Last month, President Biden signed a resolution to pause funding for UNRWA, the largest humanitarian aid organization in Gaza despite the ongoing famine. UNRWA, which acts as a quasi-state for 6 million Palestinian refugees scattered in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan, distributes not only essential aid during the war, but also education, housing, and healthcare. Since before the latest war, Israel has accused UNRWA of radicalizing refugees, and getting in the way of peace for Israelis. But lately, the criticisms have escalated — culminating in allegations of UNRWA workers participating in the attacks on October 7th, and affiliations with Hamas. This week, Micah speaks with Lex Takkenberg, a humanitarian law expert and former Chief of Ethics for UNRWA, about the warring narratives around the organization, and how we need to revisit the history of its founding to understand the current day battle over UNRWA. This is a segment from our April 5, 2024 show, Warring Narratives Around UNRWA. Plus, Media Bets on Sports Gambling.

In the next few days, the NCAA's March Madness tournaments will crown a men's and women's champion. The end of "The Big Dance" will also mark the end of one of America's largest gambling events. An estimated 68 million Americans bet on the madness last year, a number only expected to rise once the data is out for 2024. The betting boom comes in the protracted wake of a 2018 Supreme Court decision allowing states to legalize sports betting. But in addition to sportsbooks and casinos, media companies have jumped in on this new, legal market—posing ethical questions for journalists and potentially changing how we view sports. This week, to figure out how we got here, OTM producer Rebecca Clark-Callender digs into the long history between the press, sports, and gambling with Brian Moritz, associate professor and sports media scholar at St. Bonaventure University, Danny Funt, reporter and contributor to the Washington Post, and Albert Chen, former editor at Sports Illustrated and author of Billion Dollar Fantasy: The High-Stakes Game Between FanDuel and DraftKings That Upended Sports in America. This is a segment from our April 5, 2024 show, Warring Narratives Around UNRWA. Plus, Media Bets on Sports Gambling.

President Joe Biden is calling for a ceasefire in Gaza as famine looms. On this week’s On the Media, hear how warring media narratives have jeopardized UNRWA, the largest humanitarian aid organization in the region. Plus, what the explosion in sports gambling means for the future of sports journalism. 1. Mehul Srivastava [@MehulAtLarge], Financial Times correspondent, and Chris Van Hollen [@ChrisVanHollen], US Senator from Maryland, on the warring media narratives around UNRWA. Listen. 2. Lex Takkenberg [@LTakkenberg], humanitarian law expert and a former Chief of Ethics for UNRWA, on the lessons to be learned from the agency's founding and its predecessor, the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine. Listen. 3. OTM producer Rebecca Clark-Callender [@Rebecca_CC_] explores how sports media and the gambling industry's relationship keeps evolving, featuring: Brian Moritz [@bpmoritz], sports media scholar at St. Bonaventure University, Danny Funt [@dannyfunt], reporter and contributor to the Washington Post, and Albert Chen, author of Billion Dollar Fantasy: The High-Stakes Game Between FanDuel and DraftKings That Upended Sports in America. Listen.

With his cool rhymes and even cooler clothes, Basketball Hall of Famer Walt "Clyde" Frazier made a successful transition from NBA star to sports broadcaster on the MSG Network. Frazier sat down with Brooke back in 2012 for a live event to discuss basketball, broadcasting, and the art of being cool. We're re-airing it now because a) it was Mr. Frazier's birthday this week! and b) we're in a sporting mood — we have a big piece in the hopper for this week's show all about sports betting, reported by OTM producer Rebecca Clark-Callender.

Former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel was hired and swiftly fired from NBC News following a newsroom revolt that drew attention to her participation in election denialism. But the hiring of former politicos in TV news is widely practiced. Take Diane Sawyer, George Stephanopoulos, and Jen Psaki — just to name a few. This week, Michael Socolow, a media historian at the University of Maine, talks to Micah Loewinger about the history of the revolving door; what should disqualify a political operative from working in journalism; and the contemporary hunger for partisan news. This is a segment from our March 29, 2024 show, Boeing Conspiracy Theories Take Flight. Plus, the Politics to TV News Pipeline.

It took all of a few hours for conspiracy theories to take off about the tragic bridge collapse in Baltimore. These theories followed similar themes—ones we've seen play out in rightwing media circles around troubles at Boeing, the airplane manufacturer. Boeing is once again facing scrutiny following several high-profile manufacturing errors over the past few months, including a door that flew off an Alaska Airlines plane mid-flight in January. David Gilbert, a Wired reporter covering disinformation, traces the evolution of conspiracy theories about Boeing and why disasters are fertile ground for them to thrive. Micah speaks with Katya Schwenk, a reporter at The Lever, about what conspiracy theories obfuscate about the real quality control issues at Boeing that have been uncovered by reporters. This is a segment from our March 29, 2024 show, Boeing Conspiracy Theories Take Flight. Plus, the Politics to TV News Pipeline.