NPR's Book of the Day - Christine Wenc’s ‘Funny Because It’s True’ calls ‘The Onion’ “the original fake news”

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."

To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Everything Everywhere Daily - The Knuckleball

In the game of baseball, it might not seem at first glance that there is much strategy involved in the game. 


However, there is an enormous amount of strategy that goes into every pitch in the game. 


Pitchers have different pitches in their repertoire, which can rise, fall, and curve on their way to the batter in an attempt to fool the batter. 


However, there is one pitch which is unlike any other. It is so challenging that only a tiny percentage of pitchers in history have ever thrown it.


Learn more about the knuckleball, how it works and why it is so rare on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.



Sponsors


Subscribe to the podcast! 

https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/

--------------------------------

Executive Producer: Charles Daniel

Associate Producers: Austin Oetken & Cameron Kieffer

 

Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere


Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com


Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily

Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip

Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/ 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everything Everywhere Daily - The Scientific Method

The modern world is built on science. Today, millions of scientists all over the world are doing research in thousands of different fields and specializations. 


All of these researchers are, to some degree, using a system that was developed over the course of centuries. A methodology that allows for the discovery of scientific truth. 


It isn’t perfect, but it ushered in a scientific revolution and helped create the modern world we live in. 


Learn more about the scientific method, what it is, and how it developed in this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.




Sponsors


Subscribe to the podcast! 

https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/

--------------------------------

Executive Producer: Charles Daniel

Associate Producers: Austin Oetken & Cameron Kieffer

 

Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere


Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com


Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily

Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip

Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/ 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everything Everywhere Daily - The Many, Many Invasions of Sicily

Located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea is its largest island: Sicily. 


Given its size and location, Sicily has been the key for any empire, kingdom, or civilization that wanted to control the Mediterranean.


As a result, Sicily has been one of the most contested pieces of land in the history of the world. For over three thousand years, one army after another invaded and occupied the island before getting kicked out by the next one.


Learn more about Sicily and its long history of invasion and conquest on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.



Sponsors


Subscribe to the podcast! 

https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/

--------------------------------

Executive Producer: Charles Daniel

Associate Producers: Austin Oetken & Cameron Kieffer

 

Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere


Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com


Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily

Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip

Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/ 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices