In August of 2023, police raided a small local newspaper in rural Kansas, seizing computers and cellphones. Later, the paper’s publisher would discover there was no legal basis for the search. On this week’s On the Media, find out who was behind the raid, and what the saga reveals about the plight of local journalism today.

[01:00] On a Friday morning in a small, rural town in Kansas, the publisher of the local newspaper opens his door to see the police. They have a search warrant in hand, and within minutes, they’re searching his home. He finds out that at the same time, officers are combing through his newsroom, seizing computers and cellphones. All of this comes as a massive surprise – no warning, no subpoena, and, as he later finds out, no legal right.

This week, we’re airing an episode of KCRW’s Question Everything, hosted by Brian Reed, which digs into why this violent raid occurred, who’s behind it, and the long-lasting, tragic ramifications.

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In Texas, a judge sentenced a group of anti-ICE demonstrators to decades in prison. On this week’s On the Media, how leftist zines were used to convict a group of protesters accused of ties to antifa. Plus, as we approach the nation’s 250th birthday, we reflect on America’s inability to reckon with the darkest parts of its past.

[01:00] Micah interviews Lex McMenamin, movement building reporter at The Guardian US, about how leftist zines were used to sentence anti-ICE protesters to decades in prison this week.

[12:55] Brooke sits down with Eddie Glaude, professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, to talk about his latest book, “America, U.S.A.: How Race Shadows the Nation's Anniversaries,” and why, at every major milestone, the United States has struggled to reconcile a “double-consciousness.”

Further reading:

• “‘This is injustice’: how leftist zines were used to sentence anti-ICE protesters to decades in prison,” by Lex McMenamin
• America, U.S.A.: How Race Shadows the Nation's Anniversaries by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

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This week we’re sharing a segment from our friends at the New Yorker Radio Hour. David Remnick sits down with the hosts of the hit podcast, The Rest is History, who turned their childhood love of history into a blockbuster show. They discuss how Brits remember the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War.

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

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