On the Media

Welcome to the shortwaves

Government transparency for me, but not for thee; messy Murdoch family drama.

The embattled Shari Redstone has a controlling stake in Paramount Global.

Brendan Carr’s report card, revising Watergate, and Trump’s war on museums

David Pakman has some suggestions for how the Democrats could do better with online audiences

Red pill anyone? Plus, why Democrats are so bad at the internet.

Ever heard of COBOL?

Tariffs (again), the origins of Bluesky, and the looming fantasies of tech billionaires.

Sen. Chris Murphy on how democracy dies, and how Democrats need mobilize to protect our freedoms.

The fight for the soul of America’s most prestigious university.

What do sports betting partnerships mean for sports journalism?

The biggest group chat scandal of the year. And a Trump memecoin?

The EPA is experiencing rollbacks and cuts that could gut environmental regulations in the US.

A global media network has its funding frozen, and the end is near? Ish?

Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's new book, Abundance, is "tough love for liberals."

Warning bells are ringing for free speech and a free press.

The Baltimore Sun's readership drops dramatically a year after its sale to David Smith, an executive at Sinclair Broadcasting Group.

What to make of the economy under Trump.

Hoover built the FBI, and Patel wants to tear it down.

The White House embraces far-right influencers; U.S.-Russia relations take a turn.

Busting myths about Russian history

Shaping government policy one X at a time.

How Kash Patel went from a little-known, largely inexperienced civil servant to being nominated for an enormous role in the Trump administration.

Watching history get rewritten in real time.

Micah revisits his conversation with Tasha Adams, ex-wife of the Oath Keepers founder, now released from prison.

Chaos in the federal government, and the fate of the DOJ.

Elon Musk is meddling in European politics

The legality of Trump’s executive orders, and overhyping A.I.

How DeepSeek threatens to burst the American AI bubble.

A deluge of executive orders; subdued media coverage of Trump 2.0; and a second Gilded Age.

Brooke spoke to Elyse Graham, author of “Book and Dagger - How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War Two."

The Supreme Court upholds the TikTok ban; and the precedent for L.A. wildfires.

Bad relations between the President and the White House Press Corps? It was ever thus.

The history of public broadcasting and its adversaries; and the modern place of public radio in covering community and crises.

Four years later, the new meaning of January 6.

A history of American imperialism.

The case of Gary Hart.

The state of music criticism; and the AI generator that could put composers out of a job.

Featuring never-before-seen interrogation footage.

Trump’s big plan to remake American universities puts academia on high alert.

New Orleans faces up to the climate crisis.

The suspected killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO goes viral, and the culture war that ousted Harvard’s first Black president.

Behind the satirical news.

Why the White House is recruiting officials with their own online microphones, and the ideological battle over America’s universities.

Getting to know Kash Patel.

The legal, technological, and political factors that led to conservative talk radio ruling the airwaves.

An extended version of Micah's interview with Youtuber Hank Green.

More and more Americans are getting their news from influencers like Hank Green. Plus, tech billionaires are building survival bunkers—is it just a fantasy?

The statistics are not encouraging.

How Fox News contributors got picked for Trump’s cabinet, the case for more fact-checkers, and why the media has an audience problem. Plus, The Onion buys Infowars.

Social media posts from Kamala Harris supporters and the left questioning the outcome of the election are going viral.

Hear how OTM listeners are feeling post-election, the right-wing podcasters who helped elect Trump, and rules for surviving autocracy.

Brooke and Micah recorded a conversation on Wednesday morning after the election.

A look at election disinformation, The Washington Post’s decision, uncommitted voters in the press, and how election night became a television spectacular.

A historian of fascism explains why he sounded the alarm back in 2018.

A look at the latest description of Donald Trump, and a deep dive on horror films.

A new study suggests that framing climate change in terms of American pride might do the trick.

​​Trump lashes out at mega donors, Democrats embrace dark money, and whether or not big money helps win an election.

A new film shows how Donald Trump developed his political playbook from attorney Roy Cohn.

Slow Burn traces how a cable news channel became a cultural and political force.

Relief efforts and local officials have faced an onslaught of false claims online from conservative politicians and conspiracy theorists

The media landscape in Lebanon; a new film exposé on Netanyahu; the state of book censorship.

Episode one of a brand new 6-part radio play, "It Happened Here, 2024" starring Edie Falco, John Turturro and Tony Shalhoub

Uproar over 11th-hour election rule changes in Georgia has put the state back in the national spotlight. Plus, what to expect in the aftermath of election night.

Why reporters covering the Haitian diaspora felt trouble brewing long before Springfield, Ohio, and a look at the past and present of political violence.

Exploring the role of music in today’s presidential campaigns.

Will Harris grant the press more access, and should we trust the polls (again)?

Looking at 404 Media, a worker-owned outlet, a year after they were founded.

A press struggling to cover the Republican nominee, and influencers join Russia’s payroll

An important update about how we do business here at OTM

Getting to know presidents through memoirs, journalism, and fiction.

And how a recent update caused ripple effects across the industry.

The party debuts a new messaging strategy.

The Chicago DNC everyone wants to forget (not this one).

The story of how The Village Voice changed journalism, and a peek inside the AI clickbait industry taking over old news websites.

Dan Taberski, host of the new podcast series "Hysterical," investigates a medical mystery in a small town and how it was shaped by a media frenzy.

A flurry of internet activity around Gov. Tim Walz, and the ever-growing role of influencers in politics.

An extended version of the interview with the author of "Catland".

Population fears; and the history of the “cat lady” trope.

The sound of sport on TV or radio is something you might never have thought about. But listen closely and you'll hear them: the crowds, the kicks, the thwacks and the grunts. This programme is about those sounds and who put them there.

The evolving right-wing backlash to Kamala Harris, and reflections on Biden’s withdrawal.

It’s not a coup.

The baffling rise of J.D. Vance, from Never Trumper to MAGA leader. Plus, the prophecy world ignites after Trump’s brush with death.

It's hot and getting hotter.

A recent history of immigration in America, and defining “decolonization” and “colonialism” in Gaza.

Why is it so easy to poke fun at us?

How the US military helped transform the country music industry into the juggernaut that it is today.

What his friendship with billionaire Harlan Crow reveals.

Right-wing news in disguise; and a fact-check on the Supreme Court.

How the clicks of sperm whales are reminiscent of human language.

Why tech companies just seem to get worse, and how to solve the problem.

How the paper’s CEO and incoming executive editor became embroiled in scandal

How US and UK elections influence each other; a British TV drama sheds light on a massive political scandal; meet the Redstones.

Love is blind, and allegedly toxic...

From the disinfo beat to The Onion; The Birds Aren’t Real prank; and a history of psy-ops

Online game show host Mr. Beast surpasses T-Series as the most subscribed to channel on YouTube

How right-wing media prepared for Trump’s guilty verdict, and why Trump Media became the latest memestock.

Every new tech innovation gets the same breathless coverage. Why?