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When Tim Walz’s teenage son Gus teared up in pride over his father, right-wing talking heads bullied him. It brought a major issue into focus: battles over “masculinity.” The head of a top polling agency says it’s the only thing helping Trump keep the race close. Today, Josh shows that the media is caught between two superficial visions of masculinity, while ignoring reality. Through hard data, he shows that Trump is nothing like the overwhelming majority of today’s American men — and Tim Walz is.

Also, Josh shows that the media misuses the term “toxic masculinity,” and that people who support it are not only on the far right, but also the far left. He shares the sound of a Palestinian terrorist’s call to his father, who cries in pride over his son’s evil murder spree.

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The media should choose which stories to tell based on what’s most important and relevant. But often inside newsrooms, those decisions are instead based on how it will make the news agencies themselves look. That’s why in recent days, a huge story was, relatively speaking, buried. It involves both major parties, the presidential candidates, and a Trump move that should make the “hypocrisy meter” explode. In this episode, Josh explains why.

Also, why Julian Assange should never get away with calling himself a “journalist” — and why it involves the heartbreaking death of a young man.

Plus: media misses from the DNC. And a prominent journalist actually apologizes for getting something wrong!

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So much of the media has lost sight of what its role is in society: to provide truth. News organizations have even built operations around the opposite idea: letting anyone say anything. They’ve turned what should be journalism into open mic nights. 

Recently, Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC called out the media, and his message spoke to this problem. Today, Josh shows sneakier ways the media keep this up, and the false dichotomy that they use to try to justify it. (Hear Anderson Cooper spout this nonsense.) And Josh presents a three-word oath that journalists should use as a guide in making any and all decisions.

Plus, as the show hits something of a milestone, Josh shares an emotional note from a listener.

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When you look at many of the big problems in the world, you see that there are people working on solutions. That’s a major part of the positive side of the story of humanity. But in journalism, you generally wouldn’t know that. Most controversies are presented simply as two sides disagreeing. In fact there is now, pathetically, a term for the rare times that news organizations actually consider solutions as part of their coverage.

This issue plays out in all sorts of stories, including one in recent days involving gender in boxing and Olympic sports in general. Today, Josh shows how journalists miss the story when they ignore solutions.

Also, an entirely different way to look at the controversy surrounding the term “pregnant people.” Josh explains why, in certain contexts, he has been careful to use the term “Black” instead of “African-American,” and why the media need to think carefully about terms they use for any group.

Plus, employees inside one of the world’s leading news organizations come together to call out antisemitism. Josh shares the awful response from the head of the agency and what it says about any employer in any industry. There’s a basic rule that should be seen as part of Journalism 101 and Management 101. 

And the host of a cable news show addresses exactly what Josh has been talking about, and even calls out his own network.

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Perhaps the most frustrating kinds of lies in the media are the ones presented as part of a so-called “fact check.” In this episode, Josh digs into something that CNN got exactly wrong in discussing militaries in general, and Israel’s in particular. The network claimed that all military analysts except for one would agree on something false; Josh shows that even CNN’s own military analyst disputes that claim.

Plus, a whole different kind of reality check. Military expert Andrew Fox points out that some analysts often quoted in the news are examining the war in Gaza through the prism of the U.S.-led “war on terrorism,” which failed. He provides an understandable explanation of why he believes Israel is winning — and that its actions should be “taught in military colleges.”

Also, the actress and activist Debra Messing’s powerful message to the media, especially the Washington Post, following their biased coverage of the slaughter of a group of Israeli Druze children by Hezbollah.

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When conspiracy theories grow, there’s a crucial step that news organizations should take. They should run those theories past the myth of invincibility. Today, Josh explains how that applies to coverage of many of the biggest news stories of our time, from the current presidential race to terrorist attacks and more.

Plus, now that President Biden has dropped out of the presidential race, Josh explains what we should watch out for in the news, and the role that Americans desperately need the media to play. And he shows how news organizations allowed hypocrisy to go unchecked in coverage of the assassination attempt at a Trump rally, and left out crucial context.

Meanwhile, big news on another front has made early episodes of this show as timely and important as ever. Josh explains how an opinion from the International Court of Justice relates to media failures in coverage of Israel, particularly involving “occupation” and “international law.” And one of the nation’s best known newspapers actually pulled something because it was so blatantly offensive against Israel and the parents of a hostage.

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When big news happens, media organizations clamor for your attention — even if they don’t have any new, concrete information to share with you. This breeds mistakes, hypocrisy, and more. In this episode, Josh explains what he’s watching out for in the coverage of the shooting at a Trump event, described by authorities as an attempted assassination. 

Political violence operates against democracy. Inspired by his interview on a conservative radio show, Josh looked into the news media’s role in the fight for democracy, and discovered something:  The media’s effect on anti-democratic forces is different in America from what it is in Europe. 

In this episode, how TV news and apps are fueling anti-democratic efforts on both the right and the left. Also, how the media ignore the fact that Israel is one of the world’s oldest democracies, and that democracies are necessities for journalism. Plus, you’ll hear from Henry Kissinger and famed broadcaster Edward R. Murrow.

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It took only hours for the biggest political story to become a media story too, as news agencies rushed to cover the New York Times’ call for Biden to leave the race. In this episode, Josh explains that the media often treats the Times’ editorial board like the “great and powerful” Oz. In reality, it’s a group of 14 people with opinions. He explains that the media should contextualize this and show that another editorial board, from the biggest paper in an actual swing state, argued the opposite.

Also, welcome to new sponsor MIT45! In this episode, you’ll hear from CEO Ryan Niddel, who will discuss kratomresearchinstitute.org.

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From the way the mainstream media often describes it, you wouldn’t know Al Jazeera is a state-owned propaganda outlet of the Qatari government. And the problem isn’t just that the news organizations hide its identity. They go further, and praise it. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera praises and celebrates terrorists.

On this episode of They Stand Corrected, Josh exposes the hypocrisy of news organizations, particularly NPR, that complained about Twitter’s handling of state media labels while refusing to follow their own rules for Al Jazeera. Plus, someone from inside Al Jazeera who blew the whistle on how it shills for the Qatari government. And how the media’s obsession with adoring Al Jazeera has led news organizations to relatively downplay or even outright ignore the deaths of journalists in dangerous situations all over the world.

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To mark the tenth episode, Josh answers your questions and shares your comments. First, a viral story that the media got wrong, embarrassing a man who was unfairly sent to jail. Then, the topic of your biggest question of all: casualty figures from Gaza. Josh explains that even after the number of women and children allegedly killed dropped dramatically, media are still trusting Hamas — and trying to cover up the drop.

Then, a study that claims “the science is clear” — even though it isn’t. Josh explains the problems with that term, and why this report could make it harder for people to believe news about climate change and concussions among football players. You’ll hear from NFL icon Ronnie Lott.

And finally, do dads have worse heart health but also live longer lives? Josh breaks down a new study, just in time for Father’s Day.

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The first debate between President Biden and former president Trump is ostensibly going to take place June 27 — before Trump is sentenced on 34 counts. But even if the debate goes ahead, it’s crucial to know this: These events are a disaster for truth. Journalists serve as moderators even though journalism is precluded. Today, times when hosts have tried to fact check candidates during debates and why it doesn’t work. Josh explains how to fix this — and why news agencies should stop the pretense. Plus, he explains why these debates reflect a problem with the way we’re raising children in America.

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A terrorist on the FBI Most Wanted list is living freely as a popular celebrity in Jordan, which is refusing to extradite her despite an extradition treaty with the United States. Another of her American victims died last year. Also, most likely the fastest ever killing of a large number of Palestinians, including terrorists, was carried out by Jordan, not Israel. And the reason the West Bank has its name is that Jordan occupied it. All this, and so much more, was left out of a major news network’s disastrous “interview” with Queen Rania.

Today, in Part II of Josh’s breakdown of this hypocritical “liefest,” the ways that journalists too often deprive you of not only facts, but also context. Plus, why an expression of opinion can be a crucial jumping off point to explore both. And what Hillary Clinton got right on The View.