Brooke Gladstone

This week's media coverage of Nelson Mandela's memorial service had little to do with the service itself. There was the unexpected handshake between President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro; the fake sign language interpreter who says he saw angels in the stadium; and of course, "selfie-gate." Brooke speaks with Roberto Schmidt, the AFP photographer who snapped the now infamous photos, about how the media have overblown the story.

This week, Time Magazine named Pope Francis 2013's person of the year. Brooke looks at the how the new Pope has been received by the media, and how his messaging seems to have gone viral.

Martin Palmeri - Misa A Buenos Aires - Sanctus

Next weekend marks the anniversary of the shootings at Sandy Hook elementary, and the town of Newtown has asked that the press stay away out of respect for the grieving families and community. Brooke discusses media coverage in light of this request as well as the ethics of airing the recently released 911 phone calls with executive editor of NPR news, Madhulika Sikka.

Kronos Quartet - Flugufrelsarinn

In October, Brooke and OTM producer PJ Vogt analyzed their genetic information using a service called 23 & Me. This week, the company said it would stop providing interpretations of the genetic data it received after a scathing letter from the FDA. Brooke talks to The Verge's Russell Brandom about the company's troubles.

Los Lobos - Las Amarillas

In October, OTM launched a "Shed Light on DHS" tool, which connects constituents with their representatives in Congress in order to ask for more transparency from the Department of Homeland Security. Brooke speaks with some OTM listeners who have used the tool, Philip Elmer-Dewitt, Alison Dalton Smith and Ehud Gavron, about their experiences.

Oddisee - All Along The River

New York Magazine, long known as a cultural touchstone and pioneer in the magazine journalism world, is going bi-weekly.

Throughout the more than six-decade celebration of Jackie Robinson's desegregation of baseball, the journalist who brought Robinson's story to the world has remained unknown. In an interview that originally aired in May, Brooke talks to Los Angeles Times sports writer Bill Plashcke, who recently penned a portrait of writer Wendell Smith, who helped secure Robinson's place in American history. 

Basketball Hall of Famer Walt "Clyde" Frazier has made a successful transition from NBA star to sports broadcaster on the MSG Network. With his cool rhymes and even cooler clothes, Frazier sat down with Brooke for a live event to discuss basketball, broadcasting and the art of being cool in an interview that originally aired in March.

NBA on CBS 1970s theme music

In the wake of the information about the NSA leaked by former government contractor Edward Snowden, the NSA has seen the volume of FOIA requests for the agency go through the roof. Brooke talks with Pamela Phillips, the chief of the NSA Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act Office about how the agency is dealing with the sudden influx of requests, and what kinds of requests are rejected outright.

We all have our annual Thanksgiving traditions, and for the news media it seems to be the annual reporting of the rising cost of the holiday meal. Brooke speaks with Columbia Journalism Review's Ryan Chittum about how these annual reports come about, and how they are misleading to consumers.

The best selling book of all time is going digital. As a successful mini-series and downloadable app, the Bible seems to be as popular as ever. Brooke speaks with writer Thomas Larson about the importance of the spoken Word and the effect of new media on its "holiness".

With the News of the World phone hacking case currently at trial, we take a look at Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, which has been shaken since the scandal broke. Brooke speaks to NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik about his new book “Murdoch’s World: The Last of the Old Media Empires.”

The alleged bullying of Miami Dolphin Jonathan Martin by teammate Richie Incognito made headlines this week. Unlike the bullying stories the media usually report on, this case didn't involve teenagers on social media, and the narrative wasn't so clear cut. Brooke speaks with NPR sports correspondent Mike Pesca about how the story evolved throughout the week.

A teen gets bullied online. A teen commits suicide because of this bullying. As these terrible episodes keep occurring, the coverage of them presents a simple case of cause and effect: bullying leads to suicide. Bob speaks to the Poynter Institute’s Kelly McBride, who says this causation is inaccurate, and that contrary to what the media may be portraying, bullying is not on the rise.

After months of denying it, Toronto mayor Rob Ford finally admitted this week that, yes, he has smoked crack. His confession came after the police got hold of a video that Gawker and The Toronto Star had seen back in May, showing Ford doing the deed. The old media newspaper and the new media website exchanged harsh words this week about the way the story was handled. Brooke speaks with Gawker's Tom Scocca and The Toronto Star's John Cruickshank about their difference of opinion.

Audrey Hudson is a journalist for conservative news outlets like the Colorado Observer, NewsMax and The Washington Times. This August, while authorities executed a search warrant on her home on an unrelated matter, they confiscated some of her reporting notes. Now Hudson and The Washington Times are preparing a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security. Brooke talks to Hudson about the raid and the documents confiscated. 

Howard Shore - Cops Or Criminals Featuring G.E. Smith And Larry Saltzman

When Nigerian prince scam spam hits our inboxes, most of us know to politely decline requests for assistance. One might wonder why scammers don’t come up with something a bit more believable. But according to a paper (pdf) by Cormac Herley of Microsoft Research, the email’s overt scaminess helps identify the biggest suckers. In an interview from August of last year, Psychology professor Daniel Simons, who wrote about the phenomenon in the Wall Street Journal, explains.

A lot of listeners responded to Brian Krebs’ story on the Experian data breach last week. The consensus: we’re all worried about the security of our personal data. Brooke speaks to Journalist and PandoDaily editor Adam Penenberg, who did what many listeners seem to think is the ultimate nightmare. He challenged hackers to hack into all of his personal information. The only information he gave them to go on? His byline.

Following Edward Snowden's leaks about the NSA's surveillance program, the NSA, members of Congress and the Obama administration all attempted to justify the program by declaring that it had thwarted more than 50 terrorist plots. But, at a Senate hearing last month, NSA Chief General Keith Alexander admitted that the numbers being cited weren't all plots and weren't all thwarted. Brooke talks to ProPublica's Justin Elliott about how the claim spread despite a lack of evidence to support it.

Cake - Fashion Nugget

Each week, On the Media talks about our news, information, technology, privacy, and more. Brooke Gladstone, managing editor and co-host of On the Media, discusses her latest reporting, including the project to help shed light on Department of Homeland Security airport detainment practices, stemming from a personal airport experience of OTM producer Sarah Abdurrahman.