On the Media

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The Harvard Plan: The Universities Are The Enemy Dec 20, 2024

Show notes

Donald Trump has a big plan to remake American universities. On this week’s On the Media, hear how the distinctly American idea of “diversity” has fallen out of favor—from higher education to the Supreme Court.

Reporter Ilya Marritz explains how the deep history of Harvard and the concept of “diversity” is the hidden subtext for much of the recent strife. In the past half-century, the academy (and the business world) embraced the idea of diversity as a social good–an idea developed at Harvard and endorsed by the Supreme Court, until the latter ended race-based affirmative action in 2023. This episode also looks at what’s in store for universities as the incoming Trump-Vance administration promises to pressure them to change curricula.

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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How to Plan for Inevitable Disaster Dec 18, 2024

Show notes

This year was earth’s hottest on record, and the Atlantic storm season brought with it five major hurricanes. And yet in December, the Pew Research Center found that only some 20 percent of Americans expect to make major sacrifices in their lifetime due to the climate crisis. According to writer Nathaniel Rich, when it comes to planning for a fraught future, New Orleans sets an example the rest of the country would be wise to follow.

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A Cold-Blooded Killing Ignites a National Conversation. Plus, Part Two of The Harvard Plan. Dec 13, 2024

Show notes

The suspected killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO has been crowned a hero by many on social media. On this week’s On the Media, what the fandom reveals, and what the coverage of it has missed. Plus, tune in to part two of The Harvard Plan. Hear how plagiarism allegations at the university exploded into a toxic discourse about DEI and “diversity hires.”

[01:00] Hosts Brooke Gladstone and Micah Loewinger examine how the suspected killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO became an internet sensation, what the spectacle itself reveals, and the gulf between the reactions on TikTok and in mainstream media.

[15:29] Reporter Ilya Marritz, in part two of this collaboration with WNYC’s On The Media, Harvard’s first Black president Claudine Gay is accused of academic plagiarism, just days after giving testimony to Congress. The drip-drip of new allegations keeps the story in the headlines. It also reinforces critics’ allegation that Gay is a “diversity hire,” unworthy of the job. We hear from two of the writers who broke that news, and from a defender of Harvard’s diversity efforts.

Check out our collaboration with the Boston Globe here.

Further reading/listening/watching:

“Luigi Mangione’s Full Story Isn’t Online,” by John Herrman
"Beware, fellow plutocrats, the pitchforks are coming," Ted Talk by Nick Hanauer

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Enron is Back, and Birds Aren't Real Dec 11, 2024

Show notes

Last week, the website for Enron – yes, that Enron – came back online. And on Monday the new CEO, Connor Gaydos, introduced himself, with what the fine print called "First Amendment protected parody." And it so happens that Gaydos is a source of another satirical piece of news… "Birds Aren't Real." On this week's midweek podcast, we re-air a conversation between Brooke Gladstone and writer Ian Beacock, about how the fake conspiracy theory gained traction, and what it reveals about our culture.

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Donald Trump’s Cabinet of Influencers. Plus, The Harvard Plan. Dec 06, 2024

Show notes

Many of Donald Trump’s cabinet picks are emulating online influencers in their efforts to sell products and promote themselves. On this week’s On the Media, hear about the phenomenon academics are calling “influencer creep.” Plus, a look at the short, troubled tenure of Harvard’s 30th president, Claudine Gay, and the media firestorm that ensued.

[01:00] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Drew Harwell, technology reporter at The Washington Post, and Elaina Plott Calabro, staff writer at The Atlantic, on how, and why, Donald Trump is filling his cabinet with influencers.

[14:27] Reporter Ilya Marritz, in part one of our collaboration with the Boston Globe, dives into Claudine Gay's groundbreaking tenure as Harvard's first Black president. Gay’s appointment began with high hopes in September 2023, but soon devolved into a proxy battleground for American cultural wars — spurring escalating disputes over anti-Semitism and free speech, tarnishing her presidency as a symbol of diversity's failings. This series slows down the whipsaw chain of events to bring listeners direct eyewitness accounts of what happened, from professors, wealthy donors, and spiritual leaders.

Further reading/listening/watching:

“Trump and allies blur the lines between politician and influencer,” by Drew Harwell
“The Man Who Will Do Anything for Trump,” by Elaina Plott Calabro

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Kash Patel’s Crusade Against the Media Dec 04, 2024

Show notes

Over the weekend, president-elect Donald Trump nominated a little-known, largely inexperienced civil servant to an enormous role in his upcoming administration – Kash Patel as FBI director.

Firing current FBI director Christopher Wray, who has 2 years left in his 10 year term, would itself be an alarming break in norms. Atlantic staff writer Elaina Plott Calabro, profiled Kash Patel in August, chartint his rise to power, starting at the very beginning of his legal career. She explains how he came to loathe the media, and love Trump.

Further reading/listening/watching:

Messengers of the Right: Conservative Media and the Transformation of American Politics by Nicole Hemmer
News For All The People: The Epic Story of Race and the American Media, by Joseph Torres and Juan González
Shadow Network Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right, by Anne Nelson
Talk Radio’s America: How an Industry Took Over a Political Party That Took Over the United States, by Brian Rosenwald

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Hank Green Makes the Truth Go Viral (EXTENDED VERSION) Nov 27, 2024

Show notes

Our latest episode featured Micah's interview with Hank Green, a very popular YouTuber and science communicator. We got a lot of nice feedback about the conversation, and there were some interesting exchanges that we couldn’t fit in the radio version. So we’re bringing you a longer edit here. Hank describes how content creators depend on legacy media; his inspiration for making videos in 2007; and how OTM can reach a bigger audience.

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How Hank Green Makes the Truth Go Viral. Plus, the Escape Fantasies of the Uber Rich. Nov 23, 2024

Show notes

A recent report from the Pew Research Center finds that 1 in 5 Americans get their news from influencers. On this week’s On the Media, YouTuber and science communicator Hank Green explains how he makes the truth go viral. Plus, hear how tech billionaires plan to escape the end of the world.

[01:00] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Renée DiResta, researcher studying online manipulation and professor at Georgetown University, about what the data tells us about how news consumption is changing. Plus, how news influencers are rewriting the power dynamics of media.

[17:04] Host Micah Loewinger interviews science communicator, YouTuber, and entrepreneur Hank Green about how he makes the truth go viral, how he connects with his audience of many millions, and how he chooses what topics to cover.

[33:44] Host Brooke Gladstone talks with Douglas Rushkoff, whose many books probe the practice and philosophy of digital technology, about whether the apocalypse survival fantasies of tech billionaires are actually viable.

Further reading/listening/watching:

Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality, by Renée DiResta
“Everyone Was Wrong About Avocados - Including Us,” by SciShow
“Why do Cars Suddenly Look Like Putty??” by Hank Green
Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires, by Douglas Rushkoff

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Why Men And Boys Are Struggling Nov 20, 2024

Show notes

In the run up to the election Donald Trump was doggedly pursuing the votes of young men. He courted them, as we described on the show, through interviews with influencers like Joe Rogan and Adin Ross, and Logan Paul. These personalities are part of the so-called manosphere, where anti-feminist, often right-wing politics are the norm. While reporting on this corner of the internet, host Micah Loewinger has been thinking a lot about a conversation he had with Richard Reeves, author of the book of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male is Struggling, Why It Matters and What to Do About It. When Micah spoke to him last year, he said that the mainstream political discourse around men is fundamentally broken.

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