‘On The Media’ is one of the best public radio shows on the air. Each week hosts Brooke Gladstone and Bob Garfield and the staff of WNYC take an unflinching look at how the media handles breaking news the previous week and long-term trends in news coverage. ‘On The Media’ is public radio at it’s best.
This past week’s edition of OTM — ‘Dog Whistle’ — had several really insightful segments on Trumpland. You can listen to the whole show straight through here, or check out individual segments of interest below.
— Mark L. Taylor
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How A Strong Economy Could Lead To Trump’s Second Term
On The Media/WNYC (4/27/18)
As James Carville famously quipped, what decides elections is “the economy, stupid.” And, amidst the churn of political scandal, President Trump is presiding over a strong economy. In this month’s issue of Harper’s, writer Thomas Frank argues that our economic reality — low unemployment and high wages — could lead to Trump’s reelection. Frank speaks with Bob about how the economy has proved a decisive factor in elections past, exploring the conditions that could tip the balance in 2020 and whether Democrats can recapture the working class base that has been fleeing to the GOP since the late 1970s.
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The Trump Voter, Re-Explained
On The Media/WNYC (4/27/8)
When President Trump won the 2016 election, defying most predictions, people everywhere looked for an explanation. Was it Facebook? Xenophobia? CNN? Eventually, one narrative came to rule them all: that white working class voters were hurting, suffering from stagnant wages and jobs moving overseas, and saw in candidate Trump a way back to economic stability — or at least an opportunity to send a message to the Washington power structure that had left them out of the recovery.
But a new study by University of Pennsylvania political science professor Diana Mutz challenges that narrative. She explains to Brooke that Trump voters weren’t primarily motivated by how they had fared financially in the past — but by what they feared might happen in the future.
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The Trump Voter Through The Roseanne Lens
On The Media/WNYC (4/27/8)
After 21 years off the air, Roseanne and the Conner family are back on ABC. In a ratings-busting 10th season, Roseanne and Dan are grandparents and three of their kids are either living with them or nearby. Darlene has moved back home with her daughter and a young son who likes wearing girls’ clothing. DJ, back from serving in Syria, is living in the house with his mixed-race daughter. Becky is hoping to make $50,000 as a surrogate.
And Roseanne Conner, like Roseanne Barr herself, is a Trump supporter — a detail that has become a central focus of criticism of the show. Willa Paskin, Slate‘s t.v. critic and host of the new podcast “Decoder Ring,” talks to Brooke about how conservatives and liberals have both zeroed in on the show’s depiction of a Trump voter: someone socially liberal, but concerned about jobs. And, they discuss the more subtle message of the show: that President Trump hasn’t really helped the Conners or their kids.
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Trump Inc. Podcast: What Happens At Trump Tower Does Not Stay At Trump Tower
On The Media/WNYC (4/27/18)
With each day’s fusillade of breaking-news push alerts, the Trump presidency can sometimes feel like the most doggedly reported administration in recent history. One enduring lesson of the Trump era, though, has been that the truth is always further away, and sometimes crazier, than we ever imagined. Ilya Marritz, Andrea Bernstein, and Eric Umansky — the hosts of the podcast Trump, Inc. — join us to explain just how much more we’ve yet to learn about the president’s past.