On the Media

By WNYC Studios

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. Hosts Brooke Gladstone and Bob Garfield examine 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.
WNYC Studios is a listener-supported producer of other leading podcasts including Radiolab, Snap Judgment, Death, Sex & Money, Nancy and Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin.
© WNYC Studios

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The Right-Wing Web Goes to ...

07.17.2019

On this show, we’ve often observed that what happens online rarely stays online. In the age of Pizzagate, Trump tweets and Wiki Leaks data dumps, it is obvious that conversations online increasingly dominate, even define, our politics — a fact ...

On the Media episodes:

07.12.2019 Uncomfortably Numb Migrants in detention centers, another assault allegation against the President, and the start to a potentially devastating hurricane season… On this week’s On the Media, how painful news might be making America numb. And, why sometimes it’s okay to tune ...
07.10.2019 The Epstein Story Didn't Just Happen Overnight Julie Brown of the Miami Herald conceived, reported, and wrote one of the most explosive criminal justice stories in recent memory. She revealed the shutting down of an FBI investigation that may have been on the verge of discovering the ...
07.05.2019 Full Faith & Credit 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 ...
07.03.2019 The Sound of America There are many Americas. Nowadays they barely speak to each other. But during the most perilous years of the last century, one young composer went in search of a sound that melded many of the nation's strains into something singular ...
06.28.2019 The Scarlet E, Part IV: Solutions We have an eviction crisis, which is really just one part of a broader housing affordability crisis. Incomes are too low for rents. Rents are too high for incomes. The barriers to home-buying are growing, especially for younger Americans. The ...
06.26.2019 Coming Out Posthumously June marks LGBTQ Pride month, and fifty years since the Stonewall riots. In the past five decades, the conversation around gay rights has moved so quickly that it can be hard to remember where it was in the very recent ...
06.21.2019 The Scarlet E, Part III: Tenants and Landlords This is episode three in our series, “The Scarlet E: Unmasking America’s Eviction Crisis.” It’s the dollars-and-cents episode, in which we account for what we know and don’t know about those who own and those who rent. We digest some ...
06.18.2019 How to Influence US Iran Policy ... Without Actually Existing Heshmat Alavi, an Iranian commentator, has been portrayed as a courageous dissident with a broad constituency and rare insight into the inner workings of the Iranian theocracy. His columns have been printed in Forbes, The Diplomat, The Federalist, Voice of ...
06.14.2019 40 Acres President Trump claims to have struck a deal with Mexico to settle a dispute of his own making. On this week’s On the Media, a look at the lives of the people who stand to suffer most. Plus, how the ...
06.12.2019 What "Running From Cops" Learned From "Cops" The first episode of the TV show "Cops" aired thirty years ago, and in the ensuing decades it's become influential enough to mold the attitudes of new aspiring police officers. But if the show holds up a mirror to law ...
06.07.2019 Introducing: The Scarlet E Millions of rent-burdened Americans face eviction filings and proceedings every year. On this week’s On the Media, what we think we know, and what we definitely don’t know, about America’s eviction crisis. Plus, how local journalists failed the Central Park ...
06.05.2019 Making America Antitrust Again This week, the US House Antitrust subcommittee announced a probe into the mainly-unchecked power of tech giants like Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon. The investigation could include public hearings and subpoenas toward antitrust intervention into the businesses of Silicon Valley ...
05.31.2019 Climate Obscura The Trump administration has ordered federal agencies to stop publishing worst-case scenario projections of climate change. This week, On the Media examines the administration’s pattern of attacks on climate science. Plus, a look at the dark money behind environmental deregulation. ...
05.29.2019 Hurricane Season is Nearly Here. Brace Yourself for the Coverage. Tornadoes ripped across multiple states on Tuesday, killing at least one person. It was the twelfth straight day of tornado activity in the U.S. — a new record, according to the National Weather Service. But as the New York Times ...
05.24.2019 On Matters of War Controversy erupted over news that President Trump may grant more pardons for alleged war criminal Edward Gallagher and others. This week, On the Media looks at Fox News’s influence on the president’s decision. And, how the Navy may be spying ...
05.22.2019 Solving the Facebook Problem at Home and Abroad When former Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes penned a New York Times op-ed calling for the breakup of the platform, he was lauded by anti-corporate politicians and the press. Then came a series of hard questions: how exactly would breaking up ...
05.17.2019 Constellation of Secret Evil A controversial bill in Alabama is the latest in a wave of different abortion bans sweeping the country. This week, On the Media looks at the influence of Janet Porter, a little-known lobbyist who has been pushing what are misleadingly ...
05.14.2019 The Past, Present and Future of Nikole Hannah-Jones This week, we want to bring you a terrific new episode of Death, Sex and Money, another WNYC show that we think our listeners will appreciate. The show's host, Anna Sale, is on maternity leave, and an exciting cohort of ...
05.10.2019 Impossible! The political press has long used the vague notion of “electability” to drive horserace coverage of presidential candidates. This week, On the Media considers how the emphasis on electability takes the focus away from the issues and turns voters into ...
05.08.2019 Werner Herzog on Gorbachev Renowned director and documentarian Werner Herzog's latest filmmaking endeavor examines the legacy of the eighth and final leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev. For the film, Herzog sat down with the 88 year-old former General Secretary for a candid ...
05.03.2019 A High State of Agitation After accusations that he mischaracterized the Mueller investigation’s findings, Attorney General William Barr blames the media for muddling the story. This week, On the Media dissects Barr’s deflections. And, how a Jewish satirist uses grotesque caricatures to cut to the ...
05.01.2019 Is True Crime Jinxed? Whether Robert Durst confessed on camera will become a relevant legal matter in the real estate figure's upcoming trial. The supposed confession — "What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course." — at the end of HBO's ...
04.26.2019 Justice Interruptus A week after the redacted Mueller report’s release, Democrats weigh the risks — and imperatives — of impeachment. On this week’s On the Media, why our founders gave congress the power to oust the president in the first place. Plus, ...
04.23.2019 How Is Lead Still A Problem? Once in a while, in this space, we offer you an episode of another podcast that we think is pretty aligned with our goals here at On the Media. This week, we’re offering you the first episode of a new ...
04.19.2019 Harm To Ongoing Matter After years of waiting, journalists finally began digging into the redacted version of the Mueller report. On this week’s On the Media, how the special counsel’s findings confirm years of reporting about turmoil within the White House. Plus, what the ...
04.16.2019 Who Profits When You File Your Taxes? Tax Day is behind us, but the Taxpayer First Act is not. The bipartisan proposal passed the House last week and is now under consideration in the Senate — and one of the provisions is exactly what the for-profit tax ...
04.12.2019 Wake Up, Sheeple! WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested in London, and now faces prosecution. On this week’s On the Media, a look at what Assange’s arrest may mean for press freedom. Plus, what the new image of a black hole tell us ...
04.11.2019 Spy vs. Spy New York Times reporter Michael Schwirtz set out to investigate a series of assassinations in Ukraine with low expectations. Reporting on a homicide as a member of the foreign press is daunting enough to begin with. His assignment was formidable ...
04.05.2019 Empire State of Mind Recently, a member of the Trump administration called Puerto Rico “that country,” obscuring once more the relationship between the island colony and the American mainland. In a special hour this week, On the Media examines the history of US imperialism ...
04.02.2019 Policing the Police California recently passed a law that eliminates some of the barriers to accessing records on egregious police misconduct and deadly use of force. With the floodgates open, journalists, like KPCC investigative reporter Annie Gilbertson, are elated and terrified. Just one ...
03.29.2019 The End of Magical Thinking With the Mueller investigation complete, talking heads have given the short public summary their usual spin. This week, On the Media looks at why the framing of the report produced so much misunderstanding. Plus, how historical amnesia and old ideas ...
03.27.2019 The Opioid Narratives Purdue Pharma has settled a lawsuit with the state of Oklahoma for $270 million, a larger figure than two other cases the company has settled with other states. In doing so, the company also avoided a televised trial in May ...
03.22.2019 Hating In Plain Sight In the aftermath of white supremacist attacks in New Zealand, there's a tension between reporting on the shooter's motivations and not amplifying his message. This week, On the Media examines how the press can navigate that persistent dilemma. Plus, the ...
03.19.2019 No Notoriety The details are different but the story is the same. A mass shooting, scores of people dead, another nation traumatized. Although in the aftermath of the events in New Zealand last week there is a wrinkle. In her first speech ...
03.15.2019 The Myth of Meritocracy A college admissions scandal has highlighted what people refer to as "the myth of meritocracy." But actually, meritocracy itself is a myth. This week, On the Media looks at the satirical origins of the word and what they tell us ...
03.13.2019 Tucker Was Tucker All Along To suggest that Tucker Carlson has a tendency to hint at deeply discriminatory tropes would be cliché — but also dead-on. Just this week, thanks to newly unearthed audio released by Media Matters, the Fox News darling ditches his signature ...
03.08.2019 Crossing the Line Mexican officials and U.S. Customs and Border Protection are using a secret database to target journalists and advocates at the southern border. This week, On the Media speaks with a reporter on the list who was detained for questioning by ...
03.06.2019 The Myth That Fuels the Anti-Vaxx Agenda This Tuesday, lawmakers in Washington heard from an 18-year-old who, against all odds, got his shots. Ethan Lindenberger, who fought with his own mother to get vaccinated, told senators, "for my mother, her love, affection, and care as a parent ...
03.01.2019 Look Back in Anger When President Trump’s former personal lawyer testified in front of Congress this week, it was both captivating and oddly familiar. This week, On the Media looks at the tropes that ran through the hearings, and offers a guide to news ...
02.26.2019 Longing for Wakanda On Sunday night, Marvel’s Black Panther film won the Oscar for three of its six Academy Award nominations: Ludwig Göransson for Best Original Score, Ruth E. Carter for Best Costume Design and Hannah Beachler and Jay R. Hart for Best ...
02.22.2019 Twitch and Shout Twitch.tv is a video streaming platform where millions of people broadcast their lives and video game action in real-time. It's like unedited, real, reality TV. This week, On the Media digs into why so many people want to share so ...
02.20.2019 When 20,000 Nazis Gathered in New York Founded in 1936, the German-American Bund had approximately 25,000 members and 70 chapters around the country. While the Nazis were building concentration camps, the Bund held pro-Hitler retreats and summer camps. February 20th marks the 80th anniversary of the Bund’s ...
02.15.2019 Bad Reputation 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 ...
02.13.2019 A Century of Free Speech For this week's pod extra, we feature a conversation from WNYC'S Brian Lehrer Show. Brian talked with Columbia University President Lee Bollinger and University of Chicago Law Professor Geoffrey Stone, editors of The Free Speech Century, a collection of essays ...
02.08.2019 The World's Biggest Problem 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 ...
02.04.2019 The Too-Good-To-Be-True Cancer Cure 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 ...
02.01.2019 Misery in the Name of Liberty 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 ...
01.30.2019 A Tell-All Memoir And An NDA This week, the latest tell-all memoir from a former White House staffer hit bookstores. Team of Vipers: My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House is by Cliff Sims — who was, depending on who you ask, either key ...
01.25.2019 Close Encounters 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 ...
01.22.2019 Rethinking MLK Day When he was still in his twenties, Martin Luther King Jr. was, among other things, an advice columnist for Ebony magazine. Writer Mychal Denzel Smith studied those columns for an article this week in The Atlantic, and he found that ...

Older episodes

On the Media

What's On the Media about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

On the Media episodes:

Uncomfortably Numb

The Epstein Story Didn't Just Happen Overnight

Full Faith & Credit

The Sound of America

The Scarlet E, Part IV: Solutions

Coming Out Posthumously

The Scarlet E, Part III: Tenants and Landlords

How to Influence US Iran Policy ... Without Actually Existing

40 Acres

What "Running From Cops" Learned From "Cops"

Introducing: The Scarlet E

Making America Antitrust Again

Climate Obscura

Hurricane Season is Nearly Here. Brace Yourself for the Coverage.

On Matters of War

Solving the Facebook Problem at Home and Abroad

Constellation of Secret Evil

The Past, Present and Future of Nikole Hannah-Jones

Impossible!

Werner Herzog on Gorbachev

A High State of Agitation

Is True Crime Jinxed?

Justice Interruptus

How Is Lead Still A Problem?

Harm To Ongoing Matter

Who Profits When You File Your Taxes?

Wake Up, Sheeple!

Spy vs. Spy

Empire State of Mind

Policing the Police

The End of Magical Thinking

The Opioid Narratives

Hating In Plain Sight

No Notoriety

The Myth of Meritocracy

Tucker Was Tucker All Along

Crossing the Line

The Myth That Fuels the Anti-Vaxx Agenda

Look Back in Anger

Longing for Wakanda

Twitch and Shout

When 20,000 Nazis Gathered in New York

Bad Reputation

A Century of Free Speech

The World's Biggest Problem

The Too-Good-To-Be-True Cancer Cure

Misery in the Name of Liberty

A Tell-All Memoir And An NDA

Close Encounters

Rethinking MLK Day

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