The satirical news magazine The Onion has been putting out ironic and often absurd headlines for more than 40 years. Christine Wenc was part of the paper's original staff, dating back to its origins as an alt weekly in Madison, Wisconsin. Now, Wenc has written a book Funny Because It's True: How the Onion Created Modern News Satire that traces the history of the magazine's influence. In today's episode, she joins NPR's Scott Detrow for a conversation about the cheap living conditions that allowed the original The Onion staff to experiment, how the paper responded to 9/11, and why she believes The Onion is "good fake news."
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The Indicator from Planet Money - Overly Friendly Emails and other marketing pet peeves
Brands trying to be your best bud. Generational labels. Gendered double standards.
Today on the show: three advertising experts bring their three pet peeves in advertisements.
Related episodes:
How to make an ad memorable (Apple / Spotify)
J. Screwed
The Gender Gap Series: The Problem With The Pink Tax
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
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Today on the show: three advertising experts bring their three pet peeves in advertisements.
Related episodes:
How to make an ad memorable (Apple / Spotify)
J. Screwed
The Gender Gap Series: The Problem With The Pink Tax
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Short Wave - Is AI Ready For Robots?
It seems like artificial intelligence is everywhere in our virtual lives. It's in our search results and our phones. But what happens when AI moves out of the chat and into the real world? NPR science editor and correspondent Geoff Brumfiel took a trip to the Intelligence through Robotic Interaction at Scale Lab at Stanford University to see how scientists are using AI to power robots and the large hurdles that exist for them to perform even simple tasks.
Read Geoff's full story.
Interested in more AI stories? Email us your ideas at shortwave@npr.org.
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Read Geoff's full story.
Interested in more AI stories? Email us your ideas at shortwave@npr.org.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Consider This from NPR - AI and the Environment
The AI boom has caused a huge surge in energy consumption, so how is the tech industry thinking about its environmental footprint as it invests in new AI models?
Emily Kwong, host and reporter for NPR's Short Wave podcast, finds out what solutions are being considered that might meet both consumer demand and address climate concerns.
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Emily Kwong, host and reporter for NPR's Short Wave podcast, finds out what solutions are being considered that might meet both consumer demand and address climate concerns.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
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Consider This from NPR - AI and the Environment
The AI boom has caused a huge surge in energy consumption, so how is the tech industry thinking about its environmental footprint as it invests in new AI models?
Emily Kwong, host and reporter for NPR's Short Wave podcast, finds out what solutions are being considered that might meet both consumer demand and address climate concerns.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
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Emily Kwong, host and reporter for NPR's Short Wave podcast, finds out what solutions are being considered that might meet both consumer demand and address climate concerns.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Consider This from NPR - AI and the Environment
The AI boom has caused a huge surge in energy consumption, so how is the tech industry thinking about its environmental footprint as it invests in new AI models?
Emily Kwong, host and reporter for NPR's Short Wave podcast, finds out what solutions are being considered that might meet both consumer demand and address climate concerns.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Emily Kwong, host and reporter for NPR's Short Wave podcast, finds out what solutions are being considered that might meet both consumer demand and address climate concerns.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Consider This from NPR - Reporting on how America reduced the number of opioid deaths
After reaching historic levels, fatal overdoses from opioids are dropping rapidly.
Today we bring you a reporter's notebook from NPR's national addiction correspondent Brian Mann. He tells host Scott Detrow what it's been like to cover America's addiction crisis and explains the significance of the recent decline in opioid deaths.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
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Today we bring you a reporter's notebook from NPR's national addiction correspondent Brian Mann. He tells host Scott Detrow what it's been like to cover America's addiction crisis and explains the significance of the recent decline in opioid deaths.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Consider This from NPR - Reporting on how America reduced the number of opioid deaths
After reaching historic levels, fatal overdoses from opioids are dropping rapidly.
Today we bring you a reporter's notebook from NPR's national addiction correspondent Brian Mann. He tells host Scott Detrow what it's been like to cover America's addiction crisis and explains the significance of the recent decline in opioid deaths.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
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Today we bring you a reporter's notebook from NPR's national addiction correspondent Brian Mann. He tells host Scott Detrow what it's been like to cover America's addiction crisis and explains the significance of the recent decline in opioid deaths.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Consider This from NPR - Reporting on how America reduced the number of opioid deaths
After reaching historic levels, fatal overdoses from opioids are dropping rapidly.
Today we bring you a reporter's notebook from NPR's national addiction correspondent Brian Mann. He tells host Scott Detrow what it's been like to cover America's addiction crisis and explains the significance of the recent decline in opioid deaths.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Today we bring you a reporter's notebook from NPR's national addiction correspondent Brian Mann. He tells host Scott Detrow what it's been like to cover America's addiction crisis and explains the significance of the recent decline in opioid deaths.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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1A - Foreign Journalists On Covering The Trump Administration
We've spent a lot of time in 2025 talking about the president. The executive orders. The court challenges. The cabinet appointments. Now, the Signal group chats.
It's a challenge to report on the administration, full stop. But what if you're not reporting on the administration for an audience directly affected by the U.S. federal government? What kinds of challenges does that present?
In a 1A first, we sit down in front of an audience at our home base at WAMU in Washington, DC, to talk to three international journalists about their experiences covering the Trump administration for their audiences back home.
Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect with us. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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It's a challenge to report on the administration, full stop. But what if you're not reporting on the administration for an audience directly affected by the U.S. federal government? What kinds of challenges does that present?
In a 1A first, we sit down in front of an audience at our home base at WAMU in Washington, DC, to talk to three international journalists about their experiences covering the Trump administration for their audiences back home.
Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect with us. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy