Elon Musk’s claims of fraudulent government spending contain some wild inaccuracies. On this week's On the Media, how the mythos surrounding tech entrepreneurs paved the way for MAGA’s embrace of Silicon Valley leaders. Plus, meet the scholars and librarians who helped the Allies win World War II.

[01:00] Host Micah Loewinger looks at Elon Musk’s new role in the rightwing media ecosystem and how it’s driving policy. He talks to Will Oremus, tech reporter at The Washington Post, about DOGE and Elon Musk’s feuds with Reuters and Politico.

[16:42] Micah Loewinger speaks with Becca Lewis, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University, about how an influential group of conservative thinkers in Silicon Valley have long seen new technologies as tools for restoring older social orders

[32:41] Brooke Gladstone talks to Elyse Graham, professor of sociology at Stony Brook University and author of Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II. They discuss the role that academics, archivists, and librarians played in WWII intelligence gathering activities, and why the CIA invested in storytelling as a result.

Further reading:

• “Musk accused Reuters of ‘social deception.’ The deception was his.,” by Will Oremus
• “‘Headed for technofascism’: the rightwing roots of Silicon Valley,” by Becca Lewis
• Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II, by Elyse Graham

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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

This week, the Senate will consider more of Trump’s Cabinet nominees, including his pick for FBI director, Kash Patel. For this midweek podcast, we're looking back at this conversation host Micah Loewinger had with Atlantic staff writer Elaina Plott Calabro, who charted Patel's rise to power, starting at the very beginning of his legal career. She explains how he came to loathe the media, and love Trump.

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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

The new administration is purging data from government websites and databases, such as the Department of Justice and the National Security Agency. On this week's On the Media, a historian shares the political playbook for rewriting the past in order to control the future. Plus, meet the different Christian groups vying for power at the White House.

[01:00] Host Micah Loewinger looks at the White House’s purge of data and records. He talks to Dara Kerr, a reporter at the Guardian, about President Trump’s attempt to ramp up deportations and how ICE is fudging its numbers. Micah also speaks with Molly White, author of the newsletter “Citation Needed” and Wikipedia editor, about why Musk and others on the right are going after Wikipedia.

[13:24] Host Brooke Gladstone talks to Jason Stanley, professor of philosophy at Yale University and author of the book Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future, about the narrative the new administration is constructing.

[31:46] Brooke Gladstone hears from Matthew D. Taylor, author of The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy. They discuss the three Christian factions jostling for power in the new administration: the independent Charismatics like Trump’s faith adviser Paula White-Cain, the trad Catholics (represented by J.D. Vance), and the theobros (epitomized by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth).

Further reading:

• “US immigration is creating a mirage of mass deportations on Google search,” by Dara Kerr
• “Elon Musk and the right’s war on Wikipedia,” by Molly White
• Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future, by Jason Stanley
• The second coming of Donald J. Trump,” by Matthew D. Taylor

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, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.