120 episodes

The Peabody Award-winning On the Media podcast is your guide to examining how the media sausage is made. Host Brooke Gladstone examines 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 WNYC Studios

    • News
    • 4.6 • 8.3K Ratings

The Peabody Award-winning On the Media podcast is your guide to examining how the media sausage is made. Host Brooke Gladstone examines 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.

    Why Banning TikTok Might Backfire. Plus, a History of Book-Banning Moms

    Why Banning TikTok Might Backfire. Plus, a History of Book-Banning Moms

    Recently, the House passed a bill that could ban TikTok from the US unless the app’s Chinese owners divest. On this week’s On the Media, hear how the bill will likely fail to live up to its promise. Plus, a pulse-check on the book-banning movement, and a look into the larger mission behind Moms for Liberty. 

    1. Julia Angwin [@JuliaAngwin], opinion writer for The New York Time and founder of the new outlet Proof News, on why this TikTok legislation won't do what lawmakers claim it will. Listen.

    2. Adam Laats [@AdamLaats], professor of education and history at Binghamton University, on the long history leading to Moms For Liberty. Listen.

    3. Jennifer Berkshire [@BisforBerkshire], lecturer at Yale’s Education Studies Department, on why Moms for Liberty election losses are not a reason to ignore the group's power. Listen.

    • 50 min
    A Journalism History Lesson from Calvin Trillin

    A Journalism History Lesson from Calvin Trillin

    Writer Calvin Trillin joined The New Yorker in 1963, and he continues to contribute today. Trillin’s trademark humility and humor show up in all of his writing, whether it’s a story about the invention of the buffalo chicken wing, or the civil rights movement, or an old ditty about our political woes. Brooke recently sat down with him to discuss his career and his latest book, The Lede: Dispatches from a Life in the Press.

    • 20 min
    What Can Musk Offer Trump? And Defining “Decolonization” for Gaza

    What Can Musk Offer Trump? And Defining “Decolonization” for Gaza

    Donald Trump recently held a meeting with Elon Musk, the owner of the site formerly known as Twitter. On this week’s On the Media, hear how the significance of the social media platform has changed as fewer people tune into traditional right-wing media. Plus, a deep dive on terms like “colonialism” and “decolonization,” and what they mean in the context of Israel-Palestine.

    1. Philip Bump [@pbump], columnist for the Washington Post, on what Donald Trump might want from an allegiance with Elon Musk. Listen.

    2. Iyad el-Baghdadi [@iyad_elbaghdadi], human rights activist, writer, and co-author of “The Middle East Crisis Factory,” on why the words we use to describe the war in Gaza should be clear and precise. Listen.

    3. Valerie Hopkins [@VALERIEinNYT], an international correspondent at the New York Times covering Russia, on the growing intensity of Putin's crackdown on dissent in Russia, and Mstyslav Chernov [@mstyslavchernov], on his now Oscar-nominated documentary depicting the early days of Russia's siege on Ukraine. Listen.

     

    • 50 min
    It's That Time Again!

    It's That Time Again!

    Few clichés are as well-worn, and grounded in reality, as the dread many Americans feel towards doing their taxes and the loathing they have for the IRS. But as much as the process is despised, relatively little is known about how it could be improved. Reporter Jessica Huseman said that's largely because tax prep companies keep it that way. Brooke spoke to Huseman in 2017 about what an improved system might look like and how tax prep companies work to thwart any such changes.

    • 10 min
    Measuring Bias in Israel-Palestine Coverage, and Mehdi Hasan's Approach to Covering the Region

    Measuring Bias in Israel-Palestine Coverage, and Mehdi Hasan's Approach to Covering the Region

    A Palestinian-American college student was shot in Vermont last fall. On this week’s On the Media, he reflects on the explosive media attention he’s received. Plus, what the data says about allegations of biased media coverage of Israel and Palestine, and former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan explains his approach to covering the war.

    1. Suzanne Gaber [@SuzanneGaber], producer at Notes from America, speaks with Hisham Awartani, a Palestinian-American college student, about the explosive media attention he received after he was shot in Vermont last fall. Listen. 

    2. William Youmans [@wyoumans], professor of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, and Mona Chalabi [@MonaChalabi], data journalist and illustrator, on the allegations of biased media coverage about Israel and Palestine and what data reveals. Listen. 

    3. Mehdi Hasan [@mehdirhasan], former MSNBC host and CEO of the new media company Zeteo, on his approach to covering Gaza, and his goal of making his audience care about news beyond the borders of the US. Listen. 

    • 50 min
    American Patriots Support... Vladimir Putin?

    American Patriots Support... Vladimir Putin?

    In February, Donald Trump praised Russia for being a "war machine" and said that Russia should “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO allies that do not contribute enough to the military alliance. Far-right figures like Nick Fuentes, who referred to Vladimir Putin as "my Czar," have also shown support for the Russian president and his war on Ukraine. And while more mainstream Republican pundits like Tucker Carlson have walked back past praise for Putin, the American far-right's obsession with Russia goes back almost two decades.

    Brooke sat down with Casey Michel, writer and investigative journalist, to discuss why white nationalists like David Duke, Richard Spencer, and Matthew Heimbach have long since looked to Putin's Russia as inspiration for their far-right movements in this country, and why Putin's attempts to create a nationalist Christian ethnostate serve as their model.

    This segment originally aired on our March 4th, 2022 program, The Fog of War. 

    • 12 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
8.3K Ratings

8.3K Ratings

Nickled N. Dimed ,

Excellent journalism

The March 8 episode with Iyad el-Baghdadi was exceptionally poignant, sad and at the same time beautiful. It was truly a great episode to listen to.

historyty7 ,

A must listen twice weekly

I make a point to catch every episode of OTM. Every week I am glad that I do. The topics and the coverage is always next level.

Shayla from NY ,

Cowardly Coverage on Palestine

I've followed the show for years and have thoroughly enjoyed it. I considered giving for 2024 but wanted to see how OTM would cover Palestine. Unfortunately, we've found your weakness. OTM typically applies pressure unilaterally when others won't, but the continued focus on and framing of the Palestinian genocide through the lens of their oppressor? Despicable. There has been no attempt to bring in any Palestinian journalists in an active genocide. A fumbled opportunity to make a clear stance against genocide and for humanity, alas, historically, you'll be grouped in with the other spineless Western publications.

An actual fall from grace, and you'll never see my financial support until you find some courage.

OTM is in its flop era.

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