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WNYC Studios

The Peabody Award-winning On the Media podcast is your guide to examining how the media sausage is made. Hosts Brooke Gladstone and Micah Loewinger 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.

On the Media

This week, we're airing part two of a documentary series, courtesy of Radio Diaries, about three radio personalities who had huge audiences in their time, but today, are largely forgotten. 

These days, we’re used to media that thrives on conflict, that amplifies the most outrageous voices in the room. It’s something we often trace back to shock jocks like Howard Stern, and in-your-face talk show hosts like Tucker Carlson and Rush Limbaugh. But long before all those guys, there was Joe Pyne. At the height of his career in the 1950s, the New York Times called him the “ranking nuisance of broadcasting.”

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

The Forgotten Shock Jock Who Paved the Way for Rush Limbaugh

When Donald Trump returned to office, tech companies donated millions of dollars to his inaugural committee. On this week’s On the Media, the rightwing roots of Silicon Valley. Plus, the CEO of the burgeoning social media platform, Bluesky, on how to billionaire-proof the internet.

[01:00] Micah Loewinger speaks with Becca Lewis, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University, about how Silicon Valley has always had rightwing roots — an influential group of conservative thinkers in the tech world have long seen new technologies as tools for restoring older social orders.

[14:47] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Jay Graber, the CEO of Bluesky, a competitor to Twitter/X that’s seen massive growth recently, about how Bluesky is structured in a fundamentally different way than other social media platforms, and why that might make it “billionaire-proof.” 

[32:27] OTM producer and new parent Molly Rosen speaks with Amanda Hess, author of the new book Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age, on how new technologies have transformed the experience of parenthood and what this signals about the future.

Further reading:

“‘Headed for technofascism’: the rightwing roots of Silicon Valley,” • by Becca Lewis
Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age • , by Amanda Hess
 • “
My Son Has a Rare Syndrome. So I Turned to the Internet • ,” by Amanda Hess

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Silicon Valley's Rightwing Roots. Plus, the CEO of Bluesky Reimagines Social Media

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

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

The Famous Black Preacher Who Feuded With MLK

President Trump fired the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics following a weak jobs report. On this week’s On the Media, how the Trump administration is threatening government data. Plus, a viral YouTube channel raises questions about the meaning of political debate. 

[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone situates President Trump’s recent firing of the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics within a larger effort to discount facts that aren’t politically convenient. Plus, Amy O’Hara, a professor at Georgetown's Massive Data Institute, on the importance of government data, and Andreas Georgiou, a scholar in statistics at Amherst College, on his years-long battle to defend accurate economics data in Greece.

[12:34] Brooke speaks with Angelo Carusone, the president of Media Matters, a liberal watchdog group that follows and fact-checks right-wing outlets like Fox News, NewsMax, and the Tucker Carlson Network, about the group’s fight for survival as it faces a deluge of lawsuits brought by Elon Musk’s X. 

[28:22] Host Micah Loewinger delves into the meteoric rise of the YouTube channel Jubilee with technology and online culture journalist Taylor Lorenz, and the channel’s mission of fostering “radical empathy” by hosting political debates between wildly opposing groups. He speaks with Mehdi Hasan, editor-in-chief of Zeteo, about his recent Jubilee debate with far right conservatives and how the channel is transforming the meaning of political debate. Plus, Stassia Underwood, a participant of one Jubilee debate, opens up about her experience on set. 

Further reading:

 • “
Under Siege From Trump and Musk, a Top Liberal Group Falls Into Crisis, • ” by By Kenneth P. Vogel, Kate Conger, and Ryan Mac
 • “
1 Conservative vs 25 LGBTQ+ Activists (feat. Michael Knowles) • ” (Jubilee)
 • “
1 Progressive vs 20 Far-Right Conservatives (ft. Mehdi Hasan) • ” (Jubilee)

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Trump's Fact Eradication Program. Plus, How Jubilee is Transforming Political Debate

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

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Eric Adams' Latest Scandal

As reports of starving children in Gaza mount, France, Britain, and Canada are preparing to recognize Palestinian statehood. On this week’s On the Media, Palestinian journalists documenting food scarcity in Gaza are themselves going without food. Plus, how Israeli tv stations are deflecting blame for the blockade on aid.

[01:00] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Adel Al Salman, a Cyprus-based photo editor for the Agence France-Press. They discuss how shocking images of starving children may have contributed to a shift in the conversation around Gaza, and how the Palestinian journalists taking those photos are starving, too. Plus, Micah asks Diana Buttu, a lawyer and former peace negotiator for the Palestine Liberation Organization, if the change in discourse will make a difference on the ground in Gaza.

[17:04] Micah sits down with Oren Persico, media critic and staff writer for the Israeli outlet The Seventh Eye, about how (and if) images of the horrors in Gaza are being discussed on Israeli television.

[29:44] Host Brooke Gladstone talks with Emily Nussbaum, television critic for The New Yorker, about the forgotten story of Gertrude Berg, the woman behind the television sitcom, and the anti-communism campaign that clouded her legacy. 

 

Further reading:

 • “
Israeli Human Rights Group Says Israel Is Committing Genocide. Why Did It Take 22 Months? • ” by Diana Buttu
 • “
The Forgotten Inventor of the Sitcom • ,” by Emily Nussbaum

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Images of Mass Starvation Shift Gaza Coverage. Plus, the Forgotten History of the First Sitcom.

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

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

McKay Coppins on The Murdochs

The FCC just approved a lucrative merger between Paramount and Skydance. Weeks earlier, Paramount settled a lawsuit with the president by paying him 16 million dollars. On this week’s On the Media, hear how that money is being funneled to Donald Trump’s future presidential library. Plus, how conservative outlets are coordinating attacks on universities.

[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Tim Naftali, a Senior Research Scholar at the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs, about how President Trump has raised millions of dollars from lawsuit settlements with media companies for his future presidential library, and why this matters. 

[19:23] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Katherine Mangan, a senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education, about the recent investigations launched into George Mason University by the Trump administration, and the media campaign that followed suit.

[32:43] Micah sits down with Elizabeth Lopatto, senior writer at The Verge, to dissect the ‘violently racist’ background of the hacker who allegedly stole admissions data from five universities, leading to the leak of Zohran Mamdani’s Columbia application to the New York Times. Plus, the consequences of the Times omitting any mention of the hacker from their coverage of the leak.

Comment from Patrick Healy, Assistant Managing Editor for Standards and Trust at the New York Times: "Our reporters obtained information about Mr. Mamdani’s Columbia college application and went to the Mamdani campaign with it. When we hear anything of news value, we try to confirm it through direct sources. Mr. Mamdani confirmed this information in an interview with The Times. Mr. Mamdani shared his thinking about the limitations of identity boxes on forms like Columbia’s, and explained how he wrote in “Uganda,” the country of his birth – the kind of decision many people with overlapping identities have wrestled with when confronted with such boxes. We believe Mr. Mamdani’s thinking and decision-making, laid out in his words, was newsworthy and in line with our mission to help readers better know and understand top candidates for major offices. We sometimes receive information that has been hacked or from controversial sources. The Times does not solely rely on nor make a decision to publish information from such a source; we seek to confirm through direct sources, which we did with Mr. Mamdani. Sometimes sources have their own motives or obtain information using means we wouldn't, like Trump's taxes, Wikileaks or Edward Snowden. It’s important to share what we can about sourcing, but we always independently assess newsworthiness and factual accuracy before publishing. On sourcing, we work to give readers context, including in this case the initial source’s online alias, as a way to learn more about the person, who was effectively an intermediary. The ultimate source was Columbia admissions data and Mr. Mamdani, who confirmed our reporting. We heard from readers who wanted more detail about this initial source. That’s fair feedback. We printed his online alias so readers could learn more about the person. The purpose of this story was to help illuminate the thinking and background of a major mayoral candidate." Full version here.

Further reading:

 • “
The Death of Nonpartisan Presidential History • ,” by Tim Naftali
 • “
George Mason Is the Latest University Under Fire From Trump. Its President Fears an “Orchestrated” Campaign • ,” by Katie Mangan
 • “
This ‘violently racist’ hacker claims to be the source of The New York Times’ Mamdani scoop • ,” by Elizabeth Lopatto
 • “
The Columbia hack is a much bigger deal than Mamdani’s college application • ,” by Elizabeth Lopatto
 • “
Mamdani Identified as Asian and African American on College Application • ,” by Benjamin Ryan, Nicholas Fandos, and Dana Rubinstein
 • “
Columbia Cyberattack Appears Politically Motivated, University Says • ,” by Sharon Otterman
 • “
Columbia University Applicants’ Personal Data Stolen by Hacker • ,” by Cameron Fozi

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Trump's Presidential Library Grift. Plus, the Hacker Behind the NYT’s Mamdani Story.

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

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

EXTENDED VERSION: Michael Douglas Movies And The Crisis Of Masculinity

The Trump administration is trying to subdue fury from all angles over the Epstein Files. On this week's On the Media, how the controversy is fracturing Republicans and firing up Democrats. Plus, tracing today’s so-called “masculinity crisis” through the films of Michael Douglas.

[00:00] Host Brooke Gladstone dissects the bitter division between President Trump and several MAGA politicians and influencers over his administration’s handling of the Epstein files, and how the president is suddenly at odds with the initial source of his political momentum – conspiracies.
[00:00] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Dan Friedman, a senior reporter for Mother Jones, about what we actually know regarding Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and the line between skepticism and conspiracism. 
[00:00] Brooke sits down with Jessa Crispin, critic and editor-in-chief of The Culture We Deserve, to chat about her new book What Is Wrong with Men: Patriarchy, the Crisis of Masculinity, and How (Of Course) Michael Douglas Films Explain Everything, which tracks the “masculinity crisis” through Michael Douglas films. 
 

Further reading:

 • “
Stop Taking the Epstein Bait, Dems • ,” by Dan Friedman
What Is Wrong with Men: Patriarchy, the Crisis of Masculinity, and How (Of Course) Michael Douglas Films Explain Everything • by Jessa Crispin

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

MAGA Fractures Over Epstein. Plus, What Michael Douglas Movies Tell Us About Masculinity.

In 2015, a tragedy gripped Romanian consciousness when a fire at a popular club in the country's capital killed 27 people, injured nearly 200 more, and sparked national protests about corruption. In the weeks following the fire, 37 of those injured died in hospitals — a statistic that authorities and doctors claimed was simply a result of their injuries. 

But the victims' families and a small team of reporters at the Romanian daily paper the Sports Gazette had their doubts — doubts that were confirmed when the Gazette learned that a national supplier of medical disinfectants was diluting their products, nearly ten times over, to reap profits and pad the pockets of its CEO. The burn victims of the fire hadn't died from injuries; they died from preventable bacterial infections, a consequence of malpractice that stemmed from doctors, hospital managers and the highest officials in government. 

In 2019, filmmaker Alexander Nanau wrote, produced and directed the film Collective, chronicling this saga. Last year, the film was released in the US, and in early 2021 it received two Academy Award nominations. In this podcast extra, recorded in March, Nanau speaks with Brooke about why he decided to follow the story, how the pieces fell into place, and how this single story changed Romania's relationship with the press — possibly for good. 

Watch Collective here. 

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

How a Nightclub Fire Brought Down a Government

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