This American Life

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Gio: Jun 20, 2005

Sivart13 posted:

I upgraded to iOS 6 and still seem to be able to play podcasts out of Music, same as ever. Am I hallucinating?

I think if you never install Podcasts it still works fine.

You can install and uninstall and reinstall and uninstall again and it'll still revert back to the Music app. I never had much problems with playback, but syncing episodes between devices was by far the biggest pain; it would frequently delete episodes I downloaded on my phone but had not on my computer. I also had an issue with it randomly playing after a phone call, which was really weird, as well as abysmally slow and hanging downloads.

So I got Downcast and haven't had a problem with podcasts since.

Gio fucked around with this message at 04:14 on Dec 14, 2012

# ¿ Dec 14, 2012 04:12

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# ¿ May 5, 2024 20:01

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

hope and vaseline posted:

Does anyone else have trouble paying attention to TAL's fiction segments in general?

I skip them. I used to skip back 30 seconds several times before giving up, but now I realize I just don't care and shouldn't even bother.

# ¿ Jan 10, 2013 00:38

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

I bought the TAL app and was wondering if anyone could recommend some good episodes from the vault.

Gio fucked around with this message at 17:37 on Feb 16, 2013

# ¿ Feb 16, 2013 17:28

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

doctorfrog posted:

These guys are seeing a major gap in journalism efforts and are sailing straight through the hole again with some actual news work, aren't they? Good for them. (If I'm not mistaken, this started with their year-long preoccupation with the U.S. economic crisis of 2008.)

"Another Frightening Show About the Economy" is what got me into TAL. All the episodes involving the economic crisis are incredible.

# ¿ Feb 17, 2013 02:01

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

Their neoliberal bent is much more apparent in their blog than in their coverage of the banking crisis, but they definitely do have a bias that way. They have some good stuff, but their endorsement of Paul Romer and his neocolonial passions is hardly palatable.

# ¿ Feb 25, 2013 19:57

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

UltraRed posted:

I think they were just hyping it up like they do when they introduce any new economic idea. They did a pretty good job of showing how the idea lacked international support,and was really unpopular with the Honduran on the street and with the population.

They're not, like, Fox News or WSJ neoliberal bad. They're more milquetoast American centrist neoliberal bad, if that makes any sense. They did, if only briefly, mention Honduras' mistrust of foreign involvement due to colonialism, but in my opinion it was conveyed in "if only these poor Hondurans gave up their past prejudices and trust us because we only want to do good!" kinda way, without acknowledging that--you know--they have perfectly legitimate reasons to distrust us right now. Especially guys like Romer.

# ¿ Feb 26, 2013 02:29

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

puppiespuppiespuppiespuppiespuppiespuppiespuppiespuppiespuppiespuppiespuppiespuppies PUPPIES!!!!

Old story but I hadn't heard it before. I gotta make that into a ringtone now.

# ¿ Mar 19, 2013 19:00

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

I don't know about the rest of you all, but I was pretty disgusted by Planet Money's coverage for this week's episode. I like that they make very complex things easy to understand, but drat If they aren't the neoliberal shills others accused them of being. The episode was loaded with a lot of truisms without any supporting evidence, and showed little compassion for those on disability.

Also, I listened to their coverage of the healthcare industry from 09 on TAL the other day, and they unironically said pet insurance would be preferable than the current system we have.

Gio fucked around with this message at 06:27 on Mar 24, 2013

# ¿ Mar 24, 2013 06:22

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

Mr. Fix It posted:

It's a show about capitalism from a capitalist perspective, and their sources are all economists. I'm not sure what you were expecting. And the pre-Obamacare system was pretty awful. They were in favor of a true single payer system or a truly free market solution.

And as bad as that system was, I cannot imagine a "truly free market" approach being preferable to it aside from a pareto optimal view. They only hinted at single-payer at the very end of the two parter, but never really said that's a solution.

Regardless, I probably shouldn't have expected better from them given their sources.

# ¿ Mar 24, 2013 16:41

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

doctorfrog posted:

I'll be listening to the latest TAL at work today. This should be interesting. TAL just got done washing their hands from the Fat Turd at Foxconn thing, I imagine Ira Glass and Tori Malatea (sp?) are going to be putting on their curbstomping shoes again.

Holy poo poo I did not realize this. Mike Daisey--

I tend to disagree that they will do anything about this. Daisey's story was a case of outright fraud, whereas this is a lot of empty truisms and choice of framing.

# ¿ Mar 25, 2013 18:09

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

Ira Glass and TAL stand by the story despite criticism.

quote:

�This American Life� is swinging back at the liberal watchdog group Media Matters for America after the latter attacked its report on the rise of federal disability payments.

The report, �Unfit for Work: The Startling Rise of Disability in America,� ran last week on Public Radio International�s �This American Life,� as well as NPR�s �Planet Money� and �All Things Considered.� Media Matters posted an article highly critical of the piece on Friday, and has been calling on �This American Life� via Twitter to fact-check it.

�Our report on disability programs was fact-checked line by line by an outside fact-checker, in addition to fact-checking by the reporter and her editors,� said Ira Glass, host of �This American Life,� in a statement to IBTimes. �We know of no factual errors. We stand by the story.�

For the story in question, Chana Joffe-Walt, a reporter for �Planet Money,� spoke with residents of Hale County, Ala., where she reported that one in four working-age adults receive disability benefits. In an attempt to explain the federal program�s seemingly arbitrary eligibility criteria, Joffe-Walt said in the report that the definition of disability is �squishy enough� that one person with, for instance, high blood pressure could be labeled as disabled while another might not.

The reporter also looked at the staggering increase in the number of children on Supplemental Security Income, a program for children and adults who are both poor and disabled, which has grown sevenfold in the last three decades, according to Joffe-Walt.

It was that second part of the report that set off Media Matters, which typically spends its time calling out the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Fox News, not public radio. In an attempted takedown of Joffe-Walt�s piece, Hannah Groch-Begley, a Media Matters researcher, blasted the radio programs -- and �This American Life,� in particular -- for airing what it called an �error-riddled� story that promoted a series of myths about disability and SSI.

Among the group�s complaints was what it perceived as Joffe-Walt�s implication that the rise of disability claims was due in part to families using children to �pull� benefits. According to Joffe-Walt, a number of Hale County residents told her that they want a kid who can �pull a check," as those families who do receive disability benefits -- for physical or intellectual disabilities -- often rely on those funds to keep them afloat. In one case, a mother admitted to Joffe-Walt that she discouraged her son from getting a job because it would mean that their family could no longer collect his checks.

Media Matters countered those anecdotes by saying that the rise in benefits is tied to the recession and an increase in child poverty. The group cited research from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Following its article, Media Matters continued to criticize �This American Life� on Twitter, calling on the program to fact-check Joffe-Walt�s report.

.@thisamerlife should fact check the story they (and NPR's @planetmoney) ran about disability and children

But Glass said the criticism mischaracterizes its reporting in a number of ways. �Media Matters criticizes our report for saying that SSI is not financially beneficial to families who get it, that SSI for children discourages parents from working, and that only non-medical criteria are used to get kids on SSI,� Glass said in the statement. �None of those things are in our story.�

Glass also took issue with Media Matters� claim that the rise in the number of children on disability can be accounted for by a rise in child poverty and the current economic downturn. �They choose data from 2000-2009 to back up that claim,� Glass said. �As we point out in our reporting, when you look at a longer period of time -- at 30 years of economic data -- you see a different story.�

�This American Life,� which first aired in 1995, has built up a reputation for solid fact-checking over the years. In one rare instance last year, a reporter discovered fabrications in a story by the monologist Mike Daisey, whose solo show �The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs,� about working conditions in China, was excerpted on the program. In response, Glass dedicated an entire episode -- �The Retraction� -- to detailing the errors.

# ¿ Mar 27, 2013 04:15

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

re: Dr. Gilmer and Mr. Hyde

Fantastic story, but I really wish they hadn't established that from the outset of the episode. You know there is a twist coming the whole time.

Helped me discover a reeeeally good Atlas Sound song (well, cover) I had never heard before to top it off.

# ¿ Apr 26, 2013 06:04

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

I can't, not on iOS anyway. Maybe it's different for Android, I dunno.

The app is nice and all, but it is buggy as hell. It keeps playing after I unplug the auxiliary cord and crashes quite a bit.

# ¿ May 19, 2013 13:45

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

planet money is terrible and i trust them not one iota

# ¿ Jun 3, 2013 17:40

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

Drunkboxer posted:

Uh no it was not good didn't you read all the posts that explained that people who worked on the story are something something or something evil. Clearly we must avoid listening to this show at all costs to avoid the jack-booted hegemony that is NPR.

That "something something or something evil" might actually have some substance for you were you to read the posted links! Good post, though, I really liked it!

Phone posted:

Here's the big, hard hitter: http://shameproject.com/report/adam-davidson-corrupt-wall-street-booster/

I was wrong about the welfare statement, it was specifically their week-long program on disability in the US. Here's a decent summary of it here: http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread...whats-left-of-o

The D&D thread about the disability show is here: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3540117

# ¿ Jun 6, 2013 21:19

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

You know you may have a point. I think I will take the word of some scummy reporters because This Time It's Different!

# ¿ Jun 6, 2013 22:23

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

Did you guys actually read the links? I suppose not because I don't know how someone can read them then go "GOD stop attacking my public radio you worthless bleeding hearts". He's been shown to have seriously questionable journalistic ethics, having clear conflicts of interest and an ideological axe to grind in his financial reporting. I don't know about the patent episode in particular what is said, but if I'm interested in the topic I'll go elsewhere first before I go to a guy who has not done that great of a job accurately reporting things.

but w/e great episode boy were those NPR anecdotes good haha really shed a light on the situation

# ¿ Jun 6, 2013 22:52

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

I'm being a dick because Drunkboxer is. I mean, w/e, I'll admit the episode is probably not a travesty of journalism and may actually be decent, I just think mocking people who don't wanna listen to Planet Money because they don't trust them is dumb given their track record. I'll probably listen to the episode and not hate it tbh.

Gio fucked around with this message at 23:06 on Jun 6, 2013

# ¿ Jun 6, 2013 23:04

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

I'm listening to this week's episode right now and if this first story does not mention a universal basic income I'm going to be upset because it is the 900 pound gorilla in the room for those 'in the know'.

# ¿ Aug 21, 2013 19:28

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

'Petty Tyrant' is really good.

# ¿ Nov 2, 2013 17:33

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

the man in the well is a great story. its so damned surreal. i love it.

# ¿ Dec 30, 2013 06:18

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

re: top podcasts

I look forward to 99% Invisible over TAL and Radiolab now. That recent Radiolab ep about the vase in the desert or whatever was just god awful.

# ¿ Jul 24, 2014 02:29

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

Drunkboxer posted:

That story pissed me off because instead of telling a local museum about it they opted to be stupid hippies and worried about ending "the journey" of a seed jar that had sat under a rock for 200 years.

Yeah, they were really grasping for some greater meaning to what was basically a pointless trip to through the desert to find out a seed jar they once saw a decade ago wasn't there anymore. Nevermind that this was again another human interest story.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2014 17:25

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# ¿ May 5, 2024 20:01

Gio: Jun 20, 2005

its really not that bad

# ¿ Nov 9, 2014 17:34

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Rapidly Going Deaf > This American Life