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WNYC Studios

On the Media is a weekly show that uses the media as a lens to understand our world. On the Media listeners say the show is an essential companion, helping them survive the firehose of media coming at them 24/7. Hosted by Brooke Gladstone and Micah Loewinger, the show does not do ‘hot takes’, instead offering listeners context, historical parallels, media analysis and often a much appreciated deep exhale. On the Media hosts have an eye on the nuances and details regularly missed by other outlets which helps listeners understand where they should be paying attention (and what they can afford to ignore). Our media diets have untruths woven in, and inconvenient truths left out. These are the bits explored every week at On the Media.

On the Media

This week JD Vance has been doing a lot of press; partly to sell the quote-unquote peace deal with Iran that he had a hand in brokering. But he’s also on a book tour! Communion, out this week, is Vance’s follow-up to his 2016 best seller hillbilly elegy. 

Some of the excerpts being circulated are making their own headlines, like this one, quote; “One of the dumbest things I ever said came when I argued that ‘childless cat ladies’ across the Democrat Party were running our country into the ground,” 

He first made his cat lady quip when he was running for office in Ohio and it came up again when he was on the campaign trail with Donald Trump in 2024. 

So while Vance is attempting to claw his way back into the good books with said women, we are taking this opportunity to rerun a fabulous conversation Brooke had in 2024 with Kathryn Hughes, author of the book Catland: Louis Wain and the Great Cat Mania. In it, she traces the many meanings ascribed to cats and their guardians, because cruelty to cats has a long tradition. Early on, Hughes described the notorious case in 1730 of the Great Cat Massacre in Paris.

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, Bluesky, TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

 
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The Cat Ladies Haven't Forgotten

This week, a mob attacked immigrant communities in Northern Ireland after Elon Musk fomented anger on X. On this week’s On the Media, hear how a group linked with a global neo-Nazi movement organized the riots. Plus, what the recent upheaval at 60 Minutes tells us about the state of TV news.

[01:34] Micah speaks with David Gilbert, a reporter at WIRED covering disinformation and online extremism, about the anti-immigrant riots that exploded across the UK and more recently Northern Ireland, and how Elon Musk stoked violence on X. Plus, the racist ideology behind the attacks. 

[17:29] Micah sits down with Oliver Darcy, founder of Status and co-host of Power Lines, to discuss the turmoil at 60 Minutes since Bari Weiss fired about half a dozen staffers. 

[32:52] Brooke talks with Maria Kuznetsova and Dan Storyev, the authors of the upcoming book How to Survive Authoritarianism: A Russian's Phrasebook for Everyday Life in America, about how Russian words and phrases can help Americans understand what's happening in their country today.

Further reading:

 “A White Supremacist Youth Group Helped Orchestrate the Belfast Riots,” • by David Gilbert

 “Elon Musk and America’s Far Right Stoke Anger Over Murder of UK Teen, • ” by David Gilbert

 “Bari in the Bunker and Ellison at the Gates,” • by Oliver Darcy

 “Pelley’s ‘60 Minutes’ Revolt,” • by Oliver Darcy

 How to Survive Authoritarianism: A Russian's Phrasebook for Everyday Life in America • by Maria Kuznetsova and Dan Storyev

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, Bluesky, TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

 
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The UK’s Violent Riots Were Stoked by Elon Musk and a Global Far-Right Network

China is home to over one billion internet users, and about half are consumers of internet literature. While the industry started as a group of hobby writers, it's now a multimillion dollar industry that has spawned adaptations to TV shows, films, and games. One of the most successful genres has become a phenomenon in and of itself. It's called "alt-history" fiction, which typically follows a contemporary man traveling back in time to save ancient China from a crisis. Brooke sits down with Rongbin Han, a Chinese cyberpolitics expert at the University of Georgia, about why this particular genre of web novel has grabbed so many readers' attention, what it can teach us about how Chinese people are imagining China's rise on a global stage, and how it's an illustration of a state and its people co-producing, or negotiating, a shared vision of an ideal, powerful China. 

 

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, Bluesky, TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

"Making China Great Again" One Web-Novel At A Time

This week, Anthropic filed for an IPO following a valuation of nearly $1 trillion, which would make it one of the largest IPOs in history. On this week’s On the Media, the company’s marketing campaign to position it as the “good guy” of AI. Plus, what a literary AI scandal reveals about our vanishing ability to tell what’s human and what’s not. 

[01:00] Micah speaks with Brian Merchant, a tech journalist and author of the book and newsletter Blood in the Machine, about Anthropic’s successful positioning of itself as the “ethical AI company,” even gaining themselves a seat at the table when the Pope debuted his encyclical on AI, and how fostering this image seems to be paying off in the form of a massive valuation and upcoming IPO.

[16:18] Micah sits down with Vauhini Vara, a contributing writer for The Atlantic and the author of Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age, on the infiltration of AI into literature, and how publishing and journalism have entered a new era of trying to keep AI writing at bay. 

[27:51] Brooke talks with David Garrett, founder of the new non-profit the Institute for Primary Facts, about the pop-up exhibit he organized in New York City that displayed over 3,400 printed volumes of the Epstein files, and how he intends it to be a “pressure campaign” for accountability. Plus, Andrea Sterling, an online content creator and a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse, on the impact of seeing the files in real life.

Further reading:

 • “
How Anthropic used AI ethics slop to play the pope and eclipse OpenAI • ,” by Brian Merchant

 • “
This Literary AI Scandal Changes Everything • ,” by Vauhini Vara

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, Bluesky, TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How Anthropic Became Holier Than Thou

For a second week, reports of inhumane conditions at Delaney Hall in New Jersey are drawing protesters and camera crews. A handful of journalists and dozens of protesters have been arrested. Under this Trump administration, I.C.E.’s operations have ballooned, making it the highest-funded U.S. law enforcement agency. This week we're sharing an interview Micah did with Drew Harwell, a technology reporter for The Washington Post, from earlier this year. They discuss how I.C.E. is trying to enlist new agents through a "wartime recruitment push."

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, Bluesky, TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I.C.E.'s "Wartime Recruitment" Campaign

The Department of Justice is trying to create a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate Donald Trump’s political supporters who claim they were unfairly targeted by the government. On this week’s On the Media, how Trump is using the federal legal system to reward his allies and go after his perceived enemies. Plus, how a prison fire in 1930 changed the course of history for CBS News.

[01:00] Micah speaks with Anna Bower, senior editor at Lawfare, about President Trump’s effort to sue himself and how the Department of Justice is trying to reward him, and his political allies, with a nearly $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” 

[17:14] Brooke speaks with historian A. Brad Schwartz about how a horrific prison fire in 1930 changed the trajectory of CBS News. CBS aired on-the-spot coverage of the event, with Otto "Deacon" Gardner, an inmate in the prison, at the microphone. Gardner's gripping broadcast captured the attention of audiences across the country and started CBS on the path to creating the hard-hitting news that would define the network for nearly a century. 

[35:53] Brooke continues her conversation with historian A. Brad Schwartz about how the prison fire showed executives at CBS that there was an audience for vivid, on-the-spot news coverage. 

Further reading:

 • “
The President Who Sued Himself • ,” by Anna Bower and Eric Columbus

 • “
The Eyewitness • ,” by A. Brad Schwartz

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, Bluesky, TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

 
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Trump Sued Himself … and ‘Settled’ for a $1.8 Billion Fund

Russian language has a rich vocabulary for describing life under tyranny. Like the plain-clothed ICE officers snatching people off the streets? In Russian, they would be called "siloviki." Former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's requirement that she personally approve of contracts over $100,000? That's a phenomenon that Russians would call "manual control." Government workers being required to perform a military parade for the president's birthday? They would be called "budget people" in Russian. Brooke speaks with Maria Kuznetsova and Dan Storyev, the authors of the upcoming book How to Survive Authoritarianism: A Russian Phrasebook for Everyday Life in America, about how Russian words and phrases can help Americans understand what's happening in their country today. The book comes out in September. 

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, Bluesky, TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A Russian Phrasebook for Surviving Authoritarianism

The president has proposed a new leader for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. On this week’s On the Media, a reckoning with the future of FEMA, and an interview with Trump’s nominee to lead the agency. Plus, a FEMA worker starts an anonymous newsletter to share how cuts are hurting the agency.

[01:56] Micah Loewinger brings us the final installment of OTM’s miniseries American Emergency: The Movement to Kill FEMA. Micah interviews Cameron Hamilton, an unqualified MAGA warrior brought in to take the agency down last year. When he refused to kill FEMA point blank, he was fired. Hamilton shares what it was like to work at FEMA under Kristi Noem. Earlier this month, Hamilton was nominated by the president to lead the agency – despite his lack of experience. 

[21:08] Micah interviews an anonymous FEMA worker who started a newsletter amid the chaos of Kristi Noem’s leadership at DHS. The goal of the online publication, called Alt-FEMA, was to get the truth out about the agency’s capacity — at a time when it was bleeding staff and experience. Its stated mission is to record “what is being dismantled: institutional knowledge, coordination capacity, and the ability to serve communities in crisis.”

[31:21] Micah explores the future of FEMA, and the administration's plans to reduce the role of the agency in responding to disasters. We hear from a veteran FEMA staffer, MaryAnn Tierney, and a climate beat reporter at Grist, Jake Bittle, who wrestled with the proposed reforms. Micah also speaks to the Director of Emergency Management in Vermont, Eric Forand, and an emergency manager of a tribal nation on the West Coast about how diminished federal disaster funding could hurt their communities.

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, Bluesky, TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

 
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Episode 4 of American Emergency: The Movement to Kill FEMA

This week, the President announced a proposed expansion of the America's refugee program - from 7,500 admissions to 17,500. But there's a caveat: those extra 10,000 spots are reserved for white South Africans. Last May, when the first round of Afrikaners arrived in the States, OTM host Micah Loewinger spoke to Carolyn Holmes, professor of political science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, about why Afrikaner white rights groups objected to the refugee policy, and the long-standing exchange of ideas between white nationalist elites in the US and South Africa.

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, Bluesky, TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

 
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Trump's Refugee Program Is Reserved for Whites Only

How an unprecedented storm of conspiracy theories beset FEMA during Hurricane Helene.

[00:00] Host Micah Loewinger presents the third part of our investigation American Emergency: The Movement to Kill FEMA. This week, Micah takes a deep dive into the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in 2024, when conspiracy theories surged online, including the old rumors about FEMA camps. And we hear from a library worker who was rescued by raft during the storm, about the greatest obstacle she faced after the storm: bureaucracy.

 Further reading / watching:

 • “
The simple statistical error Republican Supreme Court justices used to gut the VRA • ,” by G. Elliot Morris

 • “
This year’s U.S. House elections will be least competitive on record • ,” by G. Elliot Morris

 “Some N.C. residents distrust FEMA so much they’re hesitant to apply for hurricane aid,” • by Brianna Sacks

 “How a conspiracy-fueled group got a foothold in this hurricane-battered town,” • by Brianna Sacks

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, Bluesky, TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode 3 of American Emergency; The Movement To Kill FEMA

President Joe Biden and Xi Jinping just recently met face-to-face for the first time in a year. On this week’s On the Media, a look at why Chinese state media released glowing content about the U-S leading up to the summit. Plus, the rise and fall of the online feminist publication Jezebel.

1. Daniel Sneider [@DCSneider], lecturer in East Asian Studies and international policy at Stanford University, on what the media made of President Biden's meeting with President Xi Jinping. Listen.

2. Drew Harwell [@drewharwell], tech reporter for The Washington Post, on TikTok's place in the Israel-Hamas war. Listen.

3. Anna Holmes [@AnnaHolmes], founding editor of Jezebel, on the birth, life, and death of a website devoted to women. Listen.

 

Music from this week's show:

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas - Avalon
Skylark - Anita O’Day
What's That Sound - Michael Andrews
Jesusland - Ben Folds
Tilliboyo - Kronos Quartet

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, Bluesky, TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

TikTok In the Crosshairs... Again. And Saying Goodbye to Jezebel

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