Journalists covering the oil spill this week had a tough job. They had to convey the scale of an unfolding and nearly unprecedented disaster, its size, environmental impact and political ramifications. Journalist Mark Schleifstein, scientist Jackie Savitz and environmental writer Charles Wohlforth talk about the coverage.

WNYC reporter Bob Hennelly was in Times Square last Saturday night as news broke that a car bomb had been found. What happened next has been exhaustively reported, yet Hennelly explains that not all of the reporting has been accurate.

A new advertising partnership between U.S. forces and a local Afghan ad agency, Lapis, is the latest in the ongoing battle for the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. Jahid Mohseni, CEO of Lapis’ parent company, says the new campaign encourages Afghans to step back and reflect on the ...

When an old anti-apartheid song called “Shoot the Boer” reemerged in South Africa in March, it opened a classic question: is violent, racist speech permissible in a democracy? Now its promoter, firebrand politician Julius Malema, faces a hate speech lawsuit and possible discipline from his own party. But Jane Duncan ...

Last week MIT hosted the second ROFLCon - a conference dedicated to viral memes on the Internet. Radio producer Benjamen Walker attended the conference and explains what happens when creators of the Internet's most viral videos get together. Links to some of the memes discussed:

Can you put fake, humorous subtitles on a four-minute clip of a movie and post it to YouTube? That’s what the Hitler meme is all about, only the German film company that owns the rights to the movie says it’s a violation of copyright. The Electronic ...

If Mark Twain was right and “humor is tragedy plus time,” then how much time needs to pass before we can all make fun of Hitler? Ron Rosenbaum, author of Explaining Hitler, says timing is tricky when it comes to the Führer.