Revisionist History

This is the first episode of Season 8 of 'Scene on Radio,' titled 'The News,' which examines the deep crisis in American news media. Hosts John Bewin and Chenjerai Kumunika explore why Americans distrust the media, how political sorting and identity drive news consumption, and why the 'echo chamber' narrative may be more myth than reality. The episode features interviews with a North Carolina farmer and media scholar Danigal Young to illuminate how survival instincts and group identity shape how people process information.

Malcolm Gladwell explores why the United States has fewer elevators per capita than almost any other high-income country, tracing the problem to expensive labor practices, oversized elevator requirements, and a pivotal 2003-2004 building code amendment by Glendale, Arizona fire inspector Gregory A. Victor. The episode argues that well-intentioned pursuit of perfection — making elevators larger to accommodate stretchers — made them so expensive that developers routinely skip them in smaller and affordable apartment buildings.