On the Media

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and his boss have had a rough first few days in their new jobs. Historian Martha Joynt Kumar explains that the relationship between the press secretary and the press has always been a tricky one. 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 , Bluesky , Tik...

President Trump may be the most vocal with his disdain, but he's hardly the first president to have a rocky relationship with the press. Plus, why the White House press corps is so frustrating for everyone involved, and whether Trump's open animosity could actually be a blessing in disguise for the media. And, how the Obama administration’s last-minute expansion of surveillance powers might functi...

When reporting on poverty, the media fall into familiar traps and pundits make prescriptions that disregard the facts. So, in the fifth and final installment of our series, " Busted: America's Poverty Myths ," we present a  Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: Poverty in America Edition . It'll equip you with the tools to spot shoddy reporting and the knowledge to identify coverage with insight. Wit...

UPDATE: OTM has received numerous inquiries from listeners who want to help Margaret Smith. If you’d like to donate, she has set up  a PayPal account here .  Please note that neither OTM nor WNYC is affiliated with this account. We do not control the money nor do we monitor how it is spent. Donations are considered a gift to Smith, and are not tax-deductible. *** In the fourth installment of our s...

In the third installment of our series,  "Busted: America's Poverty Myths,"  we take on one of our country's most fundamental notions: that America is a land of equal opportunity and upward mobility for all. And we ask why, in spite of a wealth of evidence to the contrary, does this idea persist? With the help of historian  Jill Lepore , Brooke traces the history of the "rags to riches" narrative,...

UPDATE: Since this series began, OTM has received numerous inquiries from listeners who want to help Carla Scott. If you’d like to donate, she has set up  a PayPal account here . Please note that neither OTM nor WNYC is affiliated with this account. We do not control the money nor do we monitor how it is spent. Donations are considered a gift to Scott, and are not tax-deductible. *** In the second...

Today, more than 45 million Americans live in poverty. The problem has been addressed countless times since the nation’s founding, but it persists, and for the poorest among us, it gets worse. America has not been able to find its way to a sustainable solution, because most of its citizens see the problem of poverty from a distance, through a distorted lens. So we present "Busted: America's Povert...

As tensions between the press and the president-elect continue to mount, a look at why some news outlets chose to publish a salacious but unverified set of allegations about Donald Trump. Plus, how the rules of journalism may change in the Era of Trump and what journalists need to do to adjust; and writer  Rebecca Solnit on finding hope in dark and uncertain places. Support On the Media by becomin...

For weeks now, journalists have been aware of a dossier circulating among top officials and the media; it alleges among other things, that Russia has compromising (Kompromat) information on President Elect Donald Trump. But it wasn't until a chain of events set off by a presidential briefing about the contents of the dossier that the media felt free to talk about what they knew. Brooke speaks with...

British journalist John Cantlie has been a prisoner of ISIS for more than four years. Throughout his captivity, he's been forced to act as a sort of warped foreign correspondent, extolling the virtues of the group in propaganda videos. With every appearance, he looks weaker and gaunter. In this special hour, we consider how Cantlie's plight is a window into the challenges of reporting on Syria, an...

It's been four hundred years since the death of William Shakespeare, and the Bard is as popular as ever... and just as mysterious. For centuries, a war has raged over the question: who  is  Shakespeare? We explore how the answer has evolved through the ages, and what that tells us about our changing perceptions of class, art, genius, and religion. Plus, a look at Shakespeare's enduring global rele...

The Man in the High Castle,  the Emmy Award winning TV series, imagines a world in which the Nazi’s won WWII. Set in the 1960s, the show blends actual pop cultural imagery and artifacts with fictional interpretations of an alternative ending to the war. When its first season debuted, the show’s ad campaign in New York City subways   hit a little too close to home.   And the show’s second season, w...

None of us know what Donald Trump will do once he becomes President Trump. What we  do  know is what he has said he wants to do and what powers he will have, should he choose to act. That's why activists are urging President Obama to do all that he can in the weeks he has left to leave the presidency nicer than he found it and to place some limits on the abilities of a potentially reckless new rul...

This week four more officials were charged in the Flint, Michigan water crisis, bringing the total to charged to 13. But the story initially unfolded largely without national attention. State officials denied and dismissed claims that city water was poisoned with lead, even as evidence mounted from independent water researchers , a pediatrician, and a muckraker from a non-profit advocacy group. Cu...

The saga over Russian interference in the election has been marked by secrecy, rumor, and contradictory evidence. We try to bring some clarity to a cloudy narrative.  Also, the CIA says Russian hackers deliberately helped Donald Trump win the election but the FBI wasn't initially convinced. We consider the long and tumultuous rivalry between the two agencies, and how spies and G-men have been depi...

Recently CNN's Jake Tapper asked VPEOTUS Mike Pence the same question over and over again, hoping for an answer. Bob spoke to Tapper back in June about the art of the  follow-up . 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 , Bluesky , TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts wi...

The Justice Department just vastly expanded the government’s power to hack into your devices... but you probably haven't heard about it. We examine how this change flew under the radar, and why it could be dangerous.  Also, a  growing threat to free speech: billionaires using libel suits to damage and destroy media outlets. And, how a fringe conspiracy theory involving pizza is a parable for our t...

After a mistrial this week in the case of Michael Slager, the police officer caught on camera shooting Walter Scott in the back as he ran away, we revisit two interviews we did this summer. Patrice Cullors is the co-founder of Black Lives Matter and Eugene O'Donnell is a former police officer, we spoke to them after two deadly shooting incidents involving young black men targeting police officers....

We devote this hour to a question put to us pretty much daily since election day: How to cover President Trump?  First, we ask the AP, Univision, NPR, USA Today, and other news outlets about how they are defining a relationship with a president-elect who flouts traditional rules, spreads misinformation, and criticizes the press. Then we turn to language. Listeners help us highlight moments in medi...

In 1957, Fidel Castro was believed to be dead -- until  New York Times  writer Herbert L. Matthews conducted an interview with Castro in the Cuban jungle. Matthews' portrayal of a romantic figure and a promising leader was trusted, until Castro revealed himself and his planned revolution as communist. Brooke speaks with  Anthony DePalma , author of  The Man Who Invented Fidel: Castro, Cuba, and He...

This election season, the media frequently looked to history in an attempt to explain the rise of Donald Trump. We consider how historical parallels don't always serve us well. Plus, revisiting a notorious murder that the press got wrong; the long reach of a WWII slogan; and attempts in Ukraine to whitewash the nation's history. A special hour on memory, both historical and personal, and how what...

A few years ago, Brooke spoke with the writer  Paul Ford  about the  remarkable connection  between Bing Crosby, magnetic tape, Nazi technology, and the computer hard drive. We're putting it down the podcast feed again this week, just before the Thanksgiving holiday, to get you in the mood. You can read Ford's post about Crosby on the  New Yorker Elements blog .  On the Media is supported by liste...

In the months leading up to the election, some fake news stories generated more engagement on Facebook than real news stories. We consider the landscape of misinformation and how to separate truth from fiction. Plus: Steve Bannon, Trump's chief strategist, hasn't just influenced political discourse through the incendiary Breitbart News -- he's also sabotaged his chosen politicians through investig...

According to  The Washington Post ,  more than 800 people  have been shot and killed by police officers in the United States this year. As videos of many of these shootings-- especially ones depicting confrontations between police officers and black men-- go viral,  Alyssa Rosenberg , opinion writer at  The Washington Post , examines how different they look from the portrayals of police shootings...

The press didn’t see it coming. Or did they? This week, we examine the role of data – and delusion – in this election. Nate Silver reflects on the promise and pitfalls of polling, and Zachary Karabell discusses how financial indicators gloss over the gritty realities of American life. Plus: how a plan to dismantle the electoral college could make elections more democratic, and election coverage mo...