On The Media

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Channel • 2 Shows

Politics

Politics

Updated Semiweekly
News Commentary

News Commentary

Updated 08/22/2025

FEB 6

How the Justice Department Failed Epstein’s Victims

In the latest batch of Epstein files, hundreds of pages are redacted, shielding the names of prosecutors and possible co-conspirators. On this week’s On the Media, what the files say about how the criminal justice system failed Epstein’s victims. Plus, the toppling of a statue raises questions about who represents Puerto Rican culture. [01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Julie K. Brown, investigative journalist for The Miami Herald, whose reporting back in 2018 led to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s arrest. Brown is pouring through the Epstein files and finding new information about how prosecutors failed to bring Epstein to justice for so many years. She is documenting what she finds in her substack newsletter, The Epstein Files by Julie K. Brown. [19:24] We’re celebrating the launch of Season 3 of La Brega from Alana Casanova-Burgess and Futuro Media by featuring episode one: about the toppling of the statue of a Spanish colonizer in San Juan a few years ago, what that reveals about Puerto Rico’s champions, and who deserves that pedestal. Further reading / watching: “What I found today in The Epstein Files,” by Julie K. Brown“Did the FBI investigate Trump and Epstein?” by Julie K. BrownSeason 3 of La Brega 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.

Feb 6

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50 min
2D AGO

An Internet Blackout Hides A Regime's Excesses

At the end of December, familiar scenes of protest in Tehran were being documented and shared across the world. But on January 8th, the images stopped coming after the Iranian regime cut off the internet in an attempt by the authorities to prevent protestors from organizing and posting videos online for the outside world to see. Under the cover of darkness the regime is reported to have killed up to 30,000 people. Brooke spoke to Mahsa Alimardani, the Associate Director of the Technology Threats & Opportunities program at WITNESS, where she works on distinguishing visual truths in the AI age. She says that the internet has started flickering back on after a nearly three-week-long national blackout–the longest the country has ever seen–but that a thick fog of disinformation still covers Iran. 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.

2d ago

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18 min
JAN 31

Videos of ICE Violence Are Plentiful. Accountability.… Not So Much.

The Trump administration called Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by federal officers, a “domestic terrorist.” And then bystander footage flooded the internet. On this week’s On the Media, how the real-time verification of video evidence is transforming public discourse. Plus, what the anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis have in common with the Boston Massacre. [01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Brandy Zadrozny, senior enterprise reporter at MS Now, about the informal network of far-right content creators traveling to anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis, and why the right-wing narrative is losing power in the face of an outpouring of bystander footage. [17:45] Host Micah Loewinger talks with Radley Balko, author of The Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces, about similarities between the conditions that led to the Boston Massacre in 1770 and what we’re seeing today in Minneapolis and other cities targeted by ICE operations today. [31:43] Brooke sits down with Eliot Higgins, the founder of Bellingcat, to discuss his framework for the essential functions of democracy— verification, deliberation, and accountability—which have broken down into hollow performances or simulations in the United States today. Further reading / watching: “In Minneapolis, far-right influencers frame ICE resistance as terrorism,” by Brandy Zadrozny“Two cities under siege,” by Radley Balko“Verification, Deliberation, Accountability: A new framework for tackling epistemic collapse and renewing democracy,” by Eliot Higgins and Natalie Martin 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.

Jan 31

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51 min
FEB 4

"Armed Only With A Camera"

In 2022 Brent Renaud became the first American journalist to be killed by Russian soldiers while covering the war in Ukraine. Brent’s collaborator for many years was his brother Craig. When word got back to Craig that Brent had been shot, he did what he and his brother had always done. He kept filming. Craig and his producer Juan Arredondo used that footage along with material from their archive to make the Oscar nominated short documentary “Armed Only With a Camera.” The film is part tribute to his brother, part salute to war journalists who are still out there, risking their lives. Micah spoke to Craig about how the brothers got started in the journalism business. 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.

Feb 4

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16 min
JAN 24

Trump's Plan to Tank America

Children as young as five have been detained by immigration agents in Minnesota. On this week’s On the Media, how I.C.E. uses technology to surveil the public and recruit more members. Plus, following Trump’s threats against Greenland, ties between the United States and its closest allies are fraying. [01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Garrett M. Graff, journalist, historian, and author of the newsletter Doomsday Scenario, about Trump’s damage to the United States’ standing as a world power following his campaign for Greenland and his dismantling of core pillars of American policy. [19:14] Host Micah Loewinger talks with Joseph Cox, investigative reporter and co-founder at 404 Media, about his detailed reporting into ICE’s quietly widening arsenal of surveillance tools. [37:01] Micah sits down with Drew Harwell, technology reporter for The Washington Post, to discuss ICE’s elaborate “wartime recruitment” strategy, and what it means for immigration policy in the United States. Further reading / watching: “We Are Witnessing the Self-Immolation of a Superpower,” by Garrett M. Graff“‘ELITE’: The Palantir App ICE Uses to Find Neighborhoods to Raid,” by Joseph Cox“ICE’s Facial Recognition App Misidentified a Woman. Twice,” by Joseph Cox“Inside ICE’s Tool to Monitor Phones in Entire Neighborhoods,” by Joseph Cox“New Legislation Would Rein In ICE’s Facial Recognition App,” by Joseph Cox“ICE plans $100 million ‘wartime recruitment’ push targeting gun shows, military fans for hires,” by Drew Harwell and Joyce Sohyun Lee 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.

Jan 24

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50 min
JAN 28

Stars and Stripes in Peril

Stars and Stripes, the venerated, independent award-winning newspaper that has served the armed services for roughly a century, may be getting an uninvited makeover, courtesy of Pete Hegseth’s Defense Department. In a statement posted on X earlier this month, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said that Stars and Stripes would no longer be carrying wire reports from the Associated Press, and that it would steer away from all that is woke or might sap morale. Parnell said the defense department would be bringing the newspaper “into the 21st century.” Brooke spoke to Erik Slavin, Editor-in-Chief of Stars and Stripes. 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.

Jan 28

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19 min
JAN 17

Trump's War on the Fed, Explained. Plus, How One School Teacher Stood Up to Putin.

The Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation against the Federal Reserve and its chairman. On this week’s On the Media, hear how the Trump administration’s pressure campaign plays into a larger trend chipping away at central banks. Plus, how a teacher in Russia stood up to Putin’s propaganda. [01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Mark Blyth, professor of International Economics and Public Affairs at Brown University, to talk about what the headlines are missing in the Department of Justice’s investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, and why we need to know the trending politics of central banks around the globe. [16:50] Brooke Gladstone talks with Pasha Talankin, star and co-creator of the new documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin. Pasha is a high school teacher who made an incredibly vivid and detailed account of Putin’s efforts to indoctrinate schoolchildren in Russia. [36:51] Brooke continues her conversation about Mr. Nobody Against Putin with David Borenstein, the film’s co-director. Further reading / watching: Mr Nobody is screening on Jan 21 at the Independent Film Center in New York before expanding to select theaters in the U.S. and Canada. 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.

Jan 17

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50 min
12/05/2025

Covering the Pentagon, from Sy Hersh to Laura Loomer

The New York Times has sued the Pentagon for restricting access to journalists. On this week’s On the Media, meet the new cast of right wing influencers and conspiracy theorists replacing the press corps in the Pentagon. Plus, a new documentary examines the life and work of investigative journalist Seymour Hersh. [01:00] Host Micah Loewinger sits down with Dan Lamothe, who covers the US military and Pentagon for the Washington Post, to talk about the Trump administration’s shifting narrative around a second strike that killed two survivors on a boat in the Caribbean. Lamothe used to have a desk in the Pentagon as part of the press corps, but left alongside reporters from major news outlets after they refused to sign onto stringent new rules on how they could do their reporting. [16:58] Micah talks with Anna Merlan, senior reporter at Mother Jones, about the cast of right wing influencers and conspiracists now staffing the Pentagon press corps. Plus, Micah interviews Cam Higby, a member of the new press corps, about why he agreed to the Pentagon’s restrictions on access. [30:15] Micah spoke to another of the new Pentagon press corps; Cam Higby, who reports for his independent online outlet Fearless Media. He has over 750,000 followers on TikTok and over 400,000 on Instagram. [43:18] Micah speaks with Laura Poitras, a journalist and filmmaker whose past works include CitizenFour, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, and Risk, to discuss her newest documentary. Poitras shares the process of making Cover-Up, coming soon to Netflix, which chronicles the life of investigative journalist Seymour Hersh. Poitras describes Hersh's ferocious drive to uncover government wrongdoing, and what today’s press corps can learn from him. Further reading / watching: “Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all,” by Alex Horton and Ellen Nakashima“‘Signalgate’ report contradicts Hegseth’s claim of ‘total exoneration’,”by Dan Lamothe“Meet the New Pentagon Press Corps,” by Anna MerlanCover-Up, directed and produced by Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus 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.

12/05/2025

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1h 4m
JAN 9

A Deadly ICE Shooting in Minnesota. Plus, Trump Plays King in Venezuela.

After a U.S. citizen was shot and killed by an immigration agent, the Department of Homeland Security is sending even more forces to Minneapolis. On this week’s On the Media, how the Trump administration is spinning the narrative around the shooting. Plus, an exiled Venezuelan journalist explains the state of the press in his home country. [01:00] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Jeffrey Meitrodt, a senior investigative reporter for the Minnesota Star Tribune, to examine the veracity of conservative content creator Nick Shirley’s viral video claiming to uncover evidence of widespread fraud at Somali-run daycares in Minnesota. [21:32] Micah talks with Rafael Osio Cabrices, editor-in-chief at Caracas Chronicles, about Venezuela’s evolving media landscape. Plus, what foreign news outlets are missing in their coverage of the US raid and capture of Nicolás Maduro. [36:15] Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Abe Newman, a political scientist and Georgetown professor, to discuss “neo-royalism.” Newman coined the term, with his co-author Stacie Goddard, to explain the logic of the Trump administration’s foreign policy, from Greenland to Venezuela. Further reading / watching: “We went to the day cares Nick Shirley did. Here’s what we found,” by Deena Winter and Jeffrey Medtroit“How Foreign Media and Analysts are Misreporting Venezuela,” by Rafael Osio Cabrices“Further Back to the Future: Neo-Royalism, the Trump Administration, and the Emerging International System,” by Stacie E. Goddard and Abraham Newman 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.

Jan 9

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50 min
11/28/2025

Tell Your Uncle He's Fighting Twitter Bots in Bangladesh

A new feature on X, formerly known as Twitter, has revealed that some prominent MAGA accounts are based in South Asia and Eastern Europe. On this week’s On the Media, how foreign actors funnel political rage-bait into social media feeds. Plus, a school librarian in Louisiana shares how she’s been targeted by book-banning activists. [01:00] Host Micah Loewinger sits down with Charlie Warzel, staff writer at The Atlantic and author of its newsletter Galaxy Brain, to discuss the recent X update that revealed many high profile, pro-MAGA accounts might be based in foreign countries. [16:37] Host Brooke Gladstone talks with Amanda Jones, school librarian in Livingston Parish, Louisiana and former School Librarian of the Year, to discuss her experience as a target of book-banning activists. Plus, why protecting libraries is as crucial as ever. [32:44] Brooke Gladstone talks to Elyse Graham, professor of sociology at Stony Brook University and author of Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II. They discuss the role that academics, archivists, and librarians played in WWII intelligence gathering activities, and why the CIA invested in storytelling as a result. Further reading / watching: Elon Musk’s Worthless, Poisoned Hall of Mirrors, by Charlie WarzelThe Librarians filmThat Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America, by Amanda JonesBook and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II, by Elyse Graham 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.

11/28/2025

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50 min

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.

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POLITICS