On the Media

The Trump administration called Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by federal officers, a “domestic terrorist.” And then bystander footage flooded the internet. On this week’s On the Media, how the real-time verification of video evidence is transforming public discourse. Plus, what the anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis have in common with the Boston Massacre.
[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Brandy Zadrozny, senior enterprise reporter at MS Now, about the informal network of far-right content creators traveling to anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis, and why the right-wing narrative is losing power in the face of an outpouring of bystander footage. 
[17:45] Host Micah Loewinger talks with Radley Balko, author of The Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces, about similarities between the conditions that led to the Boston Massacre in 1770 and what we’re seeing today in Minneapolis and other cities targeted by ICE operations today.
[31:43] Brooke sits down with Eliot Higgins, the founder of Bellingcat, to discuss his framework for the essential functions of democracy— verification, deliberation, and accountability—which have broken down into hollow performances or simulations in the United States today. 
 Further reading / watching:
“In Minneapolis, far-right influencers frame ICE resistance as terrorism,” by Brandy Zadrozny
“Two cities under siege,” by Radley Balko
“Verification, Deliberation, Accountability: A new framework for tackling epistemic collapse and renewing democracy,” by Eliot Higgins and Natalie Martin

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Stars and Stripes, the venerated, independent award-winning newspaper that has served the armed services for roughly a century, may be getting an uninvited makeover, courtesy of Pete Hegseth’s Defense Department. 

In a statement posted on X earlier this month, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said that Stars and Stripes would no longer be carrying wire reports from  the Associated Press, and that it would steer away from all that is woke or might sap morale. Parnell said the defense department would be bringing the newspaper “into the 21st century.” 

Brooke spoke to Erik Slavin, Editor-in-Chief of Stars and Stripes.

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Children as young as five have been detained by immigration agents in Minnesota. On this week’s On the Media, how I.C.E. uses technology to surveil the public and recruit more members. Plus, following Trump’s threats against Greenland, ties between the United States and its closest allies are fraying.
[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Garrett M. Graff, journalist, historian, and author of the newsletter Doomsday Scenario, about Trump’s damage to the United States’ standing as a world power following his campaign for Greenland and his dismantling of core pillars of American policy. 
[19:14] Host Micah Loewinger talks with Joseph Cox, investigative reporter and co-founder at 404 Media, about his detailed reporting into ICE’s quietly widening arsenal of surveillance tools. 
[37:01] Micah sits down with Drew Harwell, technology reporter for The Washington Post, to discuss ICE’s elaborate “wartime recruitment” strategy, and what it means for immigration policy in the United States.
 Further reading / watching:
“We Are Witnessing the Self-Immolation of a Superpower,” by Garrett M. Graff
“‘ELITE’: The Palantir App ICE Uses to Find Neighborhoods to Raid,” by Joseph Cox
“ICE’s Facial Recognition App Misidentified a Woman. Twice,” by Joseph Cox
“Inside ICE’s Tool to Monitor Phones in Entire Neighborhoods,” by Joseph Cox
“New Legislation Would Rein In ICE’s Facial Recognition App,” by Joseph Cox
“ICE plans $100 million ‘wartime recruitment’ push targeting gun shows, military fans for hires,” by Drew Harwell and Joyce Sohyun Lee

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 [email protected].

EXTENDED VERSION! Brooke spoke to Mark Blyth, professor of International Economics and Public Affairs at Brown University, to talk about what the headlines are missing in the Department of Justice’s investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, and why we need to know the trending politics of central banks around the globe. 

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 [email protected].

The Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation against the Federal Reserve and its chairman. On this week’s On the Media, hear how the Trump administration’s pressure campaign plays into a larger trend chipping away at central banks. Plus, how a teacher in Russia stood up to Putin’s propaganda.
[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Mark Blyth, professor of International Economics and Public Affairs at Brown University, to talk about what the headlines are missing in the Department of Justice’s investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, and why we need to know the trending politics of central banks around the globe. 
[16:50] Brooke Gladstone talks with Pasha Talankin, star and co-creator of the new documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin. Pasha is a high school teacher who made an incredibly vivid and detailed account of Putin’s efforts to indoctrinate schoolchildren in Russia. 
[36:51] Brooke continues her conversation about Mr. Nobody Against Putin with David Borenstein, the film’s co-director. 
 Further reading / watching:
Mr Nobody is screening on Jan 21 at the Independent Film Center in New York before expanding to select theaters in the U.S. and Canada.

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 [email protected].