The Divided Dial: Episode 2 - From Pulpit to Politics

Merry Christmas, to those who celebrate! To those who don't (and, aw heck, to those who do too) we offer a very special end-of-year gift: fear. More specifically, Brooke's greatest fears, courtesy of our WNYC colleagues 10 Things That Scare Me. Fear is a subject — and experience — near and dear to our beloved Brooke, so we can assure you that this is not a conversation to skip.

22 Joulu 20210s

Text messages obtained by the January 6 commission revealed the panic of Fox News hosts — even as they downplayed the insurrection on camera. On this week’s On the Media, how to hold the news station accountable. Plus, an investigation of the celebrity profile – from the biting to the banal. Angelo Carusone [@GoAngelo], President and CEO of Media Matters, explains what the new January 6th revelations say about the state of Fox News. Listen. Anne Helen-Peterson [@annehelen], writer and journalist, on why the profile of Jeremy Strong in The New Yorker struck a chord. Listen. Bobby Finger [@bobbyfinger] and Lindsey Weber [@lindseyweber], co-hosts of the podcast "Who? Weekly," talk about the scrappy, B-list celebrities do for fame. Listen. Music: Il Casanova di Federico Fellini by Nina RotaPaperback Writer by Quartetto dell'Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe VerdiThe Art Of War by Richard BeddowInvestigations by Kevin MacLeodNewsreel by Randy NewmanHard Times by Leftover Salmon

17 Joulu 202150min

Write a great book and you're a genius. Turn a book into a great film and you're a visionary. Turn a great film into a book...that's another story. Novelizations of films are regular best-sellers with cult followings -- some are even more beloved than the films that spawned them -- but respected they are not. Instead, they're assumed to be the literary equivalent of merchandise: a way for the movie studios to make a few extra bucks, and a job for writers who aren't good enough to do anything else. But the people who write them beg to differ. Back in 2016, former OTM producer Jesse Brenneman went inside the world of novelizations; featuring authors Max Allan Collins, Alan Dean Foster, Elizabeth Hand, and Lee Goldberg. Songs: "The Blue Danube Waltz" by Johann Strauss "The Throne Room and End Title" by John Williams (from the film "Star Wars")   *Correction: In the piece it is stated that the Star Wars novelization begins, "Another time, another galaxy." In fact it begins, "Another galaxy, another time."

15 Joulu 202111min

Amid the so-called Great Resignation, nearly 39 million Americans have left their jobs. On this week’s On The Media, hear why this trend is a logical response to the cult of work. Plus, when technology makes our jobs harder, maybe being a 'luddite' isn't such a bad thing.  1. Sarah Jaffe [@sarahljaffe], journalist and author of Work Won't Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted, and Alone, on how love and meaning became intertwined with our jobs. Listen. 2. Anne Helen-Peterson [@annehelen], writer and journalist, and Charlie Warzel [@cwarzel], contributing writer at The Atlantic, on how technology is—or, dramatically is not — easing our lives at work. Listen. 3. Gavin Mueller [@gavinmuellerphd], assistant professor of New Media and Digital Culture at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, on what modern lessons can be learned from the Luddite workers of 19th century England. Listen. Music from this week's show: Sign and Sigil by John ZornBROKE by Modest MouseMiddlesex Times by Michael AndrewsBlues by La Dolce vita Dei NobiliLiquid SpearWaltz by Michael AndrewsStolen Moments by Ahmed Jamal Trio

10 Joulu 202150min

Tonight at 7pm ET, join Brooke, the OTM staff, and other listeners from around the country for our first ever Zoom trivia night! Flex your knowledge of the show for a chance to win some sweet prizes including hats hand-crocheted by Brooke herself. All you gotta do to participate is become a sustaining member. Click this link. Or, text the letters O T M to 70101. That’s the money that powers our journalism and keeps the show pumping through your speakers each week.  If you're already a sustaining member, check your email. You've already received a Zoom link for the event. See you tonight!

7 Joulu 20210s

By now, the new coronavirus variant has been detected in dozens of countries – including the U.S. On this week’s On the Media, hear what pigeons can tell us about how to react to the omicron variant. Plus, why we should know the names of the scientists in Botswana, South Africa, and Hong Kong who found the new strain. And what rights we do, and don't, have when it comes to when we die.  1. Katherine J. Wu [@KatherineJWu], staff writer at The Atlantic covering science, on what we do (and mostly don't) know about the new omicron variant. Listen. 2. Jeremy Kamil [@macroliter], associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Louisiana State University Health Shreveport, on the scientists who found omicron, and why we should know their names. Listen. 3. Katie Engelhart [@katieengelhart], journalist and New America fellow, on the complicated right to die. Listen. Music from this week's show: Horizon 12.2 - Thomas NewmanEye Surgery - Thomas NewmanSlow Pulse Conga  - William PasleyCello Song - Nick DrakeBerceuse in D Flat Major, Op. 57 (Chopin) - Ivan MoravecTime After Time (Cyndi Lauper) - Miles Davis

3 Joulu 202151min

This week is Hanukkah, Judaism’s eight-day festival of lights. With its emphasis on present-giving, dreidel games and sweet treats, the holiday seems to be oriented towards kids. Even the story of Hanukkah has had its edges shaved down over time. Ostensibly, the holiday is a celebration of a victory against an oppressive Greek regime in Palestine over two thousand years ago, the miracle of oil that lit Jerusalem's holy temple for 8 days and nights, and the perseverance of the Jewish faith against all odds. According to Rabbi James Ponet, Emeritus Howard M. Holtzmann Jewish Chaplain at Yale University, the kid-friendly Hanukkah mythology has obscured the thorny historical details that offer deeper truths about what it means to be a Jew. In his 2005 Slate piece, "Hanukkah as Jewish Civil War," Ponet looked at the often-overlooked Jew-on-Jew violence that under-girds the Hanukkah story. He and Brooke discuss how this civil war lives on in Jewish views on Israel, and how the tension between assimilation and tradition came to define the Jewish people.   (this is a rebroadcast of a story we first ran in 2018)

1 Joulu 202114min

Cassette tapes mostly gather dust these days. But back in their heyday, they fundamentally changed how we communicate, in ways we’re still making sense of today. On this week’s On the Media, hear how the cassette tape fueled the Iranian revolution, helped pierce the Iron Curtain, and put human connection in the palm of our hands. 1. Simon Goodwin on his innovation to broadcast computer software over the radio back in 1983. Listen. 2. Computer programmer Fuxoft explains his role in 'Sneakernet,' which saw pirated material of all types smuggled into 1980s Czechoslovakia via cassette tape. Listen. 3. The role of cassette tapes in the Iranian Revolution. Listen. This episode was reported, produced, scored and sound designed for Radiolab by Simon Adler with original music throughout by Simon. Top tier reporting and production assistance was provided by Eli Cohen.

26 Marras 202150min