Bob Garfield

Following up on his conversation with Chris Anderson, Bob speaks with Michael Weinberg, Vice President at Public Knowledge, who's working to explain the benefits of 3D printing to legislators before regulation takes hold.

The internet has supercharged the world of fan fiction - stories written by fans based on their favorite works. Bob talks to Rebecca Tushnet, head of the legal committee at the Organization for Transformative Works, about the collision of fan fiction and fair use.

In over half of U.S. states and on the federal level law enforcement, after arresting you but before you’ve been convicted of any crime, can take a DNA sample from you. This week the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments about whether this kind of search violates 4^th Amendment protections and is constitutional.  Bob speaks with New York Times reporter Adam Liptak about the what this kind of DNA samples mean for personal privacy.  

Frustration is growing in the White House press corps because of limited access to the "transparency" president. Bob goes to the White House to find out how the role of the press corps is changing under this media savvy administration.

 

Anika - Officer Officer

The prediction models used to forecast the outcome of the 2012 presidential elections are now being used on another major event: the Academy Awards. Bob speaks with Microsoft researcher David Rothschild about his predictions for the 2013 Oscars.

The Atlantic’s James Fallows believes that the failures we’re seeing in the sequestration coverage suggest a larger problem with our political system and the press that’s supposed to cover it. Fallows tells Bob that our press isn't comfortable playing referee, but they might need to start.

 

Hauschka - Radar

The practice of itinerant filmmaking - traveling from town to town, charging a fee for residents to become the stars of a film - mostly died out in the early 50's. But one man continued the practice for nearly 40 years, filming the same movie over and over again. Bob talks to Caroline Frick, Executive Director of the The Texas Archive of the Moving Image about her decade-long fixation on filmmaker Melton Barker and his oft-filmed movie The Kidnapper's Foil. 

 

You can watch several versions of The Kidnapper's Foil at meltonbarker.org

 

The Hut Sut Song - from The Kidnapper's Foil

Pope Benedict’s sudden resignation last week has prompted speculation on two fronts: why he is resigning, and who will be selected as Pope in the upcoming Vatican conclave. Reporters from all over will travel to Rome for the event, including blogger Rocco Palmo. Bob talks to Palmo about covering the church’s inner politics from Philadelphia, and the one bankable trait of the next Pope.

 

Breton - The Commission

An article published by the Washington Post reported that the government wants to create public super WiFi networks that could potentially replace the ISPs most people use now. The piece was linked and posted all over the internet, but there was one tiny problem: it was wrong. Bob talks to Ars Technica writer Jon Brodkin about the inaccuracies in the reporting and what the FCC’s proposal might actually mean.  

Joseph Mitchell and Ryszard Kapuscinski created some of the most celebrated narrative non-fiction of this century; full of indelible characters, scenes, and dialogue. But both have been dogged by accusations that they doctored dialogue, manufactured scenes and created composite characters. In an interview that originally aired in December 2010, Bob talks with celebrated narrative non-fiction writer Lawrence Weschler about great writers and questionable facts. 

Bob Garfield, co-host of On The Media and author of The Chaos Scenario and the forthcoming Can't Buy Me Like: How Authentic Customer Connections Drive Superior Results discusses "Hous...

Since 9/11, the FBI has stepped up its reliance on sting operations to catch potential terrorists before they strike. But in the process, says journalist Trevor Aaronson, the agency has ended up "hatching and financing more terrorist plots in the United States than any other group." Bob talks with Aaronson about his new book, The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI's Manufactured War on Terrorism. 

 

Binky Griptite & The Mellowmatics - You're Gonna Cry

A newly-released study from Columbia University gives the most comprehensive picture to date of digital media pirates. Bob talks with one of the study’s authors, Joe Karaganis, about what the findings mean for online copyright infringement and why the failure of a six strikes policy is only a matter of time.  

The Church of Scientology has been notoriously unwelcoming of investigation into its inner workings, but Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lawrence Wright has just released a new book t...

Since 1935, the National Labor Relations Act has protected the right of private-sector employees to discuss workplace conditions. But as conversations shift from the break room to the sphere of social media, regulators are facing new challenges in distinguishing protected speech from "mere griping." Bob talks with Lafe Solomon, General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, about what can and can't be tweeted about the workplace.

Facebook has introduced a new search tool called social graph search, which lets users search across the Facebook database by users' interests. Privacy advocates aren't pleased with the new feature, arguing that it makes information about users too easy to find. Bob talks to Tom Scott, who has been given early access to the feature and has been publicizing some of his searches. 

Four Tet - 0181

Copyright protections were never supposed to last forever. Copyright was originally designed to protect creators long enough so that they could profit from their work, after which time that work would enter the public domain. However, changes to copyright law have made it so that copyright protections in the US generally last for 70 years after the creator's death. Duke Law School Professor James Boyle runs the Center for the Study of the Public Domain. He tells Bob about all the works that would have entered the public domain this year, but didn't. 

Dan Auerbach - Heartbroken, In Disrepair

Last week, The Atlantic ran a piece of sponsored content on its website for the Church of Scientology that looked a lot like their standard editorial content. Within 12 hours, the magazine had pulled the article and apologized. Bob talks to digital media management consultant Dorian Benkoil about how the online world is redrawing the line between advertising and editorial — because the alternative may be extinction.

We now know what many have suspected for some time: Lance Armstrong is a liar and a bully and cheat. Bob talks with NPR's Mike Pesca about Oprah's questions and Armstrong's answers during his Thursday night confession on OWN, Winfrey's TV Channel. 

 

David Byrne - Glass, Concrete & Stone

Until this week, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o was famous not just for his on-field skills but for his compelling backstory, which included the tragic death of his girlfriend. This week, the sports blog Deadspin exposed that story as a massive hoax, although it is still unclear what, if any, participation Te'o had in the lie. Bob and Brooke delve into the myth and consider how it snuck by the national media.