On the Media

Six months into Russia’s invasion, Ukrainians are still fighting back on all fronts. On this week’s show, hear how Ukraine’s newest struggle is for our attention, and how Big Tech is letting Russian propaganda spread. Plus, the story of a Ukrainian gaming influencer who turned to video games and his internet community to survive the conflict. 1. Olga Tokariuk [@olgatokariuk], Ukrainian journalist, describes watching international attention on the war wane in real time, and its consequences. Listen. 2. Andrey Boborykin [@mediaborscht], Executive Director of Ukrainska Pravda, one of Ukraine's biggest independent outlets, speaks with Brooke about how big tech companies continue to platform Russian propaganda. Listen. 3. Micah Loewinger [@MicahLoewinger], OTM correspondent, on the Ukrainian Twitch streamer who used his virtual military skills and online community to get his family to safety when the invasion began (Part One). Listen.  4. Micah Loewinger revisits his reporting on Bobi, the Twitch streamer who escaped war in Ukraine, to learn what has happened since (Part Two). Listen.

2 Syys 202249min

For most of the 20th century, during which time it was the control of a Moscow-based government for nearly 70 years, Ukraine didn't have an independent press. Over the past two decades, an ecosystem of independent press has grown in Ukraine. This Ukrainian press corps has been tirelessly covered the Russia's invasion of Ukraine over the past six months. But even as their audiences grow, funding from advertising for their reporting has dried up as Ukraine's economy struggles. Ukrainian media have also been subject content bans on Facebook for "glorifying violence" as they report on the war. Andrey Boborykin, Executive Director of Ukrainska Pravda, one of Ukraine's biggest independent outlets, speaks with Brooke about the ongoing information war between Ukraine and Russia, how big tech companies continue to platform Russian propaganda, and what local Ukrainian media outlets are doing to keep their doors open.

31 Elo 202214min

Six months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, President Putin has rallied the Russian population around the brutal conflict. On this week’s On the Media, hear how the Kremlin’s crackdown on the press paved the way for war. Plus, a look inside the world of Russian propaganda, and how it influences people. 1. OTM Producer Molly Schwartz [@mollyfication] speaks with Alec Luhn [@ASLuhn] and Veronika Silchenko [@NikaSilchenko], freelance journalists for Vice, on reporting in Russia under repressive new laws. And Kirill Martynov [@kmartynov], Editor-in-Chief of Novaya Gazeta Europe, and Katerina Kotrikadze [@katyakotrikadze], news director and anchor at TV Rain, and Roman Dobrokhotov [@Dobrokhotov], Editor-in-Chief of The Insider, on working as Russian journalists-in-exile. Listen. 2. Thomas Rid [@RidT], author of the book Active Measures, on the the long ancestry of modern-day Russian info ops, and Francis Scarr [@francis_scarr], senior digital journalist at BBC Monitoring, on the false narratives that Russian state TV broadcasts about the war in Ukraine. Listen.  3. Anastasiia Carrier [@carrierana22], freelance journalist, on growing up with Russian propaganda and unlearning the Kremlin's lies. Listen. Music: String Quartet No. 3 by Henryk GoreckiExurgency by Zoe KeatingWe Insist by Zoe KeatingThe Artifact & Living by Michael AndrewsI Got a Right to Sing the Blues by Billy KyleDance of the Sugar Plum Fairy by Pyotr TchaikovskyThe Hammer of Los - John ZornKhovanshchina Overture (remix) Blackbird by Brad Mehldau

26 Elo 202249min

This week OTM shares the third and final episode of Hard, a series about Viagra from our colleagues at Death, Sex & Money. In this episode we hear from Viagra users past and present whose ideas about sex have shifted—from being a goal-oriented pursuit to one that is much more about pleasure and acceptance.  You can hear more from Death, Sex & Money here.

24 Elo 202232min

When you hear the word “Neanderthal,” you probably picture a mindless, clumsy brute. It’s often used as an insult — even by our president, who last year called anti-maskers “Neanderthals.” But what if we have more in common with our ancestral cousins than we think? On this week’s On the Media, hear how these early humans have been unfairly maligned in science and in popular culture. 1. John Hawks [@johnhawks], professor of anthropology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, on our biological family tree—and the complicated branch that is Neanderthals. Listen. 2. Rebecca Wragg Sykes [@LeMoustier], archeologist and author of Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art, on and what we know about how they lived. Listen.  3. Clive Finlayson [@CliveFinlayson], Director, Chief Scientist, and Curator of the Gibraltar National Museum, on how studying what’s inside Gorham and Vanguard caves can help reconstruct Neanderthal life beyond them. Listen.  4. Angela Saini, science journalist, on how Neanderthals have been co-opted to push mythologies about the genetic basis of race. Listen. Music:Boy Moves the Sun by Michael AndrewsYoung Heart by Brad MehldauSacred Oracle by John ZornTomorrow Never Knows by Quartetto d’ Archi Di Dell’Orchestra di Milano Guiseppe VerdiInvestigations by Kevin MacLeod

19 Elo 202250min

This week OTM shares the second episode of the three-part series, Hard, produced by our WNYC colleagues at Death, Sex & Money. In this installment, the team dives into the scientific advancements that led to Viagra's FDA approval in 1998. From an unforgettable conference presentation...to an overnight drug study, where an unexpected side effect kept popping up. Also the intentionality around the early marketing of Viagra—when former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole encouraged men to summon the bravery to talk to their doctors—and how that message has shifted over the years.  You can hear more from Death, Sex & Money here.

17 Elo 202231min

An old threat has returned to classrooms across the country — and it’s made of pages and ink. On this week’s On the Media, hear what it means to ban a book, and who has the right to choose what kids learn. Plus, meet the student who took his school board all the way to the Supreme Court in the 80s.  1. Kelly Jensen, editor for Book Riot who writes a weekly update on “book censorship news,” on what it means to ban a book. Listen. 2. Jennifer Berkshire [@BisforBerkshire] and Jack Schneider [@Edu_Historian], hosts of the education podcast “Have You Heard,” on the rights—both real and fictional—of parents to shape what their kids learn. Listen. 3. OTM reporter Micah Loewinger [@MicahLoewinger] takes a deep dive into our nations history of taking books off shelves, with the 1982 Supreme Court decision in Island Trees School District v Pico. Featuring: Steven Pico, then student and plaintiff in the case and Arthur Eisenberg, New York Civil Liberties lawyer, who represented him. Listen. Music:Tymperturbably Blue by Duke EllingtonYork Fusiliers by Douglas Monroe & Yorktown Fife and DrumsEye Surgery by Thomas NewmanViderunt Omnes by The Kronos Quartet

12 Elo 202250min

In 1998, when Viagra was approved by the FDA, it suddenly opened up new sexual possibilities for people who had previously had none. The drug also sparked an earnest and very public conversation about erectile dysfunction — one that quickly veered toward late-night punchlines. And yet, despite the millions of prescriptions written during its nearly 25 years of existence, for some, Viagra did not prove to be the quick fix they had hoped for. This month, OTM shares the first episode of a compelling 3-part series about the drug from our colleagues at Death, Sex & Money.  You can hear more from Death, Sex & Money here.

10 Elo 202231min