On the Media

Defense secretary Pete Hegseth is demanding what he calls “more patriotic” coverage of his cabinet. On this week’s On the Media, hear how the Pentagon is cracking down on its publication, Stars and Stripes. Plus, an investigation reveals that some online content creators have taken money to endorse politicians.
[01:00] Brooke Gladstone interviews Max Lederer, the publisher of Stars and Stripes, the independent, award-winning military news outlet within the Defense Department, about the Pentagon’s terminations of himself, the editor-in-chief, and the Middle East reporter, and the agency’s continued attacks on the paper’s congressionally mandated editorial independence.
[13:38] Brooke speaks with Paul Waldman, writer of the Substack newsletter, The Cross Section, about how the media attention on Trump’s aide Natalie Harp, also known as “the human printer,” exploded. Plus, how she went from Fox News guest in 2019 to primary shaper of the president’s media consumption.
[27:24] Micah sits down with Ken Bensinger, a New York Times media and politics reporter, to talk about his recent investigation into how hundreds of social media content creators are being paid to boost politicians ahead of elections, and not always disclosing it. Plus, Dave Jorgenson, former video producer at the Washington Post and founder of Local News International, speaks to the necessity of adopting standards around things political endorsements and AI use on social media, and how he’s using short-form videos to combat misinformation on the platforms where it flourishes.

Further reading / watching:
“USS Abraham Lincoln families press Navy leaders over sailors’ mental health,” by Alison Bath
“Yes, We Absolutely Should Talk About Natalie Harp,” by Paul Waldman
“Influencers Have a Lot to Say About Politics. Many Are Quietly Paid for It,” by Ken Bensinger and Stuart A. Thompson



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Next Friday will be the 25th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11. On the 20th anniversary we broadcast a piece Micah reported called “9/11 broke our brains” — at that time podcast maven Dan Taberski had just released a series called "9/12" about what changed in America the day after the Twin Towers fell.

Included was an interview Taberski did with a documentary filmmaker named Dylan Avery, whose 2005 film Loose Change helped embolden the 9/11 Truther Movement. Micah spoke to Taberski and other guests about why conspiracies theories about the events of 9/11 were (are) so pervasive.



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 with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

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Nowadays, scrappy pirate broadcasters rule over shortwave radio. On this week’s On the Media, an unlikely group of finance bros have plans to take over the frequencies for their own gain. 

In recent years, creative, often music-focused pirate broadcasting has been thriving on shortwave radio. But these surreptitious broadcasters are up against a surprising enemy: Not the FCC, but a deep-pocketed group of finance bros that is trying to wrestle the airwaves away from the public, and use them for a money-making scheme completely antithetical to broadcasting. This week we share an episode of The Divided Dial, which first aired last year. Reporter Katie Thornton asks: What do we lose when we give up our public airwaves? 

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 with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

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The introduction of AI tools and chatbots in classrooms across the United States has prompted an outcry among concerned parents, teachers, and students. OTM producer and new parent Molly Rosen speaks with Jessica Winter, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of the article “What Will It Take to Get A.I. Out of Schools?,” about how Google Chromebooks have infiltrated schools and what the research says about the impact of AI use on cognitive development.

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 with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

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This summer the state of New Mexico sued the Justice department for access to unredacted files related to Jeffrey Epstein. On this week’s On the Media, an Epstein beat reporter shares her ongoing quest for accountability. Plus, an investigation into Tulsi Gabbard’s mysterious relationship with a guru, and how it may have shaped her politics. 

[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with  Julie K. Brown, an investigative journalist at the Miami Herald, whose reporting in 2018 led to Jeffrey Epstein’s arrest. They discuss how the Epstein files that have been released reveal how prosecutors failed to bring the sex trafficker to justice for years. This conversation first aired earlier this year.

[19:08] Brooke sits down with Jon Swaine, a reporter at the Washington Post, to talk about his masterful long-form reporting on ex-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. He investigates Gabbard’s mysterious relationship with her guru, and how it could account for Gabbard’s shapeshifting from Democrat to Bernie Sanders ally to top MAGA staffer.

[36:50] Brooke continues her conversation with Jon Swaine, and they dig into the nuts and bolts of his investigation into Tulsi Gabbard’s relationship with her guru Chris Butler.  

Further reading:

The Epstein Files by Julie K. Brown

“Tulsi Gabbard, her guru and the mysterious messages that helped shape her political career,” by Jon Swaine

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 with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

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