Take This Job and Shove It

Last year at this time, 9 months into the pandemic, so many of us stayed separated from one another, missing out on all the gathering, yam-eating, relative-screaming, football-watching, insert-holiday-themed-cliche-here, of Thanksgiving. Not so this year. This year, vaxxed and tested and maybe even boosted, we gather once more. Like a bunch of gosh-darn superheroes.  And so, for this very special Thanksgiving-edition podcast extra, we’re re-airing the story of another lovable, dysfunctional family full of superheroes: The Incredibles.  Back in 2005, the Academy Award-winning animated Pixar film took the world by storm, with its campy 60s noir aesthetic, its nuanced portrayal of family gender roles, and its memorable cast of superheroes. And one of those superheroes, the gifted son named Dash, was played by a real-life kid, the former child actor Spencer Fox. The film would radically change Fox's life, for better and worse. Some 17 years later, Spencer speaks with OTM reporter Micah Loewinger about his complex relationship to the role and why he spent years refusing to watch its sequel. This is segment originally aired as part of the April 23, 2021 program, Not Ready For That Conversation.

23 Marras 202115min

Politicians and pundits on the right are eager to pin rising rates of inflation on President Biden — but that misses the bigger picture. Plus, how scaremongering over 'critical race theory' is impacting elections, school boards and classrooms. And, how the stories we tell about our present shape what's possible for the future, from paid parental leave to immigration policy and beyond.  1. John Cassidy [@JohnCassidy], staff writer at The New Yorker, on the real story behind the inflation numbers. Listen. 2. Adam Harris [@AdamHSays], staff writer at The Atlantic, on what the elections can and can't tell us about the impact of  'critical race theory' scaremongering, and why the debate over race has landed in schools. Listen. 3. Alan Jenkins [@Opportunity1], professor at Harvard Law School and co-founder of the Opportunity Agenda, on how powerful stories, effectively communicated, have shaped what's possible for the future. Listen.

19 Marras 202155min

The U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland concluded last weekend—the 26th “Conference of Parties.” After more than two decades of these promises, it’s worth wondering how much of this is all just hot air. According to the non-profit Climate Action Tracker, not a single country is on target to meet the COP21 pledge, also known as the Paris Climate Accords, and many aren’t even on target for their COP3 pledge, the Kyoto Protocol.   And yet, these summits are often still covered with breathless play-by-play analysis: all the juicy details about diplomatic attaches, late-night negotiation, and backroom deals. Which is not without value, but it’s worth asking: what are the stories being missed when all eyes are on the summit? To answer that, we called Nathaniel Rich, writer-at-large for the New York Times Magazine, who takes a markedly different approach.

17 Marras 202120min

Twenty months since the start of the pandemic, economic recovery has been uneven at best. This week, On the Media takes a look at one sector that’s been booming: cryptocurrency and, in particular, NFTs. Hear how a technology invented to give artists more control over their work has become a tool for speculators hoping to win big. 1. Anil Dash [@anildash], CEO of Glitch, helps explain the origin of NFTs. Listen. 2. OTM Correspondent Micah Loewinger [@MicahLoewinger] attends an NFT auction featuring Carlos Matos, one of crypto's most unlikely proponents. Listen. 3. Anil Dash [@anildash] on his ambivalence of what has come from his creation. Listen. Music:72 Degrees and Sunny by Thomas NewmanEye Surgery by Thomas NewmanHorizon 12.2 by Thomas NewmanOkami by Nicola CruzBitconnect Carlos Matos (What Is Love) by PsycholPenguins by Michael HurleySolice by Scott JoplinCarlos Matos (Take On Me) by MemeskiBubblewrap by Thomas NewmanVie En Rose by Toots Thielemans

12 Marras 202150min

The satire site The Babylon Bee, a conservative Christian answer to The Onion, stirred controversy when some readers mistook its headlines for misinformation. In this episode of WNYC/The Atlantic's The Experiment, religion reporter Emma Green sits down with the editor-in-chief, Kyle Mann, to talk about where he draws the line between making a joke and doing harm, and to understand what humor can reveal about American politics. Further reading: “Who Would Jesus Mock?”

10 Marras 202122min

For decades, Silicon Valley leaders have been borrowing ideas from science fiction — from the metaverse to the latest tech gadgets. On this week’s show, hear why they might need to start reading their source material more closely. Also, why the midterm election results tell us so little about what’s coming next in American politics. And a forgotten behemoth of American literature gets a closer look.  1. Paul Waldman [@paulwaldman1], opinion columnist at the Washington Post and senior writer for  The American Prospect, on why off-year elections need historical context. Listen. 2. Jill Lepore, Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer; Gene Seymour [@GeneSeymour], culture critic with work in Newsday, the Nation, the Baffler, and more; and Annalee Newitz [@Annaleen], science fiction author and science journalist, on the makings (and potential mishaps) of the metaverse. Listen. 3. Paul Auster, acclaimed novelist and author of Burning Boy: The Life and Work of Stephen Crane, on the 19th century writer's forgotten legacy. Listen. Music in this week's show:Whistle While You Work - Artie Shaw and his New MusicYou’re Getting to be a Habit with Me - Guy LombardoDo Nothin’ Till You Hear from Me - Ben WebsterBoy Moves the Sun - Michael AndrewsA Ride with Polly Jean - Jenny ScheinmanGerry O'Beirne’s album “The Bog Bodies and other Stories: Music for Guitar"

5 Marras 202150min

700,000. That’s the latest COVID death count to dominate a headline in the United States. Over the last 19 months, we’ve seen a steady trickle of these morbid milestones in the news. They are one way to measure, and try to understand, the COVID-19 pandemic. In the world of journalism, death is a metric that’s important. It indicates significance, newsworthiness, and tragedy. But death is also an inevitable part of the human experience. This is a fact that journalist Katie Engelhart highlights in the title of her new book The Inevitable: Dispatches on the Right to Die. Brooke Gladstone spoke to Engelhart about the complicated ethics of physician-assisted deaths and the surprising parameters within which people can end their lives.

3 Marras 202136min

This week, On the Media takes a deep dive into the "No Compromise" gun rights movement. Its members see the NRA as too amenable to gun control measures. Follow reporters Lisa Hagen and Chris Haxel on their journey to understand how 3 brothers used a network of Facebook pages to grow their following with some startling results.  Part 1: A World Where The NRA Is Soft On Guns. Listen. Part 2: The Facebook Flock. Listen. Part 3: A One-Man Propaganda Band. Listen. No Compromise is hosted by Chris Haxel and Lisa Hagen, produced by Graham Smith and edited by Robert Little and is a production of NPR, KCUR, WABE, and WAMU. To listen to all 6 episodes (and you should!) go to NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.  Music from this week's show: Stormy Weather - Franck Pourcel Washington’s March - Liberty Tree Wind Players Country outro  All other music written and performed by Humpmuscle

29 Loka 202150min