The View from Somewhere

Critical Frequency
  • 4.9 (147)
  • HISTORY
The View from Somewhere

Trust in journalists is at an all-time low, but the work of journalism matters more than ever. And traditional “objectivity” may be hurting, rather than helping. All journalists have a view from somewhere, and ”objective” journalism often upholds status quo thinking and reinforces racism, sexism, and transphobia. Host Lewis Raven Wallace was fired from the public radio show Marketplace in 2017 for saying just that. In the years since, Lewis has dug into the history of “objectivity,” who it serves, and who it excludes. The View from Somewhere tells the stories of journalists who have resisted “objectivity” and stood up for justice, and envisions new approaches to truth and integrity in journalism.

  1. Movement Journalism

    10/01/2020

    Movement Journalism

    Reporter Tina Vasquez has always practiced movement journalism, or journalism in service to liberation—but it wasn’t until recently that she realized she had a community and an identity as a movement journalist. On this episode, we unpack this idea of “movement journalism”—what it is, why it matters for marginalized communities, and how it’s different from so-called advocacy journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    35 min
  2. The End of Extractive Journalism

    06/09/2020

    The End of Extractive Journalism

    Extractive journalism—reporting on communities without input or accountability—is the model for a lot of journalism in the U.S., especially journalism about low-income people and communities of color. But lots of people are and have been actively resisting this model. We hear from Sarah Alvarez of Outlier Media in Detroit and Bettina Chang of City Bureau in Chicago about building journalism organizations based on power-sharing rather than extraction, how information can save lives in pandemic times, and how the COVID-19 crisis has changed their work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    42 min
  3. Wash Your Hands, Know Your History

    04/16/2020

    Wash Your Hands, Know Your History

    Journalist and professor Steven Thrasher draws out the connections between coverage of HIV/AIDS and coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Thrasher joined us for Episode 8 about queer media history and AIDS. Also: How handwashing is a symbol for trust and the ability to be changed by new information.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    30 min
  4. Standing in the Rising Water

    03/27/2020

    Standing in the Rising Water

    Host Lewis Raven Wallace talks about the need to seize a sense of possibility and imagination during the coronavirus pandemic, reads from The View from Somewhere book about reporting on the end of the world (standing in the rising water), and previews special programming coming soon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    17 min
  5. The Colonization of Doubt: Right Wing Media, Fake News, and Bunk

    03/10/2020

    The Colonization of Doubt: Right Wing Media, Fake News, and Bunk

    Is it racist? Are they lying? Some journalists are afraid to weigh in on facts even when they have good evidence. Why? Turns out there’s a whole history behind accusations of “liberal media bias” and the twisting of truth by Right Wing pundits. With expert commentary from historian Nicole Hemmer, journalism critic Jay Rosen, and poet and author Kevin Young, this episode explores the history of right wing media, “liberal media bias,” and how we can become truth swimmers, seeking multiple truths without giving up on truth altogether. It features the story of filmmaker Marlon Riggs and a brief dive into the origins of “Birtherism,” the conspiratorial accusation that President Barack Obama was born outside the United States. James Baldwin once wrote, “expose the question the answer hides.” He’s our guide for this episode.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    40 min
  6. Public Media and the Limits of Diversity

    02/25/2020

    Public Media and the Limits of Diversity

    Former public radio reporter Brenda Salinas and former public television producer Cecilia Garcia reflect on how far public media hasn’t come on “diversity” in the last forty years—and why. Also: how producers of color can protect their magic. Lewis and Ramona share their experiences in public media, and suggest a different framework for thinking about “diversity.” Salinas, an NPR Kroc Fellow and a producer at KUT Austin, describes how she was pushed out of public media by racism and sexism; Garcia, creator of the bilingual Latino newsmagazine Para mi Pueblo, sat on a task force in 1977 calling for the kind of diversity public media still struggles with.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    40 min
  7. Straight News? AIDS and Queer Media History

    01/30/2020

    Straight News? AIDS and Queer Media History

    Queer media has always been based in a personal experience, and being close to the story role served a particular purpose in a time of crisis. Sarah Schulman, Steven Thrasher, and John Scagliotti reflect on the history of queer media, from Scagliotti’s scrappy start in the 1970s, to Schulman’s groundbreaking reporting in the 1980s, to the work of the LGBTQ press to expose the truth about the AIDS crisis.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    38 min
  8. The Second Annual View from Somewhere Kick-a-thon, Featuring “Dreamgirl” Ramona Martinez on Piano

    01/24/2020

    The Second Annual View from Somewhere Kick-a-thon, Featuring “Dreamgirl” Ramona Martinez on Piano

    Producer Ramona Martinez takes over as host for a “live” pledge drive in support of The View from Somewhere’s Kickstarter campaign—we’re close to our goal! She plays piano and takes a call from her cat Cyclops, who’s somehow figured out how to use a phone. Plus: The Twin Peaks theme song, and real live shedding of tears. This episode was inspired by the “Dan Roddlestein’s Holiday Hoopla” episode from the Dreamboy podcast.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    15 min
See All (17)

Shows with Subscription Benefits

  • A true-crime podcast about climate change. Hosted by award-winning investigative journalist Amy Westervelt and reported by a team of climate journalists, Drilled investigates the various obstacles that have kept the world from adequately responding to climate change.

    • 4.6 (2172)
    • SOCIAL SCIENCES

  • Law & Order meets the climate crisis as we dig into the stories behind the hundreds of climate cases around the globe.

    • 4.7 (60)
    • DOCUMENTARY

  • In Rigged, we’ll rummage through the bag of tricks used by PR to shape the world you live in. Over the last century, these tricks have rigged the media, the government… society, really...with sometimes ridiculous, and sometimes profoundly serious effects on our democracy. This is a podcast about that war for hearts and minds right here on US soil.

    • 4.9 (41)
    • HISTORY
EARLY, EXTRA, AND AD-FREE

Subscribe now for early, extra, & ad-free episodes

$4.99/mo or $49.99/yr after trial

View Subscription FAQs

Hosts & Guests

4.9
out of 5
147 Ratings

About

Trust in journalists is at an all-time low, but the work of journalism matters more than ever. And traditional “objectivity” may be hurting, rather than helping. All journalists have a view from somewhere, and ”objective” journalism often upholds status quo thinking and reinforces racism, sexism, and transphobia. Host Lewis Raven Wallace was fired from the public radio show Marketplace in 2017 for saying just that. In the years since, Lewis has dug into the history of “objectivity,” who it serves, and who it excludes. The View from Somewhere tells the stories of journalists who have resisted “objectivity” and stood up for justice, and envisions new approaches to truth and integrity in journalism.

Information

More From Critical Frequency

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada