So you want politically neutral chat bots and AI? What does that even mean? Join me and Jonathan Stray of UC Berkeley to explore platforms and polarization on this week’s In Reality.

What happens when journalists are told not to trust their own eyes? The @apnews.com's Steve Peoples discusses anti-press hostility and journalism’s blind spots on this episode of In Reality.

“Public radio is a lifeline for communities.” Today on In Reality, @kcrw.com president and NPR chair Jennifer Ferro on public radio’s plans for forced adaptation and survival.

Media is an ecosystem and journalism is its keystone species. Whatever you think of journalists, the system collapses without them. This and more from @courtneyr.bsky.social of @openmarkets.bsky.social on the latest episode of In Reality.

Understanding the stories that people consume defines them better than any demographic segment ever could. On today’s In Reality, Brian Waniewski of Harmony Labs explains how the stories we follow today–and the ones we tell–reveal the direction of our democracy. www.in-reality.fm/understandin...

“No one is coming to rescue us… If you want to consume news in a healthy way, you have to take the initiative. On your own.” This week on In Reality, I talk with University of Texas professor Michael Starbird about the habits of mind that make you harder to mislead. Listen here!

Local news is under stress, but is it dying? Maybe not. So says Indiegraf CEO @eemillar.bsky.social, a maker of business and tech tools for community newsrooms. Erin says there's demand from subscribers and advertisers—what’s lacking is business know-how. Listen! www.in-reality.fm/signs-of-rev...

Pause the News-Is-an-Economic-Disaster tape. What's actually next for journalism? Today on In Reality, Google's Richard Gingras and University of Maryland's Tom Rosenstiel envision a realistic news future. Their hypothesis: local newsrooms may actually have the best odds of survival. Listen now!

How do influencers win so much trust? How do they feel about their responsibility to tell the truth? Today on In Reality, I ask YouTube political commentator @davidpakman.bsky.social, science-ed TikToker Kate Bacon, and tech Substack whiz @ericnewcomer.bsky.social. www.in-reality.fm/three-top-in...

Cindi Leive has ridden the journalism revenue roller coaster from its glossy peak—as editor-in-chief of Glamour—down through the digital catastrophe. Today on In Reality, Cindi and I talk about how journalism can still make money under a whole new set of rules. www.in-reality.fm/how-media-ma...

What are you really doing when you scroll the news? Are you keeping up, or satisfying a more primitive urge? On this week's In Reality episode, University of Delaware’s Dannagal Young explains why misinformation is so damn alluring—and what to do about it. Listen. www.in-reality.fm/what-are-you...

If news is necessary, why is it failing as a business? In this episode, legendary editor Norman Pearlstine offers a candid view of where journalism stands, how it got here, and what the press needs to do to defend its independence and restore trust with audiences. www.in-reality.fm/norman-pearl...

There may be at least one vibrant career path left in journalism: the news influencer. On today's episode of In Reality, we meet one of the most successful of the breed, Eric Newcomer. 4 years ago he left Bloomberg to start his own tech-and-VC newsletter. Listen! www.in-reality.fm/eric-newcome...

How do you restore trust in journalism? According to UC Berkeley senior scientist Jonathan Stray, the solution is to be "multi-partial": to admit one's own point of view but acknowledge other valid ones, too. Stray describes how it works and who's already doing it. www.in-reality.fm/in-democracy...

Maybe the hardest job in media today is running a local news business. Andrew Morse, president and publisher of the venerable Atlanta Journal Constitution, joins me on In Reality to explain how he plans to make the AJC thrive as a regional media powerhouse. www.in-reality.fm/one-mans-pla...

In our hyperpolarized era, you will inevitably find yourself in conversations with people who don’t share your facts, much less your opinion. How do you keep it productive? Today, I talk with author Monica Guzman about how to lead with curiosity, not contempt. www.in-reality.fm/how-to-talk-...

The Pentagon is on fire! Or is it? Generative AI can create audio or video fakes so life-like even experts can't tell what’s real. On today’s episode of In Reality, CEO Ben Colman of Reality Defender explains what his technology is doing to protect the infosphere. www.in-reality.fm/the-other-ai...

How do you beat the appeal of networked propaganda? With truths that tap the same emotions! Today on In Reality, Peter Pomeranstev, author of "How to Win an Information War," breaks down a historical fight against Nazi propaganda, and applying the lessons today. www.in-reality.fm/one-way-to-w...