Bob Garfield

Once Adam Lanza had been correctly identified as the shooter, speculation quickly turned to why he killed so many. Much of the media raced, as it often does, to explain the tragedy by speculating on Lanza’s psychological state. Particularly bandied about was whether Lanza had been diagnosed with either a personality disorder or Asperger’s Syndrome. Bob talks with the Columbia Journalism Review's Curtis Brainard about the perils of this sort of coverage.

Every year at this time, we invite Craig Silverman of Poynter's Regret the Error blog to fill us in on the media's biggest mistakes of the past 12 months. He tells Bob about this year in errors.

Zammuto - Wasn't That Lucky

Last month, a man was murdered in Belize and his suspicious neighbor went on the lam. But that's not the narrative the media has been promoting because the fugitive isn't just any fugitive; it's John McAfee. The tech-pioneer-turned-playboy is hellbent on portraying himself as a victim of a corrupt Belizean government. Science and adventure writer Jeff Wise tells Bob that McAfee's outlandish strategy may just be working.

John Lurie - Horse Guitar

Last September, the YouTube video "Innocence of Muslims" sparked protests around the world. Around the same time, an airing of a very different film about the Islamic faith caused a small riot in Northern India. “The Message” is a multi-million-dollar epic about the life of Mohammad. It could not be more different than “Innocence of Muslims,” yet it’s the second time its been connected to violence. Bob speaks with the Atlantic's Malcolm Burnley, who wrote about the remarkable history of "The Message." 

On the Media’s Bob Garfield talks about his new novel, Bedfellows. Jack Schiavone wants to rebuild his life after an embezzlement scandal saw him drummed out of his high-paying advertising job. So he’s reinvented himself as “Mr. Mattress,” a discount bedding franchisee in Ebbets Beach, Brooklyn. He has a nice, quiet life until he gets sucked into a simmering mob war.

The Oxford English Dictionary has a reputation for being the definitive record of the English language. But a few years ago, it was discovered that former OED editor Robert Burchfield had inexplicably struck thousands of words from the record, most of them Americanisms. Lexicographer and OED editor emeritus Sarah Ogilvie talks with Bob about Burchfield and her new book, Words of the World: A Global History of the Oxford English Dictionary. 

Sameul Yirga - Tiwista 1(Tinish Mix)

Last week the popular prediction market Intrade announced it would shut its doors to Americans after being sued by US regulators. US regulators have accused InTrade of violating the ban on off-exchange options trading - in other words, gambling. But others argue that sites like InTrade can be better predictors than pundits or polls. The New York Times’ Washington Bureau Chief David Leonhardt makes the case for prediction markets to Bob.

White Rabbits - Back For More

In the past two years, seven former NFL players have killed themselves, and in each case, many argued that depression and dementia brought on by job-related concussions were to blame. The pressure is on the NFL to better protect its players, and the league is defending itself by running public service announcements during games. Bob talks to NFL Chief Marketing Officer Mark Waller about the campaign.

Acid Pauli - Mst

In the wake of News of the World and other press scandals, Lord Justice Leveson has called for a new statute-backed system to regulate the British media. To some, such a move would constitute a reversal of a proud free-press tradition dating back to the 17th century. But Minister of Parliament Nadhim Zahawi tells Bob that the UK's self-policing press has been drinking at the "Last Chance Saloon" for too long.

Billy Brag & Wilco - Union Prayer

In 2010, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act was killed when a mystery Senator placed what’s called a secret hold on the bill. On the Media partnered with the Government Accountability Project and our listeners to find out who was behind killing the bill. This week, a new version of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act was finally signed into law. Tom Devine, director for the Government Accountability Project, talks to Bob about what the new law does to protect whistleblowers and where it is lacking.

Buying a cheap knock-off is not just a problem with watches and hand bags—if you go onto Amazon's website to buy the latest bestseller, you might accidentally end up with an imitation book. Bob speaks to Fortune senior editor Stephen Gandel, who looked into the knock offs on Amazon, and found a number of books that he says were clearly meant to confuse people by trading off of more popular titles.

Russians have access to more than 100,000 pirated e-books and just 60,000 legitimate e-books. For some authors and publishers the theft is infuriating, but others take the view that it’s good to have your book out there in front of eyes no matter what the cost.  Bob speaks with Peter Mountford, author of ‘A Young Man’s Guide to Late Capitalism,’  who didn't just turn a blind eye to his book being pirated, but actually helped the process along.

Most big publishers fear running afoul of Amazon, but one very small publisher has proven to be fearless. Bob talks to Randall White, who pulled all of his company's books from Amazon's web site.

Quartetto d’Archi Dell’Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi - Paperback Writer

This year, for the first time in 35 years, there was no Pulitzer Prize awarded for fiction.  Was it a bad year for novels? Is the Pulitzer selection process broken? Is it a dire sign of things to come for the fiction industry?  Author, Salon senior writer and past Pulitzer fiction judge Laura Miller explains to Bob which way to read the Pulitzer’s non-award.

Papa Razzi and the Photogs - I Like the Books of Jane Austen

A website called "Is Anybody Down" has popped up to fill the niche that was left when the revenge porn site "Is Anyone Up" shut down in April of this year. Like its predecessor, the site allows users to submit naked photos of other people and include links to the naked person's social networking page. But according to attorney Marc Randazza, this website's business model is slightly different from Is Anyone Up, and is of questionable legality. Bob talks to Randazza and Is Anybody Down's founder Craig Brittain.

As the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired missles into Gaza this week, they did something unprecedented in military history: they tweeted about it. As the fighting unfolded, the IDF carried out a real-time social media campaign, posting justifications, combat videos, and propaganda posters to Twitter and to a dedicated live blog. Bob talks to Noah Shachtman, editor of Wired.com's Danger Room blog, who tries to explain the IDF's logic and put their media offensive in perspective.

Clive Carroll & John Renbourn - First Drive

Journalists that covered David Petraeus, both in his capacity as a General in Iraq and Afghanistan, and later as the director of the CIA, have done a lot of public soul searching in the wake of his recent scandal. Bob speaks to international investigative reporter Jon Lee Anderson about what he sees as the media's failings in covering Petraeus.

Bob talks to Mark Jurkowitz, Associate Director of the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, who studied the tone and scope of this year's election coverage. Jurkowitz says that the tone of this election season was extremely negative, both in mainstream and social media.

Deaf City - White Lake

China is about to have an "election" of its own, with the assembly of the 18th Chinese Communist Party Congress happening this week. In addition to handing over power from one Paramount leader to the next, the Congress will oversee the appointment of the Standing Committee—the group of people who run China. Trying to figure out why they're chosen is often an exercise in the absurd for foreign journalists. Bob speaks with Time Magazine's Hannah Beech who describes what it's like to cover the party congress.

The Weeknd - Thursday

With one term down and one more to go, we take a look at how well the first Obama administration did on some of the issues OTM cares about most: surveillance, transparency, whistleblowers, and press access. Brooke and Bob speak with The Guardian's Glenn Greenwald, the Sunlight Foundation's Lisa Rosenberg, and ABC's White House correspondent Jake Tapper about Obama's first four years, and what they expect in the next four.

Nathan Salsburg - Eight Belles Dreamt the Devil Was Dead