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Should the White House Release a Photo?

Since Obama announced Osama Bin Laden's death last Sunday, reporters have besieged the White House for more information on the operation's details, including photos of the corpse. The administration mulled whether to release the photos, ultimately deciding not to. The New Yorker's Philip Gourevitch and The American Prospect's Paul Waldman debate the decision.


  • "High Days" by Bert Jansch

Reaction to Bin Laden Death on Jihadi Websites

Voices of jubilation were heard all across the American media this week following the news of Osama bin Laden’s death. But one voice not likely to be heard in the mainstream media was that of Al Qaeda supporters, who reacted to the news in online forums. Aaron Zelin runs the website Jihadology.net and says the comments on such sites ranged from anger to celebration of bin Laden’s martyrdom.


Al Qaeda Caught on Tape

For years, UC Davis religious studies professor Flagg Miller has been translating and transcribing hundreds of audio cassette tapes that were found in Osama bin Laden’s compound shortly after the U.S. invaded Afghanistan. Last year we spoke to Miller, who said that many of the more than 200 voices on those tapes were mujahedeen involved in planning attacks in the years leading up to September 11th.


Bin Laden in Culture

Osama bin Laden has made an appearance over the years in popular culture, from television shows to advertising to conspiracy theories. Brooke looks at how the various depictions of bin Laden represent both our dreams and our nightmares.


  • "Tao" by Coconot

The Gamification of Jihad

The concept of "gamification," adding a gaming component to a non-traditional medium, has become a staple of the advertising world, known for creating brand loyalty and encouraging consumer engagement. Security consultant Alix Levine says that jihadist websites and forums are starting to employ gamification in the hopes of encouraging participation both online and off.


  • "Monopolist" by Efterklang

Global Media Wars

In March, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. is on the losing side of a global information war, pointing out the successes of state funded international news networks like Al Jazeera. A group of Columbia University students monitored five English language news networks aimed at an international audience in a project called Global Media Wars. Nathanael Massey worked on the project and he says it's not that the U.S. is losing the information war, it's just no longer in the lead.


50th Anniversary of Wasteland Speech

Fifty years ago, speaking to the National Association of Broadcasters, FCC Chairman Newton Minow called television a "vast wasteland." It was one of the most celebrated speeches ever delivered. WNYC’s Sara Fishko looks back at the seminal address.


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highlights from past showsHighlights from Past Shows

An Unprecedented Data Breach

April 29, 2011

Last week, hackers took down Sony's PlayStation Network, and potentially got hold of 77 million users' personal information. Nick Bilton, technology writer for the New York Times' Bits Blog, says this is just the latest and largest in a long spate of unintentional releases of personal data by corporations.


Turning Away

April 22, 2011

Fighting in Libya is ongoing and worsening. Countless civilians have been killed. Four journalists have died, two this week. In Japan questions abound in the aftermath of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown. Yet, media interest in these international stories has waned. Brooke talks with PEJ’s Mark Jurkowitz and journalist Steve Coll about media and public attention spans. Then reporter Anthony Shadid and photojournalist Lynsey Addario discuss how dangerous conditions in Libya are a major impediment to covering the conflict.


On the Media is funded, in part, by The Ford Foundation, the Overbrook Foundation, and the Jane Marcher Foundation.