The Trump administration is trying to subdue fury from all angles over the Epstein Files. On this week's On the Media, how the controversy is fracturing Republicans and firing up Democrats. Plus, tracing today’s so-called “masculinity crisis” through the films of Michael Douglas.

[00:00] Host Brooke Gladstone dissects the bitter division between President Trump and several MAGA politicians and influencers over his administration’s handling of the Epstein files, and how the president is suddenly at odds with the initial source of his political momentum – conspiracies.
[00:00] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Dan Friedman, a senior reporter for Mother Jones, about what we actually know regarding Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and the line between skepticism and conspiracism.
[00:00] Brooke sits down with Jessa Crispin, critic and editor-in-chief of The Culture We Deserve, to chat about her new book What Is Wrong with Men: Patriarchy, the Crisis of Masculinity, and How (Of Course) Michael Douglas Films Explain Everything, which tracks the “masculinity crisis” through Michael Douglas films.

Further reading:

• “Stop Taking the Epstein Bait, Dems,” by Dan Friedman
• What Is Wrong with Men: Patriarchy, the Crisis of Masculinity, and How (Of Course) Michael Douglas Films Explain Everything by Jessa Crispin

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 onthemedia@wnyc.org.

The Atlantic hurricane season is currently underway – and in fact, it was the tail end of tropical storm Barry that contributed to the deadly flash floods in Texas two weeks ago that has claimed at least 132 lives so far. As I write this, over 100 people are still missing.

According to writer Nathaniel Rich, when it comes to planning for a fraught climate future, New Orleans sets an example the rest of the country would be wise to follow. This week, we're revisiting this conversation about how the city confronts the inevitable.

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 onthemedia@wnyc.org.

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 onthemedia@wnyc.org.

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 Hess
• My 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 onthemedia@wnyc.org.

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 onthemedia@wnyc.org.

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 onthemedia@wnyc.org.

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 onthemedia@wnyc.org.

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 onthemedia@wnyc.org.