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
Nov 13, 2015 • 50min
Feel This
OTM examines how the media try to reach us on an emotional level. We look at the New York Times' dive into virtual reality-inspired empathy, and Europe's "compassion fatigue" with migration. Plus: why clickbait is king, the lucrative "hate read", why the University of Missouri protesters' media-free zone is about more than press freedom, and more.
Discuss on Twitter: #OTMempathy, #OTMmissouri, #OTMvr, #OTMaylan, #OTMupworthy, #OTMcarebot, #OTMheart, #OTMclickbait, #OTMhatereads
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.
Nov 11, 2015 • 19min
What Did Exxon Know?
ExxonMobil is under investigation by the New York State Attorney General for potentially misleading shareholders about the threat of climate change. The subpoena comes after reports, including from InsideClimate News, about Exxon's pivot from supporting state-of-the-art research to funding a network of climate denial groups.
Observers have noted that Exxon's campaign of misinformation mirrors what Big Tobacco did about the risks of smoking. That industry is still paying a $246 billion settlement. Bob discusses the pattern, the two prosecutions, and what might come next with Naomi Oreskes of Harvard, co-author of Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming.
Then, Bob revisits his conversation earlier this fall with ExxonMobil's Richard Keil, who responded to the InsideClimate News reporting.
For more OTM follow us on Twitter, @OnTheMedia, and subscribe to our newsletter.
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.
Nov 6, 2015 • 58min
Gotcha!
Republican presidential candidates try to reassert control over the debate process, but they can't quite agree on how. Plus: in praise of the "gotcha" question; some optimism on the newspaper industry; and Bob talks with Alec Baldwin on all things media.
Discuss on Twitter: #OTMDebate, #OTMGotcha, #OTMLessig, #OTMbiz, #OTMespn, #OTMBaldwin
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.
Oct 30, 2015 • 58min
Inside/Outside
The launch of a collaboration between On the Media and Nate Silver’s 538 to track the push and pull between polling, media coverage, and public interest in candidates. Plus: a look at the long history of savvy political candidates campaigning as Washington "outsiders"; debunking the supposed "Ferguson effect"; and Spotlight, a new movie about the Boston Globe's investigation into the Catholic Church sex scandal, celebrates the power of the press.
Discuss on Twitter: #OTMRubio, #OTM_538, #OTMOutsiders, #OTMFerguson, #OTMSpotlight
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.
Oct 23, 2015 • 50min
Truth(ish)
A farewell to coverage of Joe Biden's non-existent presidential campaign. Plus: clarifying the misleading language of drone warfare and what it says about policy; a new film examines Dan Rather's downfall at CBS; the Lockerbie bombing investigation gets leads from a documentary; and a story about the Benghazi attack that you didn't hear at the committee hearing this week.
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.
Oct 16, 2015 • 50min
Porn Politik
Playboy has announced it will soon stop publishing full nudes. We look at the history of men's magazines and what it means that sex doesn't sell in print for the magazine anymore. Plus: "who won the debate?"; Bernie Sanders versus the media; a new privacy win in Europe; and more.
Discuss on Twitter: #OTMdebate, #OTMbernie, #OTMgallup, #OTMprivacy, #OTMplayboy
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.
Oct 9, 2015 • 57min
Bench Press
OTM digs into the Supreme Court, an institution as secretive as it is powerful -- and how we understand it through the media. Plus: how regular people become poster children for thorny legal issues, potential press influence on the court, and cameras in the courtroom: now set to music.
Discuss on Twitter: #OTMSCOTUS
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.
Oct 2, 2015 • 50min
The Cancer Show
Over the last 2,500 years, cancer has shifted from a disease in the shadows to one at the center of scientific research and public discussion. On the Media dives deep into the way we talk about cancer: in the news, in the hospital, and in our private lives.
This episode is the first of a two-part series: find our second hour on cancer here.
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.
Sep 25, 2015 • 50min
Pope-ular Opinion
With Pope Francis in the US this week, we examine why pundits try so hard to assess the pontiff’s remarks through the lens of 2016 politics. Plus: why the AP is scrapping the term “climate change denier” – and a new collection of fiction gives voices to figures sidelined by history.
Discuss on Twitter: #OTMpope, #OTMclimate, #OTMpolling, #OTMhoax, #OTMnarrative
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.
Sep 23, 2015 • 13min
Pope Primer
Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you've probably heard that Pope Francis is in the U.S. this week. To celebrate His Holiness's arrival, we thought we'd give you a pope primer. Back in December of 2013, when Pope Francis first became a media darling, Brooke examined what makes his messaging so viral-friendly.
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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.
