Free Daily Podcast Summary
On the Media: Daily Summaries Delivered
by 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游戏副本 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.
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- Today19 min
ICE's Summer Spending Spree
At the start of 2026, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, was top of mind for many Americans. There were nationwide protests, congressional hearings, and plenty of headlines. But as the weeks went on, ICE faded some from the spotlight. This month, two fatal shootings involving ICE officers have reignited protests and renewed questions about tactics, training, and recruitment for the agency at the heart of Trump's anti-immigration efforts. Host Micah Loewinger sits down with Joseph Cox, investigative reporter and co-founder of 404 Media, to talk about the array of tactics and surveillance tech ICE had been using. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
- 4 days ago50 min
The Red Scare, But Dumber
This week, the State Department published a report accusing Cuba of being the “capital of 21st-century communism,” and of plotting an anti-American revolution. On this week’s On the Media, why the Trump administration can’t stop invoking Cuba as its “communist” bogeyman. Plus, hear from a former flight attendant turned independent journalist, who is doggedly covering ICE’s removal flights. [01:00] Brooke Gladstone looks at how President Trump and his allies are using dehumanizing language and the specter of communism — seemingly inspired by far right provocateur Jack Posobiec — to try to discredit all Democrats leading up to the midterm elections. Gil Duran, journalist and author of The Nerd Reich, explains the connection. [08:47] The State Department released a report this week about the threat that Cuba poses to the United States, listing everyone from Mayors Zohran Mamdani and Karen Bass, journalist Amy Goodman, to a co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s as agents of Cuban influence. Brooke sits down with Michael J. Bustamante, associate professor of Cuban and Cuban-American history at the University of Miami, to talk about the cherry-picked historical scholarship in the report, and the role that the Cuba bogeyman plays in American politics today. [31:25] Micah Loewinger speaks with Gillian Brockell, independent journalist and former flight attendant who is covering ICE flights and third-country removals. Brockell explains why all ICE flights, domestic and international, are unsafe, and how the Trump administration is trying to skirt around judges’ orders by sending asylum seekers to countries, often far-flung, that they didn’t come from. Further reading / watching: “Why Trump Keeps Talking About Communism: The 'Unhumans' Playbook,” by Gil Duran Cuban Memory Wars: Retrospective Politics in Revolution and Exile, by Michael J. Bustamante “ICE Deportation Flights Are Getting Longer and Crueler,” by Gillian Brockell “Tracking All of Trump’s Known Third-Country Removals,” by Gillian Brockell “Video proves Delta flew Liam Ramos and his dad to ICE detention center,” by Gillian Brockell 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
- 1 weeks ago24 min
Trump v. BBC
After the BBC ran a segment that edited to sections of a speech by President Trump, implying he called on his supporters to violently attack the Capitol, the president sued the British broadcaster for $10 billion in damages. The BBC apologized and retracted the segment. The BBC did not, however, cut him a check, opting instead to hire a top American media law firm to fight the suit. This week, Brooke talks to Liz Dye, host of the Law and Chaos podcast about how Trump bit off more than he could chew with this lawsuit against the BBC, and his tried-and-tested strategies against U.S. broadcasters don't work as well for him in this case. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
- 1 weeks ago50 min
From Subpoenas to Cockroaches: Journalist Intimidation 101
This week, several New York Times reporters were subpoenaed by the Justice Department for their reporting on Air Force One. On this week’s On the Media, how a fifty-year-old Supreme Court ruling left journalists exposed to this kind of legal challenge. Plus, hear how Ebay employees launched a bizarre harassment campaign against a couple of e-commerce reporters. [01:00] Micah Loewinger interviews Matt Gertz, senior fellow at Media Matters, about Todd Blanche’s recent confirmation hearings, his track record of being a Trump loyalist and frequent Fox News guest, and what his appointment reveals about the shifting independence of the attorney general from the White House. [16:39] Micah speaks with Lee Levine, media lawyer and author of the upcoming book In Bad Faith: Earl Caldwell and the Fight for a Free Press, about the Justice Department delivering subpoenas to New York Times journalists for reporting on security concerns regarding the president’s new Air Force One, and what we can learn from the history of past presidential administrations weaponizing subpoenas against the press. [32:11] Brooke Gladstone sits down with Jenny Carchman, director of the documentary Whatever It Takes: Inside the eBay Scandal, to discuss the harassment and intimidation campaign carried out against Ina and David Steiner, the authors of an online e-commerce trade publication, using tactics straight out of horror movies. Further reading / watching: “With Todd Blanche, MAGA media is finally getting its dream AG,” by Matt Gertz “The Subpoenas Are Coming! The Subpoenas Are Coming!” by Lee Levine In Bad Faith: Earl Caldwell and the Fight for a Free Press by Lee Levine. Whatever It Takes: Inside the eBay Scandal 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
- 2 weeks ago34 min
Tulsi Gabbard's Guru
As Director of National Intelligence, Gabbard presided over the nation’s top intelligence agencies, including the CIA, the NSA, and the intelligence branch of the FBI. Her tenure was brief but embattled. In addition to advising the president on things like Iran’s nuclear capabilities, Gabbard regularly released tranches of declassified documents in reports with headlines like, “New Evidence Uncovers Obama-Directed Creation of False Intelligence Report Used to Launch Years-long Coup to Undermine President Trump and the American People.” But last month, a remarkable story from Washington Post reporter Jon Swaine brought us one step closer to understanding the enigma that is Tulsi Gabbard. His investigation, Tulsi Gabbard, her guru and the mysterious messages that helped shape her political career, helps explain why, for instance, Gabbard has shapeshifted over the years, from liberal Democrat to Bernie Sanders ally to Trump insider. Why she’s flip-flopped on same-sex marriage and war with Iran. As Swaine uncovered, Gabbard’s public persona may have been shaped and re-shaped, in part, by a mysterious guru and his followers. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
- 2 weeks ago50 min
The FCC’s Pressure Campaign to Reshape Broadcast TV
ABC has enlisted the help of its audience to defend The View and Jimmy Kimmel against attacks from the Federal Communications Commission. On this week’s On the Media, hear about the MAGA movement trying to shift television to the right. Plus, the legal theory that the FCC is using to put pressure on the networks. [01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Jim Rutenberg, writer-at-large for the New York Times, about how Trump’s FCC is reviving a nearly century-old rule to crack down on late-night talk shows. Rutenberg explains why MAGA’s embrace of the FCC’s regulatory powers to go after “liberal bias” in the media signals a shift within the Republican party. [26:47] Brooke sits down with Daniel Suhr, the president of a legal advocacy group called the Center for American Rights and the architect behind the legal theory that the FCC is using to put pressure on TV networks. They discuss his goal to make network TV look more like the AM radio band. Further reading: “How a Century-Old Rule Is Scrambling Late-Night TV,” by Jim Rutenberg “The MAGA Plan to Take Over TV Is Just Beginning,” by Jim Rutenberg “The FCC’s Public Notice on ‘Bona Fide News,’” by Daniel Suhr “The end of an agency,” by Daniel Suhr “Straight Talk on FCC 'Jawboning'” by Daniel Suhr 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
- 3 weeks ago21 min
A Tour Through the Epstein Files
The Department of Justice collected more than 6 million pages of the Epstein Files, and released about 3 million under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. A few months ago, Brooke visited an art installation called the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room to behold the files... at least those we’ve been authorized to see. Plus, Andrea Sterling, an online content creator and a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse, shares how to felt to see the files in real life. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
- 3 weeks ago50 min
A Newspaper Raid and a Small Town Whodunnit
In August of 2023, police raided a small local newspaper in rural Kansas, seizing computers and cellphones. Later, the paper’s publisher would discover there was no legal basis for the search. On this week’s On the Media, find out who was behind the raid, and what the saga reveals about the plight of local journalism today. [01:00] On a Friday morning in a small, rural town in Kansas, the publisher of the local newspaper opens his door to see the police. They have a search warrant in hand, and within minutes, they’re searching his home. He finds out that at the same time, officers are combing through his newsroom, seizing computers and cellphones. All of this comes as a massive surprise – no warning, no subpoena, and, as he later finds out, no legal right. This week, we’re airing an episode of KCRW’s Question Everything, hosted by Brian Reed, which digs into why this violent raid occurred, who’s behind it, and the long-lasting, tragic ramifications. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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About On the Media
On the Media is a weekly show that uses the media as a lens to understand our world. On the Media listeners say the游戏副本 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.
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