On the Media

This election may be remembered as the moment when a nebulous and formerly obscure white supremacist movement known as the "alt-right" was launched into the mainstream. A look at their ascendancy, their role, and their memes. Plus, fact-checking Hillary Clinton's "basket of deplorables" comment; struggling to define Facebook; and the challenges of covering the North Dakota pipeline protests. 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.

In the days and weeks after the towers fell, nothing felt funny anymore. Comedians on late night TV and in the comedy clubs of New York questioned their own judgement. Brooke spoke to Will Ferrell back in 2001 and Marc Maron on the tenth anniversary of the attacks about the place of humor in tragedy. We revisit both conversations on this podcast extra. 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.

Critics have long viewed Hillary Clinton as untrustworthy and dishonest. This week, we revisit a crucial moment nearly 25 years ago that helped set that narrative in motion. Also, pundits say this election season has ushered in the era of "post-fact" politics, but history tells us it's always been that way. Plus, a guide for making sense of Islamophobic media coverage, and a German TV show trying to teach refugees how to fit in.  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.

In September 1966, Gene Roddenberry dispatched the crew of the Starship Enterprise on its maiden voyage through space and time and into the American living room. It was an inauspicious start, but fifty years later the Star Trek universe is still expanding, with a new movie out this summer, Star Trek Beyond. In a vintage OTM piece, Brooke explores the various television incarnations of the franchise and the infinitely powerful engine behind it all: the fan. 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.

A University of Chicago welcome letter criticizing political correctness on college campuses reignited vigorous debate. An examination of the value of tools like trigger warnings and safe spaces. Plus, with just two months until election day, a new Breaking News Consumer’s Handbook for making sense of the polls. And, a history of music in presidential campaigns. 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.

It's the latest and last installment of Bob's Grill, and we've got a special guest chef (it's Brooke).  The year was 2005, and CNN was focused on a big story with wall-to-wall coverage. The story was, of course, The Runaway Bride. Jennifer Milbanks had cold feet and disappeared a few days before her wedding. She made tabloid headlines and left tracks all over the cable news channels, including CNN - which covered her day and night for a week. Coincidentally, the network’s new president Jonathan Klein, had just months before been promising more rigorous journalism and less sensationalism. So OTM called him up. In this interview, Klein and Brooke butt heads over what constitutes news, and whether stories need justification. Post-script: Jon Klein left CNN in 2010.  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.

Right-wing rumors about Hillary Clinton's health have made their way into the mainstream media, but it's hardly the first time a candidate's health has been in the headlines this year: the press has been scrutinizing Donald Trump's mental state for months. This week, examining the arguments for and against speculating about a candidate's health. Plus, how the dominant media narratives after the Rio Olympics obscure real problems, and how climate change is reshaping the country as we know it.  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.

We return to Bob's Grill this week with a 2015 interview with ExxonMobil's Richard Keil, the company's senior adviser for global public affairs.  Last year, the website InsideClimate News published an investigative series examining ExxonMobil’s rich history of scientific study on fossil fuels and global warming. The series, called "Exxon: The Road Not Taken", found that the company was at the forefront of climate change research in the 1970s and 80s -- before pivoting to funding climate change denial groups in 1989. At the time, Bob spoke with Richard Keil of Exxon about why the company disputed the reporting, and about the company's history of funding climate change denial front groups.  Stay tuned next week for more from the Grill.  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.

A special hour on the publishing industry and the resurgence of print--from Amazon’s flirtation with brick-and-mortar bookstores to the success of wholesale suppliers shilling books by the foot as decorative objects. Plus, the mysterious world of novelizations, the subversive history of adult coloring books, and more.    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.

We return to Bob’s Grill this week with a 2011 interview with “sting operation” videographer James O’Keefe, best known for his efforts to discredit institutions such as Planned Parenthood, NPR, the Open Society Foundations, and the community organizing group ACORN. O'Keefe says he's using the tools of investigative journalism, but his videos are full of distorted quotes, manipulated footage, and in some cases outright lies. Bob spoke with O’Keefe shortly after the release of his undercover video of NPR executive Ron Schiller, and took him to task for his, shall we say, creative editorializing. Stay tuned next week for more from the Grill. 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.