On the Media
WNYC Studios
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books
9 snips
Sep 4, 2026 • 51min
The Pentagon is Waging War on Its Own Paper
Max Lederer, publisher of Stars and Stripes, discusses Pentagon pressure on the military paper and threats to its editorial independence. Ken Bensinger, a New York Times investigative reporter, reveals the hidden market paying influencers to promote politicians. Dave Jorgenson, a journalist and short-form video creator, explores transparency, AI ethics, and using humor to fight misinformation. Paul Waldman traces Natalie Harp’s rise in Trump’s orbit.
14 snips
Sep 2, 2026 • 17min
A Look Back at *The* 9/11 Truther Movie
Dan Taberski, the podcast host and documentary filmmaker behind Missing Richard Simmons and 9/12, revisits Loose Change, the film that helped propel the 9/11 Truther movement. They explore how ambiguity, early internet video, war-era government distrust, and public trauma made conspiracy theories spread, endure, and evolve.
23 snips
Aug 28, 2026 • 51min
Finance Bros Are Coming for the Public Airwaves
A quirky clash over shortwave radio unfolds as playful pirate broadcasters face a new corporate play. The story follows secretive experimental license filings and claims that trading firms want to repurpose frequencies for encrypted financial use. Listeners hear how shortwave’s unique reach makes it attractive for machine-readable data and why defenders argue the airwaves should stay public and communal.
26 snips
Aug 26, 2026 • 23min
How AI Chatbots are Infiltrating Classrooms
Jessica Winter, staff writer at The New Yorker who covers family and education, discusses how Chromebooks arrived in classrooms with built‑in AI and unremovable prompts. She traces Google’s strategy of school device rollouts, explains corporate marketing in class, and outlines research concerns about cognitive and social risks from classroom AI use.
12 snips
Aug 21, 2026 • 50min
Long Live the Art of Shoe-Leather Reporting!
Jon Swaine, a Washington Post investigative reporter who traced Tulsi Gabbard’s ties to a guru-like figure. Julie K. Brown, the Miami Herald journalist whose Epstein reporting revived that case. They dig into released Epstein files, prosecutorial failures, and a probe of a mysterious guru whose memos may have steered a political career.
9 snips
Aug 20, 2026 • 41min
Behind the Scenes of 'American Emergency'
MaryAnn Tierney, former senior FEMA official now leading SEPTA's control center. Nancy Solomon, veteran journalist who guided the live conversation. Eloise Blondiau, senior producer who researched the four-part series. They reveal how FEMA’s history fuels conspiracy theories, Mount Weather’s role in public imagination, reporting traumatic survivor stories responsibly, post-Katrina reforms, and political turmoil around agency leadership.
23 snips
Aug 14, 2026 • 50min
How the U.S. Government Built an Underground City, and Other State Secrets
Garrett M. Graff, journalist and author of Raven Rock, offers concise historical perspective on FEMA’s Cold War roots and secrecy. He traces how continuity‑of‑government planning shaped the agency. The conversation covers Mount Weather’s bunker, conspiracies about camps, shifting missions under Carter and Reagan, and threats faced by officials.
19 snips
Aug 12, 2026 • 20min
Pablo Torre Is Changing Sports
Pablo Torre, Pulitzer-winning sports journalist and host of Pablo Torre Finds Out, discusses digging into an NBA salary-cap probe and the Aspiration-Clippers story. He recounts chasing documents, confronting owners, and the NBA inquiry. He also explores how private equity and tech are changing team ownership and why investigative work in sports matters.
45 snips
Aug 7, 2026 • 51min
The Story Behind Trump’s Terrible Approval Rating
G. Elliott Morris, data journalist who analyzes polling and forecasts; Nancy Scola, reporter on tech, policy, and regulatory politics; Nahid Siamdoust, scholar of Iranian media and the diaspora. They discuss Trump’s historic low approval and who’s defecting. They trace Brendan Carr’s rise and FCC tactics. They explore Iran International’s polarizing role in exiled and domestic media.
28 snips
Aug 5, 2026 • 18min
Trump Has Forever Changed America's Place in the World
Garrett M. Graff, journalist and historian who writes on national security and geopolitics, outlines how six pillars of American power have been weakened. He compares historical declines, probes limits of the rules-based order, and discusses NATO’s fragility. He also weighs Europe’s role and the risk of a shifting balance with China.
