On the Media

By WNYC Studios

History Social Sciences

What's On the Media about?

The Peabody Award-winning On the Media podcast is your guide to examining how the media sausage is made. Host Brooke Gladstone examines threats to free speech and government transparency, cast a skeptical eye on media coverage of the week’s big stories and unravel hidden political narratives in everything we read, watch and hear.

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Again and Again

05.20.2022

In the wake of yet another racist mass shooting, this time in Buffalo, New York, media outlets are churning out heartbreakingly familiar stories, with the same tropes and the same helplessness. On this week's On the Media, how we've become ...

On the Media episodes:

05.20.2022 Again and Again In the wake of yet another racist mass shooting, this time in Buffalo, New York, media outlets are churning out heartbreakingly familiar stories, with the same tropes and the same helplessness. On this week's On the Media, how we've become ...
05.18.2022 Where in the World is Brooke? This week we're airing an interview that Brooke did while on a fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. She and her husband Fred Kaplan (author of the War Stories column in Slate), sat down with Mark Hannah, host of ...
05.13.2022 Seeing Is Believing With Roe v Wade under threat, some politicians and media outlets are trying to turn the national conversation away from abortion and toward civility. On this week’s On the Media, how the GOP has mastered the art of setting the ...
05.12.2022 How the Depp v. Heard Trial Became a Meme This week, we take a look at the latest celebrity trial to ensnare the national attention. Johnny Depp is suing Amber Heard, his ex-wife, for defamation, and she’s counter suing him for the same. Depp’s suit takes issue with an ...
05.06.2022 Crime and Punishment Across news outlets, crime reporting often relies on police sources and incomplete data. On this week’s show, hear how to spot bias in crime stories and what more nuanced coverage looks like. And, the struggle to protect whistleblowers calling out ...
05.04.2022 The Abortion Underground This week, OTM presents a story from our colleagues at The Experiment. There’s a common story about abortion in this country, that people have only two options to intentionally end a pregnancy: the clinic or the coat hanger. They can ...
04.29.2022 Ghost in the Machine After news broke that Elon Musk is likely to purchase Twitter later this year, the billionaire began sharing a controversial vision for the app. On this week’s On the Media, hear why Musk’s plan to turn Twitter into a so-called ...
04.27.2022 Dead End On this week's podcast extra we present episode 1 of a new series from our colleague, Nancy Solomon. She’s our New Jersey specialist at WNYC and she’s got quite the tale to tell. It’s about a murder on a Jersey ...
04.22.2022 Work Work Work Work Work Checking in on the so-called Great Resignation. On this week’s On The Media, hear why the trend is a logical response to the cult of work. Plus, when technology makes our jobs harder, maybe being a 'luddite' isn't such a ...
04.20.2022 The Holiday You May Have Missed International Workers' Day is celebrated with rallies and protests all over the world on May 1, but it's not a big deal in the United States. Back in 2018, Brooke spoke with Donna Haverty-Stacke of Hunter College, CUNY about the ...
04.15.2022 How Cassettes Changed the World Cassette tapes mostly gather dust these days. But back in their heyday, they fundamentally changed how we communicate, in ways we’re still making sense of today. On this week’s On the Media, hear how the cassette tape fueled the Iranian ...
04.13.2022 It's Tax Season! Few clichés are as well-worn, and grounded in reality, as the dread many Americans feel towards doing their taxes and the loathing they have for the IRS. But as much as the process is despised, relatively little is known about ...
04.08.2022 Our Unfinished Pandemic Congress is threatening to cut billions in COVID aid even as a new variant emerges. On this week’s On the Media, how our policy debate reveals an indifference for long COVID disabilities and death on a staggering scale. And, how ...
04.06.2022 New Variant on the Block Hey waddayaknow? There are more variants in the news. Back when Omicron was first making headlines at the end of last year, we made a Breaking News Consumer's Handbooks: Variant Edition. Brooke spoke to Katherine J. Wu, a staff writer ...
04.01.2022 Still Armed, Still Dangerous More than a month into Putin’s invasion, Ukrainian resistance has proved mightier than the Russian leader seems to have anticipated. On this week’s On the Media, hear how Russia is following the well-established American track record of entering wars without ...
03.30.2022 The Simpsons in a Time of Nuclear War A new poll this week from AP-NORC found that when asked, close to half of Americans say they are very concerned that Russia would directly target the U.S. with nuclear weapons, and an additional 3 in 10 are somewhat concerned. ...
03.25.2022 All the World's a Stage This week’s confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson were filled with dog whistles and distractions. On our latest episode, hear how Republicans are using rhetoric about pedophiles to discredit their opponents. Plus, the story of an ...
03.23.2022 A Handy Guide to How the Supreme Court Works The Supreme Court is an opaque and difficult to understand institution. Luckily, drawing on the expertise of seasoned SCOTUS reporters, we've put together a handy guide for the discerning news consumer to make sense of the court, its decisions, and ...
03.18.2022 We Were Warned As the horrific violence in Ukraine escalates, the global far-right is justifying Russia’s invasion with outlandish conspiracy theories. On this week’s On the Media, guest host Matt Katz digs into one viral lie that went mainstream. Plus, how internet sleuths ...
03.16.2022 The Death of Historical Memory in Russia Russia's Memorial International maintained an archive whose purpose was to amass and preserve the crimes against humanity committed in the Soviet Union. On March 3rd it was closed down by order of the Kremlin. It was only a month ago ...
03.11.2022 The Escape The refugee crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may be the fastest-growing displacement of people in Europe since World War II. On this week’s On the Media, hear the story of an internet community that guided an influencer and ...
03.09.2022 The Kremlin's M.O. This is a piece we first ran last September. It's reported by OTM producer Molly Schwartz who until the war in Ukraine started was a fellow on a journalism program in Moscow. Molly’s recounted for us the effects of a ...
03.04.2022 The Fog of War Footage captured and shared by Ukrainian civilians is helping the world see through the fog of war. But not every video in your news feed is the real deal. On this week’s On the Media, how to sift fact from ...
02.25.2022 'La Brega' in Puerto Rico This week, OTM presents stories from Puerto Rico as told in a podcast series called "La Brega," hosted by Alana Casanova-Burgess. Hear what that term means, how it's used, and what it represents. Also, how one of the most famous ...
02.23.2022 How SPAM built a town—and tore it apart This week, OTM presents the second installment of a new series by our colleagues at The Experiment. In this episode, we learn that SPAM is at the center of one of the longest and most contentious labor battles in U.S. ...
02.18.2022 Good As Gold Mainstream journalists keep falling for crypto scams that can end up costing their audiences a fortune. On this week’s On the Media, hear why all of us might want to become at least a bit literate in crypto-technology. Plus, the ...
02.16.2022 All about SPAM (the meaty kind) On this week's podcast we’re bringing you a story from our colleagues at The Experiment. It’s about SPAM: the meaty kind. During World War II, wherever American troops spread democracy, they left the tinned pork-mix in their wake; tossing cans ...
02.11.2022 I'm No Expert Joe Rogan’s fans, critics, and everyone in between have spent weeks hearing his name plastered on the news. On this week’s On the Media, a look at the real lessons emerging from the debate about the debate. Plus, what Putin’s ...
02.09.2022 Man of the Left Todd Gitlin - writer, academic, media analyst, sociologist and lifelong activist died on February 5th. In his youth he helped organize the first national demonstration against the Vietnam War, held in Washington in 1965. He organized rallies against South Africa ...
02.04.2022 Read the Room An old threat has returned to classrooms across the country — and it’s made of pages and ink. On this week’s On the Media, hear what it means to ban a book, and who has the right to choose what ...
02.02.2022 Barney Rosset Never Backed Down In 1951, Grove Press was a tiny, almost-defunct independent publisher, with just three titles in its catalog, including Herman Melville’s The Confidence Man. But then Barney Rosset took over and, with a few choice books, helped push America past its ...
01.28.2022 Humans, Being When you hear the word “Neanderthal,” you probably picture a mindless, clumsy brute. It’s often used as an insult — even by our president, who last year called anti-maskers “Neanderthals.” But what if we have more in common with our ...
01.26.2022 Debate This! Earlier this month, Ronna McDaniel, Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, wrote a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates—the independent, bipartisan organization that has convened general election debates since the 1980's. In her letter, McDaniel said that the RNC ...
01.21.2022 Political Fictions It’s been over a year since Donald Trump was defeated fair and square in the 2020 election, but polling shows that belief in the Big Lie is as strong as ever. On this week’s On the Media, hear journalists debate ...
01.19.2022 Snow...in the tropics? This week we are airing another episode from the show "La Brega"a podcast about life in Puerto Rico and hosted by former OTM producer Alana Casanova-Burgess. During the early 1950s, the children of Puerto Rico were invited to an icy ...
01.14.2022 A Question of War Since the insurrection on January 6, warnings of a second American Civil War have been sounded. This week, On the Media explores whether the civil war talk is an alarmist cry, or actually a sober assessment. Plus, hear how the ...
01.13.2022 Is New York Times v Sullivan on the Chopping Block? None
01.07.2022 Road To Insurrection It’s been one year since the armed insurrection at the Capitol, what do we know now about how it happened? On this week’s On the Media, hear about the signs that reveal militia groups were preparing for that day — ...
01.05.2022 Aaron Swartz: The Wunderkind of the Free Culture Movement In 2013, 26-year-old software developer and political activist Aaron Swartz died by suicide. He had been indicted on federal charges after illegally downloading 4.8 million articles from JSTOR, a database of academic journals, and potentially faced a million dollar fine ...
12.31.2021 Reputation Should we cancel the word “cancel”? On this week’s On the Media, find out who benefits from the newest culture scare, and a history of "cancellation." Plus, hear how three women reporters covered the Vietnam War against all odds. 1. ...
12.29.2021 An Interview With Basketball Great Walt "Clyde" Frazier Basketball Hall of Famer Walt "Clyde" Frazier made a successful transition from NBA star to sports broadcaster on the MSG Network. With his cool rhymes and even cooler clothes, Frazier sat down with Brooke for a live event in 2013 ...
12.24.2021 Scene of the Crime On this week’s On the Media, a look at the journalists and newspapers we lost in 2021, and hopes for the press in the year ahead. Plus, is the ever-popular genre of true crime good for us? And the mob ...
12.22.2021 Ten Things That Scare Brooke Gladstone Merry Christmas, to those who celebrate! To those who don't (and, aw heck, to those who do too) we offer a very special end-of-year gift: fear. More specifically, Brooke's greatest fears, courtesy of our WNYC colleagues 10 Things That Scare ...
12.17.2021 Fame and Misfortune Text messages obtained by the January 6 commission revealed the panic of Fox News hosts — even as they downplayed the insurrection on camera. On this week’s On the Media, how to hold the news station accountable. Plus, an investigation ...
12.15.2021 Everything You Never Knew About Movie Novelizations Write a great book and you're a genius. Turn a book into a great film and you're a visionary. Turn a great film into a book...that's another story. Novelizations of films are regular best-sellers with cult followings -- some are ...
12.10.2021 Take This Job and Shove It Amid the so-called Great Resignation, nearly 39 million Americans have left their jobs. On this week’s On The Media, hear why this trend is a logical response to the cult of work. Plus, when technology makes our jobs harder, maybe ...
12.07.2021 Log On For OTM Trivia Tonight! Tonight at 7pm ET, join Brooke, the OTM staff, and other listeners from around the country for our first ever Zoom trivia night! Flex your knowledge of the show for a chance to win some sweet prizes including hats hand-crocheted ...
12.03.2021 Pigeon with A Mustache By now, the new coronavirus variant has been detected in dozens of countries – including the U.S. On this week’s On the Media, hear what pigeons can tell us about how to react to the omicron variant. Plus, why we ...
12.01.2021 A Different Hanukkah Story This week is Hanukkah, Judaism’s eight-day festival of lights. With its emphasis on present-giving, dreidel games and sweet treats, the holiday seems to be oriented towards kids. Even the story of Hanukkah has had its edges shaved down over time. ...
11.26.2021 How Cassette Tapes Changed the World Cassette tapes mostly gather dust these days. But back in their heyday, they fundamentally changed how we communicate, in ways we’re still making sense of today. On this week’s On the Media, hear how the cassette tape fueled the Iranian ...

Older episodes

On the Media

What's On the Media about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

On the Media episodes:

Again and Again

Where in the World is Brooke?

Seeing Is Believing

How the Depp v. Heard Trial Became a Meme

Crime and Punishment

The Abortion Underground

Ghost in the Machine

Dead End

Work Work Work Work Work

The Holiday You May Have Missed

How Cassettes Changed the World

It's Tax Season!

Our Unfinished Pandemic

New Variant on the Block

Still Armed, Still Dangerous

The Simpsons in a Time of Nuclear War

All the World's a Stage

A Handy Guide to How the Supreme Court Works

We Were Warned

The Death of Historical Memory in Russia

The Escape

The Kremlin's M.O.

The Fog of War

'La Brega' in Puerto Rico

How SPAM built a town—and tore it apart

Good As Gold

All about SPAM (the meaty kind)

I'm No Expert

Man of the Left

Read the Room

Barney Rosset Never Backed Down

Humans, Being

Debate This!

Political Fictions

Snow...in the tropics?

A Question of War

Is New York Times v Sullivan on the Chopping Block?

Road To Insurrection

Aaron Swartz: The Wunderkind of the Free Culture Movement

Reputation

An Interview With Basketball Great Walt "Clyde" Frazier

Scene of the Crime

Ten Things That Scare Brooke Gladstone

Fame and Misfortune

Everything You Never Knew About Movie Novelizations

Take This Job and Shove It

Log On For OTM Trivia Tonight!

Pigeon with A Mustache

A Different Hanukkah Story

How Cassette Tapes Changed the World

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