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This summer, Presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle have been debating the use of nuclear weapons. Mostly, though, they've argued about whether to keep the option "on the table." MIT research associate James Walsh discusses the rhetoric.
New York Times reporter William L. Laurence was a firsthand witness to the development of the atomic bomb, which he agreed to keep secret until Fat Man was deployed over Nagasaki (which he also saw firsthand). Author David Goodman explains that that wasn’t the only secret Laurence kept.
A new study suggests that merely seeing ads for smoking cessation products significantly increases smokers' chances of quitting - even if they never use the product. Alan Mathios, co-author of the study, explains that such ads may even be more effective than traditional anti-smoking campaigns.
The impact of movie sex and violence on kids may be up for debate, but with smoking, the science is solid. Teens who see a lot of it are more likely to take up the habit than those who don’t. We spoke with UCSF's Dr. Stanton Glantz in March when he was pushing the MPAA to take smoking as seriously as cursing. We follow with an update.
Opening ceremonies for the 2008 Olympics will commence on August 8, 2008, in China. The infrastructure will be in place but questions remain about other conditions, like press freedoms. Jocelyn Ford, with the Foreign Correspondents Club of China, discusses whether the country is ready to receive the world’s sporting press.
Frances Harrison was the BBC bureau chief in Tehran for three years, during which time Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s regime instated a harsh crackdown on journalists and Iranian citizens. Harrison completed her post recently and reflects on her time there.
We'd like to think we know our news anchors, but one thing not conveyed through the screen is how they smell. Gossip sites however recently reported that Tom Ford approached Anderson Cooper to make his own line of cologne. A Ford rep told us the reports aren’t true, but that didn't stop us from calling New York Times scent critic Chandler Burr.
Highlights from Past Shows
Rupert Murdoch added the Wall Street Journal to his media empire this week. While many scramble to determine if this is good or bad news for journalism, Mark Jurkowitz, Associate Director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, explains that Murdoch has a surprisingly varied track record in the U.S. newspaper industry.
How did Al Jazeera respond to the detention of one of its employees? For over a year, they didn’t. Al Jazeera producer Ahmad Ibrahim produced a documentary about al-Hajj’s case. He says there was no response because Al Jazeera had little information and a lot of fear.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
