Reflector

Should the U.S. stop giving foreign aid? This is a question many have been asking long before Elon Musk and Donald Trump launched DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) and began dismantling USAID and its work around the globe. Critics of foreign aid, like Bill Easterly, author of The White Man’s Burden, and Dambisa Moyo, author of Dead Aid, argue that foreign aid often does more harm than good. They contend that the U.S. and other nations should radically rethink their approach. But this winter, Donald Trump did something no one expected: he halted nearly all foreign aid and operations worldwide. Today, we’re joined by long-time international correspondent and host of NPR’s Rough Translation, Gregory Warner, for a deep dive into why USAID was founded in the first place, how it expanded into the massive program it is today, the consequences of freezing its operations, and an examination of the claims that USAID is part of a U.S. deep-state operation. For the listener who’d like to hear more from Warner, he publishes a Substack newsletter called Rough Transition. And if you reach out to him mentioning you're coming from Reflector, he’s happy to offer a complimentary six-month subscription. Thank you to our sponsor Ground News. You can visit them here to learn more: GROUND.NEWS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of the election results, many Democrats are doing some serious soul-searching (and a fair amount of blame-gaming) to understand why they lost. But it’s not just Democrats reckoning with their loss of trust from the American people. New polling from places like Gallup shows historically high levels of distrust in journalists. Meaning that a profession built on the delivery of trusted information is now in the midst of a full on crisis of mistrust. How did we get here? What are we doing wrong? And what, if anything, can we—or should we—do to regain that trust? For today’s episode, we take a frank look at the media’s role in this crisis with Ben Smith and Nayeema Raza. Ben Smith is the co-founder of Semafor, a news organization with ambitious goals to redefine global journalism. He’s the former media columnist for The New York Times and was the founding editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News, leading it from a scrappy startup to a Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom. Ben’s journalism roots trace back to the late 1990s and early 2000s, where he covered crime and New York politics for local papers. He was part of the early journalism blogging era online, reported on the 2008 Obama campaign for Politico, and embodies a no-nonsense ethos to journalism that I’ve come to admire over the years. Nayeema Raza is (alongside Ben) the co-host on Semafor’s media podcast Mixed Signals, which explores how money, culture, and politics shape everything we read, watch, and hear. She has worked as executive producer at The New York Times Opinion and frequently guest-hosts Open to Debate. With a background in film and documentary, Nayeema often draws fascinating parallels between newsroom trends and what’s happening in Hollywood and beyond. As you’ll hear, the three of us don’t always agree. In this episode, I’m a bit more open with my views than usual—we even scrutinize some of my past work. Together, we wrestle with the causes and context of the current trust crisis in journalism, explore historical parallels, discuss the disruption of the internet and influence of social media, and unpack lessons from the Trump era so far. Thank you to our sponsor Ground News. You can visit them here to learn more: GROUND.NEWS To support our work please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wars—like the one between Israel and Hamas—are not only fought on the battlefield, but they are also fought through stories. In today’s episode, I interview Eman Abdelhadi, an American academic, activist, and organizer in the Free Palestine movement. Abdelhadi shares a perspective on Israel that, while controversial, is gaining influence across the United States, particularly on college campuses. A recent Pew survey revealed that 34% of Americans under 30 find Hamas' reasons for fighting Israel to be valid, and only 16% of Americans support continued U.S. military aid to Israel. If you align with the Free Palestine movement, Eman’s story may resonate deeply. If you support Israel, it may be challenging and even frustrating to hear. But regardless of where you stand, I believe there is value in listening to a view that is shaping more and more of the American discourse on this issue. If you’d like to share your feedback on this or any episode, you can reach us at hello@reflector.show. Thank you to our sponsor Ground News. You can visit them here to learn more: GROUND.NEWS To support our work please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are hard at work on several stories that we hope to share with you soon, but today we’re trying something a bit different. We're bringing you a roundtable discussion with Sarah Isgur and Mike Pesca on why politicians and world leaders lie—and what those lies reveal about the state of our society. Sarah Isgur is a lawyer, senior editor at The Dispatch, host of the legal podcast Advisory Opinions, and co-host of Left, Right & Center. She’s previously worked in all three branches of the federal government, including a few years in the Trump Administration, and has been involved with three different presidential campaigns. Mike Pesca, a veteran of NPR, is the host of The Gist, the longest-running daily news podcast, and has covered presidential campaigns and politics for over two decades. We dive deep into whether we’re living in an era of especially egregious lies, the incentives for politicians to lie, how we classify and fact-check lies, and much more. I’ll also add that by the end, we wind up in a place I didn’t expect. LINKS: Listen to Mike Pesca on The Gist Listen to Sarah Isgor on Advisory Opinions, Left, Right & Center and follow her writing at The Dispatch. Thank you to our sponsor Ground News. You can visit them here to learn more: GROUND.NEWS To support our work please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today in our third and final installment of this series, we delve into what may be the most contested election in American history. We also take stock of the already historic and unprecedented 2024 presidential campaign season. What happens when both sides of our political divide increasingly view the other as an anti-democratic threat? Our aim with these episodes is to listen carefully to those who feel cheated, move beyond the daily political drama, and inspire deeper reflection on where our society stands and the challenges we face. Special thanks to Washington Post columnist, Megan McArdle and to Megan Phelps-Roper. Thank you to our sponsor Ground News. You can visit them here to learn more: GROUND.NEWS To become a paid subscriber, just click here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Claims that a US election was rigged, fraudulent, illegitimate, or stolen are not new. But in recent years—despite the fact that our elections have grown increasingly secure—these claims have grown louder and more impassioned. Today, we begin our look back on past claims of stolen elections in American history, in the hopes that understanding them in their context will help shed light on our current political moment—and where we might be headed next. In this first installment, we speak to Megan McArdle, former writer for the Atlantic and current columnist at the Washington Post, about the stolen election claims in both the 1960 and 2000 elections. To become a subscriber visit us at reflector.show Email us at: hello@reflector.show Featuring Your Cheatin’ Heart by Patsy Cline and The Jordanaires Thank you to our sponsor. You can visit them here to learn more: GROUND.NEWS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we continue our examination of difficult public debates, one year after concluding our series, The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling. In Part 1, we provided updates on women's sports, women-only spaces, and transition medicine for minors. This week, we hear from three different trans individuals who share their perspectives on the state of the debate, J.K. Rowling in particular, and the larger idea that good-faith debates are necessary for progress in a pluralistic society. Our guests include Jacob Tobia, author of the book Sissy, and listener-favorite Noah, the teenager who shared his gender transition story with us in episode six of The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling. We also listen and respond to sharp criticisms from popular YouTuber and former Witch Trials guest, Natalie Wynn, aka Contrapoints. We do our best to engage in the kind of good-faith debating that we believe in. As always, we appreciate your time and attention and would be delighted if you shared this show and gave us a rating on Apple or Spotify. Thank you for your support, and please send us your thoughts, feedback, story ideas, or criticisms to our new email address: hello@reflector.show. Thank you to our sponsor. You can visit them here to learn more: GROUND.NEWS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices