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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

In August of 2023, police raided a small local newspaper in rural Kansas, seizing computers and cellphones. Later, the paper’s publisher would discover there was no legal basis for the search. On this week’s On the Media, find out who was behind the raid, and what the saga reveals about the plight of local journalism today. 

[01:00] On a Friday morning in a small, rural town in Kansas, the publisher of the local newspaper opens his door to see the police. They have a search warrant in hand, and within minutes, they’re searching his home. He finds out that at the same time, officers are combing through his newsroom, seizing computers and cellphones. All of this comes as a massive surprise – no warning, no subpoena, and, as he later finds out, no legal right. 

This week, we’re airing an episode of KCRW’s Question Everything, hosted by Brian Reed, which digs into why this violent raid occurred, who’s behind it, and the long-lasting, tragic ramifications. 

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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A Newspaper Raid and a Small Town Whodunnit

This week we’re sharing a segment from our friends at the New Yorker Radio Hour. David Remnick sits down with the hosts of the hit podcast, The Rest is History, who turned their childhood love of history into a blockbuster show. They discuss how Brits remember the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War.

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 Rest Is History

In Texas, a judge sentenced a group of anti-ICE demonstrators to decades in prison. On this week’s On the Media, how leftist zines were used to convict a group of protesters accused of ties to antifa. Plus, as we approach the nation’s 250th birthday, we reflect on America’s inability to reckon with the darkest parts of its past.

[01:00] Micah interviews Lex McMenamin, movement building reporter at The Guardian US, about how leftist zines were used to sentence anti-ICE protesters to decades in prison this week. 

[12:55] Brooke sits down with Eddie Glaude, professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, to talk about his latest book, “America, U.S.A.: How Race Shadows the Nation's Anniversaries,” and why, at every major milestone, the United States has struggled to reconcile a “double-consciousness.” 

Further reading:

 “‘This is injustice’: how leftist zines were used to sentence anti-ICE protesters to decades in prison,” • by Lex McMenamin

 America, U.S.A.: How Race Shadows the Nation's Anniversaries • by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.

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 Fantasy of America at 250

Top voices on the far right are currently facing the consequences of their own actions. Ben Shapiro is complaining about the rise of a podcaster he made a star; Joe Rogan is upset about the spread of conspiracy theories; and Christopher Rufo is complaining about bigotry in the Republican party. This week, Micah talks to Vox Senior Correspondent Zack Beauchamp about what he calls the 'hot dog men' of the right, and what the phenomenon signals about the future of the Republican party.

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.

Far Right Stars Are Bemoaning the Chaos They Created

Donald Trump has signed a preliminary agreement to end the war in Iran. On this week’s On the Media, hear how J.D. Vance has been positioned to suffer the political fallout from the conflict – and from the much criticized deal. Plus, the theological tensions dividing the MAGA coalition.

[01:34] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Joe Perticone, national political reporter at The Bulwark, about how J.D. Vance is being set up as the Iran deal “fall guy.”

[18:26] Micah talks to Oren Persico, staff writer for The Seventh Eye, an independent Israeli website devoted to journalism and freedom of the press, about the Israeli media coverage of the Iran deal as a ‘catastrophic capitulation,’ the fracturing relationship between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu and what it may portend for Israel’s political future. 

[34:14] Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Matthew D. Taylor, visiting scholar at Georgetown University's Center on Faith and Justice, to discuss how the growing factions in the Republican party over Israel and the Iran war are part-policy, part-divergent Christian theologies.

Further reading:

 “JD Vance Is Being Set Up as the Iran Deal Fall Guy,” • by Joe Perticone

 • “
How Christian Zionism and Christian Antisemitism Are Tearing MAGA Apart • ,” by Matthew D. Taylor

 The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy • , by Matthew D. Taylor

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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J.D. Vance: Iran Deal Fall Guy

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

In the third episode of "We Don't Talk About Leonard," Leonard Leo is in Maine, a man in his castle, at the height of his powers. He has helped remake the American judicial system, and now he has a plan to do the same for society and politics — to make a Federalist Society for everything. ProPublica reporters Andrea Bernstein, Andy Kroll, and Ilya Marritz drill even further into the fight to gain influence over state courts, and reveal what Leo and his allies are planning for the future.

1. Big money starts pouring into state Supreme Court races in Wisconsin and across the country. Listen.

2. Leonard Leo takes over a network of conservatives trying to shape American culture. Listen.

3. Leonard Leo faces pushback in a town where people know who he is. Listen.

This podcast was created in partnership with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive their biggest stories as soon as they’re published.

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.

We Don't Talk About Leonard: Episode 3

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