Bob Garfield appears in the following:
Hollywood on the Potomac
Friday, May 09, 2014
There are currently more than a dozen television shows set in or around the world of Washington, DC—dramas like Netflix's "House of Cards," comedies like HBO's "Veep," and thrillers like FX's "The Americans." Bob speaks with Grantland TV critic Andy Greenwald, and the creators of "Veep" and "House of Cards" about why Hollywood is shining a spotlight on DC.
And if you want to hear more about DC television, listen to this extended cut of Bob's interview with "Veep" creator Armando Iannucci.
When The Watchdogs Wear Tuxedos, Politicians Rest Easy
Thursday, May 08, 2014
The Icky Truth Behind the White House Correspondents Dinner
Monday, May 05, 2014
Beall's List
Friday, May 02, 2014
Some academic journals have embraced a “gold open access model” of publishing, wherein the scholars whose work appears in the journal pay for the privilege. Bob speaks with Jeffrey Beall, an academic librarian at the University of Colorado Denver who has assembled a list of "predatory journals" - journals that may be more interested in profit than academic contributions
Seth Mnookin on the Panic Virus
Friday, May 02, 2014
There is a scientific consensus that the oft-claimed link between vaccines and Autism simply doesn't exist. And yet, after a decade of no convincing evidence of a link many in the public are still scared and vaccination rates are down. In an interview that originally aired in 2011, Bob speaks to Seth Mnookin, author of The Panic Virus, about why it's so hard to dislodge misinformation and fear.
Banning Truthiness?
Friday, April 25, 2014
This week the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Susan B. Anthony List vs. Driehaus, a case that could help decide whether it’s illegal to lie during a political campaign. Bob speaks with Adam Liptak, The New York Times Supreme Court correspondent about the case and whether banning lying impinges on free speech.
Dear Editor
Friday, April 25, 2014
"Brevity is the soul of wit" is an adage lost on many an opinionator, but not on Felicia Nimue Ackerman, who's among the most published letters-to-the-editor writers in the country. Since 1987, more than 200 of her letters have been printed in the New York Times alone. Bob talks to Ackerman as well as Tom Feyer, letters editor for the Times, about the art of the epistolary retort.
CNN and Malaysian Airlines Flight 370
Friday, April 25, 2014
After 7 weeks CNN remains the go-to channel for an exhaustive amount of Malaysian Flight 370 coverage. Bob talks with Andrew Tyndall of The Tyndall Report who says the network's fixation on the flight is eroding its reputation as a news network.
Muzzled
Friday, April 11, 2014
Every year on or around April 13th, Thomas Jefferson’s birthday, the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, has celebrated by issuing Jefferson Muzzles. These are booby prizes, awarded to individuals and institutions who act against Mr. Jefferson's admonition that freedom of speech “cannot be limited without being lost.” Bob speaks with Josh Wheeler, director of the Center, about this year's chief offenders.
On Letterman, Colbert and America
Friday, April 11, 2014
David Letterman, who boasts the longest tenure of a late night host on broadcast TV, announced his retirement. The news was quickly followed by the announcement of his replacement – Stephen Colbert. Brooke and Bob discuss the problems of bringing a comedian so associated with the political left onto network television, and the loss of a national satire icon.
Pistorius TV
Friday, April 11, 2014
How the new Oscar Pistorius Trial Channel - a pop up satellite-TV channel that covers the court proceedings 24/7 - has irrevocably altered the South African media landscape.
Should the EU Punish Propagandists?
Friday, April 04, 2014
Dmitry Kiselyov is a Russian television host and head of Russia's state news agency, a role he was appointed to by Vladimir Putin himself in December. That role has prompted the EU to issue sanctions against Kiselyov for being a "central figure of the government propaganda supporting the deployment of Russian forces in Ukraine." Bob speaks with the Committee to Protect Journalists' Joel Simon about the dangerous precedent set by punishing propagandists.
Fact Checking Affordable Care Act Numbers
Friday, April 04, 2014
The deadline for signing up for Obamacare was this week, and the White House says it has reached its projected number of 7 million new enrollees. But how accurate is that claim? Bob talks with Glenn Kessler, who writes for the Washington Post's Fact Checker blog, about what we know and don't know about the ACA's numbers.
Courting the Young Invincibles
Friday, March 28, 2014
With the official enrollment deadline for the Affordable Care Act approaching, the Obama Administration is trying every which way to get the message out. This effort ranges from ordinary TV ads, to quirkier celeb-filled spoofs, to testimonials from YouTube celebrities. Bob speaks to Joe Rospars, CEO and Co-Founder of Blue State Digital, who served as the principal digital strategist for both of Obama’s campaigns, about capturing the attention of the ever-elusive “young invincibles.”
Which Public Radio Hosts Are Our Hosts?
Friday, March 28, 2014
Brooke and Bob share their results from a number of quizzes - including Which Public Radio Host Are You? - and discuss what (if anything) they've learned about themselves and this viral sensation.
By the way, we have our own quiz, too! Find out which 19th century media baron you are here.
A Crisis of Cartographic Proportions
Friday, March 28, 2014
While Russia annexed Crimea with scarcely a shot fired, the crisis has grown heated between cartographers. An editing war broke out on Wikipedia's map of Russia, and National Geographic sparked outrage by suggesting it would map Crimea as Russian territory once the Kremlin made it official. Bob talks with Michael Blanding, author of the forthcoming book The Map Thief, about how map-making by nature is a risky geopolitical game.
Putin the Storyteller
Friday, March 21, 2014
What happened in Kiev was a Nazi coup, says the Russian Foreign Ministry, and it’s high time they liberate the Crimeans from the Ukrainian fascists. Why are the Russian people buying this story?
Not-So-Private Metadata
Friday, March 21, 2014
The NSA has defended its controversial surveillance program by arguing that it just collects metadata, and therefore doesn't violate the privacy of individual Americans. But computer scientists at Stanford Security Lab have conducted their own simulation of the NSA's program, and found the metadata to be inherently revealing. Bob speaks with Jonathan Mayer, one of the researchers on the project, about how much can be learned just from the numbers.