The Final Unravelling of Bob Menendez

Like it or not, more people are using artificial intelligence than ever. On this week’s On the Media, hear about the AI arms race between the U.S. and China, and how the tech gets overhyped. Plus, a composer wrestles with a new AI music generator – which threatens his own job.[01:00] Brooke speaks with Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast and author of the newsletter Where’s Your Ed At, about how tech moguls have gotten away with overhyping A.I. for years. Plus, the apparent race for AI supremacy between the U.S. and China.[18:09] Brooke continues the conversation with Ed Zitron, peeling back the facade to explore what generative A.I. can actually do.[29:51]  Former OTM producer, and current composer and sound designer, Mark Henry Phillips, on how AI music generators could fundamentally upend his industry for good.Further reading:“Deep Impact,” by Ed Zitron“Godot Isn't Making it,” by Ed Zitron“Bubble Trouble,” by Ed Zitron 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].

 In Amanda Hess' new book, Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age, she explores the many apps, megamaternity brands, high-tech baby gear, and social media subcultures that have infiltrated in the process of having a baby in modern-day America. OTM producer and new parent Molly Rosen speaks with Hess about how new technologies have transformed the experience of parenthood and what this signals about the future. Further reading:Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age, by Amanda HessMy Son Has a Rare Syndrome. So I Turned to the Internet., by Amanda Hess 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].

President Trump is asking lawmakers to claw back over a billion dollars in federal funds for public broadcasting. On this week’s On the Media, the long history of efforts to save—and snuff out—public broadcasting. Plus, the role of public radio across the country, from keeping local governments in check to providing life-saving information during times of crisis.[01:00]  Hosts Brooke Gladstone and Micah Loewinger explore the history of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and break down its funding with Karen Everhart, managing editor of Current.[07:59]  Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, a member of the Subcommittee which oversees the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, on his decades-long fight with Republican lawmakers to keep NPR and PBS alive.[13:45]  Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation, who authored a part of the foundation’s Project 2025 chapter on ending CPB funding. [26:15] Hosts Brooke Gladstone and Micah Loewinger on how public radio stations across the country work to hold local governments accountable, ft: Scott Franz of KUNC in Colorado, Matt Katz formerly of WNYC, and Lindsey Smith of Michigan Public. [34:27] Host Micah Loewinger takes a deep dive into the role of public radio during crises, ft: Tom Michael, founder of Marfa Public Radio and Laura Lee, former news director for Blue Ridge Public Radio.[41:28] Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Sage Smiley, news director at KYUK in Bethel, Alaska, to talk about the station’s life-saving coverage of the Kuskokwim Ice Road in southwestern Alaska, and what the region would lose without public radio. Further reading: “End of CPB funding would affect stations of all sizes,” by Adam Ragusea“Is there any justification for continuing to ask taxpayers to fund NPR and PBS?” by Mike Gonzalez“Should New Jersey Democratic Officials Keep Jailing Immigrants for ICE?” by Matt Katz“A secret ballot system at Colorado’s statehouse is quietly killing bills and raising transparency concerns,” by Scott Franz“Not Safe to Drink,” a special radio series by Michigan Public“The Rock House Fire: 5 Years Later,” by Tom Michael 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].

Today's country music industry is deeply associated with a certain jingoistic ‘rally around the flag,' ‘support the troops’ spirit. In this week’s podcast, we're re-airing a conversation with Joseph M. Thompson, author of Cold War Country: How Nashville's Music Row and the Pentagon Created the Sound of American Patriotism.Micah and Joseph discuss how hillbilly music transformed into the powerful country music industry, starting with a little assistance from the US military in the 1940s and 50s. Plus, how country music came to be linked to a certain type of American patriotism, and why some of country music’s most famous jingoistic songs are more complex than many listeners think.  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].

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s revamped CDC vaccine advisory board stopped recommending certain flu vaccines this week. On this week’s On the Media, a scientist debunks the claims that RFK, Jr.’s appointees are making. Plus, how the media covered the U.S. bombing of Iran.[02:01] Host Micah Loewinger unspools the Trump administration’s attempts to control the narrative around the war in Iran, including the president’s insistence on the “total obliteration” of Iran’s nuclear sites, conflicting reports over whether or not Iran had a nuclear weapons program in the works, and how the media is missing the mark.[12:04] Brooke continues her conversation with Paul Offit about the new controversial figures appointed to the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee, and how science communication could improve in the next public health crisis. Correction, 6/30/2025: In an earlier version of this broadcast, Brooke said that COVID-19 was spread by primarily by droplets. The virus is in fact spread by aerosol particles as well as by droplets.Further reading:“Lawmakers and Pundits Speed Run Iraq WMDs-Level Lies About Iran,” by Sarah Lazare and Adam Johnson“Donald Trump and Sean Hannity Set Off a Wave of Disinformation After Iran Bombing,” by David Gilbert 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].

This week, On the Media shares the final episode of Dead End: The Rise and Fall of Gold Bar Bob Menendez. For WNYC, reporter and host Nancy Solomon describes how the FBI watched Menendez have a dinner with Egyptian spies, the moment they found gold bars in a closet, and more. As Menendez faces the trial of his life, Nancy asks: why would a man at the top of the political world risk everything? And is our political system partly to blame? Can a senator who is not wealthy succeed in a political system that is infused with gifts, luxury trips and money? 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].

President Donald Trump says he’ll decide whether or not to attack Iran within the next two weeks. On this week’s On the Media, hear why the right is split on what the president should do. Plus, scrutiny on student journalists has intensified.[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone on the recent narratives forming around the ‘No Kings’ protest and President Trump’s military parade. Plus, a look at the lie that the left is more politically violent than the right – a falsehood that has emerged in rightwing narratives about ICE being victimized.[14:03] Brooke speaks with Andrew Prokop, senior politics correspondent at Vox, about the bitter divide growing within the MAGA ranks – between the “America First” faction, who advocate against war with Iran and helping Ukraine, and GOP hawks who want Trump to attack. [30:44] Host Micah Loewinger sits down with Gregorio Olivares Gutierrez, a rising junior at the University of Texas Dallas and editor-in-chief of The Retrograde, to discuss his brief tenure as editor-in-chief of his school’s official paper, The Mercury. They examine how The Mercury’s coverage of a pro-Palestine encampment last spring ignited a chain of events that led to the university firing him and the entire staff, and the de facto shuttering of the paper. Mike Hiestand, Senior Legal Counsel at the Student Press Law Center, on the chilling effect experienced by student journalists across the country after ICE arrested Tufts grad student Rümeysa Öztürk.Statement from Barnard College: "Barnard respects and supports a robust student press. As students present in Butler Library during the disruption have been confirmed to be working as journalists, we have notified them that their interim suspensions have been lifted. As our review continues, we will issue additional notifications as appropriate." Statement from Columbia University: “The interim suspension on the Columbia student journalist was lifted within hours after it was issued once it was determined that the individual was a member of the student press who was covering the protest as a reporter, not a participant in the disruptions to academic activities that were in violation of University policies and Rules. Columbia University continues to strongly believe in the value of a vibrant and independent student press."Statement from University of Texas Dallas: “UT Dallas has always supported student journalists’ editorial control and wants to create an environment where they can learn best journalistic practices and follow professional standards and guidelines. For clarification, the former editor was not removed for editorial content, but because he violated student media bylaws. Over the past few months, a group of university faculty, students, and staff has worked together to establish a new advisory committee for student media. Its goals included reviving the campus newspaper and ensuring the staff has necessary resources to operate with the editorial independence critical for student journalists.”UT Dallas Student Media Memo: “Removal of The Mercury Editor-in-Chief” by Lydia LumGregorio Olivares Gutierrez’s Appeal to the UT Dallas Student Media Memo regarding his removal Further reading:“Parsing ICE’s mixed-up, hard-to-believe assault claims,” by Philip Bump“‘They’re Taking Shirly’: An Army Sergeant Thought His Family Was Safe. Then ICE Deported His Wife,” by Sonner Kehrt“The surprising right-wing push to keep us out of war,” by Andrew ProkopQuestion Everything with Brian Reed: “Rümeysa Öztürk is Locked Up for an Op-ed: An Urgent Summit with the Student Newspaper that Published It”The Eagle: A Times Union Podcast, “The Future of Journalism”The Mercury’s May 20, 2025 Edition: “Welcome to UTD” 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].

In this week's midweek podcast, we share the next installment of WNYC's Dead End: The Rise and Fall of 'Gold Bar' Bob Menendez. Yesterday, the former senator began an 11-year prison sentence. In this episode, Nancy Solomon takes a look at a relationship that spanned a key chapter in Bob Menendez's political downfall. Nadine Arslanian was a stay at home mom in Englewood cliffs, New Jersey. Within weeks of meeting the Senator, she was arranging off-the-books meetings with Egyptian generals. And what started as a rebound romance turned into the centerpiece of an international bribery 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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].

A federal judge ruled that President Donald Trump’s deployment of troops in Los Angeles was illegal before an appeals court quickly overturned it. A legal battle is now underway. On this week’s On the Media, how President Trump has exaggerated crises to expand his presidential powers. Plus, a new documentary investigates who killed a Palestinian-American journalist.[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone shares how to navigate the deluge of LA protest coverage – debunking fake footage, identifying distracting talking points, and more.[12:53] Brooke speaks with Elizabeth Goitein, Senior Director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, about President Trump’s shocking memorandum authorizing the preemptive deployment of federal troops against protesters. Plus, how Trump has invoked emergency powers more than any other president, and what it means for American democracy.[32:47] Host Micah Loewinger sits down with Dion Nissenbaum, a former foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, about the new documentary “Who Killed Shireen?” he produced for Zeteo, the media organization founded by former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan.  Further reading:“AI Chatbots Are Making LA Protest Disinformation Worse,” by David Gilbert“‘The Insurrection Act’ by Any Other Name: Unpacking Trump’s Memorandum Authorizing Domestic Deployment of the Military,” by Elizabeth Goitein“A Guide to Emergency Powers and Their Use,” by Elizabeth GoiteinWho Killed Shireen? by Dion Nissenbaum, Fatima AbdulKarim, Conor Powell at Zeteo'Who Killed Shireen?' Film Screening in Washington, DC on July 9 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].

Bob Menendez will become the first Senator to go to prison in more than 40 years when he reports to federal penitentiary next week.  Most of you will,  no doubt,  be aware of the broad strokes of his corruption and bribery case. You know, the gold bars and cash found in his suburban ranch house. But our home station, WNYC, has produced a podcast that tries to go deeper than much of the media coverage. So we’re bringing you the first episode of Dead End: The Rise and Fall of Gold Bar Bob Menendez— hosted and reported by Nancy Solomon. 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].