="https://harpers.org/archive/2018/04/four-more-years-2/">the economic factors that could lead to a second term of Trump</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/strong-economy-trump-second-term" target="_blank">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. <a href="https://www.sas.upenn.edu/polisci/people/standing-faculty/diana-mutz">Diana Mutz</a>, political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania, on <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/24/us/politics/trump-economic-anxiety.html">the fears and anxieties that motivated Trump voters</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/trump-voter-re-explained">Listen</a>.</p> <p>3. Willa Paskin [<a href="https://twitter.com/willapaskin?lang=en">@willapaskin</a>], T.V. critic at Slate, on <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2018/03/the-roseanne-reboot-reviewed.html">the Roseanne reboot</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/trump-voter-through-roseanne-lens">Listen</a>. </p> <p>4. Hari Kondabolu [<a href="https://twitter.com/harikondabolu?lang=en">@harikondabolu</a>], comedian, on <a href="http://www.trutv.com/shows/the-problem-with-apu/index.html">sloppy cultural representation in "The Simpsons."</a> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/problem-apu-changes-mind">Listen</a>. </p> <p>5. Ilya Marritz [<a href="https://twitter.com/ilyamarritz?lang=en">@ilyamarritz</a>] and Andrea Bernstein [<a href="https://twitter.com/AndreaWNYC?lang=en">@AndreaWNYC</a>], reporters at WNYC, and Eric Umansky [<a href="https://twitter.com/ericuman?lang=en">@ericuman</a>], deputy managing editor at ProPublica, on <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/trumpinc">the company Trump kept and the business deals he sought before his presidency</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/what-happens-trump-tower-does-not-stay-trump-tower">Listen</a>. </p> <p><em>Music:</em></p> <p><em>Puck (feat. Bill Frisell, Carol Emanuel &amp; Kenny Wollesen) by John Zorn</em></p> <p><em>Baba O'Riley by The Who</em></p> <p><em>Life on Mars? by Meridian String Quartet</em></p> <p><em>Roseanne Theme Song by Dan Foliart and Howard Pearl</em></p> <p><em>Apu's Theme from The Simpsons: Hit and Run by Marc Baril, Allan Levy, and Jeff Tymoschuk</em></p> <p><em>Here It Comes by Modest Mouse</em></p> <p><em>Cops or Criminals by Howard Shore</em></p>

<p>This week we want to introduce you to some friends of ours at WNYC. Nancy is a podcast hosted by best friends Tobin Low and Kathy Tu and its about all things LGBTQ. </p> <p>This week’s episode has Kathy solving a mystery on behalf of our WNYC colleague Kai Wright. As a young, black, gay man living in Washington DC around 2000, Kai saw a film called Punks. It was a movie about gay life but it wasn’t just about white people and it wasn’t rooted in tragedy. It was a romantic comedy about men like him – something he’d never seen before. But when he tried to track down the film almost 20 years later, he couldn’t find it anywhere. This episode has Kathy on the case to track down the film, and find out how a piece of media can essentially disappear.</p> <p>Want to see Punks? <a href="https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe.c/10280635/?sf87528431=1">Claim tickets now</a> for the one-night-only screening, featuring a Q&amp;A with director Patrik-Ian Polk. You can also join Tobin and Kathy for <a href="https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe.c/10281123">a special pre-screening reception</a>.</p> <p>Special thanks to the <a href="https://one.usc.edu/" target="_blank" title="ONE National Gay &amp; Lesbian Archives">ONE National Gay &amp; Lesbian Archives</a> at USC. Original music by Jeremy Bloom with additional music by Ultracat (<a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/UltraCat/Disco_High/ultracat_-_03_-_unexpected_little_happenings">"Little Happenings"</a>). Theme by Alex Overington.</p> <p><em>Support our work! Become a Nancy member today at <a href="https://pledge3.wnyc.org/donate/nancy-it/onestep/?utm_source=wnyc&amp;utm_medium=nancy-redirect&amp;utm_campaign=pledge&amp;utm_content=show-notes" target="_blank" title="Pledge">Nancypodcast.org/donate</a>.</em></p>

<p>Alex Jones built his Infowars brand on conspiratorial thinking and table-pounding rage. This week, we look at the three lawsuits testing whether Jones can sustain his business on lies alone. After the LGBT-rights advocate David Buckel committed suicide in Brooklyn's Prospect Park this past weekend, we review the difficult history of self-immolation and we zoom in on one such incident, in Texas in 2014. Plus, an LSD retrospective, featuring never-before-heard audio from author Ken Kesey's acid-fueled hijinks. </p> <p>1. <span>Lyrissa Lidsky [<a href="https://twitter.com/LidskyLidsky">@LidskyLidsky</a>], professor at University of Missouri's School of Law, on <a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/news/is-alex-jones-empire-in-trouble/">the legal threats to Alex Jones' conspiratorial media business</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/age-defamation/">Listen</a>. </span></p> <p>2. Andrew Poe, professor of political science at Amherst College, on the history of self-immolation. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/self-immolation-past-and-present/">Listen</a>. </p> <p>3. Michael Hall [<a href="https://twitter.com/@mikehalltexas">@mikehalltexas</a>], executive editor at Texas Monthly, on <a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/man-on-fire/">the life and death of pastor Charles Moore</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/life-sacrifice/">Listen</a>. </p> <p>4. <a href="https://www.riverdonaghey.com/">River Donaghey</a> and Tom Wolfe, author of <a href="http://www.tomwolfe.com/koolaid.html"><em>The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test</em></a>, on <a href="https://www.npr.org/2011/08/12/139383916/tom-wolfe-chronicling-countercultures-acid-test">the legacy of author and LSD evangelist Ken Kesey</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/ken-keseys-acid-quest/">Listen</a>. </p> <p><em>Music:</em></p> <p><em>Lost, Night by Bill Frisell</em></p> <p><em>Coffee Cold by Galt MacDermot</em></p> <p><em>Whispers of Heavenly Death by John Zorn</em></p> <p><em>Unaccompanied Cello Suite No.4 in E-Flat Major by Yo-Yo Ma</em></p> <p><em>Walking by Flashlight by Maria Schneider</em></p> <p><em>Tomorrow Never Knows by Quartetto D'Archi Dell'Orchestra Sinfonica Di Milano</em></p>

<p>This week the venerable Carl Kasell, legendary newscaster and <em>Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me</em> scorekeeper, died aged 84, from complications related to Alzheimer's. Brooke sat down with Carl back in 2014 on the occasion of his retirement to commemorate a distinguished, and deeply baritone, public radio career.</p> <p> </p>

<p>After Mark Zuckerberg's two-day testimony before Congress, we consider whether a reckoning for the social media giant might finally be on the horizon. A new documentary looks at how the state of Montana has been fighting back against dark money ever since the Supreme Court's <em>Citizens United</em> decision, and a legal scholar explains the unlikely history of corporations' rights. Plus, a second look at two infamous, misunderstood crimes: the Pulse Nightclub shooting and the Steubenville rape case. </p> <p>1. Bob on Mark Zuckerberg's testimony this week, with anti-trust expert Matt Stoller [<a href="https://twitter.com/matthewstoller">@matthewstoller</a>]. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/zuckerberg-hearings">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. Kimberly Reed [<a href="https://twitter.com/_kimreed?lang=en">@_kimreed</a>], filmmaker, on her new documentary, <a href="http://www.darkmoneyfilm.com/">Dark Money</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/montana-takes-dark-money">Listen</a>.</p> <p>3. Adam Winkler [<a href="https://twitter.com/adamwinkler">@adamwinkler</a>], professor of law at UCLA, on <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/23/business/dealbook/review-we-the-corporations.html">the history of corporations' legal rights</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/how-corporations-got-rights">Listen</a>.</p> <p>4. Melissa Jeltsen [<a href="https://twitter.com/quasimado">@quasimado</a>], senior reporter at the Huffington Post, on <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/noor-salman-pulse-massacre-wrong_us_5ac29ebae4b04646b6454dc2">the mistaken narratives that followed the Pulse Nightclub shooting</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/correcting-record-pulse-massacre">Listen</a>.</p> <p>5. Derek L. John [<a href="https://twitter.com/DerekLJohn">@DerekLJohn</a>], radio producer and reporter, on <a href="https://www.audible.com/pd/Radio-TV/Ep-3-Steubenville-Part-1-Justice-for-Jane-Gamebreaker-Audiobook/B07B8VKTFR">what internet vigilantes got wrong about the Steubenville rape case</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/crowdsourcing-justice-truth-behind-steubenville-rape-case">Listen</a>.</p>

<p>From our colleagues in the WNYC newsroom who produce Trump Inc.:</p> <p>This week, we’re doing a couple of  things differently on Trump, Inc. Instead of focusing on President Trump’s businesses, we’re looking more broadly at business interests in the Trump administration. We’re also giving you, our listeners, homework.</p> <p>Last month, ProPublica published the first comprehensive and searchable <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/trump-town/" target="_blank">database of Trump’s 2,685 political appointees</a>, along with their federal lobbying and financial records. It’s the result of a year spent filing Freedom of Information Act requests, collecting staffing lists and publishing financial disclosure reports.</p> <p>We’ve found plenty in the documents. We know there are lots of lobbyists <a href="https://twitter.com/ProPublica/status/971834744186068992" target="_blank">now working at agencies they once lobbied</a> (including one involving an herbicide that could affect the sexual development of frogs). We know there are dozens of officials who’ve <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/trump-town/agencies/white-house-office/waivers" target="_blank">received ethics waivers</a> from the White House. We know there are “special-government employees” who are working in the private sector and the government at the same time.</p> <p>But there’s so much more to do. Remember, we have multiple documents for nearly 2,700 appointees. And we need your help. For example, you can help us unmask who is actually behind LLCs listed in officials’ financial disclosures. (A reader did that last year and turned us on to<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/after-a-sweet-deal-with-dad-eric-trump-assembles-a-valuable-penthouse" target="_blank"> an interesting below-market condo sale</a> the president made to his son, Eric Trump.)  </p> <p><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/how-you-can-use-trump-town" target="_blank">Here’s step-by-step-instructions on how you can dig in</a>.</p> <p><strong>You can also contact us</strong> via Signal, WhatsApp or voicemail at 347-244-2134. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/trumpinc/send-us-tips" target="_blank">Here’s more</a> about how you can contact us securely.</p> <p>You can always email us at <a href="mailto:tips@trumpincpodcast.org" target="_blank">tips@trumpincpodcast.org</a>.</p> <p> </p>

<p><span>With a caravan of activists making its way through Mexico, President Trump signed a proclamation to send troops to defend the border. This week we examine that caravan’s unintended consequences, as well as the unintended consequences of a bill, recently passed by Congress, to combat online sex trafficking. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? Maybe. Plus, we take a judicious look back at Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy. </span></p> <p>1. Carrie Kahn [<a href="https://twitter.com/ckahn">@ckahn</a>], international correspondent for NPR, Alberto Xicotencatl [<a href="https://twitter.com/BETTOXICO">@BETTOXICO</a>], director of Saltillo Migrant House, and Alex Mensing [<a href="https://twitter.com/alex_mensing">@alex_mensing</a>], organizer for Pueblo Sin Fronteras, on the stories and faulty narratives coming out of Mexico over the past week. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/how-trump-learned-about-caravan/">Listen.</a></p> <p>2. Carolyn Maloney [<a href="https://twitter.com/RepMaloney">@RepMaloney</a>], congresswoman from New York's 12th district, Elliot Harmon [<a href="https://twitter.com/elliotharmon">@elliotharmon</a>], from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Kate D'Adamo [<a href="https://twitter.com/KateDAdamo">@KateDAdamo</a>], sex worker rights advocate, on the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/business/sex-trafficking-bill-senate.html">Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act</a>, which currently awaits President Trump's signature. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/why-anti-sex-trafficking-bill-isnt-no-brainer" target="_blank">Listen.</a> </p> <p>3. Mychal Denzel Smith [<a href="https://twitter.com/mychalsmith">@mychalsmith</a>], writer, on <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/04/mlk-revered-man/556832/">how Martin Luther King Jr.'s masculinity impacts young black Americans today</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/dr-kings-bad-advice">Listen.</a> </p> <p> </p>

<p>Did you see the video that was making the rounds this weekend? It features a seemingly endless parade of Sinclair Broadcast Group TV news anchors — those smiley folks so trusted by their local audiences — speaking from the heart.</p> <p>OK, not from the heart, necessarily, but from the TelePrompter, all with the same script. The video was put together by <a href="https://theconcourse.deadspin.com/how-americas-largest-local-tv-owner-turned-its-news-anc-1824233490">Timothy Burke at Deadspin</a>, and to date it’s been viewed over 7.5 million times. And it has put the spotlight back on Sinclair's political activism.</p> <p>Its 2016 election coverage fawned over Trump and its ongoing White House coverage still does. Meanwhile, Sinclair is in negotiations with the FCC and the Department of Justice over its purchase of Tribune Media, a deal that would expand its reach to 72% of US households, and with it a vast platform — over public airwaves — for its conservative message.</p> <p>Last summer Bob spoke to Felix Gillette, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-07-20/the-sinclair-revolution-will-be-televised-it-ll-just-have-low-production-values">who profiled Sinclair for Bloomberg News</a>, about the company's focus on profit above all. </p>

<p>In March of 2003, U.S.–led coalition forces invaded Iraq, sparking a seemingly endless conflagration that claimed tens of thousands of lives and continues to shape events both international and domestic. Fifteen years later, what have we forgotten? What lessons can we carry forward? And what, if anything, of life in pre-invasion Iraq remains? </p> <p>1. Max Fischer [<a href="https://twitter.com/Max_Fisher">@Max_Fisher</a>], editor and writer at the <em>New York Times</em>, on <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/2/16/11022104/iraq-war-neoconservatives">the ideologies that led the U.S. to invade Iraq in 2003</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/how-neoconservatism-led-us-iraq/">Listen.</a> </p> <p>2. Deb Amos [<a href="https://twitter.com/deborahamos">@deborahamos</a>], international correspondent for NPR, and John Burnett [<a href="https://twitter.com/radiobigtex">@radiobigtex</a>], Southwest correspondent for NPR, on <a href="https://www.wnyc.org/story/129975-the-embed-experiment/">their experiences reporting on the early months of the Iraq War</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/reporting-quagmire/" target="_blank">Listen.</a></p> <p>3. Sinan Antoon [<a href="https://twitter.com/sinanantoon">@sinanantoon</a>], writer and New York University professor, on <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/opinion/iraq-war-anniversary-.html">watching from afar as the Iraq War destroyed his home country</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/if-death-postman/" target="_blank">Listen.</a></p> <p>4. Corey Robin [<a href="https://twitter.com/CoreyRobin">@CoreyRobin</a>], political science professor at Brooklyn College, on <a href="https://harpers.org/archive/2018/04/forget-about-it/">Americans' flawed historical memories</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/united-states-amnesia/">Listen.</a></p> <p><em>Music:</em></p> <p><em>Lost, Night by Bill Frisell</em></p> <p><em>Berotim by John Zorn featuring Bill Frisell, Carol Emanuel, and Kenny Wollesen</em></p> <p><em>Long-Ge by Kronos Quartet</em></p> <p><em>Frail As A Breeze, Part 2 by Erik Friedlander</em></p> <p><em>Whispers of Heavenly Death by John Zorn</em></p> <p><em>Purple Haze by Kronos Quartet</em></p>

<p>Last week marked the fifteenth anniversary of the night of “Shock and Awe” exploding across the night sky over Baghdad, the opening salvo in an ongoing war.</p> <p>It was a deadly conflict to cover and foreign reporters increasingly relied on Iraqis to take the risks on the ground. Back in 2006, Brooke spoke to three Iraqis who were pulled into journalism by a trick of fate and caught up in the wave of correspondents pouring in from the West. Then, we caught up with them years later. </p>

<p>Cambridge Analytica claims that, with the help of 50 million Facebook users' data, it was able to target ads so specifically and so effectively that it helped swing the election for Donald Trump. The media have been more than happy to boost the claim, but many experts are skeptical. This week, a look at what exactly went on with Cambridge Analytica and whether we shouldn't be focusing more on Facebook. Plus, how social media works to undermine free will and what the future might hold for Facebook.</p> <p>1. <a href="https://twitter.com/antoniogm">Antonio </a><span><a href="https://twitter.com/antoniogm">García Martínez</a>, columnist at WIRED and former tech entrepreneur, on <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/the-noisy-fallacies-of-psychographic-targeting/">Cambridge Analytica's "psychographic" techniques</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/how-facebook-helped-trump-without-cambridge-analytica/">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p>2. <a href="https://twitter.com/sivavaid">Siva Vaidhyanathan</a>, director of University of Virginia's Center for Media and Citizenship, on <a href="https://slate.com/technology/2018/03/facebooks-data-practices-were-letting-down-users-years-before-cambridge-analytica.html">past regulatory efforts to reign in Facebook</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/facebook-alarm-bells-have-been-ringing-years/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>3. <a href="https://twitter.com/FranklinFoer">Franklin Foer</a>, staff writer at The Atlantic, on what he sees as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/19/facebooks-war-on-free-will">Facebook's war on free will</a>. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/fight-free-will/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>4.<a href="https://twitter.com/cshirky"> </a><span><a href="https://twitter.com/cshirky">Clay Shirky</a>, author, educator and tech writer, on what real change for Facebook might look like and why he is still an optimist when it comes to the internet. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/where-facebook-goes-from-here/">Listen</a>.</span></p> <p><em>Music:</em></p> <p><em>Tomorrow Never Knows by Quartetto D'Archi Dell'Orchestra Sinfonica Di Milano</em></p> <p><em>Slow Pulse Conga by William Pasley</em></p> <p><em>Passing Time by John Renbourn</em></p> <p><em>Transparence (Instrumental) by Charlie Haden</em></p>

<p>Five years ago, two high school football players in Steubenville, Ohio were found responsible in juvenile court for the rape of a 16-year-old girl.  For much of the national media, that was the end of  the story — but for those in Steubenville who lived through it, the truth never caught up to the lies that spread online and the vigilante terror that resulted. A new, three-part audio documentary from Audible examines the case and the danger of crowd-sourcing justice to online activists. Bob spoke to producer <a href="https://twitter.com/derekljohn?lang=en">Derek John</a> who, along with <a href="https://twitter.com/anderskelto?lang=en">Anders Kelto</a>, reported the series for Audible’s new podcast, “<a href="https://www.audible.com/pd/Radio-TV/Ep-3-Steubenville-Part-1-Justice-for-Jane-Gamebreaker-Audiobook/B07B8VKTFR">Gamebreaker</a>.” </p>

<p>This week, we look at how selective coverage shapes our view of foreign borders, conflicts and historical figures — from Syria to Winston Churchill. Plus, a conversation with the editor-in-chief of National Geographic about their latest issue unpacking tricky issues of race, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/04/from-the-editor-race-racism-history/">starting with the magazine's troubled past</a>.</p> <p>1. Thalia Beaty [<a href="https://twitter.com/tkbeaty">@tkbeaty</a>], reporter for Storyful, on the latest coverage of the war in Syria. </p> <p>2. Miranda Bogen [<a href="https://twitter.com/mbogen">@mbogen</a>], policy analyst at Upturn, on <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/googles-place-geopolitics-493769">the perilous geopolitics of Google Maps</a>. </p> <p>3. Susan Goldberg [<a href="https://twitter.com/susanbgoldberg">@susanbgoldberg</a>], editor-in-chief of <em>National Geographic</em>, on how the magazine is reckoning with racist coverage in its past. </p> <p>4. Madhusree Mukerjee [<a href="https://twitter.com/Madhusree1984">@Madhusree1984</a>], author of Churchill's Secret War, on <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/03/10/in-winston-churchill-hollywood-rewards-a-mass-murderer/?utm_term=.f82529c63114">the ruthless legacy of Winston Churchill</a> you didn't see in his latest Hollywood treatment. </p> <p><em>Songs:</em></p> <p><em>Psalom by NYYD Quartet and Paul Hillier</em></p> <p><em>Collected Songs Where Every Verse Is Filled With Grief by Kronos Quartet</em></p> <p><em>Mazen Dha Nahar El Youm by Abdeslam Khaloufi</em></p> <p><em>Her Averah by Norfolk &amp; Western</em></p> <p><em>Auf Einer Burg by<span> Robert Schumann</span></em></p> <p><em>Flugufrelsarinn by Kronos Quartet</em></p>

<p>Last week we spoke with <em>New York Times</em> tech columnist <a href="https://twitter.com/fmanjoo">Farhad Manjoo</a> after he published an article titled, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/07/technology/two-months-news-newspapers.html">“For two months, I got my news from print newspapers. Here’s what I learned.”</a> He wrote that, earlier this year, "after the breaking-newsiest year in recent memory, I decided to travel back in time. I turned off my digital news notifications, unplugged from Twitter and other social networks, and subscribed to home delivery of three print newspapers.” It was a crash diet.  Lots of healthy analog, and just a little digital — podcasts, email newsletters — for dessert.</p> <p>Farhad found the experience so uplifting and liberating that he was moved to evangelize. He told Bob during their conversation, <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/turning-fire-hose">which you can still listen to</a>, "I boiled it down into three <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/magazine/28nutritionism.t.html">Michael Pollan-esque</a> prescriptions: Get news, not too quick, avoid social."</p> <p>The only problem was, according to analysis by <a href="https://www.cjr.org/analysis/farhad-manjoo-nyt-unplug.php">Dan Mitchell in the Columbia Journalism Review</a> and <a href="http://www.niemanlab.org/2018/03/the-%E2%9D%A4%EF%B8%8F-of-the-matter-here-are-too-many-words-about-farhad-manjoos-twitter-habits-and-some-cool-charts/">Joshua Benton of Harvard’s Nieman Lab</a>, Farhad spent most of his 48-day diet sneaking into the fridge. In the time that he was supposedly “unplugged” from Twitter news, he had tweeted hundreds and hundreds of times. Not the crime of the century — but still, oops.</p> <p>And so Farhad spoke with Bob once more, to explain his rather involved definition of the word "unplugged," and to admit that old habits die hard.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p>

<p>In an age of constant breaking news, it can be hard to tell what matters and what’s just noise. This week, a look at what we’ve learned from recent coverage of the Russia investigation, and what we’ve missed everywhere else — particularly in West Virginia, where a recent teachers' strike made history. Plus, a dive into the complicated history of country music and why we so often get it wrong.</p> <p>1. Marcy Wheeler [<a href="https://twitter.com/emptywheel">@emptywheel</a>], independent investigative reporter, on decontextualized Mueller scooplets. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/o-mueller-where-art-thou/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>2. Sarah Jaffe [<a href="https://twitter.com/sarahljaffe">@sarahljaffe</a>], journalist and co-host of the podcast Belabored, on <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/05/opinion/west-virginia-teacher-strike.html">the teachers' strike in West Virginia</a>, and Elizabeth Catte [<a href="https://twitter.com/elizabethcatte">@elizabethcatte</a>], historian and writer, on the news media's narratives regarding Appalachia. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/new-strides-west-virginia/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>3. J. Lester Feder [<a href="https://twitter.com/jlfeder">@jlfeder</a>], world correspondent for Buzzfeed News, on the political history of country music. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/political-history-country-music/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>4. Nadine Hubbs [<a href="https://twitter.com/nadinehubbs">@nadinehubbs</a>], author of <em>Rednecks, Queers and Country Music</em>, on our assumptions about the working class. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/country-music-lens-class/">Listen</a>.</p> <p>**Note: This program originally contained an interview with the New York Times' Farhad Manjoo discussing an experiment in which he got his news only from print journalism and "unplugged from Twitter and other social networks" for two months. That interview was pulled after <a href="https://www.cjr.org/analysis/farhad-manjoo-nyt-unplug.php">further reporting</a> revealed that he did no such thing.**</p> <p><em>Music:</em></p> <p><em>"Tipico" by Miguel Zenon</em></p> <p><em>"Susan (The Sage)" by The Chico Hamilton Quintet</em></p> <p><em>"Death Have Mercy / Breakaway" by Regina Carter</em></p> <p><em>"Dinner Music for a Pack" of Hungry Cannibals by Raymond Scott</em></p> <p><em>"Okie from Muskogee" by Merle Haggard</em></p> <p><em>"Fightin' Side of Me" by Merle Haggard</em></p> <p><em>"The Pill" by Loretta Lynn</em></p> <p><em>"Watching You" by Rodney Atkins</em></p> <p><em>"Pictures from Life's Other Side" by Hank Williams, Sr.</em></p> <p><em>"Friends In Low Places" by Garth Brooks</em></p> <p><em>"Redneck Woman" by Gretchen Wilson</em></p> <p><em>"Take This Job and Shove It" by Johnny Paycheck</em></p> <p><em>"F— Aneta Briant" by David Allan Coe</em></p> <p><em>"Irma Jackson" by Merle Haggard</em></p> <p><em>"They Don't Know" by Jason Aldean</em></p> <p><em>"Wild Mountain Thyme" by Buddy Emmons</em></p>

<p>Last week, we put out <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/on-the-media-2018-03-02">a special show </a>hosted by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news">The Guardian US</a>’s <a href="https://twitter.com/loisbeckett?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Lois Beckett</a>, devoted to how reporters should approach the alt-right, and white supremacy, in America, called <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/on-the-media-2018-03-02">"Face the Racist Nation."</a></p> <p>As a bonus, we're putting out a full interview with one of the voices in that show: Norwegian journalist <a href="https://twitter.com/Vegastenold?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Vegas Tenold</a>, whose new book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Everything-You-Love-Will-Burn/dp/1568589948">“Everything You Love Will Burn”</a> chronicles his time covering the far right, up close and personal, for close to a decade. Lois talks to Vegas about how he has seen the far right evolve, the mistakes he sees journalists making and his relationship with the co-founder of the racist Traditionalist Worker Party, Matthew Heimbach.</p> <p>In addition to listening to the <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/on-the-media-2018-03-02">full show</a>, make sure to go to our <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/on-the-media-2018-03-02">website </a>to check out the special quizzes we made that delve further into the sticky issues in this hour.</p>

<p>For the past year, Lois Beckett [<a href="https://twitter.com/loisbeckett">@loisbeckett</a>], senior reporter at <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us">The Guardian US</a>, has been showing up at white nationalist rallies, taking their pictures, writing down what they say. And she finds herself thinking: How did we get here? How did her beat as a political reporter come to include interviewing Nazis? And what are the consequences of giving these groups this much coverage?</p> <p>In this week's program — the culmination of a months-long collaboration between On the Media and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us">The Guardian US</a> — we take a deep dive into what the news media often get wrong <span>about white supremacists, and what those errors expose about the broader challenge of confronting racism in America.</span></p> <p>1. Elle Reeve [<a href="https://twitter.com/elspethreeve">@elspethreeve</a>], correspondent for <a href="https://www.hbo.com/vice">VICE News</a>, Anna Merlan [<a href="https://twitter.com/annamerlan">@annamerlan</a>], <span>reporter for <a href="https://gizmodo.com/">Gizmodo Media</a>’s special projects desk</span>, Vegas Tenold [<a href="https://twitter.com/Vegastenold">@Vegastenold</a>], journalist and author of <a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/vegas-tenold/everything-you-love-will-burn/9781568589954/">Everything You Love Will Burn</a>, and Al Letson [<a href="https://twitter.com/al_letson">@Al_Letson</a>], host of <a href="https://www.revealnews.org/">Reveal</a>, from The Center for Investigative Reporting, on the pitfalls and perils of covering white supremacist groups. </p> <p>2. Felix Harcourt [<a href="https://twitter.com/FelixHistory">@FelixHistory</a>], professor of history at Austin College and author of "<a href="http://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/K/bo23720308.html">Ku Klux Kulture</a>," on the history of the Ku Klux Klan in the press in the 1920s. </p> <p>3. Anna Merlan, Elle Reeve, Al Letson, Gary Younge [<a href="https://twitter.com/garyyounge">@garyyounge</a>], editor-at-large for The Guardian, and Josh Harkinson [<a href="https://twitter.com/joshharkinson">@joshharkinson</a>], former senior writer at Mother Jones, on how individual identity impacts reporting on discriminatory movements. </p> <p>4. Ibram X. Kendi [<a href="https://twitter.com/DrIbram">@DrIbram</a>], professor of history and international relations at American University and author of "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Stamped-Beginning-Definitive-History-National/dp/1568585985">Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America</a>," on the enduring myths surrounding the perpetuation of racist ideas and whose interests these misconceptions serve.</p> <p><em>Songs:</em></p> <p><em>Lost, Night by Bill Frisell</em></p> <p><em>Disfarmer Theme by Bill Frisell</em></p> <p><em>I Am Not a Farmer by Bill Frisell</em></p> <p><em>Gone Tomorrow by Lambchop</em></p> <p> </p> <hr> <p> </p> <p>One crucial question during the Trump presidency has been whether racist rhetoric has influenced public policy. And so we put together a quiz! Is it just a germ of a garbage idea? Or is it wriggling its way into our laws? Click "Start" below to, you know, start. </p> <div class="typeform-widget" data-url="https://wnyc.typeform.com/to/y4FwyP" style="width: 100%; height: 750px;"></div> <p> </p> <p>And if you're really hoping to lose faith in our historical figures, you're in luck — we made a second quiz! Who said it: An elder statesman? Or a reviled white supremacist? </p> <div class="typeform-widget" data-url="https://wnyc.typeform.com/to/OrLADc" style="width: 100%; height: 750px;"></div> <script>// <![CDATA[ (function() { var qs,js,q,s,d=document, gi=d.getElementById, ce=d.createElement, gt=d.getElementsByTagName, id="typef_orm", b="https://embed.typeform.com/"; if(!gi.call(d,id)) { js=ce.call(d,"script"); js.id=id; js.src=b+"embed.js"; q=gt.call(d,"script")[0]; q.parentNode.insertBefore(js,q) } })() // ]]></script>

<p><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/trumpinc">The podcast Trump Inc.</a> is a collaboration between WNYC Studios and ProPublica. A team of investigative reporters is examining whether and how the Trump family is profiting from the presidency, and they've organized the show around an "open investigation" so listeners and tipsters can contribute and follow along. We featured the first episode on our podcast feed a few weeks ago, and this week we're checking back with Episode 4. <a href="https://twitter.com/ilyamarritz?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Ilya Marritz of WNYC</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/ericuman?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Eric Umansky of ProPublica</a> speak with <a href="https://twitter.com/Fahrenthold?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">David Farenthold of <em>The Washington Post</em> </a>about what he's been able to learn about President Trump's business dealings, and take calls from listeners with questions about possible profits and motives. </p>

<p><span>Since the Parkland school shooting, the student-led #NeverAgain movement has kept gun control in the headlines. This week, we look at how the movement began — and how pro-gun internet trolls have tried to undermine its message. Plus, how the world of Black Panther taps into a long history of black liberation struggles, and why Black History Month, in the Trump era, can feel both righteous and corporate, dignified and farcical. </span></p> <p>1. Emily Witt [<a href="https://twitter.com/embot">@embot</a>], writer and reporter at <em>the New Yorker</em>, on <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-the-survivors-of-parkland-began-the-never-again-movement">the genesis of the #NeverAgain movement</a>. </p> <p>2. <span>Jason Koebler [<a href="https://twitter.com/jason_koebler">@jason_koebler</a>], editor-in-chief at Motherboard, on <a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/pammy8/what-is-a-crisis-actor-conspiracy-theory-explanation-parkland-shooting-sandy-hook">the "crisis actor" conspiracy</a>. </span></p> <p><span>3. Adam Fletcher [<a href="https://twitter.com/bicyclingfish">@bicyclingfish</a>], co-founder of the Freechild Project, on the history of student-led movements. </span></p> <p><span>4. Doreen St. Félix [<a href="https://twitter.com/dstfelix">@dstfelix</a>], staff writer at <em>the New Yorker</em>, on <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-farce-and-the-grandeur-of-black-history-month-under-trump">the commercialization of Black History Month</a>.</span></p> <p><span>5. Nathan Connolly [<a href="https://twitter.com/ndbconnolly">@ndbconnolly</a>], history professor at John Hopkins University, on <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/black-panther-taps-500-years-history-1085334">the origins of "Black Panther"'s Wakanda</a>. </span></p> <p><em>Songs:</em></p> <p><em>The Glass House - End Title by David Bergeaud</em></p> <p><em>The Stone by The Chieftains</em></p> <p><em>Trance Dance by John Zorn</em></p> <p><em>Smells Like Teen Spirit by The Bad Plus</em></p> <p><em>Rescue Me by Fontella Bass</em></p> <p><em>Mai Nozipo by Kronos Quartet</em></p>

<p><span>In the wake of the school shooting in Florida we are recycling two interviews that we recorded following two <em>other</em> mass shooting tragedies. The first is about a chapter in the NRA's history that not many people know about. We’ve become accustomed in the past 20 years to seeing the issue of guns in America broken down into two camps: gun control advocates — led by police chiefs and Sarah Brady — and the all-powerful National Rifle Association. In an interview that originally aired after Sandy Hook in 2012, Bob talks to Adam Winkler, author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gunfight-Battle-Over-Right-America/dp/0393345831">Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms In America</a></span><span>, who says </span><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/09/the-secret-history-of-guns/308608/" target="_blank">there was a time</a><span>, relatively recently, in fact, when the NRA supported gun control legislation, and the staunchest defenders of so-called "gun rights" were on the radical left.</span></p> <p>The second interview we thought deserved another airing is about the dearth of research into these events. Hours before the 2015 mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, a group of physicians petitioned Congress to end the so-called Dickey Amendment, a nearly twenty-year-old ban that effectively prevents the CDC from researching gun violence. Brooke spoke to <a href="https://twitter.com/toddzwillich?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Todd Zwillich</a><span>, acting host of </span><a href="http://www.thetakeaway.org/">The Takeaway</a><span>, about the history of the ban and its current political state.</span></p>

<p>On Monday, Donald Trump released the second budget proposal of his presidency. There’s lots in it — more money for defense, veterans and border security and some tax changes too. But what really jumps out is the proposal to cut funding for federal assistance programs including a 20 percent cut to Section 8 housing, a 22 percent cut to Medicaid and a brutal 27 percent cut to SNAP (the benefit formerly known as food stamps). Bobby Kogan, who on Twitter identifies himself as “chief number cruncher for the Senate budget committee”, points out that SNAP benefits are already small at just $1.40 per meal, and that “cutting the program by a quarter is extremely cruel.”</p> <p>The proposed cuts did trigger outrage from advocates for the poor, who have also noted that the social safety net has big holes and vulnerable people have been falling through them for years.</p> <p>In the fall of 2016, Brooke reported a series we called “Busted: America’s Poverty Myths.” Over five episodes she explored the central myths of poverty as we see them: that the poor deserve to be poor, that you can pull yourself up by your bootstraps and (the one we are re-airing now), that the safety net can catch you. </p> <p>With the help of <a href="https://twitter.com/KillerMartinis">Linda Tirado</a>, author of <em><a href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/316951/hand-to-mouth-by-linda-tirado/9780425277973/">Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America</a></em>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/just_shelter">Matthew Desmond</a>, author of <em><a href="http://www.evictedbook.com/bios/matthew-desmond">Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City</a></em>, we consider how anti-poverty programs can actually keep people poor and offer little hope for a way out.</p> <p>Also, Brooke meets Margaret Smith, a Columbus woman made homeless after a violent crime derailed the life she'd carefully built with her six children. And we visit an Athens County food pantry that provides not just meals to the community, but also school supplies, clothing, furniture, job training, home repairs, disaster relief... even burial plots. </p>

<p><span>This week, we devote an entire hour to what one important scholar deemed “the cause of and solution to all of life’s problems.” From its earliest role as a source of nourishment to its depictions in ancient literature, we examine the roots of mankind’s everlasting drinking problems. Plus, how a bizarre 60 Minutes piece spread the idea that red wine has medicinal effects. Then, a look at how popular culture has incorrectly framed Alcoholics Anonymous as the best and only option for addiction recovery. And, a scientist cooks up a synthetic substitute for booze.</span></p> <p>1. Iain Gately, author of <em>Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol, </em>on the ancient origins of our core beliefs about booze. </p> <p>2. Robert Taylor, assistant managing editor at Wine Spectator, on red wine's constantly changing reputation as a healthy substance.</p> <p>3. Gabrielle Glaser [<a href="https://twitter.com/GabrielleGlaser">@GabrielleGlaser</a>], author of <em>Her Best-Kept Secret: Why Women Drink - And How They Can Regain Control</em>, on the history and P.R. methods of Alcoholics Anonymous.</p> <p>4. David Nutt [<a href="https://twitter.com/ProfDavidNutt">@ProfDavidNutt</a>], psychologist at Imperial College London, on his new alcohol substitute, "alcosynth."</p> <p><em>Songs:</em></p> <p><em>When I Get Low I Get High by Ella Fitzgerald</em></p> <p><em>Tomorrow Never Knows by Quartetto D/Archi Dell'Orchestra Sinfonica Di Milano</em></p> <p><em>Il Casanova Di Federico Fellini by Solisti E Orchestre Del Cinema Italiano</em></p> <p><em>Option with Variations by Kronos Quartet/composer Rhiannon Giddens</em></p>

<p>Back in January last year,  Donald Trump, newly elected, not yet sworn in, tried to quell concerns about his many conflicts of interest by declaring he would turn over the day-to-day running of his company to his sons. Did he follow through on that?  Has he leveraged the presidency to enrich himself? Who are his partners? Who does he take money from? Trump has rejected the advice of ethics experts to<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/12/us/politics/ethics-experts-trumps-conflicts-of-interest.html"> divest himself</a> from his enterprises. He’s also refused to release details about his finances (including, of course, his tax records).</p> <p>Our colleagues in the WNYC newsroom.  Ilya Marritz and Andrea Bernstein together with Pro Publica’s Eric Umansky, experienced investigative journalists all, were researching these questions when they slammed into a wall: The documents with the answers were not available.</p> <p>Their solution? A new weekly podcast of course, called: Trump Inc. They’re calling it an “open investigation” because they’ll be laying out what they know and what they don’t. And they’re inviting everyone — fellow reports, experts, tipsters and<em> listeners</em> — to join them in the quest for answers.</p> <p>Check out the <a href="https://www.wnyc.org/story/trump-inc/">website</a>...and listen to the <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/trumpinc">podcast</a>.</p>

<p>In his State of the Union speech this week the president announced - to rapturous applause from congressional Republicans, that he had just signed an order to keep open the detention facilities in Guantanamo Bay. When Mohamedou Ould Slahi was released from the prison in 2016, after 14 years behind bars, he was finally able to read <em><a href="http://guantanamodiary.com/">Guantanamo Diary</a>, </em>the bestselling book he had written while imprisoned. And for the first time, he saw the thousands of black bars the FBI had placed over much of his account of capture, torture, and interrogation. Late last year, Slahi and his original editor, writer and activist Larry Siems, set to work unredacting his work<em>. </em>Bob<em> </em>spoke to Siems last fall about their efforts to finally release the full <em>Guantanamo Diary. </em>He also spoke to Slahi via Skype from his home in Mauritania to discuss his book, his experience behind bars and what he wants people to learn about the American political and justice systems.</p>

<p>Over these last few months, WNYC reporter Matt Katz has been reporting the story of a congolese man named Andre and his wife, Lisette. They were living in a Malawi refugee camp, but then Andre was given the chance to be resettled in Elizabeth New Jersey. And he had to leave Lisette behind.</p> <p>When Matt started researching this story he was struck by the fact that in the last 3 years the largest number of refugees to the US were not from Syria or any of the other majority Muslim countries named in Trump’s “extreme vetting” list but from the Democratic Republic of Congo.</p> <p>President Trump came into office promising a wholesale remaking of U.S. immigration policy - there was the travel ban and, of course, the border wall. But what's gotten less attention is the dramatic shift in refugee policy, like slashing the number of refugees allowed into the country and changing security procedures.</p> <p>Luckily for Andre, he made it to New Jersey right before things started to change. </p> <p><a href="https://www.wnyc.org/story/unsettled-refugee-crisis-new-jersey-trump-africa">Click here to see photos of Andre and Lisette and learn more about their story. </a></p> <p> </p> <p> </p>

<p>During his career as a national security reporter for <em>The New York Times</em>, James Risen reported several major scoops about the CIA. Risen exposed the Bush administration's phone surveillance program and misrepresentations of weapons of mass destruction in the Iraq War. He also published big revelations about botched national security operations in <em><a href="http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/State-of-War/James-Risen/9780743270670" target="_blank">The State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration</a></em>. </p> <p>Risen recently reflected <a href="https://theintercept.com/2018/01/03/my-life-as-a-new-york-times-reporter-in-the-shadow-of-the-war-on-terror/">on his career for The Intercept</a>. He talks to Bob about how difficult it was to get important stories into the Times in the lead up to the Iraq War, and why his editors sat on an important piece about warrantless wiretapping for 13 months -- and what it all says about the relationship between the press and the government. </p>

<p>Leslie Gelb, the man who supervised the team that compiled the Pentagon Papers, wasn't a character in the new Hollywood drama, "The Post." He is rarely called for comment in documentaries and films about the Pentagon Papers leak. Back in 1971, Gelb was against the publication of the Papers by both the New York Times and the Washington Post, but he came to see that they demonstrated the major flaws of the Vietnam War effort. In this podcast extra, Brooke talks to Gelb about what the Pentagon Papers were trying to achieve in the first place, how they're understood by the public, and what stories "The Post" missed in its interpretation. </p>

<p>When the British TV show <em>Black Mirror </em>first arrived in the US in late 2014, it was applauded for imagining dystopian, technology-centric scenarios that did not seem terribly far off. Now, as the show launches its fourth season, real life seems to be working hard to surpass the strangeness, and sense of dread, that the show continues to inspire.</p> <p>In January of 2015, Brooke spoke with the creator of <em>Black Mirror</em>, Charlie Brooker, about how the show came about and what it seeks to show us about our technological future...and present.</p> <p>Songs:</p> <p>"Auld Lang Syne"</p> <p>"15 Million Merits" by Stephen McKeon</p> <p>"Bing Abi" by Stephen McKeon</p> <p> </p>

<p>Father Time — his 2017 sash bloodied and muddied, no doubt — will soon hand off the baton to Baby New Year and, like the reluctant old fellow reaching the end of his tenure, we have some feelings about it. It's been a weird one, and we're obviously not holding our breaths hoping for a respite in the next calendar year. So in anticipation of emotions of all kinds, we present The Feelings Show: three interviews from that past that helped us deal with, you know —  things.</p> <p>1. Rebecca Solnit, writer and historian, on her impatience with despair and her insistence that the future is unknowable — and therefore full of potential.</p> <p>2. Robert Wright [<a href="https://twitter.com/robertwrighter">@robertwrighter</a>], writer and theologian, on how adopting basic mindfulness techniques could improve our lives and help us avoid outrage fatigue.</p> <p>3. Jad Abumrad [<a href="https://twitter.com/JadAbumrad">@JadAbumrad</a>], host of WNYC's <em>Radiolab</em>, and Eugene Thacker, professor of media studies at The New School, on nihilism's powerful grip on our culture.</p>

<p>In selling their new tax bill to the public, Republicans have leaned heavily on the theme of simplification. According to them, one of the primary benefits of overhauling our<span> mammoth tax code is that it would make the dreaded filing process easier for Americans. But in reality the new tax bill does little to address the confusion that plagues the tax filing process...or the tax preparation companies like H&amp;R Block that make millions off of that confusion. Last April, Brooke spoke with <a href="https://www.propublica.org/people/jessica-huseman" target="_blank">ProPublica's</a> Senior Reporting Fellow <a href="https://twitter.com/JessicaHuseman" target="_blank">Jessica Huseman</a> about the role the tax preparation lobby has played in keeping our code so complicated and why it doesn't have to be that way. With the passage of the Republican tax bill, we're re-airing that interview.</span></p>

<p><em>Update: On Wednesday, following the release of this pod extra, New York Public Radio announced that Jonathan Schwartz and Leonard Lopate had been <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/story/lopate-schwartz-suspended-wnyc/">placed on indefinite leave</a> as the station investigates "<span>accusations of inappropriate conduct" filed against the two long-time hosts.</span></em></p> <p>This weekend,<a href="https://www.thecut.com/2017/12/public-radio-icon-john-hockenberry-accused-of-harassment.html" target="_blank"> New York Magazine published</a> investigative reporter Suki Kim's personal experiences and reporting on sexual harassment by John Hockenberry, former host of the WNYC program, "The Takeaway." The article alleges that over the past decade, Hockenberry sexually harassed interns, producers, and a guest on "The Takeaway." It also details a culture of bullying; in particular Hockenberry's behavior towards three female co-hosts, none of whom remained on the show. </p> <p><span>In August 2017, John Hockenberry retired from WNYC as a highly regarded, award-winning broadcast and radio journalist.</span> Most staff members at WNYC were unaware of his alleged behavior until we read Suki Kim's article. </p> <p>This podcast is a tick-tock of a station reckoning with its own sexual harassment allegations; the on-air conversations between hosts, reporters, listeners and WNYC management.</p> <p> </p>

<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/25/us/ohio-hovater-white-nationalist.html?_r=0">The New York Times' profile of Tony Hovater</a>, a white nationalist and Nazi sympathizer, set Twitter on fire last weekend — and not in a good way. Bob speaks with Charlie Warzel, senior technology writer at Buzzfeed, about what the story got wrong.  As Warzel wrote earlier this week, in a piece titled "<a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/the-new-york-times-cant-figure-out-where-nazis-come-from-in?utm_term=.ytBdv9Xzb#.ac4ga9mBk">The New York Times Can't Figure Out Where Nazis Come From in 2017. Pepe Has an Answer</a>": </p> <blockquote> <p><span>"Save for a passing mention of 4chan and some description of Hovater's more contentious Facebook posts, the Times piece does little to describe the </span><a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/josephbernstein/in-2015-the-dark-forces-of-the-internet-became-a-countercult?utm_term=.mfeOXmX4ML#.ql3W6D69N2" data-skimlinks-tracking="4689534">online ecosystem</a><span> that has helped white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and the alt-right organize, amplify its message, and thrive in recent years. And, simply put, any attempt to answer what exactly led Hovater to "gravitate toward the furthest extremes of American political discourse" is incomplete without it."</span></p> </blockquote>

<p>Science fiction has always been an outlet for our greatest anxieties. This week, we delve into how the genre is exploring the reality of climate change. Plus: new words to describe the indescribable.</p> <p>1. Jeff VanderMeer [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/jeffvandermeer">@jeffvandermeer</a>], author of the <em>Southern Reach Trilogy</em> and <em>Borne</em>, on writing about the relationships between people and nature.</p> <p>2. Claire Vaye Watkins [<a href="https://twitter.com/clairevaye" class="ProfileCardMini-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav u-dir" dir="ltr">@clairevaye</a>] talks about <em>Gold Fame Citrus</em>, her work of speculative fiction in which an enormous sand dune threatens to engulf the southwest. </p> <p>3. Kim Stanley Robinson discusses his latest work, <em>New York 2140</em>. The seas have risen 50 feet and lower Manhattan is submerged. And yet, there's hope.</p> <p>4. British writer Robert Macfarlane [<a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/RobGMacfarlane">@RobGMacfarlane</a>] on new language for our changing world. </p> <p>Throughout the show: listeners offer their own new vocabulary for the Anthropocene era. Many thanks to everyone who left us voice memos!   </p> <p> </p>

<p>If you find yourself fuming at the Thanksgiving table this week when the conversation turns political, rather than losing your cool in front of your friends and family, consider pausing and taking a <em>deep breath</em>. According to <a href="https://twitter.com/robertwrighter?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Robert Wright</a>, author of <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Why-Buddhism-True-Philosophy-Enlightenment/dp/1439195455/ref=smi_www_rco2_go_smi_g2609328962?_encoding=UTF8&amp;%2AVersion%2A=1&amp;%2Aentries%2A=0&amp;ie=UTF8"><em>Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment</em></a>, so much of the tribalism and animosity that fuels our political moment could be mitigated if more Americans adopted mindfulness techniques. In this podcast extra, Brooke speaks with Wright about how living a mindful life can make us savvier, saner news consumers and help us avoid outrage fatigue.</p>

<p>As allegations of sexual misconduct continue to dominate the news, a look at how we are dealing with high-profile offenders and who is being ignored. Plus, a critical reexamination of Bill Clinton's reputation, the difficulty of processing good art made by bad people, and how to brace ourselves for the potential backlash.</p> <p>1. Rebecca Traister [<a href="https://twitter.com/rtraister?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@rtraister</a>], writer-at-large for <a href="http://nymag.com/author/rebecca%20traister/" target="_blank">New York Magazine</a>, on how sexual harassment stories at the national level resonate with our own familiar relationships to power and gender. </p> <p>2. Michelle Goldberg [<a href="https://twitter.com/michelleinbklyn">@michelleinbklyn</a>], columnist for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/column/michelle-goldberg" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>, on the claims of sexual misconduct made against Bill Clinton. </p> <p>3. Sarah Smarsh [<a href="https://twitter.com/Sarah_Smarsh">@Sarah_Smarsh</a>], writer and reporter, on the sexual harassment accusations that won't make the news, especially those of the working poor. </p> <p>4. Lily Loofbourow [<a href="https://twitter.com/Millicentsomer">@Millicentsomer</a>], culture critic for <a href="https://theweek.com/authors/lili-loofbourow" target="_blank">The Week</a>, on preparing for a public backlash against the post-Weinstein moment. </p> <p>5. Kathryn VanArendonk [<a href="https://twitter.com/kvanaren">@kvanaren</a>], TV critic for <a href="http://nymag.com/author/Kathryn%20VanArendonk/" target="_blank">Vulture</a>, on how to parse the fraught relationship between artists and their art, particularly when those artists are accused of violence or abuse. </p>

<p>New York Magazine writer <a href="https://twitter.com/rtraister?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank">Rebecca Traister</a> says that every new revelation about sexual harassment confirms what women have always known. In her <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2017/11/rebecca-traister-on-the-post-weinstein-reckoning.html" target="_blank">most recent article</a> she asks "a<span>s stories about abuse, assault, and complicity come flooding out, how do we think about the culprits in our lives? Including, sometimes, ourselves." </span></p> <p><span>Brooke spoke with Rebecca on Tuesday; it was a long and impassioned interview, a shorter version of which will be in this week's show (a full hour about the "#metoo" moment), but in the meantime, here is a *lightly* edited version of their conversation. </span></p>

<p>Another massive data leak has cast scrutiny on the world of the ultra-wealthy, but some doubt whether much will change. A look inside the Paradise Papers and at the secretive industry of "wealth management" that makes sure the wealthy remain rich and hidden. Also, in the wake of the shuttering of Gothamist and DNAinfo, how journalism is contending with its "billionaire problem," and a look at the recent standoff between Disney and journalists. Finally, the story of how a Syrian man's journey to the West found him experiencing America's Wild West in Sweden.</p> <p>1. Marina Walker Guevara [<a href="https://twitter.com/MarinaWalkerG?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@MarinaWalkerG</a>], Deputy Director at <a href="https://www.icij.org/" target="_blank">The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists</a>, on how the group reported the <a href="https://www.icij.org/investigations/paradise-papers/">Paradise Papers</a>.</p> <p>2. <a href="https://works.bepress.com/brooke_harrington/">Brooke Harrington</a>, author of <a href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674743809&amp;content=bios"><em>Capital without Borders</em>,</a> on the secretive industry of "wealth management" and the real threat of offshore wealth.</p> <p>3. Julia Wick [<a href="https://twitter.com/sherlyholmes?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@sherlyholmes</a>], former editor-in-chief of <a href="https://twitter.com/LAist">LAist</a>, on the perilous position in which many small news sites find themselves due to billionaire influence.</p> <p>4. Bob [<a href="https://twitter.com/Bobosphere">@bobosphere</a>] on the recent showdown between Disney, the <em>LA Times</em> and a collection of film journalists.</p> <p>5. Micah Loewinger [<a href="https://twitter.com/MicahLoewinger">@MicahLoewinger</a>], OTM producer, on how a <a href="http://www.highchaparral.se/en/">Wild West theme park in Sweden</a> became a haven for refugees, and what it tells us about America's own Wild West fixation.</p>

<p>It's now a year since Election Day 2016, and a year since we gathered in our office the day <em>after</em> Election Day to figure out what exactly had happened. The mood was tense, and our Executive Producer Katya Rogers seized the opportunity to offer listeners some <em>ultra</em> transparency, documenting a moment when Brooke and Bob were at their most doubting. The result: a raw <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/story/now-what/">podcast extra</a>, in which the hosts argued about what had gone down and how the show should cover the Trump administration.</p> <p>Flash forward to this summer, when Bob and Brooke re-listened to their November conversation and then turned on the mics to reflect on their thoughts and speculations from eight months earlier.</p> <p>Both conversations are collected here for this weeks podcast extra.</p>

<p>Following the announcement of the first indictments in Robert Mueller's special investigation, the media were scrambling to put together the pieces...or else ignoring the news completely. How to make sense of the details, and the silences, in Mueller's first public release and in some of the media's apparent apathy. Also, how the NPR newsroom responded when one of its own was brought down for sexual harassment. And a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner talks about unredacting the bestseller he wrote behind bars and what he's learned about America's opaque military and justice systems.</p> <p>1. Bob looks at how Rupert Murdoch's media empire spins all things Trump. And Sarah Ellison [<a href="https://twitter.com/Sarahlellison?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@sarahlellison</a>], special correspondent for <em>Vanity Fair</em>, helps to explain the mogul's long game.</p> <p>2. Marcy Wheeler [<a href="https://twitter.com/emptywheel?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@emptywheel</a>], <a href="https://www.emptywheel.net/">independent investigative journalist</a>, breaks down what we know from the first Mueller indictments, what we can surmise and what the media need to be careful of.</p> <p>3. David Folkenflik [<a href="https://twitter.com/davidfolkenflik">@davidfolkenflik</a>], NPR's media correspondent, about how the network handled the accusations against, and eventual resignation of, NPR's head of news, Michael Oreskes.</p> <p>4. Larry Siems [<a href="https://twitter.com/larrysiems?lang=en">@LarrySiems</a>], editor of<em> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Guant%C3%A1namo-Diary-Mohamedou-Ould-Slahi/dp/0316517887/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8">Guantanamo Diary</a></em>, about his experience helping the newly freed Mohamedou Ould Slahi create an unredacted version of his bestseller.</p> <p>5. Mohamedou Ould Slahi, author of <em>Guantanamo Diary</em>, about the unredacting process and what he took away from his nightmarish experience behind bars.</p>