On the Media

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FiveThirtyEight vs. the Data Detractors May 11, 2016

Show notes

Last Tuesday Donald Trump won the Indiana primary and became the presumptive nominee of the Republican party. In the days that followed, hands were wrung over the question “how did we get this so wrong?” New York Times columnist Jim Rutenberg was particularly critical of data journalism, which one election cycle ago seemed so heroic but in Trumpworld turned out to have feet of clay. Singling out Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight (our partner this election cycle), Rutenberg wrote that in relying on polling data that gave Trump a 2% chance of winning the nomination 6 months ago, FiveThirtyEight “sapped the journalistic will to scour his record as aggressively as those of his supposedly more serious rivals. In other words, predictions can have consequences.”

Nate Silver on his podcast this week had a response to Rutenberg (and all the other data detractors). Here is an excerpt from that episode in which you’ll also hear Silver’s FiveThirtyEight colleagues Harry Enten, Clare Malone, and Jody Avirgan.

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The Center Cannot Hold May 06, 2016

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Now that Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee, the nay-saying pundits have one last-ditch idea: a centrist third party candidate to save the day! Just like they said in the last election, and the one before that... This week On the Media explores the media's recurring fixation on a technocratic third party candidate and why exactly it's bogus. Plus, how the US helped create Puerto Rico's crushing debt crisis and revisiting the Iranian Revolution via video game.

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A Face in the Crowd May 04, 2016

Show notes

The story of a man's rise from local media firebrand to out-sized TV personality superstar to political demagogue. Sound familiar?

It's actually the plot of Elia Kazan's 1957 film "A Face in the Crowd", which charts the dramatic ascent of Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes, played by Andy Griffith. WNYC's Sara Fishko, host of the Fishko Files, explores what the film's story about a rise and fall can tell us about our current political moment.

You can find more Fishko Files at wnyc.org/shows/fishko.

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In The Shadows Apr 29, 2016

Show notes

The alliance between Ted Cruz and John Kasich to stop Trump was over before it began, but it's just the latest in a long history of political plots. We examine the shadowy history of election scheming, and trace the origins of the notion that the people, not politicians, should get to pick the president. Plus, how the haunting disappearance of 43 students in Mexico may finally prompt a reckoning with institutionalized violence and corruption. Also, disturbing collusion between super PACs and presidential campaigns, and drawing meaning from the deep, dark world of the comments section.

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Revisiting the Belfast Project Apr 27, 2016

Show notes

The Belfast Project is an archive of interviews with militia members from both sides of Ireland's "Troubles," the war that raged in Northern Ireland from the 1970s to the 1990s. The archives, which are housed at Boston College Library, are off-limits to the public and law enforcement, due to the fact that those interviewed agreed to speak on the condition that their testimonies not be published until their deaths. But since 2011, British authorities have launched a series of attempts to get their hands on the records, most recently this week when they subpoenaed Boston College for the files pertaining to lead researcher and former militant Anthony McIntyre.

Brooke spoke to McIntyre in 2014, during the last subpoena, about the Belfast Project and his frustration with what he saw as the College's capitulation to authorities. She also spoke with Boston College's Jack Dunn, who defended the College's commitment to oral history and its attempts to protect the records of the Belfast Project.

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On Shakespeare Apr 18, 2016

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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 relevance, with an inspiring and perilous performance of Love's Labor's Lost in Afghanistan.

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That NPR Thing Apr 15, 2016

Show notes

With an aging listenership and the rise of podcasts, the future of NPR is thrown into question. Bob digs into the recent conversation about how the public broadcasting giant is reacting to changes in the industry, and what member stations want from the network.

Then, a work of lewd satire has strained Germany's understanding of free speech -- and highlighted an uneasy relationship with Turkey. And, twenty-five years ago, the testimony of Anita Hill turned the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Clarence Thomas into must-see TV. A new HBO movie, "Confirmation" portrays the history, and reopens old wounds. Plus: the curious world of the novelization industry.

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Little Pink Pill Apr 13, 2016

Show notes

Last August, Flibanserin -- or "Addyi" -- became the first FDA-approved drug aimed at treating sexual dysfunction in women. Sprout, the company that developed the so-called “female Viagra” was understandably excited, and even more so the next day when they were bought by pharmaceutical giant Valeant, for one billion dollars. But after a rocky year, Valeant announced Monday that they had dismissed the entire sales force associated with Flibanserin and would reintroduce the drug later in the year. When Flibanserin first hit the shelves last year, we took a deep dive into its marketing message and the nebulous world of prescription drugs and female desire.

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Rolling In It Apr 08, 2016

Show notes

One week after the Panama Papers thrust the shadowy world of the ultra-rich into the spotlight, the massive trove of data is still being sifted as world leaders scramble to explain-away offshore accounts. How 400 journalists from 76 countries worked in secret for over a year to decipher the largest leak ever, and how we got here in the first place.

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Behind the Panama Papers Apr 06, 2016

Show notes

The Panama Papers is by sheer volume of documents the largest whistle-blower leak in history. With over 100 news organizations from over 80 countries involved it is also the largest journalistic collaboration ever. And it has already claimed its first scalp.

On Tuesday, Iceland Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson resigned over revelations of undisclosed investments in three of Iceland’s failed banks.

But the 11.5 million documents from the Panama law-firm Mossack Fonseca also expose shadowy dealings surrounding dictators and kleptocrats worldwide -- with 99% of the iceberg still submerged.

The material has been scrutinized by some 400 reporters for the past year, under the coordination of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Bob speaks with the consortium's director, Gerard Ryle, about how the global investigation came together.

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