On the Media

The Peabody Award-winning On the Media podcast is your guide to examining how the media sausage is made. Hosts Brooke Gladstone and Micah Loewinger examine threats to free speech and government transparency, cast a skeptical eye on media coverage of the week’s big stories and unravel hidden political narratives in everything we read, watch and hear.
Website : https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm
RSS Feed : http://feeds.feedburner.com/onthemedia
Last Episode : May 30, 2025 4:09pm
Last Scanned : 1.3 hours ago

Episodes
Episodes currently hosted on IPFS.
Confirmed 3
An FCC Commissioner Sounds the Alarm. Plus, the Finale of The Divided DialOn Tuesday, NPR and three Colorado public radio stations sued the Trump administration for violating the First Amendment. On this week’s On the Media, the soon-to-be lone Democratic commissioner at the FCC speaks out against what she calls the weaponization of her agency. Plus, the final episode of The Divided Dial introduces the unlikely group trying to take over shortwave radio.[01:37] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Anna Gomez, soon to be the lone Democratic commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission, about her makeshift media tour–where Gomez is speaking out about what she sees as the weaponization of her agency. [12:47] Episode 4 of The Divided Dial, Season 2: Wall St. Wants Your Airwaves. In recent years, creative, often music-focused pirate broadcasting has been thriving on shortwave. Reporter Katie Thornton reveals how 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. What do we lose when we give up our public airwaves?Further reading:Remarks of FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez at the 2025 Media Institute Communications Forum, May 15, 2025
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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.
Expires in 47 hours
Published Friday

Confirmed 2
EPISODE 4In recent years, creative, often music-focused pirate broadcasting has been thriving on shortwave. But these surreptitious broadcasters are up against a surprising ideological foe: 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. What do we lose when we give up our public airwaves? The Divided Dial was supported in part by a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism
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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.
Expires in 13 hours
Published Wednesday
Conspiracy Theories Come Back to Bite MAGA. Plus, Ep. 3 of The Divided Dial.
Before they were appointed, the leaders of the F.B.I. boosted misinformation about a ‘deep state.’ Now they’re in power, they’ve become the focus of conspiracy theories. On this week’s On the Media, how MAGA infighting about Jeffrey Epstein reveals a greater problem for the Republican Party. Plus, the story of one of the world's farthest-reaching radio stations: a haven for extremists based in small-town Maine.[01:00] Host Micah Loewinger talks with Will Sommer, senior reporter at The Bulwark, about why the Trump White House’s allegiance with conspiracy theorists is souring, and how Jeffrey Epstein is dividing the MAGA base. [09:04] Episode 3 of The Divided Dial, Season 2: World's Last Chance Radio. In the internet era, much of the shortwaves have been left to the most extreme voices — including a conspiratorial flat earth ministry, and an ultra-conservative cult complete with everything from sexual abuse to dead infants and illegal burials. In the 737-person northern Maine town of Monticello, reporter Katie Thornton explores one of the world's farthest-reaching radio stations that has given them a home, pumping out extremism and conspiracy theories to the world as the voice of American broadcasting.Join us on June 11th for a conversation between OTM's Micah Loewinger and journalist Katie Thornton about The Divided Dial. Click here to buy tickets.Further reading:“The Real Reason Trump World Just Can’t Quit Conspiracy Theories,” Will Sommer
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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.
Published 05/23

EPISODE 3Today, in the internet era, much of the shortwaves have been left to the most extreme voices — including a conspiratorial flat earth ministry, and an ultra-conservative cult complete with everything from sexual abuse to dead infants and illegal burials. In the 737-person northern Maine town of Monticello, one of the world's farthest-reaching radio stations has given them a home, pumping out extremism and conspiracy theories to the world as the voice of American broadcasting.The Divided Dial was supported in part by a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism.
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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.
Published 05/21
Why Trump is Welcoming White South Africans as Refugees. Plus, Ep 2 of The Divided Dial.
On Monday, dozens of Afrikaners arrived in the US as refugees. On this week’s On the Media, how a fringe group of white South Africans have been lobbying for Donald Trump’s attention for almost a decade — but refugee status was never on their wish list. Plus, the second episode of The Divided Dial, all about how rightwing extremists took over shortwave radio.[01:00] Host Micah Loewinger talks with Carolyn Holmes, a professor of political science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, about the arrival of white South African refugees in the US, why Afrikaner white rights groups are objecting to the policy, and the long-standing exchange of ideas between white nationalist elites in the US and South Africa.[16:42] Episode 2 of The Divided Dial, Season 2: You Must Form Your Militia Movements. Many governments eased off the shortwaves after the Cold War, and homegrown US-based rightwing extremists edged out shortwave peaceniks to fill the void. Reporter Katie Thornton explores how in the 1990s, US shortwave radio stations became a key organizing and recruiting ground for white supremacists and the burgeoning anti-government militia movement. On this instantaneous, international medium, they honed a strategy and a rhetoric that they would take to the early internet and beyond.Further reading:“Tucker Carlson, those South African white rights activists aren’t telling you the whole truth,” by Carolyn Holmes (2019)“‘Kill the Boer’: The anti-apartheid song Musk ties to ‘white genocide’” by Nick Dall
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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.
Published 05/16

EPISODE 2Many governments eased off the shortwaves after the Cold War, and homegrown US-based rightwing extremists edged out shortwave peaceniks to fill the void. In the 1990s, US shortwave radio stations became a key organizing and recruiting ground for white supremacists and the burgeoning anti-government militia movement. On this instantaneous, international medium, they honed a strategy and a rhetoric that they would take to the early internet and beyond.The Divided Dial was supported in part by a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism.
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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.
Published 05/14
Trump Is Losing A Lot In Court. Plus, the First Episode of The Divided Dial (S2).
President Trump’s many executive orders, detentions, and deportations have triggered a host of lawsuits. On this week’s On the Media, how to understand the dozens of legal actions facing Trump. Plus, it’s the first episode of The Divided Dial, all about the battle for shortwave radio.[01:00] Host Micah Loewinger talks with Chris Geidner, who has covered the Supreme Court for most of his career and writes for Law Dork, about how he tracks the 100+ lawsuits challenging President Trump’s actions, the patterns emerging from the deluge of cases, and how the legal battles against the Trump administration have actually been more successful than the public may perceive.[14:25] Episode 1 of The Divided Dial, Season 2: Fishing in the Night. You know AM and FM radio. But did you know that there is a whole other world of radio surrounding us at all times? It’s called shortwave — and, thanks to a quirk of science that lets broadcasters bounce radio waves off of the ionosphere, it can reach thousands of miles, penetrating rough terrain and geopolitical boundaries. Reporter Katie Thornton on how this instantaneous, global, mass communication tool — a sort of internet-before-the-internet — transformed from a utopian experiment in international connection to a hardened tool of information warfare and propaganda.Further reading:The horrors are not aberrations. This is the Trump administration's plan, by Chris GeidnerThe pushback against Trump's lawlessness is real — and making a difference, by Chris Geidner
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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.
Published 05/09

EPISODE 1:You know AM and FM radio. But did you know that there is a whole other world of radio surrounding us at all times? It’s called shortwave — and, thanks to a quirk of science that lets broadcasters bounce radio waves off of the ionosphere, it can reach thousands of miles, penetrating rough terrain and geopolitical boundaries. How did this instantaneous, global, mass communication tool — a sort of internet-before-the-internet — go from a utopian experiment in international connection to a hardened tool of information warfare and propaganda?The Divided Dial was supported in part by a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism.
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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.
Published 05/07
Trump’s Executive Order on Public Media Is Here. Plus, the Murdoch’s Real Succession Drama
To mark his first hundred days in office, President Trump signed three executive orders related to immigration. On this week’s On the Media, the powerful database that can help I.C.E. track down and deport people. Plus, the dramatic fight for power over Rupert Murdoch’s media empire.[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone talks with Jason Koebler, co-founder of 404 Media, about how a surveillance company is supplying ICE with a powerful database to identify and deport people with minor infractions or certain characteristics.[20:57] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Jason Leopold, a senior investigative reporter at Bloomberg and writer of the newsletter “FOIA Files,” about the Trump administration’s attacks on Freedom of Information Act offices at the CDC and FDA, and what they mean for the future of government transparency.[31:50] Brooke talks with McKay Coppins, a staff writer at The Atlantic, about the remarkable, extensive interviews he conducted with members of the Murdoch family — particularly James Murdoch and his wife Kathryn. (Rupert and his eldest son, Lachlan, declined to participate.) Plus, how the HBO show “Succession” influenced the family’s fight over the future of their own media empire.Further reading:Inside a Powerful Database ICE Uses to Identify and Deport People, by Jason KoeblerTrump Filed a FOIA Request. We FOIAed His FOIA, by Jason LeopoldGrowing Up Murdoch: James Murdoch on mind games, sibling rivalry, and the war for the family media empire, by McKay Coppins
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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.
Published 05/03
Shari Redstone's Road to Power at Paramount Global
The Redstone family is a controlling shareholder of Paramount Global — one of the biggest entertainment companies out there. (Think CBS Entertainment, MTV, Nickelodeon.) The family is also one of the inspirations for HBO's Succession, which makes sense the more you get to know them. Shari Redstone currently has the controlling stake in Paramount Global. Company leadership was carefully criticized in a recent on-air "rebuke" by 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley, who said the show was receiving new kinds of oversight amid the Trump presidency. The drama has unfolded as Redstone seeks FCC approval for a lucrative merger, and the Trump administration is suing Paramount Global for billions of dollars. This week we revisit Redstone's backstory by re-airing a conversation with Rachel Abrams, a senior producer and reporter for The New York Times Presents, and the co-author with James B. Stewart of Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy.
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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.
Published 04/30
Brendan Carr’s F.C.C. Has Been Busy. Plus, Rewriting the History of Watergate.
The Federal Communications Commission is currently investigating CBS for “intentional news distortion” for its editing of an interview with Kamala Harris. On this week’s On the Media, what the new chairman of the FCC has been up to, and what led a top CBS producer to quit. Plus, what a growing effort to rewrite the history of Watergate tells us about the American right.[01:00] The Federal Communications Commission is currently investigating CBS for “intentional news distortion” for its editing of an interview with Kamala Harris. Host Brooke Gladstone talks with Max Tani, Semafor’s Media Editor and co-host of the podcast Mixed Signals, about Brendan Carr’s busy first three months as Chairman of the FCC and the impacts that these kinds of investigations could have on press freedoms.[15:37] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Michael Koncewicz, political historian at New York University, about the fight over who gets to tell the story of Watergate and the years-long conservative movement to rehabilitate Richard Nixon’s image.[29:26] Brooke sits down with Bryan Stevenson, public interest lawyer and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, a human rights organization based in Montgomery, Alabama, to talk about the Trump Administration's war on museums, especially those that deal with our nation's history of racism. Further reading:How Nexstar dodged a Trump lawsuit, by Max TaniShari Redstone kept tabs on ‘60 Minutes’ segments on Trump, by Max TaniThe Alarming Effort To Rewrite the History of Watergate, by Michael KoncewiczThe Worst Thing We’ve Ever Done, On the Media (2018)
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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.
Published 04/25
Left Wing Youtuber David Pakman **EXTENDED VERSION**
**EXTENDED VERSION**Micah spoke to left-wing YouTuber, David Pakman for last week's show. This is the long version of that conversation.
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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.
Published 04/23