PODCAST | It's impossible to truly know what life on the "inside" is like, unless you've lived it. That means the experiences of more than 2.3 million Americans are largely hidden from public view. But a new podcast from Radiotopia offers a compelling peek into the routines, the challenges and the victories of the men and women serving time at San Quentin State Prison. EAR HUSTLE — prison slang for eavesdropping — is produced by inmates Earlonne Woods and Antwan Williams, along with Nigel Poor, a Bay Area-based artist. Episodes touch on the potential volatility of bickering "cellies," on nurturing prison pets and on solitary confinement's devastating impact. Hearing the harsh and tender realities of day-to-day prison life might just change your perspective.
FAKE NEWS | Even during a time when real, legitimate pieces of information are labeled "fake news" without proof, the line between fact and fiction is about to get blurrier. Last November, Adobe announced a new product known as "PHOTOSHOP FOR AUDIO" that comes with the ability to add words not in an original audio file. All you need is about 10 minutes of, say, Donald Trump talking, and you could force the president to declare nuclear war, confirm the Russian "golden shower" rumor and brag about kissing and grabbing women carte blanche. The program is not commercially available, but similar technology for video footage is also in the works, according to Vanity Fair reporter Nick Bilton. "And perhaps worse of all, as the quality of imitation gets better and better, it will become increasingly difficult to discern between what is real behavior and what isn't," he writes.
REAL NEWS | Speaking of blurred lines between reality and fantasy, CNN's Brian Stelter has you covered. The media reporter hosts the weekly chat show RELIABLE SOURCES, which dives deep into how different outlets report on the same story and can effectively shape the news. The show airs every Sunday at 8 am Pacific Time. Recently, Stetler has featured segments questioning President Trump's "fitness" for office and providing a behind-the-scenes look at the president's press conference following the deadly white-supremacist protests in Charlottesville, Virginia. Stetler also started a daily email newsletter that's the perfect way to keep up with the seemingly endless cacophony of headlines since this past November. ♦
