KCRW

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Channel • 14 Shows

Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Updated weekly
Documentary

Documentary

Every two weeks
News

News

Updated weekly
Arts

Arts

Updated weekly
Music History

Music History

Series
TV & Film

TV & Film

Updated weekly
Music

Music

Updated daily

3 days ago

‘Kick Him Off The Bench.’ A Judge in Trump’s Pulitzer Case Gets a Prize

The Freedom of the Press Foundation just filed an ethics complaint against Florida Judge Jeffrey Kuntz, who has been nominated by President Trump for a lifetime federal court appointment. They want him stripped of his gavel and his law license. Why? Judge Kuntz was one of the judges who ruled in Trump’s favor in his peculiar defamation lawsuit against the Pulitzer Prize board. The Freedom of the Press Foundation claims the judge handed Trump this victory while, behind the scenes, he was seeking a nomination from the Trump administration for a federal judgeship. While Judge Kuntz’s nomination is being considered by the Senate, we revisit an episode we first aired in February 2025 about this strange lawsuit against the organization behind journalism’s most prestigious award. Question Everything is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter. Guests: Ben Smith, editor-in-chief of Semafor and co-host of the Mixed Signals podcast Please support the organizations that support this show: Go to https://zbiotics.com/QUESTION and use QUESTION at checkout for 15% off any first-time orders of ZBiotics probiotics. Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to Quince.com/QUESTION for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Ground News is a platform that makes it easy to compare news sources, read between the lines of media bias, and break free from algorithms. Go to GroundNews.com/QUESTION to get 40% off the unlimited Vantage plan. DeleteMe makes it quick, easy and safe to remove your personal data online. Get 20% off DeleteMe consumer plans when you go to joindeleteme.com/QUESTION and use promo code QUESTION at checkout.

3 days ago

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40 min
2 days ago

Senate Control Rides On Paxton, Texas’ Flawed GOP Pick

Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code KCRW at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/KCRW Texas Republicans are pinning their hopes on Senate candidate Ken Paxton, the state attorney general who was impeached for abusing his office. Maine Democrats are pinning theirs on Graham Platner, who’s had to explain an old tattoo that looks like a Nazi symbol. Welcome to the 2026 installment of the race to control the U.S. Senate. Pope Leo used his platform to warn about the dangers of A.I. It’s a big topic here in the U.S., but neither the Trump White House nor Congress seem eager to do much. Plus, a listener incensed over taxpayer dollars being used for Trump’s “Anti-Weaponization Fund” asks what he should do with his anger. Producer: Leo Duran Host: David Greene Guests: Mo Elleithee, executive director at Georgetown University's Institute of Politics and Public Service - @MoElleithee Sarah Isgur, senior editor at The Dispatch - @whignewtons

2 days ago

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50 min
22 May

Trump’s $1.8B Fund Draws Cries of ‘Brazen Corruption’

Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code KCRW at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/KCRW What is an anti-weaponization fund? Is it a legit use of taxpayer dollars to help people of all political stripes who were wronged by their government, or is it a corrupt slush fund to help President Trump and his political allies? One immediate question on the minds of Democrats is if people who attacked the Capitol on January 6 will be some of the early beneficiaries. Also, despite Trump’s sagging poll numbers, he continues to hold sway over his party with one primary vote after another against sitting Republicans. Is there a political cost for Trump and the GOP if a coalition of lame ducks starts growing with an eye towards their own counter-revenge? And we’ve got some great questions from you this week, including whether we really need politicians at all to run a government. Producer: Leo Duran Host: David Greene Guests: Elizabeth Bruenig, staff writer, The Atlantic (@ebruenig) Mike Dubke, veteran GOP communications strategist and advisor. He was the White House Comms Director under Donald Trump in 2017 (@MikeDubke)

22 May

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50 min
21 May

Can a Chatbot Convince Conspiracy Theorists of the Truth?

Like millions of others, Gordon Pennycook’s older brother has leapt down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories, and Gordon says he’s tried to change his brother’s mind, without success. Which tracks, if you’ve ever debated a conspiracy theorist — it can feel impossible to pull them back to reality. If anyone was qualified to convince his brother, though, it’s Gordon, who’s a psychology professor at Cornell University where he studies why people believe things that aren’t true. So Gordon wanted to put this question to the test: Is it actually the case that conspiracy theorists rarely change their minds? He and a team of researchers ran an experiment using an AI chatbot to rebut people’s theories. And the results were very surprising. In fact, they ended up changing Gordon’s mind about conspiracy theories, and the people who believe them. Sign up for our newsletter and we’ll share the Debunkbot from Gordon’s study, where you can test out your own beliefs. Question Everything is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. Guests: Gordon Pennycook, Cornell University, Associate Professor, Dorothy and Ariz Mehta Faculty Leadership Fellow Please support the organizations that support this show: Go to https://zbiotics.com/QUESTION and use QUESTION at checkout for 15% off any first-time orders of ZBiotics probiotics. Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to Quince.com/QUESTION for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Ground News is a platform that makes it easy to compare news sources, read between the lines of media bias, and break free from algorithms. Go to GroundNews.com/QUESTION to get 40% off the unlimited Vantage plan. DeleteMe makes it quick, easy and safe to remove your personal data online. Get 20% off DeleteMe consumer plans when you go to joindeleteme.com/QUESTION and use promo code QUESTION at checkout.

21 May

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27 min
2 days ago

Jack Thorne on ‘Adolescence,’ ‘Lord of the Flies,’ and his autism

This week, Kim Masters talks to Jack Thorne, who won all the prizes for writing the Netflix series Adolescence, about his new series, an adaptation of the novel Lord of the Flies. They also discuss how Adolescence revealed Netflix’s stunning global reach, and why series star Stephen Graham has a co-writing credit, even though Graham doesn’t actually write. Thorne also tells Kim about being diagnosed as autistic in his mid-40s. Plus, Kim and Matt Belloni discuss the major shakeup at CBS’ 60 Minutes. Bari Weiss, the controversial head of the network’s news division, fired two correspondents and other staff, and hired someone with no broadcast news experience to run the vaunted show.

2 days ago

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30 min
2 days ago

Margaret Cho Is Still Hopeful About Comedy

Margaret Cho is a trailblazer and ‘mother’ to your favorite comedians. She burst onto the scene in the 90s performing at night clubs and later starred in the ABC sitcom 'All-American Girl', the first network show to center an Asian American family. Margaret reflects on the impact of her groundbreaking show, how she sees her role as a mentor for younger comedians, and why she’s still optimistic about comedy even as it swings to the right. Plus, she shares how standup helped her get through a very intense rehab experience. Margaret Cho is also on tour! Her latest standup set is called Choligarchy. Note: This episode includes conversations about suicide and addiction. Please take care while listening. If you or someone you know needs support, call or text 988. Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week. The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.

2 days ago

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54 min
14 May

Claude’s Russian Propaganda Problem

According to the fact-checking company NewsGuard, Claude has been a very reliable and accurate chatbot. But in the last month or so, users have started complaining that it seemed to be getting slower, stupider, and less trustworthy. So NewsGuard AI analyst Isis Blachez ran a test on Claude, to see if it is actually getting worse. And running this test revealed a whole new iteration of Russian disinformation campaigns, designed for the AI-era, that are evolving by the second specifically to coerce chatbots into deceiving us. Question Everything is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter. Guests: Isis Blachez, analyst for AI and France at NewsGuard Please support the organizations that support this show: Go to https://zbiotics.com/QUESTION and use QUESTION at checkout for 15% off any first-time orders of ZBiotics probiotics. Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to Quince.com/QUESTION for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Ground News is a platform that makes it easy to compare news sources, read between the lines of media bias, and break free from algorithms. Go to GroundNews.com/QUESTION to get 40% off the unlimited Vantage plan. DeleteMe makes it quick, easy and safe to remove your personal data online. Get 20% off DeleteMe consumer plans when you go to joindeleteme.com/QUESTION and use promo code QUESTION at checkout.

14 May

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32 min
2 days ago

Weekend Film Reviews: 'Pressure,' 'Backrooms,' 'Power Ballad'

The new World War II movie 'Pressure' tells the true, but not well known story of a British meteorologist who tries to predict the weather ahead of D-Day and warns Eisenhower of a pending storm. Does it add anything to the World War II film canon or is it a bust? Film critics Alonso Duralde and Dave White share their review. Plus, 'Backrooms,' 'Power Ballad,' and 'The Last Viking.'

2 days ago

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17 min
23 Apr

You Can Bet on Everything Now. What Could Go Wrong?

Gambling is infiltrating American life. Ads for online sportsbooks are everywhere. Prediction markets – which are not legally considered gambling – now allow betting on everything from the unemployment numbers, to the war in Iran, to how many times Elon Musk will tweet this week. Lots of news outlets are getting in on the action: CNN, CNBC, the AP, and others are partnering with prediction markets to use their stats in coverage. What could go wrong? On today’s show, we’re joined by three journalists who cover gambling and prediction markets to answer that question. They tell stories about how gambling has already transformed sports, the unsettling ways betting seems like it’s already influencing the news and politics, and the not-so-crazy arguments for how it could lead to better informed citizens. Also: hours after we posted this episode, federal authorities charged a soldier -- Master Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke -- with being the mystery bettor we talk about in the show, who made $400,000 on Polymarket by trading on the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. When asked about it, President Trump said, "The whole world unfortunately has become somewhat of a casino." Question Everything is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter. Guests: Joon Lee, independent sports journalist and Youtuber. Find his channel here https://www.youtube.com/@iamjoonlee Danny Funt, author of Everybody Loses: the Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Betting Kate Knibbs, senior writer at Wired Please support the organizations that support this show: Ground News is a platform that makes it easy to compare news sources, read between the lines of media bias, and break free from algorithms. Go to GroundNews.com/QUESTION to get 40% off the unlimited Vantage plan. DeleteMe makes it quick, easy and safe to remove your personal data online. Get 20% off DeleteMe consumer plans when you go to joindeleteme.com/QUESTION and use promo code QUESTION at checkout. Get 15% off OneSkin with the code QUESTION at https://www.oneskin.co/QUESTION #oneskinpod Listen to our supporter More Muslim , a narrative audio series telling deeply reported stories about the Muslim experience, wherever you get podcasts.

23 Apr

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48 min
Season 5, Episode 6

From the Slutmobile to the Starship

Rodney Bingenheimer’s English Disco. The Continental Hyatt House. The Rainbow Bar & Grill. Glam rock was the genre du jour and there was no more convenient or welcoming a circuit for an intrepid teenage groupie to land in than the Strip in the early 1970s. As for Led Zeppelin, LA became their spiritual home-away-from-home (read: wives). From flying in on their private jet, the Starship, to cruising down Sunset picking up groupies in their white stretch limo, the Slutmobile, Led Zeppelin’s superstardom marked a new era, and level, to groupiedom.

S5, E6

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49 min

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