Media and public opinion form the information ecosystem of democracy. They shape how citizens understand reality, interpret political choices, and decide who deserves power. In a functioning democracy, journalism informs the public, exposes wrongdoing, and provides a shared set of facts that makes disagreement possible without descending into chaos. Public opinion, in turn, signals what people value, fear, and hope for—guiding leaders and holding them accountable between elections. When information is accurate and widely accessible, democratic decision-making becomes collective and meaningful. When it is distorted, fragmented, or weaponized, democracy itself begins to fracture.
The modern media environment has transformed this relationship. The collapse of local news, the rise of algorithm-driven platforms, and the flood of misinformation have weakened public trust and blurred the line between news, entertainment, and propaganda. Entire communities now live in “news deserts,” while others are trapped in feedback loops of outrage and disinformation. At the same time, citizens are overwhelmed—struggling to stay informed without becoming cynical, misled, or disengaged. The result is a crisis not just of media credibility, but of shared understanding.
In this collection of podcasts, journalists, scholars, media reformers, technologists, and civic leaders examine how information flows through modern democracy—and how it breaks down. You’ll hear how misinformation spreads during an infodemic, how propaganda and algorithmic incentives distort public perception, and how collective illusions take hold when people conform to what they think their “side” believes. These episodes explore the decline of local journalism and the emergence of civic media, the challenge of rebuilding trust between newsrooms and communities, and the importance of media literacy in an age of constant noise. You’ll also hear debates about polarization, podcast-driven news consumption, and how political elites and media figures influence public behavior far beyond what most people realize.
Together, these conversations reveal a central democratic truth: democracy depends on an informed public—but also on a trusted means of becoming informed. Media systems shape the boundaries of public debate, and public opinion shapes the incentives of those in power. Understanding how information is produced, shared, distorted, and consumed is essential to protecting democratic norms. Without a healthy media ecosystem and a public capable of navigating it, self-government becomes impossible—no matter how free our institutions appear on paper.
We discuss how we can tell the truth, how we can speak the truth, and how we can avoid misinformation and disinformation.
Pauline Hoffman, also known as the Data Doyenne, is an esteemed infodemiologist and the author of Fake News, Witch Hunts, and Conspiracy Theories: An Infodemiologist’s Guide to the Truth.
Your civic action toolkit recommendations from Pauline are:
Listen to the full episode on Future Hindsight: Understanding the Infodemic: Pauline Hoffmann
Some 2,500 newspapers have closed in the U.S since 2005, leaving entire communities without a source for local news, as well as with limited means to keep their government officials accountable. What if there was a way to fill the news desert, with an entirely new approach to informing the public?
In this episode, we discuss the relevance of civic information with Mike Rispoli of Free Press, and then uncovers how that can be put into practice with Richard Young, founder of CivicLex, a non-profit that is bridging the gap between news and news consumers in Kentucky.
Listen to the full episode on When the People Decide: From news deserts to civic media
Only four-in-ten Americans say they have a lot of trust in the news media. That's a big problem for our democracy, especially in this volatile presidential election year. While journalists are supposed to tell the truth and get the story right, just 35% of right-of-center voters have some trust in what they see on the news.
Democrats and independents are much more likely to trust journalists, but Americans of almost all shades of opinion are skeptical of the journalists, not only questioning the quality of their work but the intentions behind it.
Our guest is Joy Mayer, Director of the non-profit group, Trusting News, which has partnered with many local newsrooms around the country to help journalists earn consumers' trust.
While many reporters, writers and editors are reluctant to discuss their politics, most journalists have liberal or progressive views. "I think it's something we need to talk about more openly," Joy tells us.
In this episode, we look at bias, transparency, and constructive steps that the newsrooms can take to improve their reputation with a broad cross-section of Americans.
We first recorded our interview with Joy in the late summer of 2021. Since then polling shows that the gulf between many journalists and their readers, listeners, and viewers is as wide as ever.
Americans of all political views are switching off the news. Audiences are shrinking for local TV stations, most newspapers and public radio, even as they release podcasts, email newsletters and other newer forms of content. Polling by Pew Research found that more than half of journalists surveyed say every side does not always deserve equal coverage in the news. But three quarters of the public say journalists should always strive to give all sides equal coverage.
Recommendation: Richard has just finished watching the first two seasons of "Dark Winds", a TV thriller and crime drama set on a Navajo Indian reservation in the south west. Almost all of the actors and crew are native americans. Richard says: "This series is beautiful, exciting and compelling. The acting is first rate The scenery alone is reason enough to watch it."
Listen to the full episode on How Do We Fix It?: Changing Journalism: Boosting Trust in the News Media. Joy Mayer
How much news is too much? Or not enough? News Over Noise, the new podcast from Penn State's News Literacy Initiative explores that question and offers guidance on how to consume news that enhances your participation in our democracy without becoming overwhelmed by all the noise on social media and the 24/7 news cycle.
News Over Noise co-hosts Matt Jordan and Leah Dajches join us this week to discuss how the news impacts our mental health, the future of media literacy education, and more. Jordan is a professor of media studies Dajches is a post-doctoral researcher, both in the Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State.
Listen to the full episode on Democracy Works: Separating news from noise
How did right wing voices take over podcasting? Media analyst Angelo Carusone joins host Alex Lovit to discuss how the online media ecosystem came to be dominated by anti-inclusive and authoritarian narratives and what that means for democracy.
Angelo Carusone is the president of Media Matters, a nonprofit media watchdog organization.
Listen to the full episode on The Context: Maybe Don’t Get All Your News from Podcasts, America
Stephanie talks with Tara McGowan, publisher of Courier Media on creating a values-based media ecosystem that works and works together.
Listen to the full episode on Freedom Over Fascism: Tara McGowan, Courier Newsroom Publisher on Winning the Information War
In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Danna Young joins Julia and Lee to consider whether the media is responsible for our polarized politics. Young is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Delaware, where she conducts research on political media effects, public opinion, political satire, and the psychology of political humor. She is the author of Irony and Outrage: The Polarized Landscape of Rage, Fear, and Laughter in the United States (Oxford University Press, 2019).
Is the media responsible for the dysfunctional status quo? To what extent do conservative and liberal outlets shape how we understand politics? Does polarization pre-date the current media environment? Is partisan outrage manufactured? Or does it represent real disagreements between conservatives and liberals? These are some of the questions Danna, Lee, and Julia discuss on this week’s episode.
Listen to the full episode on Politics in Question: Did the media create political polarization?
Our first episode of 2025 features leading political strategist and author Symone Sanders Townsend, now host of MSNBC's The Weekend. Symone speaks with co-hosts Debbie Cox Bultan and Ryan Coonerty about the importance of citizens being informed and staying engaged in the political arena, even if they feel worn out after the 2024 election. She shares her approach to covering the incoming Trump administration and the current political environment, as well as the nuts and bolts of her life in the political media and what it takes to be ready to go live every Saturday and Sunday on MSNBC. With 2024 being the first year of The Weekend, Symone talks about some of her favorite highlights and her desire to elevate good ideas from state and local policymakers. Tune in to learn more about Symone’s background, what fostered her love of policy and politics, and what motivates her to keep working in her field.
IN THIS EPISODE:
The Weekend airs at 8am ET on Saturdays and Sundays on MSNBC.
• [01:15] Welcoming today’s guest, Symone D. Sanders Townsend.
• [02:47] She tells us about her show The Weekend and what it’s been like for the past year.
• [10:12] Symone shares some advice for making sure local news makes more headlines.
• [15:34] How they put the show together and decide what to discuss.
• [19:06] What motivates Symone to keep talking about politics and stay informed.
• [22:30] How Symone got involved in politics and what led her to being a reporter.
• [27:21] Why Symone doesn’t think being an elected official is in the cards for her.
Listen to the full episode on An Honorable Profession: MSNBC’s Symone Sanders Townsend on One Year of The Weekend & How to Handle the Next Four Years
Disinformation. Spam and Scams. Trolls. Online manipulation, and what we can do about it. We’re making our way through a time of extreme disruption, led by rapid transformation in technology, especially in how we communicate information. According to our special guest, Renée DiResta, the way power and influence have been profoundly transformed reveals how a virtual rumor mill of niche propagandists increasingly shapes public opinion. By revealing the machinery and dynamics of the interplay between influencers, algorithms, and online crowds, DiResta vividly illustrates the way propagandists deliberately undermine belief in the fundamental legitimacy of institutions that make society work. With its deep insight into the power of propagandists to drive online crowds into battle—while bearing no responsibility for the consequences—Invisible Rulers not only predicts those consequences but offers ways for leaders to rapidly adapt and fight back.
Listen to the full episode on Village Squarecast: Invisible Rulers with Renee DiResta
American politics are often dominated by the loudest voices on the left and right. In the next episode of “Let’s Find Common Ground,” we learn the crucial difference between what Americans get from their elected representatives and what they really want to hear.
Professor Sean Westwood of Dartmouth College is our guest. As Director of The Polarization Research Lab, he studies American political behavior and public opinion, examining how partisanship and information from political elites affect the behavior of citizens.
“There is an absolute need for common ground,” Sean Westwood tells us. The research shows that most Democrats and Republicans “know very little about the other side and have significant misperceptions.”
We learn why elites, including political leaders and celebrities, have a powerful impact on public behavior. “When we humanize the opposition and bring politicians together and demonstrate how they can have civil disagreement, you set norms that the public will follow,” he says.
Listen to the full episode on Let's Find Common Ground: What Americans Want from Politicians — And What They’re Not Getting
Alan Reger joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career in politics, founding his research firm Reger Research and a new project he's working on called The Deep Narrative Project, an AI assisted method for gathering public opinion.
Listen to the full episode on The Great Battlefield: Public Opinion and Opposition Research with Alan Reger
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