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.

    Beyoncé and the History of Black Country Music

    Beyoncé and the History of Black Country Music

    Beyoncé’s new album, Cowboy Carter, comes out on Friday — and the record has already sparked plenty of conversation about race and the country music genre. This week, we're sharing an episode from our friends at the podcast Today, Explained from Vox media, on this very topic. Hear co-host Noel King take a journey through the history of black musicians making country music, and more.

    • 23 min
    Trump’s Rhetoric Intensifies, and Russia’s Fake Journalists

    Trump’s Rhetoric Intensifies, and Russia’s Fake Journalists

    Donald Trump said if he isn’t elected there will be a bloodbath. Or did he? On this week’s On the Media, how to understand the GOP nominee’s double speak, eight years into his political career. Plus, a deep dive into Russia’s latest disinformation invention– journalists that don’t really exist. And, life in Russia-occupied Ukraine.

    1. Jennifer Mercieca [@jenmercieca], professor at Texas A&M University, on how Trump's rhetoric has intensified. Listen.

    2. Steven Lee Myers [@stevenleemyers], disinformation reporter at The New York Times, explains how Russia is creating fake journalists and fake stories to sow animus against Ukraine. Listen.

    3. Shaun Walker [@shaunwalker7], central and eastern Europe correspondent at The Guardian, on Russian propaganda and re-education in occupied regions of Ukraine. Listen.

    • 51 min
    Evan Gershkovich Has Been In Prison In Russia For A Year

    Evan Gershkovich Has Been In Prison In Russia For A Year

    On Wednesday, March 29 2023, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained by the FSB, Russia's security service, and charged with espionage. It was the first time that an American journalist in Russia has been charged with espionage, which carries a potential 20-year prison sentence, since the Cold War. OTM producer Molly Schwartz spoke to Valerie Hopkins, international correspondent for The New York Times, Gordon Fairclough, World Coverage Chief for The Wall Street Journal, Gulnoza Said, the Europe and Central Asia program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and Dan Storyev and Maria Kuznetsova from OVD-Info, a Russian human rights group, about how the Kremlin is using Gershkovich as a pawn in a game of hostage diplomacy.

    This is a segment from our April 14, 2023, show Inside Russia's Crackdown on Journalists. The email address mentioned at the end of this piece where people can write Evan Gershkovich letters in prison is freegershkovich@gmail.com. 

    • 16 min
    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

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.

JRDIGITAL5000 ,

Quality lower

Coverage on media bias on Israel-Gaza war is biased, but somehow presented genuinely and without irony.

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.

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